From Road Driver Skip...

. Don’t hide behind electronic communication"....Here's a HINT! If I call your place and hear...Press one for ENGLISH(?)(not putting anyone down, except those who have those DAM things I have to select something)...Most of the time I HANG UP...CONTINUE calling someone else....DANG IT,I want a human to answer, and ask me what I NEED! Face it, those phone programs that take a half hour of punching 5 if my butt itches, PISS ME OFF! AND, I'll not do any business with anyone who has one....I'm Skip, and that's just my opinion.


Be a good communicator". Communicating and complaining are two different things....I have other drivers who ask me why I can talk to certain folks when they can't get a call back...It's simple, What I call about is not over inflated just to make a point.. Ever cried WOLF? Eventually folks just don't listen.. Leave emotion out of the conversation, just state the facts and ask what can be done? AND don't be pissed if you don't get your way...Tomorrow is another day and you may win...Don't get angry, folks will realize the emotion is there and just tune you out...

Appreciation

I speak to a lot of drivers from all over the country and from different carriers and agents and they all have one thing in common, they speak of appreciation and respect.

Same with the many employees that I speak to in and out of the household business. The one common thread is we all want and need to be appreciated.

You need to know that someone has your back, that someone cares.
Most drivers and employees do not mind the hard work in fact most enjoy a challenge.
We all just need reassurance that someone notices and that we are appreciated.

Rather you are a boss, manager, crew chief or just a fellow employee take the time to say thank you today and recognize those around you.

We all need it.

More Ways to Make it Easy for People to Work with You

6. Don’t hide behind electronic communication – Email and Instant Message have their place in organizations, but they don’t replace more personal means of communication like speaking on the phone or face to face. I’ve seen it time and time again – minor problems escalate into major blowouts because people refuse to get out from behind their desks, walk to their colleague’s office, and discuss a situation face to face. It’s much easier to hide behind the computer and fire off nasty-grams than it is to talk to someone about a problem. Just step away from the computer, please!

7. Consistently follow the process – Process…for some people that’s a dirty word and anathema for how they work. However, processes exist for a reason. Usually they are in place to ensure consistency, quality, efficiency, and productivity. When you follow the process, you show your colleagues you respect the norms and boundaries for how you’ve agreed to work together. If you visited a friend’s home and were asked to remove your shoes at the door, you would do so out of respect, right? You wouldn’t make excuses about it being inconvenient or it not being the way you do things in your house. Why should it be different at work? If you need to fill out a form, then fill it out. If you need to use a certain software system to get your information, then use it. Quit making excuses and do work the way it was designed to be done. Besides, if you consistently follow the process, you’ll experience much more grace from your colleagues for those times you legitimately need to deviate from it.

No one likes to think of him/herself as being difficult to work with, yet from time to time we all make life difficult for our colleagues. Focus on what you can do to be easy to do business with and you’ll find that over time others become easier to work with as well.

7 Ways to Make it Easy for people to Work with You

Build rapport – People want to work with people they like. Are you likable? Do you build rapport with your colleagues? Get to know them personally, engage in small talk (even if it’s not your “thing”), learn about their lives outside of work, and take a genuine interest in them as people, not just a co-worker who’s there to do a job.

2. Be a good communicator – Poor communication is at the root of many workplace conflicts. People who are easy to work with share information openly and timely, keep others informed as projects evolve, talk through out of the box situations rather than make assumptions, and they ask questions if they aren’t sure of the answer. As a general rule, it’s better to over-communicate than under-communicate.

3. Make their job easier – If you want to gain people’s cooperation, make their job easier and they’ll love you for it. But how do you know what makes their job easier? Ask them! If handing off information in a form rather than a chain of emails makes their job easier, then do it. If it helps your colleague to talk over questions on the phone rather than through email, then give them a call. Identify the WIIFM (what’s in it for me) from your colleague’s perspective and it will help you tailor your interactions so both your and their needs are met.

4. Provide the “why” behind your requests – Very few people like being told what to do. They want to understand why something needs to be done so they can make intelligent decisions about the best way to proceed. Simply passing off information and asking someone to “just do it like I said” is rude and condescending. Make sure your colleagues understand the context of your request, why it’s important, and how critical they are to the success of the task/project. Doing so will have them working with you, not against you.

5. Be trustworthy – Above all, be trustworthy. Follow through on your commitments, keep your word, act with integrity, demonstrate competence in your own work, be honest, admit mistakes, and apologize when necessary. Trust is the foundation of any healthy relationship, and if you want to work well with others, it’s imperative you focus on building trust in the relationship. Trust starts with being trustworthy yourself.


More tomorrow ...

From a fellow Driver...

When This Job Was FUN!

 

I did the red beans and rice, smoked sausage all on a grill...Also have done spaghetti, pizza....Heck, I've even fried eggs on top of my grill, but the best story was a long time ago....I don't remember everyone who was there, just the whole Put, Put CLAN....* trucks all parked right next to each other-Evergreen Washington, a 4 day weekend...We made 6-7 trips to the store in that time, had the grill fired up for 4 DAYS....Cooked everything you can imagine, fed everyone in the parking lot...Funny thing was, Dennis pulled out a huge tarp(remember Suckattle,rains all the time)and we tarped the whole length of the space between 2 trailers and the party was on...The last day, I was getting ready to put the grill up and a driver looked down between the trailers at our party palace, and said "A GRILL,wanna cook some fish? "I told him SURE! He went and broke a seal on his trailer and pulled out a FROZEN solid tuna filet....I told him I had no way to cut it for cooking and, at that point a flatbed hauler(who had been eating off the grill all 4 days)said he had a cross cut saw(?),we washed it and filled the grill up with 1-1/2 inch tuna filets.....They disappeared too....

 

That was way back …..WHEN?

 

 

 

Let's bring it back....YOU can make the change... take the time to say hi to a fellow driver and who knows maybe even break bread together......THAT WOULD BE NICE.....Enjoy the time that you have.

 

How'd he do it?

Just ask him how he did it
He'll say, pull up a seat
It'll only take a minute
To tell you everything

Be a best friend, tell the truth
Overuse "I love you,"
Go to work, do your best
Don't outsmart your common sense
Never let your prayin' knees get lazy
And love like crazy”

― Tim James & Doug Johnson, performed by Lee Brice

Moving company steps in, helps couple recover items

http://www.king5.com/news/get-jesse/Moving-company-steps-helps-couple-recover-items-248929881.html

 

Terri and Terrance Thomas’ Florida moving adventure is a little like the song Amazing Grace - their goods were lost and now they are found.

“I'm thrilled to death I'm going to get my stuff.  So that really excites me,” exclaimed Terri.

In November, the Thomases paid Ryder Moving and Storage $4,500 to move their goods from Zephyrhills, Florida to Everett.  The company the couple used, Ryder Moving and Storage, stole the name of the respected Ryder Trucking company.  There was no confusion about what happened next.  The movers stopped taking the couple’s calls.

“Our wedding pictures, my kids’ pictures, pictures of my brothers and sisters, things that mean nothing to anybody else.  All I could think about was they are going to sit somewhere and rot,” said Terri.

A detective investigating the moving company found the Thomases’ goods in Florida.  Terrance had to cash out $5,000 from his 401K, fly to the Sunshine State and move it to another facility until he could afford to move it to Everett.

“I just don't know how anybody could live with themselves doing this to somebody,” said Terrance.

After our story aired Chip Martin, the president of Daly Movers, a Los Angeles area moving company, saw the Thomases’ troubles.

“It hit me.  My wife has photo albums, I have beer mugs, I have tools and seeing these people, it hit me.  It struck a chord,” explained Martin.

Martin is providing a Hollywood ending.  His company will move the Thomases’ goods to Everett for just $1.  We gave the Thomases a peek at the movers in Florida, who were picking up all of Terrance's tools and Terri's precious items.

“This company here has given me a new hope in movers because I had lost all hope for movers,” said Terrance.

It could take a couple of weeks before the trucks reach Everett.  Remember, it just takes one act of kindness to move someone, anyone or maybe a family, from coast to coast.

                                          Chip Martin, his wife Jeannette and David Arpin