What Exactly Is A High Performer?????

Hi,

Listening to Brett's podcast. Several times he mentions that bitter drivers that make company complaint videos on You Tube are at the bottom of the pond basically and complaining when they themselves are to blame. They are low performers. So as someone who's never driven professionally, I would like to ask what exactly is a high performer??? I assume you can't always get everything delivered on time? you can't help someone cutting you off and clipping them because they are distracted. So I'm really wondering what he means by this??

Thank You

It means being at the top of your game and always taking care of your rig and getting repairs done

Never being late other than to weather or road closures that were unforeseen.. Things like that.

It means taking a 10 hour break and heading out ASAP to get it done

It means being so reliable that you call customers to move appointments up, will sleep at customers if need be, and become the dispatcher's "go to" person.

It means making good decisions constantly whether shutdown for wind etc or changing routes to avoid accidents or weather

It means conserving fuel or doing whatever your company or dispatcher needs done

It means helping others and being so damn good other fleet managers want you as their driver.

It means taking care of everything without having to bother dispatch unless necessary. My FM says I worry too much but I worry so he doesnt have to. When you CYA for you and dispatch, they trust you and reward you with much respect and special privileges others dont get.

It means time management to be available with your clocks as much as possible

It means saying "I can do it" when others complain or can't.

In December I will have 5 years on time deliver and be given a 4th diamond to add in my gold Prime ring. In March i will hit 5 years of accident free driving.

This week I rank #2 in net fuel costs of my fleet of 94 trucks and 96 for all of Primes reefer division about 5600 trucks. In the past 8 weeks I rank #2 on my fleet and 206 of all of Prime reefer.

Three drivers nominated me as "Highway Diamond of the year" which is basically the best female driver.

About 4 times a year I get "Top driver of my fleet award" of the 94 teucks under my dispatcher.

Oh.. Also my dispatcher laughs knowing if I get inspected by DOT my rig will pass and Prime gives me $25. He thinks im so greedy I want to be inspected lol

Kearsey totally nailed it. What an awesome rundown.

Old School, another one of our awesome moderators and an incredibly motivated driver, wrote an article about this called What It Takes To Be A Top Tier Driver. Some of the major points he makes are:

• Always Be On Time
• Never Complain
• Take The Loads That No One Else Wants
• Know How To Manage Your Time Efficiently
• Be Easy To Work With

He goes into greater detail in the article. Here are two more great articles:

Top Tier Truck Drivers Operate Like Great Business Owners - Old School

Why Some Drivers Are Treated Better Than Others - Kearsey

One of the major differences between trucking and most jobs is that truck drivers must manage so much of their environment. At most jobs, you're in a highly controlled environment and most of the details are not under your control. You punch a clock when you're told to and you do your job as you're told to. Most of the decisions are made for you.

In trucking, you make a lot more decisions yourself. You manage your own schedule, you track the weather, you inspect the truck to make sure it's safe, you're responsible for monitoring traffic, you must communicate your situation well with dispatch so your company knows your circumstances and can plan ahead, you determine whether the conditions are safe for driving, etc.

There is way more responsibility and pressure on a truck driver than in most jobs. There is also a fantastic opportunity to make top dollar. You're being paid by the mile, so those who are most efficient with their time and have the highest level of motivation can launch themselves to the top of the pay scale.

I would say a high performing driver is one that will not be late for a pickup or delivery, unless weather or breakdown occur, when it is physically possible to be on time. That is not always possible. I have had 1:00pm drops and 11:00am drops the same day, that does not work. When you have those the good drivers will get on the phone if needed to line things up to keep moving. Also most but not all accidents, even the ones that are not your fault can easily be avoided without causing you any delay just by smart driving. Also getting to know the people at the places where you pickup and deliver is very helpful and will get you in and out of a place quicker at times and always more pleasantly.

Every company does things a bit different. Learn the way your company wants it done. Dispatchers and others you meet at your company should know you get the job done and you are a pleasant person.

Be safe and on time. Learning your customers helps you know what to expect when you get there.

Improving your skills helps you become a better driver. As you get better backing, you get into doors and parking spots faster.

HOS rules are about to have some changes. Do you want to run recaps, split sleepers or run out your 70 and take a 34?

For example, I almost always get what I want, usually without asking. My FM knows I get the job done, that I communicate any issues that may arise. I get it done and get it done right.

There are people that love to complain. Those are the people who have a hard time out here.

It is not hard to be a top tier driver. It just takes work.

Good luck.

Set goals for yourself.

My goal for this quarter (July-September) at Crete was 34,000 dispatched miles. I had 18 days either off or not driving, including eight consecutive days off two weeks ago.

I still reached my goal, and will see the quarterly bonus because of it. Miles = $$$.

Next quarter my goal is 36,000 miles.

All of that makes sense, basically stay humble and be nice to everyone. But how exactly do you work the clock and manage time? routes have so many miles, cities have traffic etc etc. I would like to understand better. Thank you so much!

I think top performer can have different meanings. For me I think it relies a lot on time management. Deliver early, get that load off as quickly as possible. Finding your own “safe” routes to reduce miles and or time. Conserving hours to be able to get the good loads.

All of that makes sense, basically stay humble and be nice to everyone. But how exactly do you work the clock and manage time? routes have so many miles, cities have traffic etc etc. I would like to understand better. Thank you so much!

Time management is best learned when you do it. Get everywhere early.... Even a day early if you can. Try to always have hours after you get unloaded to set you up for the next load. Realize this is 24/7. Some of us like reefer run day and night. There is no "clock flipping" because we dont have normal schedules. Others can run mostly days or mostly nights.

Use on duty time legally but sparingly. Dont sit for 2 hours on duty for no reason because that on duty is part of your drive time for the week. Every unjustified hour on duty takes money out of your pocket.