People Will Talk

It happened to me again. This time, I was pursuing one of my winter pastimes in Northern Ontario. In my endless pursuit of freight, I asked the guy beside me on the chair lift what he did for a living. After he told me he sold cars (not the right answer), I told him I ran a trucking company.

That’s when it happened. You know what I mean. The way people react when you tell them that you work in the trucking business. They shrug their shoulders, roll their eyes, and ask if you’ve had any wheels fall off one of your trucks lately.

Our company recently conducted a marketing survey. One question we asked was, “What’s the first word that comes to your mind when you think of the trucking industry?” Of the 97 responses, 62 people or 64% responded with a word that can be interpreted as negative. “Dirty,” “rough,” “unprofessional,” and “long hours” were mentioned most.

I don’t profess to be Angus Reid, but anyone who makes a living in this business knows the public at large has a negative perception of the trucking industry.

And it’s costing us all a lot of money. How? Bankers are one example. It’s bad enough that banks see trucking companies as bad risks. But your cause isn’t helped when your loan officer was tailgated halfway to work by a truck on the highway.

A poor image hurts recruiting. This industry suffers from a shortage of qualified people at all levels. Yet few university grads consider trucking as an option, and not many people change careers to come work at a freight carrier.

Regulation is another cost linked to our image. Too often, anti-truck legislation is tabled with the end result being the continued erosion of our bottom lines. The legislation is written because people — voters — squawk to their politicians about all of the unsafe trucks on the road.

I’m not sure how we got this reputation, or why it persists, because in my 20 years in this business I’ve met so many smart, passionate, and considerate people. But it’s our problem. No one else will bail us out. Frankly, no one else cares. If we want to boost the image of the trucking industry, here’s where to start:

Slow down the trucks. There’s a lot of hyperbole on all sides of the speed/productivity/ safety/fuel economy/maintenance-cost debate. But there are two things you can’t argue with, and they’re good reasons to slow down. First, more speed is more expensive and more dangerous than less speed. And second, people are afraid of big trucks, especially big trucks barreling down the highway at 75 or 80 miles an hour.

Stay clean. A clean truck driven by a professional driver sends a strong, positive message. Every day your equipment is a rolling billboard for the trucking industry. Keeping it clean is an easy way to polish a tarnished reputation.

Promote pride. You’re not the only one who gets asked about lost wheels and tired drivers. Bring your employees out to trade shows. Encourage them to join the local traffic club, or get them on a committee at your trucking association. Sign them up for a free subscription to one of the industry rags. If your employees feel proud of what they do, they’re far more likely to stand up tall when they tell people what they do for a living.

Lend your good name. Every Scout troop, dog pound, and horticultural society has a fundraiser. Support them. I sponsor so many little-league teams that I feel like George Steinbrenner (without all the cash). It boosts how people in my community feel about my company. The payback for the business? We have little trouble filling jobs with good candidates who live in our area, and we’ve even pulled in a few new customers.

Be politically active. Get to know your politicians at all levels. You want them to know who you are and that you’re valuable to their riding. If you’re not a member, join your provincial trucking association — its job is to lobby for your interests.

Be a watchdog. Monitor the local papers for bad press and don’t be afraid to stand up when the industry’s interests are being misrepresented.

These are some of the little things you can do to change the perception of the industry. They add up. It’s kind of like melting a mountain of snow with a candle. You can do it, provided you have enough wax.