Author: T. Ellis

Customers are the lifeblood of any business. They are the reason we all have jobs and they require and deserve our full attention and efforts. The key to stability in any company, but especially in the trucking industry, is customer diversity. The saying “don’t put all your eggs in one basket” is fitting here.  If the bulk of your operations rely on one or two large customers, losing one can cripple a company. We’ve seen this happen to other carriers. That’s why we must focus on not just gaining customers, but keeping them by providing excellent customer care.

Customer service entails helping customers by providing the information they need and want when they need it and troubleshooting any issues with products or services. Customer care goes beyond this by ensuring customer issues are resolved while supporting their emotional needs and giving them a sense of connection and positivity with the company. Customer care is the responsibility of everyone in the company, not just the customer service representatives. Here are a few reasons why providing excellent customer care is so important.

Improves Brand Reputation – think about it, how often do you write reviews for products or services you’ve used? When you do, are you more likely to write a review when you’ve had a bad experience or a good experience? In general, more people are eager to leave negative reviews than positive ones because negative experiences generate more emotion and you want to express that in a way you know how. But when things go well, you just expect that’s how a transaction should go and leave it alone. Only when a product or service is exceptional do most people leave a glowing review, but those are the ones that stand out and lead to good Brand Reputation and loyalty. Your demeanor and efficiency in resolving problems helps build trust and your reputation. Build an experience that sets you apart from other providers. Having a good reputation also helps you attract new customers.

Strengthens Customer Trust – it’s the companies that go above and beyond that build trust. When you’re treated like your opinions matter and are given the time to explain any issues, that’s when you are more willing to trust the company and patronize them again.

Reduces Company Abandonment – how often do you look at reviews before choosing a product or service company? Most people take negative reviews seriously and providing a good overall customer experience reduces the amount of people who will disregard your company when making purchase decisions. Learn how to appreciate and handle negative feedback, respond in a constructive way, apologizing and providing solutions to prevent issues in the future. Customers will drop companies that provide negative experiences and studies show it doesn’t take too many of those experiences before they look for another provider.

How to Implement Good Customer Care:

• Make customer satisfaction a part of the company culture and ensure employees are trained to provide great service.
• Monitor your customers (our customers send metrics related to on-time pu/del., etc); use this information to pinpoint areas to improve.
• Anticipate customers’ needs and implement proactive problem solving. It’s always better to fix a problem before it becomes a major issue. And it’s always better to notice it and work toward resolution before the customer does.
• Reward customer loyalty. In our case, it would be helping them out with expedited or last-minute requests to help them service their vendors/customers.
• Personalize the relationship. Get to know your customers individually, learn how they want to do business and tailor your customer care to their needs and preferences. Some are more hands-on and want more personal interaction, and others prefer more efficient and brief interactions.

While we in the office handle most of the direct customer contact, as drivers, you are the face of the company every time you make a pickup or delivery. You can provide great customer care by embodying MK’s core values. Maintain a helpful nature while exhibiting friendliness, empathy, and a willingness to help whenever needed. We frequently get calls and emails from shippers and receivers complimenting our drivers on their helpful demeanor and friendliness and we are always proud to receive those messages. Please remember that a great attitude and hard work for our customers is what keeps us in business and if you encounter issues, reach out to the office team to help resolve them.

Think back to a place you’ve worked where everyone got along and everyone agreed about how everything should be done. Of course, you won’t be able to come up with any such place as it doesn’t exist. Even the most high-functioning and affable teams experience conflict, and that conflict is necessary for growth and improvement. When team members keep concerns, ideas, and issues to themselves, the workplace becomes stagnant. Companies benefit from having team members with a diverse set of skills who can think independently and bring different viewpoints to the table; it helps disrupt groupthink and foster creativity, allowing for better problem-solving capabilities.

Effective conflict resolution results in building trust, promoting open communication, and reaching compromise. The goal is to improve work processes in a way that results in solutions that are advantageous for all parties. Here are some guidelines for using conflict to your team’s advantage.

Always make constructive conflict the goal, as opposed to destructive conflict.

Constructive conflict involves a focus on mutual understanding and solutions. It aims to build understanding through open and honest communication and a resolving of disagreements through mutually beneficial outcomes. It is solutions-oriented and focuses on facts and resolutions. When everyone feels that their ideas have been considered and addressed, it results in a win-win situation. This takes flexibility and creativity, requiring each team member to put the needs of the team above their own, which is not always easy.

Destructive conflict is characterized by personal attacks, frustration, a lack of open communication and a focus on “winning” instead of bettering the team. Results of destructive conflict can include anger, bitterness, or lingering resentment.

When you embrace constructive conflict instead of avoiding conflict altogether, you make more balanced and informed decisions and encourage idea generation and innovative thinking. Being able to see a problem from different angles helps to generate unique solutions to problems.

Open Communication Builds Trust

Trust among team members is built when they are transparent and there is an open forum for the sharing of ideas and opinions. This involves having a mutual respect for the skills of others, a focus on the merits of their ideas and an acknowledgement and appreciation for each team member’s contributions. Open communication requires using specific, detailed language as opposed to vague language or generalizations. Brainstorming, collaboration, and finding a common ground/goal all result in positive growth.

Being a fairly “solo” profession, truck driving doesn’t always include frequent team interactions, but you are part of a team in the sense that you are relying on others in the organization to do their jobs so you can do yours. When your job relies on others, conflicts do arise, even when you’re not directly interacting. Further, you must interact with your driver managers, maintenance personnel and others. This is why it’s so important for team leaders to stress an open work environment for the flow of ideas. Silent resentment helps no one and leads to decreased team performance.

Always remember that MK is here to succeed and in order to do that, all members of a team must be able to work toward that common goal. With that in mind, if you are ever in a situation you feel needs addressed, please reach out to your Driver Manager or Supervisor. We are here to help resolve problems and improve.

If you want to know the secret to success, here it is: hard work and self-discipline. If it was easy to succeed, everyone would do it. Contrary to what some may think, people don’t become successful by accident. You don’t have a great career by chance, or a stroke of good luck or even an innate ability. While having good luck and talent may help, they are the exception, not the rule. Here we will go over some of the ways you can create and build upon a culture of hard work that will have an impact on your professional life as well as your personal life.

Why Hard Work Matters:

It builds discipline and focus. Self-discipline can be defined as having control over your emotions and behavior, but it also includes control over your impulses, energy, time, and health. This is not something you gain overnight; it takes practice. You have to make self-discipline a habit. Set goals, make a plan, repeat.

It creates opportunities. Working hard toward your future success means we must focus on long-term fulfillment of our goals. This means we’ll often have to forgo the instant gratification that has become so commonplace in today’s world. When you build a reputation as a hard, disciplined worker, you open yourself up to new possibilities as your employer will see your potential.

If you’re not the kind of person who is inherently motivated, it’s ok. Most people have to learn how to be disciplined workers. Here are some ways to make small changes to increase your productivity without being overwhelmed. Making the effort now will almost assuredly bring later success.

• Create a plan. Know what goals you want to achieve and figure out how to achieve them, then stick to that plan. We’re going to fail at things; it’s in our nature. Thomas Edison said, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” Persistence is the key to success.
• Identify the areas where you struggle: Are you someone who has trouble finishing what you start? Do you talk yourself out of making changes for fear of failure or difficulty? Figure out what is holding you back and figure out a plan to overcome those challenges.
• Write things down and set reminders. How many times have you known that you had something you were supposed to do and you don’t remember it so you just do nothing instead? When you’re starting a new routine, it’s not yet a habit; being organized can help you from getting distracted.
• Set small, achievable goals: Small, regular wins will help keep you motivated and those successes will gradually build to something greater.
• Learn from failures and setbacks. See the opportunity in failure, find a different way forward, and try again.
• Find a support network. There are always people out there who can help you: your coworkers, friends, mentors. Find someone who has achieved what you strive to and pick their brain.

Now that we’ve explored the potential of hard work and discipline and how to achieve it, let’s briefly explore the antithesis to success: laziness. Laziness at work can manifest in the following ways.

Consistent Tardiness and Absenteeism – Frequently calling in sick or for other dubious reasons shows a lack of commitment to your work. It sends a message to your employer that being reliable is not important to you.

Lack of Proactivity and Initiative – This includes inaction or waiting to be told what to do instead of working to find solutions to problems. Adaptability and problem-solving puts you on a higher level.

Making Excuses and Shifting the Blame – Not accepting responsibility for failures and blaming coworkers or external factors.

Minimal Effort/Output and Avoidance of Additional Responsibilities – Poor quality of work, frequent mistakes, a lack of effort and performing at the “bare minimum.” Just getting by with no attempt to go above and beyond or help others to complete tasks. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Always remember that everyone else in the organization is pulled down if you don’t pull your weight.

Excessive Breaks and Wasted Time – Poor management skills and a lack of motivation can be a couple of reasons for this. Another could be a lack of regard for the well-being of your employer. Keep in mind that if the company isn’t doing well financially, they many not have a need for you.

Hard work and discipline are integral to your personal success as well as the success of the company. Your achievements help you build skills, self-confidence, and resilience. Hard workers have a greater sense of pride and personal responsibility and have greater potential for self-improvement. MK is always here to help you achieve your career goals.

We were informed that we are dropping trailers in the wrong location. Some of our trailers were dropped in their driveway, which only allowed space for one truck to enter or exit at a time. Please be mindful of where you drop trailers to avoid blocking access. GP has advised that if the lot is full, you should check with the jockey for instructions—trailers may need to be placed in alternate lots.

I think most people have the general belief that they behave professionally in the workplace. After all, why would anyone consciously choose to behave poorly? Many people try to self-correct if they notice themselves doing something unprofessional. But people are often not aware of their own destructive behaviors. As they say, sunlight is the best disinfectant, so let’s shine a light on some of those traits and behaviors that are destructive and unprofessional in the workplace.

Anger/Abrasiveness

• We all deal with frustrations at work sometimes; it’s unavoidable. What is avoidable is letting those frustrations and anger get out of control. Exhibiting poor emotional control harms your professional reputation and lowers team morale by making you difficult to work with. When stressful situations arise, take a break and calm down before reacting. Always react with your brain, not your emotions.
• Anger on the road can be expressed as Road Rage and leads to incredibly dangerous situations that can result in major injury or death. There are unsafe, terrible drivers all over the road. One of the downsides of being a professional driver is being in the thick of it. Always resist the urge to retaliate or drive unsafely in turn.

Insubordination

• This includes disobedience of orders from superiors and a refusal to do assigned tasks for no legitimate reason. It also includes ignoring safety rules and hours of service and compliance regulation. Ignoring calls from managers and then pleading ignorance is not acceptable.

Unreliability/Poor Work Ethic

• This is perhaps one of the most obvious signs of a lack of professionalism. Showing up late shows poor time-management skills and a lack of respect for others’ time. Being on time and working hard is one of the most fundamental indications of professionalism.
• Avoid taking shortcuts. Taking shortcuts in trucking can be a major safety issue. Always do thorough pre and post trips and ensure your rig is not a danger to you or anyone else on the road. Get out and look at shippers and receivers. Plan your trip in advance. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Bad Attitude/Negativity/Disrespect/Rudeness

• Displaying these traits makes you seem combative and indicates to coworkers that you are not a team player. Never bully, mistreat, or threaten your coworkers or customers. Marvin Keller takes a hard red line with this behavior and it will not be tolerated.

Neglecting Personal Hygiene/Dressing Inappropriately

• Let’s face it: no one takes seriously the person who wears dirty, torn clothes or smells like they haven’t showered in a week. It’s exudes a lack of respect for those around you as well as customers, shippers, receivers, and your employer.

Refusing to Take Responsibility

• Professionals take responsibility for both successes and failures. When you don’t take responsibility you appear unwilling to learn and grow. Furthermore, attempting to transfer blame for mistakes to others diminishes your credibility. Everyone makes mistakes; professionals use them as a learning opportunity.

Dishonesty

• Being honest and transparent is what builds trust. Even lying about small things or exaggerating a situation can affect your reputation and your employer and coworkers will be distrustful of you. Honesty is the only policy in a professional organization.

Highlighting and enforcing professional behavior within an organization begins with clearly-articulated expectations. On our website is the MK Employee Handbook where our expectations and requirements are laid out. The link is included below. Feel free to reach out to your manager with any questions or concerns.