Most just wanted to drive Freight, happy to make 11-14 dollars and hour or 30 cents a mile and most did not want to do any lifting or hard work.
The thing is most were young and are giving themselves no future. If they follow that road that is where they will probably be their whole life.
Their is nothing wrong with that but if you want to have a family and a home it will be hard.
Out of the crowd a young man came up to me that ran the road with a household driver for three years and loved the experience. His dream and his goal was to be a bedbugger.
When he talked he totally separated himself from the others that spoke to me that day. He spoke of pride and customer service. He spoke of helping others and wanting one day to be his own boss.
He had goals, he had confidence, he had self respect.
Being a household goods driver is something to be proud of.
For those of you that are professional movers try to remember that feeling when you started, when you helped a mover for the first time.
When you saw that driver take control and work his magic with the customer, his crews and the furniture.
You saw the pride and wanted to aspire to be that person. To learn and grow just like that young man I spoke to at the tractor trailer school.
Yes, the industry is going through some changes and tough times but it has in the past too.
It is still a very respectable business and one that a young person can still learn and be their own boss.
If their are changes needed it is up to the veterans to help guide them. You owe to yourselves and for al those young people that look up to you.
Stop being mad and start helping to create the job that you saw when you started.
Actually it is ok to get mad but funnel that energy and never allow it erode YOUR work or your ethics.
If you think that yours is the only industry going through changes think again.
I know people in all types of businesses , salespeople, nurses and business owners and they ALL have similar stories.
Once a bedgugger always a bedbugger.
Help you profession, help train that young person, help to make it better.
1 comment:
I've got a story(now that's news)about something similar to your story about a young helper...
It turns out my best friend in life,who's Dad was a Bedbugger.....Who as a 4 year old child,would sit at the front window and wait for that moving truck to hit the driveway....Excitement was the best word....And cry big tears when it left....Now most of you would think it was his Dad that he was waiting for....NOPE!It was the truck......His Mom and Dad split when he was young and all George could think of was being a mover....12 years old,he got his first job at a local Connecticut agent and every summer after that he was BEDBUGGIN....He worked his way up to being an over the road owner operator,now,for 35 years....He's now one of Atlas's top hands.....There's a lot more to that story...I just thought that part would go well with the blog....
Post a Comment