Is there a driver shortage?

WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.080 --> 00:00:13.119 M H. Welcome back to the road forward, a podcast for trucking industry 2 00:00:13.279 --> 00:00:16.920 leaders, brought to you by trucks, by the all in one fleet management 3 00:00:16.920 --> 00:00:22.239 platform built to empower your drivers to be productive, compliant and safe. My 4 00:00:22.320 --> 00:00:25.800 name is Alex. today we're sitting down with roanuck and shive, them from 5 00:00:25.839 --> 00:00:30.600 ant cell services, where they make it easy to recruit and retain your drivers. 6 00:00:30.879 --> 00:00:35.320 In this episode we're gonna discuss driver shortage and why. The answer maybe 7 00:00:35.520 --> 00:00:38.679 is a little bit more nuanced. We compare over the road to last mile 8 00:00:38.880 --> 00:00:43.079 and the challenges and advantages to both. We also discussed the job market and 9 00:00:43.119 --> 00:00:49.479 how employees and companies can make better decisions with data. Let's get started. 10 00:00:49.560 --> 00:00:52.880 The first thing I want to talk about is a driver shortage. Okay, 11 00:00:52.880 --> 00:00:57.600 because I'm seeing different videos online, I'm seeing different people online. They're saying, 12 00:00:57.640 --> 00:01:00.119 Oh, there's no driver shortage, especially because us, the rate is 13 00:01:00.359 --> 00:01:03.640 like for free. I don't know if you guys have been paying attention to 14 00:01:03.759 --> 00:01:07.159 lane rate data or anything like that, or just volumes in general right. 15 00:01:07.359 --> 00:01:11.840 Obviously it's one of those things that it always fluctuates and the rates oftentimes reflect 16 00:01:11.920 --> 00:01:15.040 those fluctuations. However, a big argument that I'm seeing people say is there 17 00:01:15.079 --> 00:01:19.760 is no driver shortage is because the rates are so so so, like cheap. 18 00:01:21.000 --> 00:01:23.200 However, to my understanding, we've met and talked before, is that 19 00:01:23.719 --> 00:01:29.200 you, guys, because your company specifically deals with onboarding and drivers and applicants 20 00:01:29.239 --> 00:01:33.879 and stuff like that, you have the like, the expertise, the knowledge, 21 00:01:34.439 --> 00:01:38.480 like firsthand on whether or not there actually is a driver shortage. So, 22 00:01:38.799 --> 00:01:42.480 Um, wh whoever is better equipped to answer that question? Is there 23 00:01:42.519 --> 00:01:47.280 actually a driver shortage? I can take that real quick. Short, short 24 00:01:47.319 --> 00:01:52.799 and sweet answer is yes, certain parts of the country has shortage. We're 25 00:01:52.840 --> 00:01:57.519 seeing a lot of people go move away from the trade, meaning like driving 26 00:01:57.719 --> 00:02:01.560 a truck and going into different and field. So Um, short and simple 27 00:02:01.599 --> 00:02:07.480 answer in my view, it is we're seeing a lot of pockets right of 28 00:02:07.760 --> 00:02:12.280 city and state. Every city and every state is different, but a lot 29 00:02:12.319 --> 00:02:15.800 of pockets inside. Um, if you look at the data, uh, 30 00:02:16.000 --> 00:02:21.560 there is a shortage. We're seeing a lot of baby boomers moving away and, 31 00:02:21.719 --> 00:02:25.080 you know, retiring, which is causing youngsters not to go into this 32 00:02:25.199 --> 00:02:29.080 trade because they see, oh well, you know, on the road, 33 00:02:29.159 --> 00:02:31.759 this doesn't seem like a good life. I could even I can do other 34 00:02:31.879 --> 00:02:38.240 things right, like invest and make that money. So, Um, short 35 00:02:38.280 --> 00:02:40.240 and sweet answer, I would say there is a stom religion pockets and then 36 00:02:40.240 --> 00:02:43.639 show them if you wanted time. Yeah, and just to add to that 37 00:02:43.719 --> 00:02:46.840 right. So, you know, we keep getting out of this question. 38 00:02:46.159 --> 00:02:50.800 And what I tell people is you cannot really paint the whole market with the 39 00:02:50.800 --> 00:02:57.199 same brush. Every micro market is so distinctly different. Like we recruit in 40 00:02:57.479 --> 00:03:00.800 Atlanta, we recruiting Savannah, Georgia. Both those places a couple of hours 41 00:03:00.800 --> 00:03:05.919 away and the markets cannot be more different. And that's what we've seen, 42 00:03:06.639 --> 00:03:10.400 uh, that we've seen pockets where we find drivers in the dozens, uh 43 00:03:10.439 --> 00:03:13.879 you know, who who are, who are really desperate for a job, 44 00:03:14.240 --> 00:03:16.159 and then we see places like, say, Utah or you know, a 45 00:03:16.199 --> 00:03:20.960 lot of different pockets where nobody seems to want a new job. You know, 46 00:03:21.000 --> 00:03:25.560 everyone seems to have everything sorted to a couple with that, with the 47 00:03:25.639 --> 00:03:31.159 general driver shortage, we're seeing, you know, a plummet in terms of 48 00:03:31.199 --> 00:03:36.719 retention of drivers. People just don't keep, you know, stick to the 49 00:03:36.719 --> 00:03:39.479 same job. I think the last couple of years of spoiled people would sign 50 00:03:39.520 --> 00:03:43.919 on bonuses. They realize that they could jump ship and make a couple of 51 00:03:43.919 --> 00:03:47.159 percentages more, and that trend does not have seemed to have, you come 52 00:03:47.199 --> 00:03:53.639 down. We're still seeing super high turnover and that's, I think, where 53 00:03:53.680 --> 00:03:55.560 a lot of the problem stems from, with people not having enough drivers. 54 00:03:55.960 --> 00:03:59.240 It's because, you know, they're just running through a lot of these drivers 55 00:03:59.280 --> 00:04:02.319 a lot faster. Okay. And so you said markets like in Atlanta, 56 00:04:02.439 --> 00:04:05.719 in Savannah. Right. So, Um, that's that. Cities. What 57 00:04:05.800 --> 00:04:11.039 are their three hours apart, roughly, and so you're saying those two markets 58 00:04:11.039 --> 00:04:14.879 are wildly different and they're in the same state. Um, similar geography, 59 00:04:14.919 --> 00:04:18.120 weather is decent basically all year round. And so even those two different markets, 60 00:04:18.199 --> 00:04:24.040 it's wildly different results on what companies get went for applicants absolutely similar, 61 00:04:24.199 --> 00:04:27.800 like Dallas and Houston. Just today we were talking to someone because based out 62 00:04:27.800 --> 00:04:30.680 of Dallas, we're based out of Houston. Uh, completely different, like 63 00:04:30.720 --> 00:04:34.160 there are two different, you know, parts of the country and what. 64 00:04:34.319 --> 00:04:39.000 And so what is what is the like? Why is there that difference? 65 00:04:39.279 --> 00:04:42.079 Is it like the bigger the city gets, the harder it is to find 66 00:04:42.160 --> 00:04:46.879 drivers generally because maybe a bigger city attracts like higher tech jobs and stuff like 67 00:04:46.920 --> 00:04:49.720 that. And inevitably like less truckers. Like what? What is the difference 68 00:04:49.800 --> 00:04:54.600 between Um Different markets that you've you've you've noticed maybe some of the key top 69 00:04:54.639 --> 00:04:57.519 markets that you guys are in. So honestly, it's just been tough. 70 00:04:57.600 --> 00:05:00.639 It's it's been tough to put our finger the exact problem. For example, 71 00:05:00.839 --> 00:05:05.040 Chicago is a massive city, extremely tough to find drivers that. At the 72 00:05:05.079 --> 00:05:08.839 same time, Houston is a large city as well, a lot easier here. 73 00:05:09.600 --> 00:05:14.199 So my hunch, and it's it's all a hunch, is that it's 74 00:05:14.279 --> 00:05:17.600 demanding supply. UH, number one. Number two, it's just the demographics 75 00:05:17.639 --> 00:05:21.519 of those cities. For you know, for obvious reason, in San Francisco 76 00:05:21.879 --> 00:05:26.439 just sees a lot more high income people presiding in that city and so it's 77 00:05:26.439 --> 00:05:30.160 a lot difficult to finding low income, you know, blue collared workers. 78 00:05:30.759 --> 00:05:33.160 Uh, and at the same time, you know, Houston might just have 79 00:05:33.199 --> 00:05:38.639 a lot more of them. But it's been difficult for me to kind of 80 00:05:38.639 --> 00:05:42.480 put the finger on the problem. But what about Ronic? So one thing 81 00:05:42.560 --> 00:05:45.680 and and like almo was saying, it's all a hunts right. Right now 82 00:05:45.680 --> 00:05:48.439 we're just throwing darts and hoping that we hit the bulls eye. Right in 83 00:05:48.480 --> 00:05:53.399 the dark. So my hunches two things. Right, it's twofold. So 84 00:05:53.519 --> 00:05:56.439 I've seen a lot of cities, right. I'll give you example, Kansas 85 00:05:56.480 --> 00:06:00.160 City, Missouri, and Lenexa Kansas right in that area. I've seen a 86 00:06:00.279 --> 00:06:04.399 lot of trucking jobs, right, like big trucking companies that are there, 87 00:06:04.959 --> 00:06:10.839 and it's hard to find and compete. So like our you know, most 88 00:06:10.879 --> 00:06:15.040 of our clientele is and within Fedex and Amazon. So Fedex contractors are looking 89 00:06:15.079 --> 00:06:19.600 for the you know, the same from the same pool as everybody else's. 90 00:06:19.720 --> 00:06:25.759 So who is able to streamline it and get to that pool faster? Um, 91 00:06:25.920 --> 00:06:30.439 is the ones who get the drivers. Um. So it's very hard 92 00:06:30.480 --> 00:06:32.800 to understand and figure out, okay, what city and what's going on, 93 00:06:32.879 --> 00:06:38.759 because we have to look at the microcosm of what what the job market looks 94 00:06:38.800 --> 00:06:45.360 like in that particular city and who are you competing against? So Um, 95 00:06:46.000 --> 00:06:49.399 like Chilan was saying, supplying the man and just looking at every city differently 96 00:06:49.439 --> 00:06:54.319 and how to figure out what strategies to use. So a good question would 97 00:06:54.360 --> 00:06:58.560 be, like how does a driver find out, like what market he's in? 98 00:06:58.800 --> 00:07:01.040 Is he in a difficult market it? Is he in a like an 99 00:07:01.040 --> 00:07:03.639 easy market. Like how did, where does the world, a driver go 100 00:07:03.759 --> 00:07:09.399 to figure this information out? Um, because knowing this information would then help 101 00:07:09.439 --> 00:07:13.519 him determine whether he can ask for higher pay, an onboarding bonus, a 102 00:07:13.959 --> 00:07:15.680 m a ninety day bonus. Right. So, Um, depending on what 103 00:07:15.800 --> 00:07:19.160 marketing and so where would a driver find like this information? That's a great 104 00:07:19.240 --> 00:07:21.920 question. Now, so I'll tell you this. Right. So, all 105 00:07:21.959 --> 00:07:26.879 the job boards and if they are on indeed or you know, facebook jobs 106 00:07:26.879 --> 00:07:29.759 and stuff, there are stats out there that show that, hey, this 107 00:07:29.879 --> 00:07:33.399 is how many jobs are available versus how many applicants. So we are all 108 00:07:33.439 --> 00:07:36.720 the time. What we're doing is educating o our clients and saying, Hey, 109 00:07:36.759 --> 00:07:41.199 this is the job market you're in and specific and this is what your 110 00:07:41.240 --> 00:07:45.240 pay should be. So, Um, we're educating them. But having that 111 00:07:45.480 --> 00:07:49.000 knowledge for a trucker or for you know, employee in general is great to 112 00:07:49.079 --> 00:07:53.560 have. So Um, you should have that in your toolbox, you know, 113 00:07:53.600 --> 00:07:57.399 and I'll be more than happy to talk to Um, talk to people 114 00:07:57.519 --> 00:08:00.560 and talk them through how to get to that. But, like I said, 115 00:08:00.639 --> 00:08:03.639 so indeed. We'll tell you. Okay, you're posting and there's ninety 116 00:08:03.680 --> 00:08:07.319 thousand jobs out there. Where there's only fifteen applicants, so like wow, 117 00:08:07.360 --> 00:08:11.399 okay, one is too flour wow, okay. This is how you understand 118 00:08:11.439 --> 00:08:16.720 and figure out that you're in a tight job market, which will help you 119 00:08:16.839 --> 00:08:20.800 negotiate better. Um, you know, pay better benefits. A lot of 120 00:08:20.800 --> 00:08:24.759 the Times I've seen is it's all about benefits more than the pay. Your 121 00:08:24.759 --> 00:08:28.920 pay is important, but also like having that benefits. So we educate our 122 00:08:28.959 --> 00:08:33.279 clients. You know, we were just able to educate one of our clients 123 00:08:33.320 --> 00:08:35.440 who was in Kentucky and told them, Hey, this is the job marketer 124 00:08:35.720 --> 00:08:39.799 and this is what the pay scale should be. This person did not have 125 00:08:39.840 --> 00:08:43.679 any health benefits, right, like health insurance and so on and so forth. 126 00:08:43.919 --> 00:08:48.559 He just started adding that. So knowing what market you're in will help 127 00:08:48.600 --> 00:08:52.240 you, also from client perspective. We're able to do that, and from 128 00:08:52.360 --> 00:08:54.960 trumper's perspective as well as an employee. Right. So if you're a driver, 129 00:08:56.240 --> 00:08:58.080 you want to know, like your location, your market, because maybe 130 00:08:58.240 --> 00:09:03.279 maybe you're working for company A and their ten mile commute for you and you'd 131 00:09:03.279 --> 00:09:05.360 really want to work for company B that's a one mile commute, right, 132 00:09:05.399 --> 00:09:09.480 like that's important. Fuel as expensive, so you're trying to, but when 133 00:09:09.480 --> 00:09:11.399 you go apply for company B, they may be not paying you or they 134 00:09:11.399 --> 00:09:15.759 don't have the same benefits package. And so knowing what your market like, 135 00:09:15.799 --> 00:09:18.559 what your job market is for your local area, can help you get that 136 00:09:18.919 --> 00:09:24.240 job that's better for you because you live closer or something like that. Um, 137 00:09:24.279 --> 00:09:28.519 and then from there you will get paid the same with similar benefits and 138 00:09:28.600 --> 00:09:31.240 so Um. If you are a driver, make sure you're paying attention to 139 00:09:31.240 --> 00:09:35.159 this, like, Hey, learn your local job market dynamics so then you 140 00:09:35.159 --> 00:09:37.879 can use that information to your advantage. And as a company, like, 141 00:09:39.039 --> 00:09:41.679 learn your local job dynamics to make sure you're not under paying, because then 142 00:09:41.840 --> 00:09:45.360 you're gonna be scratching your head. Why am I paying like? Why do 143 00:09:45.399 --> 00:09:48.399 I why is my turnover so high when you're ten percent under what the job 144 00:09:48.440 --> 00:09:52.159 market in your areas you normally pay? So Um. So really, that's 145 00:09:52.200 --> 00:09:58.799 that's valuable and like like you, like Um, it's it's very important to 146 00:09:58.840 --> 00:10:03.279 know from employers as well as employee. But Um, you know, employers 147 00:10:03.320 --> 00:10:07.519 find that out too late and it's very important to know ahead of time because 148 00:10:07.559 --> 00:10:11.679 when they find out, it's already too late and they're engaging us saying, 149 00:10:11.679 --> 00:10:13.639 Hey, I have to reject all these loads because I can't take them. 150 00:10:13.679 --> 00:10:18.559 I don't have employees. Right. So it's important to educate yourself and keep, 151 00:10:18.879 --> 00:10:24.159 you know, keep educating and understanding what the market and markets keeps on 152 00:10:24.279 --> 00:10:26.960 changing. Right every every six months it's like, oh, something new has 153 00:10:28.000 --> 00:10:33.120 happened and this is what the market is so understanding as an employer is very 154 00:10:33.120 --> 00:10:37.080 important. Right, people are moving, people are moving across state lines all 155 00:10:37.120 --> 00:10:39.559 the time. You don't know, six months there might have been a shortage 156 00:10:39.559 --> 00:10:41.679 of these types of you know, demographics, and now there's not. So 157 00:10:41.759 --> 00:10:45.960 it's like, yeah, you definitely, as both as an employee and as 158 00:10:45.960 --> 00:10:48.559 a company owner, you want to make sure you're paying attention to your local 159 00:10:48.919 --> 00:10:52.799 Um, your local information, so that then you can both both get good 160 00:10:52.840 --> 00:10:56.559 retention and get good customers, provide that service that you you know that customers 161 00:10:56.559 --> 00:11:00.399 want to you, but also, Um, as an employee, you can, 162 00:11:01.039 --> 00:11:03.480 you know, get the best benefits possible exactly. And a lot of 163 00:11:03.519 --> 00:11:07.440 times, like these jobs are mobile. When you think about it, you 164 00:11:07.440 --> 00:11:11.960 know, we we have a client in Kansas City, couldn't find team drivers 165 00:11:13.080 --> 00:11:16.679 right, so what we had to do is get creative and get people from 166 00:11:16.159 --> 00:11:20.639 Florida. You know, Jacksonville Florida, Orlando Florida. We had a couple 167 00:11:20.639 --> 00:11:24.720 of teams. They're ready to go. They flew them out to Kansas City. 168 00:11:24.879 --> 00:11:28.759 Once they get the truck and trailer there, there they can run wild. 169 00:11:28.919 --> 00:11:31.960 Right. They're just running wild for two or three weeks and then they'll 170 00:11:31.279 --> 00:11:35.519 make sure they end them up in Um, you know, their home city 171 00:11:35.519 --> 00:11:39.919 and home states. So it's very important to know those nuances and figure out, 172 00:11:39.960 --> 00:11:43.639 okay, if my market's very tight, what can I do to make 173 00:11:43.720 --> 00:11:48.480 this better? May We may, you know. How do I feel my 174 00:11:48.679 --> 00:11:52.519 roles? By getting creative. What are some of the things that you have 175 00:11:52.600 --> 00:11:54.840 to, you know, think about outside of the box as an employer to 176 00:11:54.960 --> 00:12:00.120 get an employee right? Okay, and so, and this is where you, 177 00:12:00.120 --> 00:12:03.799 you guys, specialize, right. It's you guys help companies like get 178 00:12:03.919 --> 00:12:07.919 drivers in the door quicker. Correct. And do you want to just briefly 179 00:12:07.919 --> 00:12:11.639 go over what does? What does ancel services do? Sure, so, 180 00:12:11.840 --> 00:12:18.120 ancel services basically works with lost mile and Midmile. So that's long haul truckers 181 00:12:18.200 --> 00:12:24.480 and lost minel delivery companies, helping them recruit and then retain talent. So 182 00:12:24.519 --> 00:12:28.679 our our main focus is obviously in recruiting. So once we work with a 183 00:12:28.720 --> 00:12:35.200 company like one, I said, every micro market is different. We customize 184 00:12:35.200 --> 00:12:39.279 advertising strategies based on their requirements, their cities. Sometimes posted a free job 185 00:12:39.320 --> 00:12:43.639 and indeed does the trick. Sometimes it's a couple of thousand dollars on social 186 00:12:43.679 --> 00:12:46.399 media that does the trick. We try to meet the candidates where they spend 187 00:12:46.519 --> 00:12:50.440 most amount of time. That could be snapchat, that could be instagram, 188 00:12:50.039 --> 00:12:54.919 that could be, you know, facebook jobs. And once people apply, 189 00:12:54.399 --> 00:12:58.759 it's kind of just running them through the system. Every company has different requirements, 190 00:13:00.120 --> 00:13:03.399 you know, background checks, drug tests, employment verifications, endorsements. 191 00:13:03.799 --> 00:13:07.879 Uh. So we kind of try to take care of all of debt and, 192 00:13:07.879 --> 00:13:11.440 in the end of the day, present a driver who's completely ready to 193 00:13:11.480 --> 00:13:13.440 go, who's, you know, just needs to get badged and get started. 194 00:13:13.679 --> 00:13:18.639 Okay. So you take just a guy maybe that's never heard of this 195 00:13:18.000 --> 00:13:22.440 of this company. That's your customer, your client. You take that person 196 00:13:22.559 --> 00:13:26.039 and get them prepped completely ready to go for for a badge at to walk 197 00:13:26.039 --> 00:13:31.360 in the door and ready to work. Okay, and and and I could 198 00:13:31.399 --> 00:13:35.600 see how for a company that's struggling to hire drivers right in their in their 199 00:13:35.600 --> 00:13:41.080 local marketplace they're struggling to find. Like that would be exceptionally important because it's 200 00:13:41.080 --> 00:13:43.320 like without drivers, those trucks are moving, not moving, they're just costing 201 00:13:43.360 --> 00:13:46.519 you money. So it's like that's ridiculous, Um, to kind of go 202 00:13:46.639 --> 00:13:50.399 back, Um. And so you said there's a twofold problem. Right. 203 00:13:50.519 --> 00:13:54.480 Number one is, yes, there's definitely a driver shortage, but number two 204 00:13:54.919 --> 00:14:00.559 is there's a retention problem as well, right, whether Um, individuals or 205 00:14:00.679 --> 00:14:03.279 job hopping, which you know it doesn't help when studies come out and say, 206 00:14:03.320 --> 00:14:07.240 like if you switch your job every two years, you'll make more money. 207 00:14:07.279 --> 00:14:09.799 It's like that probably doesn't help. Um. So what do you what 208 00:14:09.840 --> 00:14:13.120 do you see in the retention? What do you see that companies do well, 209 00:14:13.360 --> 00:14:16.600 like what what are? What are those things that a company could do 210 00:14:16.720 --> 00:14:20.519 to increase their attention? So, you know, I've been in line hall 211 00:14:20.679 --> 00:14:24.200 for more than ten years, right. So what I've seen, and when 212 00:14:24.200 --> 00:14:28.679 I was managing a fleet of nineties six trucks and over hundred fifty drivers, 213 00:14:28.759 --> 00:14:33.879 right, hundred twenty of them for CDL indoors and and you know, thirty 214 00:14:33.919 --> 00:14:37.360 of them were bulk truck drivers. But anyway, so what we saw was 215 00:14:37.519 --> 00:14:41.960 we had to create a culture where it was a you know, we were 216 00:14:41.120 --> 00:14:45.799 appreciative of all all the things they were doing. So we would have cookouts, 217 00:14:45.879 --> 00:14:48.039 we would have we would give them free hat, you know, things 218 00:14:48.200 --> 00:14:52.639 that that are small but go along way, and just, you know, 219 00:14:52.759 --> 00:14:58.399 every Wednesday we would just, you know, have a conference area where we're 220 00:14:58.440 --> 00:15:01.639 sitting outside and just top into the drivers and, you know, engaging them, 221 00:15:01.679 --> 00:15:07.000 making sure that they understand everything right from taking from benefits all the way 222 00:15:07.120 --> 00:15:13.320 to, you know, what what they're expected to do. So having those 223 00:15:13.360 --> 00:15:18.279 conversations, engaging them, because what we have seen and what I have feel 224 00:15:18.320 --> 00:15:24.000 like this is more of a managing the people right when you're looking for employees 225 00:15:24.039 --> 00:15:26.559 and how you manage it. If you manage your people well, you're going 226 00:15:26.600 --> 00:15:33.720 to retain them longer. Um, just having that understanding and them having access 227 00:15:33.759 --> 00:15:37.080 to you. So a lot of my drivers had, you know, all 228 00:15:37.320 --> 00:15:39.720 my cell phone number, my personal details if they wanted to reach out to 229 00:15:39.759 --> 00:15:43.159 me. I was a p and D contractor for over two and a half 230 00:15:43.240 --> 00:15:48.600 years and my retention was a lot higher because I had they had access to 231 00:15:48.639 --> 00:15:52.120 me right. I would talk to them, I would go and meet them 232 00:15:52.159 --> 00:15:54.159 if it was a hot day, I would just give them a water bottle, 233 00:15:54.279 --> 00:15:58.639 like cold water bottle and cold gatorade goes a long way. Um. 234 00:15:58.679 --> 00:16:06.039 So doing those small things helps you retain drivers. Obviously, what we have 235 00:16:06.159 --> 00:16:10.919 seen with other customers in the line hall spaces, they're giving, you know, 236 00:16:11.120 --> 00:16:15.159 health care benefits not only to the employees but also to their family members, 237 00:16:15.600 --> 00:16:19.440 UM, making sure they're treating them nicely and fairly. Right. So 238 00:16:19.519 --> 00:16:25.080 we've seen a lot of things they are doing to help retain I always have 239 00:16:25.240 --> 00:16:30.360 this model retention is the best kind of recruiting. You know, if you're 240 00:16:30.399 --> 00:16:34.360 retaining your drivers, you're not going to need recruiting per se. There's always 241 00:16:34.399 --> 00:16:40.759 teams that people turn over because they have life events that happen, but making 242 00:16:40.759 --> 00:16:45.440 sure that you are retaining your drivers, yeah, is the best kind of 243 00:16:45.480 --> 00:16:48.559 recruiting in my view. So just to add a little bit more to that, 244 00:16:51.120 --> 00:16:53.279 basically, I think you know, we've we've had a lot of drivers 245 00:16:53.360 --> 00:16:57.960 who have kind of just shifted laterally. They've moved for similar pay, similar 246 00:16:59.000 --> 00:17:02.000 work, and asked them we're like hey, you know, you were getting 247 00:17:02.039 --> 00:17:03.920 paid the same amount of money. Why do you want to move? And 248 00:17:03.920 --> 00:17:10.119 and the big kind of headline that came out of that servant that we did 249 00:17:10.160 --> 00:17:12.119 on more than a D people is they're like, you know what, my 250 00:17:12.200 --> 00:17:18.680 contractor cheated me or my boss shortened me on my pit and I know a 251 00:17:18.680 --> 00:17:22.000 lot of the people they worked for. I don't think that the you know, 252 00:17:22.039 --> 00:17:23.920 the employer did that, but it's just some sort of a deduction, 253 00:17:25.039 --> 00:17:29.319 some sort of you know, some details which the employee did not care to 254 00:17:29.440 --> 00:17:33.839 understand. But and because he didn't have an open line of communication, that 255 00:17:34.200 --> 00:17:40.400 kind of read misunderstanding. Unfortunately, what we've seen increased exponentially over the last 256 00:17:40.400 --> 00:17:45.720 couple of years. It's sort of a distrust between employees and employers and goes 257 00:17:45.799 --> 00:17:51.680 both ways. But given that you know your candidate, you know your employees, 258 00:17:51.839 --> 00:17:53.720 on the road maybe for a couple of weeks at a time, you 259 00:17:53.720 --> 00:18:00.240 don't get to see him apart from just onboarding him, keeping that communication when 260 00:18:00.880 --> 00:18:04.200 making him feel like he's a valued member of your team, which it is. 261 00:18:04.319 --> 00:18:07.839 I haven't met a single contractor who does not respect his drivers. Like 262 00:18:07.920 --> 00:18:11.599 you said, they need the drivers to run their business, but it's just 263 00:18:11.680 --> 00:18:17.359 getting that point across that seems to be missing, and it's a problem with 264 00:18:17.400 --> 00:18:18.960 scale you know, if you have five drivers, it's easy to do. 265 00:18:19.119 --> 00:18:22.960 Once you start having like a couple of dozen, I understand it's difficult. 266 00:18:23.000 --> 00:18:26.759 It sort of becomes like a full time job, but you know, find 267 00:18:26.799 --> 00:18:30.759 ways just randomly reach out to a driver, you know, check in on 268 00:18:30.759 --> 00:18:37.960 how he's doing. The other thing is make sure when you onboard someone you 269 00:18:37.160 --> 00:18:42.400 document everything. There are too many people I've seen in the industry that don't 270 00:18:42.400 --> 00:18:49.039 give proper documentation and it's you know, it works fine, but that's kind 271 00:18:49.039 --> 00:18:53.319 of what reads to a lot of misunderstandings very often. Uh, you know, 272 00:18:53.359 --> 00:18:57.279 otherwise it's very easy to kind of diffuse any situation by saying, Hey, 273 00:18:57.319 --> 00:19:00.160 go read that paper. You've got to wrong. Just read it again, 274 00:19:00.480 --> 00:19:06.680 you'll understand right. And so it's like, first of all, crystal 275 00:19:06.759 --> 00:19:11.359 clear outlined expectations, right. It's like here you go, like here's this 276 00:19:11.400 --> 00:19:15.160 is what we want you to do, here's how everything works, here's how 277 00:19:15.200 --> 00:19:18.039 all your deductions work, here's every Um you know, here's what an average 278 00:19:18.039 --> 00:19:22.720 settlement would look like and here's what each of these deductions would look like. 279 00:19:22.880 --> 00:19:26.680 Right, so you know what you're getting deducted and then from there have that 280 00:19:26.759 --> 00:19:30.400 open line of like hey, if you ever have any issues, feel free 281 00:19:30.400 --> 00:19:33.799 to shoot me a call directly, um, or maybe there's some kind of 282 00:19:33.839 --> 00:19:37.599 internal software for communication. It's like feel free to reach out on the internal 283 00:19:37.640 --> 00:19:41.119 software communicate with us. Um. But but, like you said, it's 284 00:19:41.559 --> 00:19:45.039 it's challenging, like you know, because I had a company with twenty seven 285 00:19:45.039 --> 00:19:48.240 trucks and it was like, oh my goodness, what do I do? 286 00:19:48.319 --> 00:19:49.720 You know, it was just all the time, constantly, Um, you 287 00:19:49.720 --> 00:19:55.599 know, bombarded with messages and inquiries and uh, and and certainly that can 288 00:19:55.640 --> 00:20:00.359 be resolved with good expectations and onboarding, like training in the beginning, Um 289 00:20:00.440 --> 00:20:02.880 and then, uh, you know, that will reduce that amount. But 290 00:20:03.000 --> 00:20:08.119 certainly having that open line of Communication, UM, is like massively beneficial and 291 00:20:08.279 --> 00:20:11.000 necessary, you know, at this point. Um. And so you're seeing 292 00:20:11.039 --> 00:20:15.799 the companies that do well with retention. They they can really put those two 293 00:20:15.799 --> 00:20:19.319 things in force really well. Correct. Absolutely. I've seen, like you 294 00:20:19.359 --> 00:20:23.319 said, you know, that sample payout letter that hey, this is like 295 00:20:23.359 --> 00:20:27.920 a sample, you know, one week's paycheck and these are the deductions. 296 00:20:29.000 --> 00:20:32.400 Keep it simple, uh. You know a lot of people try to overly 297 00:20:32.519 --> 00:20:36.240 engineer the pay that I'll give you this and then this is your safety bonus 298 00:20:36.240 --> 00:20:38.039 and this is that, which is great. I understand you're trying to align 299 00:20:38.160 --> 00:20:45.880 people to your goals, but it just aids a headache to compute every week. 300 00:20:45.200 --> 00:20:51.400 Be You know, there's just you're just creating uh avenues for misunderstandings. 301 00:20:51.519 --> 00:20:56.039 So right, yeah, some simplicity for sure. Yeah, Um, and 302 00:20:56.240 --> 00:21:00.839 I think that's that's certainly Um, I wouldn't be surprised if the roots of 303 00:21:00.839 --> 00:21:04.839 that are maybe in like the mega carriers, right, because mega carriers certainly 304 00:21:04.839 --> 00:21:11.720 have that overcomplicated settlements. Right. It's like they you know, they just 305 00:21:11.160 --> 00:21:15.200 tons and dozens and dozens of lines and you're like what do each all of 306 00:21:15.200 --> 00:21:18.759 these means? And each line has a minus to it, right, none 307 00:21:18.799 --> 00:21:21.400 of them have a plus, you know, it's like and so you're getting 308 00:21:21.400 --> 00:21:25.279 frustrated, you know, like because a lot of CDL holders, they went 309 00:21:25.359 --> 00:21:27.400 through the megacarriers, right. You got your CDL with the megacarrier more than 310 00:21:27.440 --> 00:21:30.799 likely. So a lot of these drivers are maybe now burned, Um, 311 00:21:30.839 --> 00:21:33.839 from the mega carriers that they may be potentially got a CD L with, 312 00:21:34.000 --> 00:21:37.319 right, and so like that. That makes perfect sense for sure. Like 313 00:21:37.359 --> 00:21:41.920 just keep your settlements straightforward, especially if you're a smaller company, that can 314 00:21:41.960 --> 00:21:44.880 help with your attention. So, Um, that's interesting. Um. But 315 00:21:45.039 --> 00:21:48.079 to go back you, you mentioned you do a little bit of mid range, 316 00:21:48.160 --> 00:21:52.039 like long haul, regional stuff like that, and also last mile or 317 00:21:52.119 --> 00:21:56.000 final mile. Um, talk to me some of the differences between final mile. 318 00:21:56.400 --> 00:21:59.880 First of all, a definition like what is considered final mile. Is 319 00:22:00.079 --> 00:22:03.559 like actually one mile, like last mile? or Or is it something that 320 00:22:03.599 --> 00:22:06.960 brings it to the it's to your door. It's someone that comes to the 321 00:22:07.039 --> 00:22:10.960 end customer. Okay, so that's a package that actually it doesn't go to 322 00:22:11.000 --> 00:22:14.400 the terminal. It actually goes that's the person that delivers it to your door, 323 00:22:14.519 --> 00:22:17.160 right. That is because that is last mile or final mile. Yeah, 324 00:22:17.720 --> 00:22:19.920 he typically picks it out from the terminal and gets it to your door. 325 00:22:21.000 --> 00:22:25.160 Okay. And so any key takeaways or differences between long haul and final 326 00:22:25.200 --> 00:22:30.799 mile? Completely different beasts in a way. So the candidate pool available in 327 00:22:30.880 --> 00:22:33.720 long haul is a lot larger, right. So the requirements a lot slimmer. 328 00:22:34.160 --> 00:22:37.200 Uh, you know, all they need is a dalty physical. UH, 329 00:22:37.359 --> 00:22:41.480 they might need, you know, typically people look for six to twelve 330 00:22:41.480 --> 00:22:45.599 months of commercial driving experience, which includes Uber eats or door dash. So 331 00:22:45.519 --> 00:22:51.480 the availability of talent is a lot more the quality of talent continues to be 332 00:22:51.519 --> 00:22:53.079 an issue. On the other hand, you know, if if you know 333 00:22:53.160 --> 00:22:57.359 someone has a cdl license, you know that you know he's he's it's, 334 00:22:57.160 --> 00:23:00.240 it's it's his career. He's kind of this is he's looking at this as 335 00:23:00.279 --> 00:23:03.079 a career. He's going to make sure his safety is in line. He's 336 00:23:03.079 --> 00:23:07.799 going to make sure he followed the rules. You don't get that same assurance. 337 00:23:07.240 --> 00:23:11.400 Uh and the lost model delivery space, and thus we see a lot 338 00:23:11.440 --> 00:23:14.559 of safety incidents. Is We see a lot of contractors get into a lot 339 00:23:14.559 --> 00:23:21.039 of trouble with safety. You See Insane amount of attrition. So Amazon delivery 340 00:23:21.079 --> 00:23:26.680 drivers turnover on average two percent of week, and two percent a week is 341 00:23:26.720 --> 00:23:30.200 the average. I've seen plenty of people do worse and obviously I've seen a 342 00:23:30.200 --> 00:23:34.079 couple that do better. Two percent a week means you're replacing more than your 343 00:23:34.119 --> 00:23:40.160 whole team every year. The average lost mole delivery company has about thirty thirty 344 00:23:40.200 --> 00:23:45.839 five drivers. So like when you're when you're talking about basically eight percent attrition. 345 00:23:47.960 --> 00:23:53.319 That's you know, it's a fairly challenging situation in that space, equally 346 00:23:53.599 --> 00:23:59.519 different from CDL, but equally challenging from a recruiting perspective. It's almost like 347 00:23:59.559 --> 00:24:04.880 your entire our business isn't actually delivering packages on time, it's just hiring drivers, 348 00:24:04.920 --> 00:24:08.240 like that's your entire business of getting drivers in the door. That's funny, 349 00:24:08.279 --> 00:24:11.519 you said that. So we were, like ronuck mentioned, you know, 350 00:24:11.920 --> 00:24:15.839 we were contractors running, you know, at the time, almost fifty 351 00:24:15.880 --> 00:24:21.359 plus drivers in the lost Mile Space and we were looking to expand that. 352 00:24:22.119 --> 00:24:23.559 And then, you know, when we took a harder look at the problem, 353 00:24:23.839 --> 00:24:26.359 we're like, this is in the logistics problem. This seems to be 354 00:24:26.359 --> 00:24:32.279 a recruited issue and let's solve that first. And doing that is kind of 355 00:24:32.319 --> 00:24:34.480 how, you know, and Sol services came about. And now we work 356 00:24:34.559 --> 00:24:40.720 with like two businesses. We process thousands of candidates every day, uh, 357 00:24:40.799 --> 00:24:42.359 you know, for our clients. And and what markets are you are? 358 00:24:42.359 --> 00:24:47.799 You guys baseded all over the US? We're thirty five states, uh, 359 00:24:48.000 --> 00:24:52.440 you know. Uh, we we're physically based in Houston. A lot of 360 00:24:52.440 --> 00:24:55.559 our teams are distributed. Okay, so you guys work with customers all over 361 00:24:55.559 --> 00:24:57.240 the US. That's that's pretty great, Um, and this is why it's 362 00:24:57.240 --> 00:25:00.680 really interesting, like you know, you, you, you have have that 363 00:25:00.799 --> 00:25:03.960 insight, like to see all the differences and so, Um, that's that's 364 00:25:04.000 --> 00:25:10.400 crazy man like, oh my goodness. Um. But the advantage of probably, 365 00:25:10.440 --> 00:25:12.160 though, and see, and this is where the question that becomes right, 366 00:25:12.160 --> 00:25:17.720 it's like the advantage of last mile would be that you get to see 367 00:25:17.759 --> 00:25:22.000 your drivers every day. And so you would maybe think that, because you 368 00:25:22.000 --> 00:25:23.799 get to see your drivers every day, because you get to see those vehicles, 369 00:25:23.799 --> 00:25:27.000 they're not broken, they're not you know, you can take better maintenance 370 00:25:27.000 --> 00:25:32.480 of them, like you would think that would help with their retention. You 371 00:25:32.519 --> 00:25:34.839 would think that would help with with with a turnover, but it doesn't. 372 00:25:36.279 --> 00:25:38.400 I mean, like, why is that so? What? What is the 373 00:25:38.480 --> 00:25:41.759 issues then, with with last mile, like what? What? Like? 374 00:25:41.839 --> 00:25:45.400 What are why are people not wanting to do it? Is it like you 375 00:25:45.440 --> 00:25:48.000 gotta? Is it? You know, Um, I recently saw like some 376 00:25:48.000 --> 00:25:52.880 some trucks, for some local delivery trucks in Arizona don't even have air conditioning 377 00:25:52.880 --> 00:25:56.079 in them. Like is it just the like the like? Would that be 378 00:25:56.160 --> 00:25:57.799 part of the issue? Like if it's a hundred ten degrees outside in your 379 00:25:57.799 --> 00:26:00.599 truck doesn't have air conditioning, like I wouldn't want to work in that. 380 00:26:00.680 --> 00:26:03.680 You know what I mean. Um. So, like, what are the 381 00:26:03.759 --> 00:26:07.200 issues that? Like, why is the turnover so high in the last mile 382 00:26:07.400 --> 00:26:11.160 when everything is setting up for it to be not high? So I'll tell 383 00:26:11.200 --> 00:26:15.720 you from other experience. Right, every terminal. So they're in fedics contracting 384 00:26:15.799 --> 00:26:19.160 perspective. Right, there's over six hundreds some terminals all over us. Right. 385 00:26:19.240 --> 00:26:23.319 So, uh, you know, every terminal has more than tend to 386 00:26:23.400 --> 00:26:27.960 twelve on average contractors. Over terminal where I was based out of in Austel, 387 00:26:29.039 --> 00:26:32.960 Georgia, there was over twenty five contractors in that same terminal. So 388 00:26:33.599 --> 00:26:37.799 every contractor runs their business differently. Right. So some contractors will see, 389 00:26:37.880 --> 00:26:42.319 like everyone was saying two to five percent a week turnover, right, versus 390 00:26:42.599 --> 00:26:45.880 when, when I first started, I was having that because we had to 391 00:26:47.000 --> 00:26:52.119 change the whole culture in the mindset of drivers. Right. So, understanding, 392 00:26:52.400 --> 00:26:56.599 like there's no blanket answer. Hey, this is why it is right. 393 00:26:56.680 --> 00:27:02.480 Every contractor runs their business completely differently. So some contractors don't even have 394 00:27:02.559 --> 00:27:06.559 a handbook. Right, as simple as help showman was saying, just having 395 00:27:06.599 --> 00:27:10.880 a guideline. Hey, these are your expectations. You get paid every Friday. 396 00:27:10.920 --> 00:27:15.039 This is my way of paying. You will get direct deposited, whatever 397 00:27:15.079 --> 00:27:18.319 the case may be. Not Some, some people don't give their phone number 398 00:27:18.519 --> 00:27:22.200 right too. As an owner, they're like, Oh, I'm above this, 399 00:27:22.319 --> 00:27:25.960 I'm not going to give phone number much to my employees. My first 400 00:27:26.079 --> 00:27:29.599 day I came in, Hey, here's my phone number. This is the 401 00:27:29.880 --> 00:27:33.160 you can call me anytime up to this point. If you there's an emergency 402 00:27:33.200 --> 00:27:36.759 after this point, just give me a text and I'll take a look at 403 00:27:36.799 --> 00:27:41.680 it. Right. So having that same thing right is. You cannot pinpoint 404 00:27:41.880 --> 00:27:48.359 one thing that works for a contractor whereas another doesn't work. So, uh, 405 00:27:48.599 --> 00:27:52.880 it's it's knowing your employees and understanding one at a time to figure out. 406 00:27:53.119 --> 00:27:56.839 So I give this example, and you know I'm going on a different 407 00:27:56.839 --> 00:28:00.279 tangent, but I'll give you an example. I use to volunteer at a 408 00:28:00.359 --> 00:28:06.279 daycare. Right. So the daycare had anywhere from a two year old all 409 00:28:06.319 --> 00:28:08.599 the way to a thirteen year old. So I did not talk to a 410 00:28:08.640 --> 00:28:12.119 two year old the same way I would talk to a thirteen year old. 411 00:28:12.440 --> 00:28:18.839 So it's knowing how to talk to your employees and what are their buttons and 412 00:28:18.880 --> 00:28:25.440 how you can manage that right. So that helps reducing your turnover. Um, 413 00:28:25.559 --> 00:28:27.759 some people are not good at it. Some people need lessons on how 414 00:28:27.799 --> 00:28:33.000 to do that. That will help their retention. Another thing I suggest on 415 00:28:33.160 --> 00:28:38.640 retention side. What happens is when we're on boarding someone right there, there's 416 00:28:38.680 --> 00:28:42.880 like ten steps to get them through the system for Fed X. that's the 417 00:28:44.160 --> 00:28:48.839 that's minimum right, even in last mile. Um. So all in all 418 00:28:48.920 --> 00:28:55.599 there's about fifty things employee goes through when they're getting hired for a company. 419 00:28:55.759 --> 00:28:59.920 That's just average of things they have to do to get hired out of fifth. 420 00:29:00.480 --> 00:29:03.359 If they remember five of those things, that's good right. Ten percent 421 00:29:03.440 --> 00:29:07.559 retention is is what they'll remember when they're on boarding. So it's very important 422 00:29:07.599 --> 00:29:11.000 to have that line of Communication. Yeah, given a handbook is great, 423 00:29:11.400 --> 00:29:15.720 but talking through each point and you don't have to do it all in one 424 00:29:15.799 --> 00:29:18.839 day. You could do it over a couple of weeks or three weeks. 425 00:29:19.079 --> 00:29:22.960 So that first thirty to sixty days are very important when it comes to, 426 00:29:23.200 --> 00:29:26.759 you know, onboarding them and making sure you have that thirty day talk, 427 00:29:27.160 --> 00:29:32.319 Sixty Day talk, Ninety Day talk, uh, to help on the retention 428 00:29:32.359 --> 00:29:34.599 side. So there's no one single answer say hey, I'm better than this 429 00:29:34.640 --> 00:29:37.920 person is or you know, I'm the best at it. You always have 430 00:29:38.000 --> 00:29:42.799 to learn and understand how to talk to your employees. What are their buttons, 431 00:29:44.119 --> 00:29:47.480 and then, on the onboarding side, making sure you're holding their hands 432 00:29:47.640 --> 00:29:52.079 longer Um to help with the retention. Don't be wrong, I totally understand 433 00:29:52.119 --> 00:29:56.039 the like customize your approach to each driver. Totally get it right. Different 434 00:29:56.079 --> 00:30:00.200 people offer it in different ways. So you want to learn the person sin 435 00:30:00.279 --> 00:30:03.160 and then customize your approach to the individual person. Totally get that, but 436 00:30:03.640 --> 00:30:08.279 it still doesn't answer why. Like, why is it that on last mile 437 00:30:08.799 --> 00:30:14.160 like on last mile, why are they why are they struggling? Why is 438 00:30:14.160 --> 00:30:17.960 there like turnovers so high compared to like when they have all of the things? 439 00:30:18.079 --> 00:30:19.680 I thought for sure the last mile would be good. Like is the 440 00:30:19.680 --> 00:30:22.640 page is not enough? is like doing fifteen dollars an hour. I don't 441 00:30:22.640 --> 00:30:25.960 know what the pay is, but like, for assuming it's fifteen dollars an 442 00:30:25.960 --> 00:30:27.720 hour, would that be just not enough for jumping in and out of your 443 00:30:27.720 --> 00:30:30.680 truck and doing a hundred deliveries a day? Like, what are the issues? 444 00:30:32.119 --> 00:30:36.119 So last mile of delivery, contrary to you know, popular belief. 445 00:30:36.160 --> 00:30:40.079 It pays decently. I wouldn't say it pays amazing, but for someone who 446 00:30:40.079 --> 00:30:42.319 may not, you know, have an education, who may not have, 447 00:30:42.720 --> 00:30:49.079 you know, any certifications or something like that, last mile is good, 448 00:30:49.799 --> 00:30:55.279 solid income. It's consistent, there's always a demand, you know all those 449 00:30:55.319 --> 00:30:57.599 things. It's not like an uber eats, which is based on surge and 450 00:30:57.640 --> 00:31:02.240 all of that stuff. So pay well and that's why it attracts a lot 451 00:31:02.279 --> 00:31:06.960 of applicants. But I'll tell you another thing. I've delivered packages. I've 452 00:31:07.000 --> 00:31:08.440 tried that out for a couple of days. It's a tough job. You 453 00:31:08.480 --> 00:31:15.000 know, you mentioned air conditioning. These guys are lugging mattresses, so Fus, 454 00:31:15.400 --> 00:31:19.240 three flows up an apartment without an elevator. They're doing a hundred and 455 00:31:19.279 --> 00:31:23.359 fifty stops. They're driving to rural locations which, you know, don't have 456 00:31:23.440 --> 00:31:29.160 proper roads. UH, they're dealing with you know, they're dealing with dogs, 457 00:31:29.160 --> 00:31:32.480 they're dealing with the weather, they're dealing with, you know, the 458 00:31:32.519 --> 00:31:37.400 elements basically, and all of this and they're getting, you know, pressured 459 00:31:37.759 --> 00:31:42.359 to make certain deliveries because the contractors getting pressure to maintain certain efficiency standards. 460 00:31:42.839 --> 00:31:47.359 So it's stuff on the body. There's no two ways about it. It's 461 00:31:47.400 --> 00:31:52.599 a tough job. Ah. The second thing is it's again it's the demographic 462 00:31:52.599 --> 00:31:56.160 in the candidate poll, because it's so easy to get in. Not Enough 463 00:31:56.200 --> 00:32:00.240 people think of it as a career. And again, I think this is 464 00:32:00.279 --> 00:32:02.319 also a little bit of the last two years. Maybe you've had this, 465 00:32:02.480 --> 00:32:07.559 you know, completely lopsided labor market. Everyone just has so many opportunities. 466 00:32:08.480 --> 00:32:13.920 Uh. That and and the average age of a lost amount of delivery drivers 467 00:32:13.960 --> 00:32:16.319 basically between twenty five and thirty five. At that age, a lot of 468 00:32:16.359 --> 00:32:21.759 people just maybe not that serious and thus they're, you know, they're bouncing 469 00:32:21.759 --> 00:32:25.200 around, trying different things because the options are available. They can walk down 470 00:32:25.200 --> 00:32:29.759 the street and get a job that pays similar amounts of money. Uh, 471 00:32:29.799 --> 00:32:34.000 you know when they get tired of this. So it's it's definitely a difficult 472 00:32:34.079 --> 00:32:38.359 job and that does play the attrition. I also think it's the demographics, 473 00:32:38.400 --> 00:32:43.839 just because they're younger, not that career oriented at that age. Right when 474 00:32:43.880 --> 00:32:45.400 you're when you're in your forties, you know you're a little bit more serious 475 00:32:45.400 --> 00:32:49.400 about what do you want to do the next five seven years? Because at 476 00:32:49.400 --> 00:32:52.400 the end of the day, you like at forty, you're probably been thinking 477 00:32:52.400 --> 00:32:54.799 about like, well, I'm I'm gonna Retire in Fifteen, twenty years. 478 00:32:54.839 --> 00:32:59.599 You know, it's like I probably should start saving up rather quickly, because 479 00:32:59.640 --> 00:33:01.400 it's like then I'm not gonna have much to live off of when I'm retired. 480 00:33:01.480 --> 00:33:05.799 So and at you're like, dude, I got the whole life, 481 00:33:05.799 --> 00:33:07.960 I have my whole life ahead of me. You know what I mean? 482 00:33:07.039 --> 00:33:10.519 It's like, Um, yeah, and you know, it's it's like like 483 00:33:10.720 --> 00:33:14.720 look at me. You know, it's like I went from trucking to being 484 00:33:14.720 --> 00:33:16.119 a podcast, you know editor, you know, and it's like I learned 485 00:33:16.119 --> 00:33:20.400 while to like editing, Um, you know, whild, like not while 486 00:33:20.440 --> 00:33:22.839 I was driving, but I learned it while I was parked and whatnot, 487 00:33:22.880 --> 00:33:24.759 and just because I was bored. And it's like it's amazing that. Yeah, 488 00:33:24.799 --> 00:33:30.079 you could make similar, if not more money doing something from home, 489 00:33:30.480 --> 00:33:34.599 like digitally, Um, instead of having to drive day in and day out 490 00:33:34.599 --> 00:33:38.799 and deliver packages. So, Um, it makes sense that people are constantly 491 00:33:38.839 --> 00:33:44.240 searching, Um, but that just makes it challenging for the companies when, 492 00:33:44.559 --> 00:33:46.039 at the end of the day, you know, it's like I order on 493 00:33:46.079 --> 00:33:50.000 Amazon, I want my packages in a day or two, you know. 494 00:33:50.079 --> 00:33:54.079 So it's like the demand is ever increasing, Um, and so it's like 495 00:33:54.839 --> 00:33:58.519 it's gonna be a tough balance, which, you know, kind of leads 496 00:33:58.559 --> 00:34:01.880 me like where do you? I see with Um, you know, automation 497 00:34:02.000 --> 00:34:06.680 or self driving trucks, like, like do you guys have any insight into 498 00:34:06.680 --> 00:34:09.320 that and like how does your like will your business model take that into account 499 00:34:09.760 --> 00:34:13.800 too as well, like what happens within the next five to seven years they 500 00:34:13.800 --> 00:34:15.639 start putting those on the road? Like, what do you do there? 501 00:34:15.039 --> 00:34:19.079 So we had a lot of conversations on that, uh, and and that 502 00:34:19.079 --> 00:34:22.639 that is something that we're off. So again, two different segments. In 503 00:34:22.719 --> 00:34:29.480 terms of lost model delivery, I'm not that worried. I feel the depth 504 00:34:29.559 --> 00:34:31.840 of the market and what's opening up in terms of lost mile. So, 505 00:34:31.880 --> 00:34:35.639 you know, when we think of Lost Mile, we think of, you 506 00:34:35.639 --> 00:34:38.239 know, packages, we think of Amazon Fedex and ups, which is there, 507 00:34:38.599 --> 00:34:42.960 but they're probably less than the market. You know, you look at 508 00:34:43.199 --> 00:34:49.639 food delivery, grosserly delivery, cannabis delivery has become massive these days. Basically 509 00:34:49.800 --> 00:34:53.360 everything is getting delivered to you by either a, you know, a w 510 00:34:53.480 --> 00:34:59.119 two worker or a ten ninety nine flex worker. Uh, you know best 511 00:34:59.199 --> 00:35:02.559 by wall more. They're all now using their own delivery fleet in a way. 512 00:35:04.039 --> 00:35:06.719 Uh. You know, you order on the apple website, you pay 513 00:35:06.840 --> 00:35:09.920 nine dollars, you'll get your iphone today and that's that's not being delivered by 514 00:35:09.920 --> 00:35:14.880 Fed egg. That's someone driving their own car going to the Apple Store and 515 00:35:14.920 --> 00:35:16.320 picking things up and delivering to you. So, you know, that's a 516 00:35:16.320 --> 00:35:21.960 segment where maybe we're not too worried for the next five to ten years. 517 00:35:22.320 --> 00:35:25.360 I mean, and the depth of the market is insane in long haul trucking. 518 00:35:25.719 --> 00:35:30.159 I do feel that there will be some disruption. I don't know if 519 00:35:30.159 --> 00:35:34.800 we will replace the driver. It might increase their efficiency, maybe the hours 520 00:35:34.840 --> 00:35:37.119 of service will get elongated or something of that sort, because you know, 521 00:35:37.320 --> 00:35:42.840 self driving would make them just more efficient, they'd be less tired, uh, 522 00:35:42.920 --> 00:35:46.559 and you know that that would be a welcome change. It would help 523 00:35:46.760 --> 00:35:51.800 make this whole process more efficient, make quality of life better for a driver. 524 00:35:52.519 --> 00:35:57.320 It will make quality of life better for the owner. Uh. But 525 00:35:57.440 --> 00:36:00.239 yes, I do. I do think we're, you know, still some 526 00:36:00.400 --> 00:36:05.360 time away. It's just not the technology of self driving, it's the charge 527 00:36:05.400 --> 00:36:07.760 in infrastructure and a whole lot of other things that I guess need to build 528 00:36:07.840 --> 00:36:14.079 up and, you know, we maybe and and we'd obviously have to innovate 529 00:36:14.199 --> 00:36:19.000 and evolve with the changing dynamics. Um, but yeah, that's definitely something 530 00:36:19.039 --> 00:36:22.079 that we talked about. We're gonna bring back full service, uh fuel stops, 531 00:36:22.199 --> 00:36:29.079 you know, where they actually pump your fuel for you. Uh So, 532 00:36:29.599 --> 00:36:31.800 uh right, and and and that that sounds about right. You know. 533 00:36:31.840 --> 00:36:36.039 It's like, Um, the first thing it'll do is more than likely 534 00:36:36.079 --> 00:36:37.760 make it more efficient, which is Um, you know, it's like, 535 00:36:38.159 --> 00:36:42.159 and that's a good example of like hey, maybe instead of eleven hours, 536 00:36:42.199 --> 00:36:45.840 you can now do thirteen, because two of those hours you're really not doing 537 00:36:45.920 --> 00:36:47.679 much, you know, during the day, because the truck is almost driving 538 00:36:47.719 --> 00:36:51.599 itself. So, Um, that that's interesting. So it's gonna be, 539 00:36:52.000 --> 00:36:55.960 it's it's gonna be. It's gonna be really like you want to pay attention 540 00:36:57.000 --> 00:37:00.559 to it because you don't know exactly how the market like, how the industry 541 00:37:00.559 --> 00:37:04.480 will change, right, how the trucking industry will welcome that feature, and 542 00:37:04.480 --> 00:37:07.800 whether it's through, you know, new law, like adjustments in the laws, 543 00:37:07.199 --> 00:37:10.280 Um, whether it's like the the Co pilot program where, like one 544 00:37:10.320 --> 00:37:14.880 truck follows like an actual driver drives the front truck, but the other truck 545 00:37:14.960 --> 00:37:17.400 the guy is sleeping and it's just being it's just following the truck in front. 546 00:37:17.440 --> 00:37:21.280 So that's I think it's a CO pilot program so, Um, depending 547 00:37:21.320 --> 00:37:23.480 on how the industry adapts to that, it's gonna be really interesting. But 548 00:37:23.800 --> 00:37:30.239 Um man, that's uh, it's it's it's always really interesting having, you 549 00:37:30.280 --> 00:37:32.880 know, like you guys guests on the podcast, like you guys. Um, 550 00:37:32.920 --> 00:37:37.519 you know that really have like wide like knowledge base across the whole industry, 551 00:37:37.599 --> 00:37:40.280 both because you guys had your own companies and you were driving, like 552 00:37:40.360 --> 00:37:44.360 you guys drove, drove, you know, P and D and trucks, 553 00:37:44.480 --> 00:37:46.159 right. So you just have your cdls? Or No, no, I 554 00:37:46.199 --> 00:37:51.440 don't have a C but I have driven on in your own right. So 555 00:37:52.199 --> 00:37:54.480 I had a team of yard hustler spotters, right, just spotting. So 556 00:37:54.719 --> 00:37:58.920 I had to do all that. So, anyways, I have done it, 557 00:37:59.719 --> 00:38:05.119 not on the road, though, the PND. Thirty five trucks and 558 00:38:05.199 --> 00:38:07.039 you know, like show them. Said, we had at a time, 559 00:38:07.400 --> 00:38:09.119 you know, in peak, we had over fifty drivers on the road at 560 00:38:09.119 --> 00:38:15.400 a time. So, Um, and and that that is tough, right. 561 00:38:15.559 --> 00:38:17.800 Having that thirty five, I'll give you that example, and trying to 562 00:38:19.000 --> 00:38:22.559 like go in full circle when it comes to retention. Is when you have 563 00:38:22.679 --> 00:38:27.559 thirty five trucks and, you know, overt fifty employees, it's hard to 564 00:38:27.639 --> 00:38:30.559 slow it down when people come in initially. You've got to try to slow 565 00:38:30.599 --> 00:38:36.159 it down for everybody, Um, so you're not sending him out with half 566 00:38:36.639 --> 00:38:42.519 you know Um look not having enough um training when it comes down to it. 567 00:38:42.639 --> 00:38:45.000 So trying to slow it down will help as well, which you can't 568 00:38:45.039 --> 00:38:47.880 do that in pnd, which is last model, right, so you can't 569 00:38:47.880 --> 00:38:52.920 do that. Unfortunately. When I first started, you know, I didn't 570 00:38:52.920 --> 00:38:55.320 think it was gonna be so fast paced, but it's very fast paced and 571 00:38:55.400 --> 00:39:00.039 it's always calling people. You know, are adding more stops, take in 572 00:39:00.119 --> 00:39:02.599 more stops. All you have to learn the scanner, so on and so 573 00:39:02.800 --> 00:39:07.000 forth. So there's a lot to take in. Um and, you know, 574 00:39:07.320 --> 00:39:12.519 drivers and contractors and all all of them. Feel like you're drinking from 575 00:39:12.559 --> 00:39:17.079 the fire hose and it's very tough, right. I I totally agree. 576 00:39:17.079 --> 00:39:21.840 It's like when I when I first started on boarding drivers, it was like 577 00:39:21.960 --> 00:39:25.400 it took forever. It's like we're doing a manual email process. It takes 578 00:39:25.400 --> 00:39:29.760 a month and you're like going back and forth all the time, and then 579 00:39:29.760 --> 00:39:31.239 you're like man, I could fix this with some technology, and so then 580 00:39:31.239 --> 00:39:35.360 you fix that and then onboarding goes down to a week, right, and 581 00:39:35.360 --> 00:39:37.840 you're like Oh, this is great, and then you fix it some more 582 00:39:37.039 --> 00:39:40.239 and you put people in place to double check everything, and then onboarding goes 583 00:39:40.239 --> 00:39:45.400 onto a day and you're like wait, I can onboard a guy in a 584 00:39:45.519 --> 00:39:47.559 day. And sure enough, like I started to grow really quickly, but 585 00:39:47.599 --> 00:39:52.800 then I realized my quality was terrible, right. It was just terrible. 586 00:39:52.039 --> 00:39:55.079 Like I like guys, didn't even know, like Hey, Alex, why 587 00:39:55.079 --> 00:39:59.239 did I get this deduction? Like I had all of these all these struggles, 588 00:39:59.239 --> 00:40:00.880 like why? Why? How do you guys handle this situation? What 589 00:40:00.920 --> 00:40:04.239 am I supposed to do here? I don't know how to secure this. 590 00:40:04.280 --> 00:40:07.559 I don't know where I'm supposed to go next. I'm not getting into communication 591 00:40:07.639 --> 00:40:10.280 and I'm waking up to the four or five am call because I'm maybe on 592 00:40:10.320 --> 00:40:14.039 the on the West Coast and the guy is eight am on the east coast, 593 00:40:14.039 --> 00:40:16.119 and so he like and and like yeah, it's it's one of those 594 00:40:16.159 --> 00:40:20.000 things. So, Um, you guys are doing you guys are doing really 595 00:40:20.039 --> 00:40:22.159 good work. so that's that's fantastic. Um. So, if if you're 596 00:40:22.159 --> 00:40:25.519 watching this podcast and you're enjoying the show, absolutely leave us review. Um, 597 00:40:25.559 --> 00:40:29.559 we appreciate those a lot. But, Um, where can people find 598 00:40:29.559 --> 00:40:31.280 your company to discuss you? Like, what's the best way to reach out 599 00:40:31.280 --> 00:40:36.000 to you? So you could go on a website, www dot and style 600 00:40:36.480 --> 00:40:39.199 and c I. L. E. Dot Services, and you know that 601 00:40:39.199 --> 00:40:42.639 that's maybe the best way to start. Okay, cool. So I will 602 00:40:42.679 --> 00:40:45.960 make sure to leave your information description below. Guys, I appreciate you coming 603 00:40:46.000 --> 00:40:50.159 on. Thank you so much and we'll talk. You know, we'll talk 604 00:40:50.199 --> 00:40:52.280 again soon and we'll just, you know, see where where the truck industry 605 00:40:52.280 --> 00:40:52.800 goes from here.