Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/734262
34 | Overdrive | October 2016 KEEPING THE 'FAMILY' HAPPY that rate is collected from the customer. Other fleets interviewed for this story have similar policies. Augusta, Ga.-based Cadle Trucking maintains such a system for its six driv- ers. Owner-operator Ben Cadle also has instituted within the last year a weekly minimum guarantee to cover drivers during slow periods for flatbed freight in his operation as an agent for Bennett Motor Express. Instituted about a year ago when flat freight slowed down con- siderably, the policy guarantees $850 a week plus vacation and holiday pay, among other perks, Cadle says. He's had two drivers for seven years each. He hopes the new policy delivers a reality that all his drivers won't "get any- thing any better anywhere else." Equipment Turner Transport's flagship 2015 Peterbilt 389 isn't the only show-worthy rig in the fleet. "All my trucks are chromed out," says Eric Turner. "Three Volvo 780s, two Freightliner Coronados and two Peterbilts." The opportunity to operate top-shelf equipment encourages longevity at Turner and elsewhere. Drivers who've stuck by the company through times good and bad are rewarded with first pick of new equipment. That's also the case at Cadle Trucking, where Cadle says those seven- year veterans "get the new trucks" or the choice of other equipment. But equipment also can be a downside for retention, as Turner makes clear. Some of his late-model units have had issues with fuel mileage and emissions systems, creating undue downtime for his drivers, who make most of their money on percentage commissions. The fleet has begun investing in gliders, working with Fitzgerald Glider Kits of Crossville, Tenn. Turner reports no significant problems with those units to date, and a boost in fuel mileage of close to 2 mpg over other trucks in the car-hauling operation. Home time It's a common small-fleet practice to hire within the area in which the company is headquartered. Many operate on an out-and-back model that gets drivers home for the weekend, if not even more frequently. The Turners believe this dynamic is critical to their success. Turner driver Dorris underscores the big-happy-family dynamic by noting how close the spouses of Turner drivers are with each other, Stacy and the whole team. Cadle also typically gets everybody in for the weekend, which also helps in rounding up all the equipment at the same time for maintenance. "I'll rou- tinely walk around when they come back in to be sure I don't see anything wrong with them that the mechanics might have missed," he says. Cadle says if you treat a driver like family, you end up with loyalty in the long run, and J&C Investments owner Hardage agrees. "We don't have a lot of turnover, because we treat our guys Small fleet participation in Overdrive's Pride & Polish and similar truck beauty shows helps raise a business' profile with drivers by virtue of equipment excel- lence. "It's given us more visibility," says Fleenor Bros.' Kyle Cousins, whose pictured Kenworth brought him big wins in this year's Pride & Polish National Championship. "We've been in Joplin for 20 years, and there were people in Joplin who didn't know we were there." Today, "people know us by Overdrive's interviews" and the standard of excellence shown in winning equipment. "Right now, we have a waiting list to put drivers on." Todd Dills Turner Transport car hauler Dane Thomas proudly showed off this picture of the Volvo 780 he drives. Fleet owner Eric Turner and driver Jay Dorris cite impressively adorned and immaculate equip- ment as a powerful retention and recruit- ing tool. When pulling into a load location where other car haul- ers are around, Dorris says, it's common to hear this: "Do all your trucks look like that?" Yes, they do, he says. Todd Dills Dale Martin