Employee Spotlight: How Operations Drives Bulk Transit

Bulk Transit operations do not run on luck. They run on systems, trust, and the kind of customer relationships that turn one-time accounts into long-term business partners. In Episode 11 of Always Pneumatic, Never Static, host Marcus sits down with Shawn Stephens, Director of Operations at Bulk and Spur Transit, for a conversation that covers what it takes to keep a pneumatic freight company running at a high level. Shawn breaks down the power of keeping things simple in an industry that loves to overcomplicate everything, what winning a customer and keeping them looks like from the operations side, and how trust between management and drivers is built over time, and why no policy document in the world can replace it. The freight market and equipment round out a conversation that covers everything separating companies that last from the ones that do not. Real insight, real experience, and a refreshingly direct perspective from someone who lives it every day. New episodes every Wednesday at podcast.bulktransit.com.

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
You ever sit in a meeting and about five minutes in. You're already tapping your pen on the desk,
staring at the clock and wondering how this became your life. Yeah, same. Now, every once in a
while, though, you'll walk into a meeting and everything just works. It's like it's right in the
slot, just past the click. It's tight. It's efficient. People are talking, their be bopping and

(00:24):
scatting, but nobody's wasting time. Problems are getting solved. Nobody's hiding. Nobody's pointing
fingers. It's just pure execution. And you walk out of that meeting thinking, all
right, whoever's running this, they know what they're doing, all right? They got their pants on
straight. They got their shoes laced up tight. And that's today's guest. Because here's the thing. We

(00:47):
talk to drivers a lot on this show. Uh, we talk about the day to day. We talk about the grind, the
job itself. But every once in a while, you got to swim upstream a little bit, and you got to talk to
the guy who's helping build the system that all of that runs through. The guy who's making
decisions on what freight we take, what customers we partner with, how we grow and don't grow, and

(01:08):
how we keep this whole thing from turning into one of those bloated over complicated messes you
hear about everywhere else in this industry. And I'll tell you right now, this conversation that
we're about to have goes deeper than what I ever expected it would. We're talking about why some
companies make this job a lot harder than it needs to be. We talk about why customer

(01:30):
relationships are either everything or you've got nothing. Why? Sometimes the smartest move in
business is to say no and why. The difference between a driver and a professional is a lot
smaller and a lot more important than what most people think. So if you've ever wondered how the
decisions get made behind the scenes here at Bulk and Spur, or why things are done the way they

(01:52):
are, you're going to want to lean in and pick the volume up just a little bit. Slide into the slot.
Just past the click with me for this one. It's another employee spotlight here on Always
pneumatic, never static. You are listening to Always Pneumatic, Never
Static the Totally Pressurized podcast brought to you by Bulk Transit where we keep the lines clear,

(02:16):
the tanks empty, and the conversation anything but dry. Whether you're running powder pellets or
anything in between. Pull up a seat, crack the windows and let's hit it.
How's it going out there? Bulk and Spur. Welcome into always pneumatic, never static. Thank you so
much for joining us here for episode 11 of your podcast. And I, you know, after we get past

(02:42):
in into double digits, that's when I feel like we're cooking with gas. And, uh, today's episode is
no different. We've got another awesome employee spotlight, a little block of employee spotlights
that we've got going here. Of course, we talked to Tim from safety. Last week we've got an employee
spotlight that I'm not going to spoil for you this week because it's coming up in just a couple

(03:04):
of seconds, so you'll figure out who it is soon enough. And we're also going to have an employee
spotlight next week. Now after that I'm looking for some drivers I need. I don't know, four, maybe
five drivers. However many want to come on, I can welcome as many as six at once. But for this
episode that I've got coming up in a couple of weeks, I will happily break the format and I will

(03:27):
do two segments. If we have enough drivers that want to take part. And what I'm looking for from
you is to come on and share with me some of your off time hobbies. We've talked a lot about
trucking in these first ten, 11, 12 episodes, and we're going to continue to talk a lot about
trucking during the lifespan of this podcast. But part of this podcast is getting to know all of

(03:52):
our drivers. You guys are the stars, after all, and I've always had a lot of fun finding out a bit
about what drivers do in their off time. We all know what you do on your on time. You deliver for
Bulk and Spur. You got a flawless, uh, record in doing so. Your your customer service is top notch.
The business runs like a well-oiled machine. Everybody respects everybody and works together

(04:18):
for the common goal. Right? These are all the things that we do here at Bulk, and Spur it's pretty
simple. Standard operating procedure type stuff, if you will. But I want to pull back the curtain on
what you drivers are doing when that ELD is not logging your time, when that truck is parked and
it is not in motion, what are you up to? Are you playing video games? Are you turning wrenches? I

(04:42):
know a lot of truck drivers like to get into the shop and work on project cars when they're off. Or
maybe it's a motorcycle. Uh, perhaps you're more of an outdoorsman. Maybe you're a hunter, a fisherman.
I would love to talk to all manner of you. Maybe you're a family man, and it's all sports and kids

(05:03):
activities. Bring that to the table too. Let's find out what some of you Bulk and Spur drivers are
doing in your off time. And how are you going to do that? Simple. If you want to take part in that
podcast. Head on over to podcast.bulktransit.com and send me an email. It's very
simple. You can also get in touch with your dispatcher and have them reach out to me. Uh, that

(05:26):
that's a that's a definite way that we can do it. But that's one more degree of separation between
you and I. So let's let's do it the easy way. Once again, the website is podcast.bulktransit.com.
Um, if you bookmark that, that's the whole podcast right there. That's everything you'll ever need
that's contacting me to come on the show, that's listening to the episodes, that's finding out what

(05:50):
the episodes, uh, entail, that's taking the quizzes. That's all of it. Okay. So podcast.bulktransit.com
I need drivers. Reach out to me. Let's talk about some off time hobbies. I've got a
ton of them myself. Okay. I'm just going to go down a little laundry list of things that I would love
to hear if you do. Okay, I'm a golfer, huge golfer, and hey, tis the season. I don't

(06:15):
care that the pollen count is up in the triple digits over here in Eugene, Oregon. And it's
raining most of the time. My butt is out on the golf course once February ends in March hits, so
I'm already a month in. Would love to talk about your game, uh, or your favorite tracks out there
that you like to play? Uh, I'm also a drummer. I've got a cover band that plays pop punk covers blink

(06:38):
182, Green Day, you name it. Uh, maybe you're a musician. You want to talk a little bit about that?
I would love it. Maybe you build model trains, I don't care. The point is, I'm looking for you
drivers. And I wanted to spend the first part of this episode doing a little bit of what we call a
call to action here in the industry. Uh, I want to meet as many bulk and spur drivers as I can, get

(07:01):
as many different drivers on the episode as I can, but I will still talk to you if you've already
been on the podcast. So no restrictions, no holds barred, whatever off time, hobbies you want to come
on the show and discuss and share about. I'm Game podcast.bulktransit.com is the
website that's where you can get in touch with me. Uh, and that probably ends the call to action and

(07:25):
the homework segment of today's episode. So thank you for locking in with me for those first five
minutes. I'm depending on you here and I want to hear from some of you drivers. Uh, what are we
doing today? Well, today is another awesome episode because it's another employee spotlight. I bet you
found out some things about Tim Hamilton last week that you didn't know. Obviously, you work

(07:46):
close with him all the time, but you don't get to have just an unimpeded, Uninterrupted one hour
long conversation with him all the time. Just asking questions about the job and what he's, what
he's up to and how he feels about this, that and the other thing. And that's what we can do here on
the podcast. And like we said last week, Tim and I didn't get to half of what we had written down to

(08:08):
talk about. And so we're going to have Tim on again for that purpose later on in the life of
the podcast expected. And today's episode, I think, will be no different, because when I was in
Columbus at the Plain City terminal for our discovery, when we were there meeting everybody, uh,
trying to figure out what the podcast was going to be about, we got to sit down and have long,

(08:30):
uninterrupted conversations with a lot of staff members. And, uh, this one today, just like Tim
really stood out to me, uh, in his passion for the job and, and just the way that he approaches each
day. Um, I've never seen him come into a meeting with anything but a big smile on his face, which I

(08:50):
will tell you is not the norm across the trucking industry. So I love to see it. And today's
employee spotlight here on Always Pneumatic, Never Static is on Shawn Stephens. And we're going to get
him in here right now.

(09:13):
All right. Welcome back into always pneumatic never static. We've got our guest on board today.
Super excited to have him here. And, uh, I have to say something about this guy before I even
welcome him in here, because, uh, he might add, and I'll say this, too. I've never had a reason to
compliment somebody on this before, but Shawn Stephens runs the tightest weekly meeting that I

(09:36):
have ever been a part of, in any capacity, in any job. All I do for the last four years in this
job is take meetings and record podcasts. But Shawn Stephens joining us now, He, of course, is
your director of operations for Bulk and Spur. And, uh, SHawn, I mean, hats off to you, man. The

(09:56):
most well organized, tight meeting I've ever been a part of. If that's the way you approach
everything that you do at Bulk and Spur, it's no wonder you're so good at the job, man. I. Marcus, I
appreciate it. Thank you. And, uh, I, I try not to keep it too tight. That's actually fairly loose. I
don't want to. I don't want to bore people. We like to cut up a little bit. It's true. And and that was

(10:19):
something I felt, uh, I, you know, I shouldn't even have been in this meeting. You gave me the
privilege of being the fly on the wall here in the in your terminal manager meeting. And that's
what I felt is everybody's personality came out a little bit. But everybody was Johnny on the spot
when it came to reports and everything. And, uh, yeah, I just I was really impressed. And also, you
know what else I noticed in every meeting we've ever come into, you've got a big smile on your

(10:41):
face, man. I get the impression that you like your job, Shawn. I absolutely like my job. I like my job. I
like the people. I am happy to say I do not dread getting up in the morning. That's good, that's good.
Well, let's start out a little bit and talk about some of your experience in the industry and then
kind of walk that into, uh, you finding Bulk. How long have you been in the transportation industry

(11:06):
as a professional? Uh, 28 years. Wow. So a long, storied career. And what type of things is
it? Always been on the op side. What type of other jobs have you worked in the industry? Uh, it has
always been on the op side, uh, exception being I did do a three year stint on the maintenance
side, uh, working with commercial shop operations. So it was kind of a little bit of a deviation and

(11:31):
kind of fun. And definitely, uh, I would say probably a different, um, is it a different
environment, like a different speed over on the maintenance side? Yes, very much so. Very much so.
Always something going on, I imagine. Uh, well, that's really cool. So talk to me about finding
Bulk. I know it was kind of an interesting situation where you interviewed and everything,

(11:53):
but how did you come about the job? What about it was attractive to you? Well, Marcus, it was, um.
It was through. A recruiter had reached out to me, you know. Hey, what do you think of this
opportunity? And at the time, we were living in Texas. Um, nothing against Texas. Uh, but
didn't really. It wasn't really a good fit. My wife really wasn't that happy. So, you know, I was I was

(12:18):
looking around, I was open to opportunity. So I was like, you know what? I'll reach out to him, you know,
we'll see what happens. So, you know, did my thing with the recruiter. Next thing I know, I'm getting
a, uh, an invite for a virtual meeting. And, you know, it was with, uh,
Brian. I believe it was. I believe it was. I believe it was Brian and Andrea. I can't remember if Brad
was on there or not, but, you know, we we had our conversation and, and I thought it went well, but,

(12:43):
you know, it was a good length of time and you know, by the time he got around, I was like, ah, I
guess nothing came of it. And next thing I know, I'm getting another phone call from the recruiter.
They would like me to fly into Columbus to meet with them, and it
loved the idea of it, but unfortunately at the time I was down to person at my operation and I

(13:05):
was kind of feeling too old. It was just I could not get away on the weekend, on during the week
without it being detrimental to the operation. I just wasn't going to do that. So, you know, I
discussed that with the recruiter, figuring, well, I'm probably not going to be able to make this
happen. And and this is kind of what started me raising an eyebrow about

(13:29):
Bulk and and about the DeWolf family. The next thing I know, they're offering
to set me up to fly out on a Saturday. I'm like, you know, if they're willing to take, you know,
go, go all out with that, you know? Yeah, I'll do it. I'll take the Saturday I will, I will fly to
Columbus. So they flew me up here, Brian comes to the airport, picks me up,

(13:54):
and I spent the better part of the morning with Brian and Brad and
Andrea. And it was. It was wonderful. It was a very conversational interview. We covered a lot
of ground. We really did. And by the time that was done, they took me on a tour of the facility. Uh,

(14:15):
took me to lunch, you know, all the good stuff. So Brian took me back to the airport and I felt
really good about it. I thought it went great, and I. I felt so good about these people
that I actually called my wife from the airport and was like, you know, I don't know what

(14:36):
it will take, but I'm going to work for these people one way or another. I want I
want to work for these people. It had nothing to do with the company. I had no idea beyond. You know
what research I had done. And you know what they told me about the company? It was all about this.
Sure. I you know, I can I can definitely, uh, understand after being there

(14:59):
and getting to meet everybody and sitting in the same room and. Listen, I've worked in the industry
long enough to know, uh, it's few and far between the ownership that's going to come in on a
Saturday and spend half a day with you. Uh, I'm sure you know that in your 30 years in the
industry. Uh, so that had to that had to impress you. Just that alone. That alone did. And then, you

(15:20):
know, everything else just. Right. When I'm. I'm sure you've heard people talk about family here
and, you know, the, the family atmosphere. That's no joke. It is no joke. It this is truly a
family. So it kind of sounds like it was. It was the people, the way they talked, the things they
said, uh, and maybe even the things you didn't see right then and there that Saturday, because you're

(15:46):
still here now. You're running a tight ship and and it seems like you're loving it. So even the
stuff that you didn't get to really research must have worked out pretty well. Shawn. Oh, it absolutely
did. Uh, yeah. A little bit of trepidation coming into it. Uh, my background is is bulk chemical
liquid. And I had some familiarity with, with dry bulk, uh, with a couple of the companies I worked

(16:09):
for. You know, we did have some dry bulk segments that I was involved in. But, you know, when it came
to bulk chemical, you know, I was an industry expert. You know, if you ask a question, I, I knew
the answer. I'd done it for a long time. Mhm. So this was a little different. You
know, this was getting into nuances of a segment of, of the industry that I just wasn't familiar

(16:33):
with. Right. So you know, for the first time in a long time I had to learn I had a learning curve.
And it seems like something. Nervous about that. Well, and look, that comes with every job, right?
Changing any career. Especially when you've been at a place for a while. Maybe you've gotten
comfortable, uh, jumping into something new is always going to provide that trepidation for you.

(16:54):
But seems like the learning curve must have planed out for you sometime. How long did it take
before you really felt like it clicked for you? Shawn. Oh, I'm still trying to find the click. No, I
mean, there's just there's been just tremendous support. Uh, my predecessor, Jeff Schram, he did a
phenomenal job of getting me inserted into the operation, making me feel, you

(17:18):
know, comfortable in the position. Before he left. We had a good bit of overlap before he officially
retired, so that was very helpful. And the the the depth of knowledge and
experience it obviously with with the family, that goes without saying, but just within our
organization, the depth of knowledge is just phenomenal. So if I have a question, I've always

(17:41):
got an easy. It's easy to find an answer. Sure, I'll tell you. Uh, Jeff work in both of our dream
jobs, retired from the transportation industry, and is now, uh, managing the grounds of the golf course.
Yeah, I don't know if that's because he just couldn't, uh, couldn't handle not having something
to do or because he wanted free golf. Either way, it's good in my book. What a what a great move for

(18:02):
him, right? I actually got a good laugh at him last time he came in. He had just gotten the, uh, the gig
over the whole thing, and he he just wanted to go in and be a groundskeeper. He didn't want a job. He
just wanted a retirement with a little bit of, of, uh, play on the side. And I was laughing and I was
like, well, looks like you, uh, you ended up getting yourself another full time job. Yep. 18 new babies

(18:25):
to take care of their, uh, every single day. Well that's awesome. You know, we'll get Jeff on the
podcast sometime. You actually. Do. He's a great guy. Yeah, we tried to get him on for the OGs of bulk
episode that we did, but he's busy guy. He's he's managing a golf course, so we just couldn't make
it work. But we will because, you know, that's a peek back into bulks history. Um, and and again,

(18:47):
just a fun guy to talk to. I got to have a conversation with him. I won't lie to you, it was
mostly about golf, but we did talk a little bit about. Yeah, we did talk a little bit about
trucking. So, um, now, Shawn, something that you said to me back when we were at the Plain City
Terminal meeting everybody in our conversation, you sat down with my producer, Jessica and I. We
had an awesome conversation. I think we went for well over an hour, and I was taking just stream of

(19:11):
consciousness notes the whole time. One of the things that really stood out to me that you said
is that in your experience, a lot of companies will overcomplicate things on the operations side,
um, what does that actually look like? And and what does keeping things simple look like in your mind?
On the operations side? This is not that hard of a this is not that hard of an industry, but it can

(19:35):
be made incredibly difficult and especially when you get into larger companies. And
I've, I've worked for some of the biggest players in the industry and they they layer so
much nonsense into their operations that it

(19:55):
buries the, the operators. It just buries them. So I love the
idea of being able to come in to a, a little bit smaller company, a, a family
owned company that has not fallen into the trappings of

(20:15):
big corporate nonsense and, you know, layer upon layer of approvals
to go through to actually get the simplest tasks accomplished. Mhm. It's really it's really a breath
of fresh air. And it, it allows a lot of opportunity to let the experts out

(20:36):
there in the field, you know. Let my managers manage. Let them do what they do best. You
know, I find that with smaller companies, it seems like they especially well-run ones, like bulk. Now,
this isn't the case for all of them, obviously, but for ones that run as well and is as tight as bulk
does, it seems like the ownership empowers the employees to make decisions. Absolutely they do.

(21:02):
And isn't there? Your guys aren't looking over their shoulder all the time, and that goes through
every layer of the business, right? The drivers have told me, look, the dispatch isn't
micromanaging me. We have a relationship. They know what I'm doing. I know what they're doing, but
they're not knocking on my door asking me how it's going or if I'm doing it or anything like
that. And would you say that's sort of the I mean, you just said it about your terminal managers. Let

(21:25):
them manage. That's also probably the way they manage their crews is, look, I'm not going to be
sneaking over your shoulder all day. Do your job. You know how to do it. Yeah, that's that's the best
way to handle it. I've always been a firm believer. Be there for them
rather than micromanage. And due to them, I can't micromanage, just not in my

(21:49):
nature. I. I hate to be micromanaged, so I myself really can't bring myself
to do it. I want to be there for them. And I believe that, you know, the the folks out there in
the field, they feel the same way about the drivers. They get to know them. They get to know
their strengths, their weaknesses, their capabilities. That way, you know they can be there

(22:13):
for them and anticipate a problem that might come up and, you know, give them the help and support
they need. And I mean, you know, is there those times that, you know, we've got to put a little bit
of extra focus, a little bit of extra effort into somebody, of course. And that's fine. I'd rather do
that. And you know, get get the extra effort put up front and you have have somebody really good on

(22:36):
the backside. Sure. Yeah. It's all about that. It's it's sort of a nurturing environment. Right. If
you're going to step in and do the job for him, constantly be looking over their shoulder. You're
probably not building an employee that's capable of of being empowered and making those decisions
in crunch time, right? Yeah, absolutely. I mean, you know, some of these guys, they they know a lot more

(22:56):
about this industry than I do. Yeah. You know, let them let them be the expert. Boy, I can tell you
right now, and having been in middle management in a different industry before, uh, you just make me
want to run through a spirit line. High five. And everybody. When a guy with your job title says
that micromanaging is not in my nature, uh, because it's it's prevalent in almost every industry

(23:17):
where people can't let go. They have to control every little aspect of things. And it sounds to me,
I mean, you've got a big team, right? What have you got? Ten terminal managers that you're overseeing.
Um, if you were trying to do everybody's job for him, Shawn, you wouldn't have a smile on your face
at all these meetings. I see you smile and I guarantee it. That would be. I would be a little
frustrated, to say the least. Can you give me some examples where companies might get themselves

(23:44):
in trouble trying to be too smart or over complicated on the ops upside? Um. Is it. Is it too many
systems, too many layers of approval? Um, what what type of things are we really talking about in
specific when we talk about getting too complicated in operations? Honestly, all the above.
So I've seen I've seen companies I actually had this conversation, uh, with, with Brian during the

(24:08):
interview. I've seen companies that have put, you know, put new systems in place. You know,
that the latest and greatest thing. In fact, we are, uh, we're just now getting ready to we're working
towards anyway, a new, uh, uh, TMS platform, uh, transportation management system. And I actually

(24:28):
brought this up in our discovery with the company. We're using a new piece of a new piece of,
uh, you know, technology will be thrown at us, and the next thing you know, it's the
managers that end up spending more and more time feeding the machine than

(24:49):
what the machine is actually warranting. Copy. You know, we're not getting the payback from all the
effort we're having to put into it to, to to keep it going. Mhm. It's just that's only one
example though. I think the biggest thing honestly, is people that are
detached from the actual operations out in the field that

(25:15):
deal with the drivers, deal with the customer's day to day, the the talk. I call them the
talking heads, the talking heads, no more than the about those operations and
those people that are actually living it. And that is nonsense. Absolute

(25:35):
nonsense. I, I, you know, I it reminds me of a story. I had a buddy that worked in preventative
maintenance for a long time, and his whole job was to go into these big factories and demolish
something and rebuild it a different way. And he would be boots on the ground in there, looking at
how the pipes have to move and where this staircase needs to be. And and then he would get

(25:56):
the plans from an engineer that had never actually been in the warehouse before. And he
looks at the plans and he says, this can't work. I'm not an engineer. I can't tell you why the math
doesn't work, but I can tell you that there's a wall there, so I can't put a staircase there. And
you can't see that unless you've actually set foot in the weeds. Is that kind of what you're

(26:17):
talking about is those employees that are out there in the weeds have such perspective for
what's actually going on, uh, that, that maybe, uh, maybe they understand it a little bit better. Yeah,
100%. You start getting into these companies that want to bring in the the, the
Six Sigma methodologies. And you know, we can we can we can shave off one

(26:43):
step over towards a printer or or some nonsense. Right. And and I do speak from experience. I'm
actually a Six Sigma black belt. So I've been there done that. And I understand that.
It's really so much nonsense when you, when you try to overcomplicate something that at its core
should be fairly simple if you just let people do their job. Yep. And communicate. Right. I mean, with

(27:09):
ten terminal managers, the one thing I noticed in those meetings that I opened the interview with,
uh, everybody's communicating, everybody's heard, and everybody has a chance to speak up, uh, to, to
get the help or the support that they need. Well, and that's the, that's the that's one of the
biggest points of the meeting every day is so we can talk about what's going on, what do we need?
And, you know, that doesn't preclude the managers from, you know, talking amongst themselves. Way

(27:34):
before the meeting. And, you know, even after the meeting. You know, they're always communicating, you
know, their needs looking for you know that that extra capacity. Hey, I'm overbooked by two loads. Do
you got any capacity? We can shift things around to help. Yeah, and that's what the 2:00 call does,
is it brings all that to the surface and gives everyone visibility. And you

(27:57):
could tell. Yeah, it really is beneficial. I think it's beneficial. When I first got here, I was like,
man, that's a lot to do this every day. Uh. No. No, it becomes like
riding a bike after a while. It's just part of your day, right? The benefit is truly there. It
really is. And they're not long. 15 minutes. Yep. Quick to the point. And, you know, uh, it's,

(28:20):
I guess a little over communication never hurts when you're talking about the distance that you
guys are working over as well? You know, it'd be one thing if these terminals were all five, ten, 15
minutes away and you were able to just go set foot inside of them all the time, but they're not
there as far away as Texas and all over the place down there. So, you know, it's it makes sense to me.

(28:42):
And and again, uh, I was I know I'm kind of heaping the praise on you here, but it seriously is like
I told Jessica, my producer, after that meeting, I was like, if we if Shawn ran every meeting that I
took for the rest of my career, I would retire such a happy guy because I feel like. It'll say
thank you, because the the level of grief that I am going to get from my managers when they listen

(29:06):
to this, you have no idea. So thanks for that. No problem. Hey, set them up, man. All you got to do is
send me their contact info. We'll start getting them in here and get some, uh, get some grease on
them, too, so that you can get back at them. Okay. There you go. I like. That. Yeah, I think it's
awesome. I feel like everybody should be involved. You know, one guy I haven't talked to yet on the
pod. Here is, uh, is Rodney, and he had our temporary tattoo on his face. Uh, when we first started the

(29:31):
podcast. That's dedication. So I'm looking for you terminal managers. I before you give Shawn any guff
about this episode. Just know that your time's coming, okay? That's what we'll put out there. A
little warning. And we're all afraid to ask Rodney where the permanent tattoo ended up. Just throwing
that out there. I love it. So, uh, something else that you said to me. Obviously, a big part

(29:55):
of the job that we're doing here is the customer service angle of it. Sean. Uh, very, very important.
You can tell that the drivers really take pride in having a good customer service, uh, facing
persona. And they want to be clean. You know, it's not a clean job, but they want to keep everything
clean and tight and happy and friendly. Um, you told me back at discovery that if someone hurts a

(30:19):
customer relationship, that their time here might be very short. Why is that line so firm from your
seat, Shawn? Because without them, we we have nothing. Without them, we are nothing. I've
always been a firm believer in a in the layered structure of company first, obviously,

(30:39):
and then customer and driver. The reason for that is without the company, obviously we don't have a
job, but without the customer and the driver, we don't have a company. So they
support the company. The company, the customer gives us the revenue. So
pretty obvious where they fall. But you know, the driver generates that revenue, right? So

(31:06):
you know, those are the those are the most important aspects of this company is that
customer and that driver. And I cannot allow there to be anything that would
jeopardize the relationships with those customers. And if you
damage that relationship, it could have ripple effects for years down the line, just like keeping
the relationship intact. That's not a ripple effect. That's a tsunami. We're we're we're dead.

(31:31):
Yeah, that's a great way to put it. And and so talk to me a little bit about what separates just a
load hauler from a driver that actually understands the customer and exemplifies great
customer service, Shawn. Well, look, I don't want to I don't want to knock any driver out there in any
segment of industry. But, you know, there are there are drivers that bump a dock and then there are

(31:54):
drivers that are hands on and direct facing to the customer. They're
not sitting in a truck, you know, waiting for a lumper to offload their cargo through a bay. We
are out there. We're face-to-face with the customer. We're physically unloading that

(32:14):
trailer into their silo. We're the face. We're the face. We're the face of our
customer to their customer. And that's what I try to preach to these guys is, look, you guys are not
representing Bulk Transit. And if we look bad that our
our customer looks bad. We're their representation. Exactly. It's twofold. It can it's going to reflect

(32:40):
on on your customer and then it's going to reflect on the company after that. And so just
vitally important. And I love the way that you that you kind of laid that out there because that
extra layer, you know, a lot of times, um, a lot of the truck drivers I talked to from different
podcasts will be servicing one customer. They don't have that extra layer of they're getting it

(33:02):
from one customer, taking it to another customer. So very important stuff there. And look, I've
already said it, but when I talk to the drivers on here, you can tell that they're keeping an eye on
it, they're committed to it. They're dedicated to doing all those things you just said. I wonder if
in your in your almost 30 years here in the industry, Sean, is there something that drivers

(33:23):
might not realize that customers are keeping an eye on? Anything that you've noticed over your
experience that, hey, I just randomly a driver was doing this really well and the customer was
overwhelmed by it. Anything like that that might help him just, uh, pay a little bit closer
attention on their next, uh, their next drop off. Honestly. Just professionalism. Uh, it's it's sad to

(33:46):
say that so much within the industry has changed over over those years. And I, I don't want to sound
like the crotch of the old fart that's, you know, just just been doing this too long. But there
there has been a lot of changes within the industry. And, you know, it's harder to
find that level of professionalism anymore and that resonates with these customers. It really

(34:11):
does. When you show up and you do the simple things right,
that actually gets noticed. Believe it or not, the simple things right get noticed. That
driver was so, so professional. He was clean cut. He, you know, he engaged with us.

(34:31):
He, you know, whatever it might be or if something goes wrong and let's face it, things go
wrong. It happens. Yeah. That, you know, this happened. But you know, man, that that driver, he was he was
apologetic about it. He wanted to help take care of it. He wasn't wanting to leave until we were
good. Those things mean so much. Just the little things. The simple

(34:57):
things that you would think are just standard. That mean they mean a lot to these customers? Yeah.
I mean, you think about every day what you know, from the customer standpoint, they're just sitting.
The guy that's sitting there is just getting in trucks all day long. That's his job. And if nine
out of ten of those drivers get out of that truck with a scowl on their face and they're mad about
traffic or whatnot, uh, and then that 10th driver in the bulk or spur truck pulls up with a sunny

(35:22):
disposition and a smile on his face that can really go a long way in that customer's day. Oh,
you're absolutely right. It goes a long way in everybody's day. I love it when my wife comes home
smiling, you know, it's. What does that look like? Yeah. You know, it's it's been a few weeks, Shawn. So
she's going on vacation next week, though. I'll be sure to tell you when she comes back, because I

(35:43):
guarantee she'll be smiling after a week off work. Well, just in case my wife listens to this. I get
that every time I come home. Uh, Amen. And the dinners are always cooked perfectly and
everything is right in order. Just how you dreamed it would always be right. Exactly. I'm the same way,
man. I'm the same way I listen, we can see ya on this podcast just as well as we can get ourselves

(36:05):
in trouble. Okay. Hey, you know what? She has supported me in this, in this crazy industry for
almost 30 years, so God bless. That's amazing. That's amazing. And it's a lot. Man, there's long
hours in this industry even if you're not driving. And obviously it encompassed a move from Texas
for you and your family. So uh, but obviously the roots seem like they're in in Columbus at this

(36:25):
point or they're in the surrounding area. You like living in Ohio now? Yeah, yeah, we got us a little
bit closer to home, a little bit closer to family. So, you know, it's we can actually go see people
without having to hop on a plane. That's good. Which is nice. Yeah. That's nice. Now, have they, uh,
have they wrapped you up in the whole Ohio State Buckeyes? Uh, just the, uh, the whole fanatics around

(36:49):
there. Yeah. Look, look, look, look at what they're doing. I understand it, I I'm not going to detract.
I'm coming for you as an Oregon duck. That's all I'll say. We strive. We strive to to someday be on
the same level. And I think we're closer than what people give us credit for. But I digress, because
this isn't a football conversation. It's good to have a goal. It's good to have a goal. Amen to that.

(37:14):
And that's actually a really good segue into the next part here that I wanted to get into. Um, you
you talked a little bit when we sat down together about controlled growth and not just flying out
there willy nilly and, and, uh, taking shots at every single thing that presents itself. Um, what
does that mean in practice? Shawn, talk to me a little bit about how you guys are selective with

(37:36):
the people you do business with and, uh, the controlled growth of Bulk and Spur. It's it's
about partnerships. When we look at control growth, I want to make sure. Okay. Is this something that
we can succeed at? Because the last thing I want to do is make a commitment to a customer,
especially a customer that we're currently doing business with and then fail. Mhm.

(38:03):
So it's always important to look at okay. What is it we're trying to do. Is this in our
wheelhouse. Do we have the capacity to do this or do we need to ramp up. What do we need to do to
make sure that this is successful. And do we know this. Do we know this customer. You know, what's
their track record? You know, is this a customer we want to do business with? Because we don't we

(38:27):
don't as a company like transactional customers, we want. To. Build a relay that
sees us not as a vendor, but as a true partner. Right? Right. Makes sense. Now, what type of things
are you evaluating off the off the jump to see that that it is going to be a true partner? Is it?

(38:47):
Uh, I mean, a lot of times, if I were to ask that question to somebody in ops to tell you, hey,
equipment volume return, like, these are the things we're looking at right off the jump. Are there a
few things that make it into the conversation that you're having with yourself and everybody
there at Bulk before equipment and volume in return? Um, you know, looking for a partner rather

(39:07):
than somebody to vend for? Well, a good bit of it is going to be, you know, where did this who are
they? Where did they come from? Um, you know, why did they reach out to us? What are their needs? You
know, do they have ideal, ideal situations or, you know, we we grow. We grow organically within our
own customer base. But, you know, that only goes so far. You know, we obviously are going to look

(39:31):
outside as well. But you know what is the opportunity again. Is it is it the right fit
before we ever even consider equipment? Can we service. Can we efficiently and
effectively service this customer in these lanes. And we'll look at lanes specifically and say,
you know what. These lanes are a great fit. These lanes over here. We'll tell them up front look we

(39:54):
can price these, but they're outside of our network. We have a lot of deadhead. We don't know
that we can effectively, effectively service these at a at a fair market rate. So, you know,
we look at all these things and then beyond that you know we get to the equipment. Do I have enough
volume to dedicate equipment or am I going to have to constantly be washing out? I, I don't like

(40:19):
washing out for load changes because it's hard and it opens up so much
potential for, for, uh, contamination. Right. I'd much rather be able to say, okay, I've got enough volume
to dedicate a trailer. Two trailers, three trailers, whatever it might be. Interesting
stuff there. I, you know, you think about business in general, and a lot of people run their

(40:44):
businesses in the way that if it's an opportunity they're going after, it might. I had a question
here. You kind of already answered it is have you ever turned down a business that looked good on
paper? It sounds like with as, uh, as in-depth as your evaluation is, the answer's probably yes
to that question. Yeah, absolutely. We have I have discussions, uh, typically the discussion will be

(41:08):
between myself and, uh, Phil, our, uh, accounts manager. It'll, uh, you
know, sometimes it'll expand over to Brian and you'll we'll all sit down and collectively, you
know, look at something to determine, okay, can we can we legitimately do this?
Um, and, you know, does it fit what we're trying to accomplish? Sure. So, yeah, we we have we have.

(41:33):
So something else you talked about that we're kind of going to piggyback off that a little bit.
You were just talking about trailers and and your volume and being able to dedicate trailers and
things like that. Your equipment strategy here at Bulk and Spur, um, is something we also touched
about. It's sort of a business strategy in and of itself. Um, you told me back when we were talking
the first time. The equipment is basically a math problem. Um, can you break that down for me?

(41:58):
Somebody that is really bad at math, Shawn, and put that in layman's terms for me. Well, I mean, it's
about it's about it's about revenue versus cost. Obviously. So
will will this piece of business support X number of trailers that are going to be

(42:20):
required to run the business. Mhm. That's that's one thing that
you will find a lot of companies especially you know smaller companies. What do you get into when
you get into the behemoths like Quantic or Grundig or Tremec or you know the, the
huge monstrous carriers, they can afford to have equipment sitting around.

(42:45):
Right. I know some companies that couldn't even tell you where their equipment is. They have so
much of it. Yeah. I've got a, uh, a flatbed, uh, company that I do a show for that has 500 drivers,
but 1500 trailers, and those things are spread from hell to breakfast. Shawn, it's the best way I
can. Best way I can describe. It, man, is. It's crazy. I've. I've seen companies that have. If you go to

(43:08):
their terminal, you'll you'll see out in the back 40. It looks like a scrapyard. Yeah, yeah, I've seen
it too. And and so that basically we're talking about, you know, not having a bunch of equipment
sitting around, that means that you're going to be trading out equipment as equipment ages out. Shawn,
you also mentioned to me that running newer equipment is actually a cost advantage for you.

(43:30):
Can you talk to me about that a little bit? Because I know the drivers are going to love to
hear about this part. Well, and you know what? Obviously this is getting into, you know, a little
bit more of the, you know, the the ownership strategies, but. Right. Yeah. They're, they're not
afraid to put, put to put money into new equipment and cycle through older

(43:52):
equipment. They're not. They're not afraid to do that at all. They do it regularly with tractors.
They actually have a rotation for tractors that they'll that they'll trade out every year. A
block of tractors, okay. For newer equipment. The idea being once you hit a
certain point, that truck is going to be costing you more money than it's able to

(44:17):
generate in maintenance. And if you get out from under it before you reach that point and
get the truck sold where it still has some value, then you know that that puts you ahead of the
game. And the same really goes goes true for trailers as well. Not quite as much. I mean, they
have a much longer lifespan obviously, but because they're willing to take that step and purchase

(44:42):
the equipment and keep the fleet refreshed, it gives us time to bring
older equipment into the shops and, you know, give them a refurbish. Right. Or maybe it's equipment
that is just sold and so underutilized. It makes more sense to just sell it. Yeah. It's not making
any money just sitting there, that's for sure. Yeah, yeah. So it's it's it's all about cycling the

(45:07):
equipment through and keeping it fresh. Sure. That's that's great strategy there.
I, I love to hear that and I the reason I wanted to just touch on it a little bit is like I said,
uh, find me the driver that's not happy with the refreshed fleet. Uh, I haven't met him yet. I don't
know if they're out there or not, but, uh, and something actually, quick question that just

(45:28):
popped into my head because you were talking about it there. Uh, what is the life cycle of a
pneumatic trailer? I've never asked that question before. And I and I can't give you a good answer
because it it's so dependent on the type of work that it's in. Okay. Uh, that makes sense. Yes. Some of
the equipment is in, in such harsh conditions that it's just it's really bad

(45:52):
on the undercarriage, the suspension, the framework, it's hard on it. Sure. So, you know,
that may not last as long as something that is in a a clean environment that, you know, doesn't get a
lot of a lot of beating, uh, the product isn't damaging to the equipment, to the metals.
You got to remember, we're, you know, we're taking some of this stuff into mines, right? Construction

(46:16):
zones. Yeah, stuff like that. So not necessarily the product within the trailer. That's, uh, that's
eating away at the lifespan as much as just the environments outside the trailer that you're
taking them in. That can really beat them up. Interesting. And you know, I my hat's off to a lot
of these. A lot of our drivers are just really good about keeping up with it. We've got we've got

(46:38):
some operations that are just inherently dirty. Mhm. Just it's just the way it is. You know, you've
talked to some of the drivers that handle lines and stuff. Oh yeah. Yep. And we talked to a driver
that was the victim of a flour blowout at one point in time. I mean. I've never heard the term
flower bomb until that episode. I gotta go. I got a good laugh out of that, though. Yeah, right. And, I

(47:02):
mean, you just it's. Look, it's the nature of the business, right. And I, I've interested in that
question because pneumatic trailers are such a specialized thing. And I did wonder is like, hey, is
it the product that beats up the trailers? And, uh, it can be, but, uh, these environments, man, I don't
know if you've ever been down into a mine. If you're listening to this. I know a lot of the
drivers listening have, but if anybody out there, uh, you know, just take a Google tour down into a

(47:27):
mine sometime and see what the roads look like down there, you'll really, uh, get a good
understanding for what Shawn's talking about here. Um, okay. This is this has been awesome, Shawn. We've
covered so much here. I still have a little bit more for you, but I want to give you a little bit
of space here. I've been peppering you with questions like, we're doing a 5:00 news hit here.

(47:48):
Uh, what's what's on your mind right now that you might want to bring up here on? Always Pneumatic,
Never Static. Now that you've got this podcast, uh, you're the star here. What's, uh, what do you want
to say to the people out there listening right now about Bulk and Spur? What you guys have got
going on? I mean, honestly, we've already touched on it. Um, look, we've we've we've got so

(48:09):
much opportunity here to, you know, to be a part of a family. And, you know, that's what I would love
more than anything to see out of these podcasts is for that word to get out. You know, that way you
know, they you know other people can hear the, the excitement. And that's that's one thing I like
about the podcast too, is you get to hear how someone feels about it. You get to hear the tone,

(48:33):
the inflection in their voice. It's not just words on paper. So you can tell when someone is actually
sincere about, you know what they're talking about, how they're feeling about it, versus somebody just
writing something on a piece of paper. I could write something on paper all day long. Right, right.
So if I wanted to get a word out, it it it really is. That is just the the level of care

(48:57):
within this company. You know, there are so many times that these drivers, they get
paid so much more above, you know what, we actually charge the customer in some instances because
it's the right thing to do. You know, Brian's first thought in any situation is, you know, what do we
need to do to make sure the driver is taking care of what, you know, what do we do to make sure the

(49:18):
drivers hold? Yep, yep. You can tell. And then listen, it comes from everybody that I've talked
to. Everybody has said that whether it be safety, the drivers, terminal managers, yourself. And then
of course when we had Brian and Andrea and Brad on here, they said that themselves. And it's one of
those things where you can beat the drum for that stuff all day long. But if it doesn't happen in

(49:42):
practice, people won't be, um, pontificating about it. Is is, I guess, the way I'll put it, even though
that term has a bit of a negative connotation. I don't think so for something like this, because it
really does have the gravity to change people's lives for the better. There's a lot of people, Shawn,
that get up every day, that hate their job, and I've not talked to one person in the ecosystem of

(50:05):
Bulk and Spur that has that air about them. Yeah. Hey, from somebody that has been there, lived it,
done it. Yes, it it is. It is refreshing to enjoy
what you're doing and the company you're doing it for. Yeah, yeah. And who surrounds you when you're
doing it, man? That's that's great stuff. What do you think you're the most proud of in your time

(50:27):
at Bulk and Spur that you've accomplished, uh, anything that sticks out to you. Wow. That's a that
that's a good one. I mean, just, you know, building it to me, just building the relationships. Yeah. I
mean, I'm I'm not the one doing anything. You know, I'm probably probably one of the most, most,
most useless people in this company. Well, you have a you're you're a Six Sigma black belt. I mean,

(50:53):
come on, we can put you to use if we needed to. Right. But that is not what we need. I, I want to be
I want to be here to support. I want to be here when someone needs me to help. To help guide. To
answer questions. To. To keep things as, as best I can pointed in the right
direction. So the fact that people have developed a trust in you is something that you're really

(51:17):
proud of. It sounds like. Yes. Thank you. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. I do feel that, you know, it's I see a
difference between when I first got here and now, as far as, you know, how the people
respond to me. The relationships that have developed, I feel. Or at least I

(51:37):
hope, that there's trust. And that's what I want more than anything, is, you know that they know.
Look, I'm I'm I'm here for you. If I've got something to say that we need to work on, it's
because I want you to succeed. And if you're doing something great, man, I want to make sure
you know that. That that is kick ass. Man, that is awesome. Love you. Look, it's true, man, I see it.

(52:03):
You've complimented me on podcast episodes. You know how good that makes me feel to see an email
come through from one of you guys saying, hey, that was a good episode. I mean, that's all people need.
You know, you stop and and tell somebody they're doing a good job when they're doing a good job.
Once in a while, it can go a long way, and it builds that trust that you're talking about. And
that camaraderie that makes the job fun makes the job easy to accomplish. Um, you know, it's a it's a

(52:25):
it's a big, well-oiled machine. We've talked about it and it's spread out all over the place. But you
guys do a great job in that, uh, in that communication department. I can see that because
of how much communication I have to send your guys's way just to make the podcast happen, you
guys are always Johnny on the spot all the way to the highest levels of management. And that to me
really says something about the way you view all your employees, the entire company, and and what,

(52:50):
you know, whatever is going on in their day is equally as important as what else might be going
on in somebody else's day. You can really feel it, Shawn, for sure. Um, the level of care out there, you
know, amongst everyone is just phenomenal. And look, nobody's perfect. You know, there's always things
that you have to work on. I've always believed, hey, look, you focus on their strengths and

(53:14):
that's what you drive forward with. And then you can work on the weaknesses. It's okay. Right? Yeah.
Take a little bit of time every now and then. Work on the short game. We need it. Uh, it's obviously
it's costume strokes out there, right? Yeah. Yeah. You we're never going to be short on the golfing
references here. Especially when I got a fellow golfer on the line with me. So, uh, let's zoom out.
I'll be a golfer. I that would be completely out of context. With what? Okay, uh, a hacker, that's

(53:40):
where I'm at. I'm out there aerating the course, taking chunks out of it. So there you. Go. Uh, let's
zoom out a little bit here, Shawn, and talk about the industry at large. Just for a couple minutes
here. I've had you on for for quite a long time now, but you're a very knowledgeable guy in this
industry. And, uh, what we're seeing right now, obviously, the, uh, environment internationally is

(54:02):
causing diesel prices to go up. At the same time, we're having a lot of capacity loss in the
industry. We're seeing rates start to crawl back up. We're seeing rejection rates rise. Uh, a lot of
that doesn't necessarily touch pneumatics, but I know that it does. We've it's way in there. How are
we feeling right now about the market in general? I know that that by and large bulk is healthy. You

(54:26):
guys have got great relationships that run and your drivers are rolling. Uh, but but what's the
temperature right now from your seat on the industry at large? I mean, if you look at the
industry at large, there are segments that are that are really, really struggling. Uh,
one good thing about this company and about our, our segment of the industry is

(54:51):
it's very niche. Um, it's it's highly specialized that does provide at least
a little bit of an insulator to, you know, what we're seeing out there. We're not immune by any
stretch, but it does help, you know, us to be able to function

(55:11):
within that, that that smaller bubble, which is which is really good. I think it's really good. Um,
I think there's a lot of opportunity out there right now. More than, uh, more than you might even
realize. Uh, drivers, you know, that's, you know, that's one of the biggest things is.
Look, we need drivers just like everybody else needs drivers. So if I were to say anything, being

(55:36):
a focal point right now, it's, you know, let's let's get our driver count up. Let's get the people
behind the wheel. They can make this happen. There you go. Well, we're going to turn to Rachel
Dellaposta next week to talk to her for her employee spotlight. So we'll check in with her and
see how she's doing on getting you those drivers, the right ones in the truck so you guys can keep

(55:58):
moving everything. She does a phenomenal job. She does. And I have I this these last three episodes
between Tim, yourself and Rachel are three that I really look forward to because three awesome
conversations. I felt like I had a friend in the room after we left those conversations, and I
think it's really shown here, is I get to actually sit down and talk to you guys on record. Uh, Shawn,

(56:22):
this has been a phenomenal conversation. We've gone through everything that I've got here for
you. I always clear just a little bit of space at the end of each interview for final thoughts. This
can be shout outs in case you would like to say hi to your wife in case she listens. Uh, shout outs
to employees. If there's anything we left on the table that you'd like to discuss, we can do that
here as well. The floor is yours, my friend. Director of Operations for Bulk and Spurs, Shawn

(56:46):
Stephens. Thank you so much for the time. Final thoughts from you today before we let you go. Well,
you kind of put me on the spot with the shout out to the wife. So if I don't do it now, it's not
going to look good. So obviously shout out to my lovely bride, Lou Ann. I'd be remiss if I didn't
shout out to my daughter Kaylee as well, so get that out of the way. But yeah, it we've we've

(57:09):
covered a lot and I've really enjoyed it. Um, feels good to be able to have a conversation about
something I'm excited about. And I'll be honest, it's, it's it's refreshing to have a company that
I'm able to work for that I am excited about. Yeah. So, you know, I want to share that. I want other
people to come in and see it and realize it, you know, opportunities to

(57:34):
grow. Absolutely. Well, it sounds like they're getting some leaf blowing going right outside
your window. They're so glad you can hear that. That's all right. It'll put our put our editor
Mike, to work. I actually just saw him. He walked away. So, uh, he knows that you're you're in here
doing something important. But, Shawn, thank you so much. Director of operations for Bulk and Spur.
You've got a wide open invitation to come on this show anytime you want to. Uh, if we can ever make

(57:59):
anything easier from, uh, from your seat, uh, by helping, getting the message out or or spreading
information. We're happy to do it, man. Thank you so much for the time today. This has been awesome. I
appreciate it, Marcus. I've really enjoyed it. You're very easy to talk to, so looking forward to
the next time around. All right. Sounds good. Take it easy, Shawn. We'll be right back. All right.

(58:27):
What an episode today here on Always Pneumatic, Never Static. I can't thank Shawn enough. Uh, you
know, whenever I get somebody in here and you look up and you've already been talking for 40 minutes,
and it seems like you're only a third of the way through what you've prepared to talk about. That's
when you know that things are going good. It happened with Tim. And I'll be honest, it happened
with Shawn. I got to a lot of the things I had prepared for Shawn, but there's a lot more that we

(58:52):
could still get to. And so we'll get him back on this show very soon. Um, you know, I love doing
these employee spotlights because it is rare that you get to sit down. Shawn said it right there at
the end of the conversation. It's rare that you get to sit down and speak openly at length about
something that you really enjoy. You know, it could be a conversation where maybe you're in a room

(59:15):
talking about your favorite football team or, or your favorite, uh, golf ball, whatever it may be. But
that's kind of a bouncing around conversation. This is more of a focused conversation. And Shawn
did such a great job, man. Just knocked it out of the park. Um, really pulling back the curtain a
little bit and giving us a look at why things run so well here. 11 episodes in, I can tell you things

(59:41):
are running well. We've talked to enough people to know you guys are happy doing what you're doing
and you're happy doing it, who you're doing it for and who you're doing it along with. So that that's
been said. Right. We've put a point on that. We've made that point. Um, now we can talk about why a
little bit. And, uh, last week with Tim, this week with Shawn, that's two of the big whys, right? Safety.

(01:00:04):
It's a big thing in trucking. Operations, uh, we probably don't operate very well without them.
So, uh, next week, we're going to jump in again to another employee spotlight and bang out three of
them in a row. Here. We're going to welcome Rachel Dellaposta, as I mentioned from recruiting, and
we're going to talk all about what it takes to get some good drivers in it, Bulk and Spur. And

(01:00:27):
we've got them. I've talked to them. I've talked to a bunch of them, man. They enjoy the job. They do
great work. Uh, and they, they've said, I think a couple of them on the air here. This is the last
company I'll ever work for. If they'll keep me. That's saying something, man. There's a lot of
turnover in this industry. You don't have to do 28 or 30 years in it like Shawn did. Uh, or has excuse

(01:00:49):
me to be able to tell that it's a high turnover industry, the transportation industry, especially
with drivers. So when we got drivers coming on here saying, man, I'm sticking around or hey, I
stuck around, uh, and and I'm not there anymore because we have talked to retired drivers on this
show as well. Um, it just says something, man. And listen, actions speak louder than words. That's

(01:01:11):
something I think we're all familiar with now. And, uh, what those of you that have come on the show
have told me is that the actions, um, that everybody at Bulk and Spur takes from the Dewolf's
all the way down. Those actions are what really tell the story, because people don't just say it.
It's not just lip service. They actually live it. They actually execute it every single day. And it

(01:01:34):
shows. It shows so much. We made a gosh dang podcast about it, and we're so happy to welcome
any of you that want to come on here and talk about the greatness that is this company that you
work for. We want to talk about the culture that we've established here. We want to talk about the
day to day. Uh, we'll talk about anything. Next up is something that I really can't wait to talk to

(01:01:56):
you guys about. After we talk to Rachel next week, the following week we will be talking to drivers
about their off time hobbies, and you got to get in touch with me. I told you off the top of the
show, I want to remind you, it's not often that I get into homework at the end of the show, but this
is a homework assignment for you if you're interested in coming on the podcast and talking
about underwater basket weaving. Um, spear fishing for orca. Uh, perhaps you

(01:02:23):
have, uh, you're one of the few people that have run down a deer and tackled it only to kind of
catch and release it like a trout. I do not care if you drift race go karts on the
weekend. Love to talk to you about it. Um, if your whole thing is to sit down with a fat Sudoku
book and a hot cup of coffee, tell me what that does for you. I want to talk about them. Hobbies

(01:02:48):
are so important in our daily lives, and especially working a job that's as demanding as
what Bulk and Spur driver's job is. Uh, so get in my inbox by heading over to
podcast.bulktransit.com. Uh, you heard Shawn say it at the end there. I'm not patting myself on the back
here, but I am easy to talk to, and I that. Listen, my mom's been telling me that for years.

(01:03:14):
And you, you always listen to your mom, so I've believed it. I believed it about myself since I
was a young kid. I don't know what it is. I don't necessarily think it's a skill that I hone. I'm
generally curious, and I want to talk to you about what you're doing when that truck is off. So hop
on over to the website once again, podcast.bulktransit.com, and send me an email. You can also catch up with

(01:03:38):
all the episodes over there. There's quizzes up there to test your mettle. See if you've really
been paying attention during these episodes. And of course, we've already given away two really
sweet cooling vests. Uh, we will have another giveaway coming up around the bend sometime. We're
going to space it out a little bit. We don't want to, uh, you know, just blow out and give everything

(01:03:59):
that we've got to give away. Away. In the first ten, 15 episodes. We gotta. We gotta make you guys
carrot and stick this thing a little bit. We do have some cool giveaways coming up, and they will
be up there on the website, podcast.bulktransit.com, uh, once we get around to it next week. Look
forward to Rachel Dellaposta making her podcast debut. Can't wait to talk to her. We had a fun

(01:04:21):
conversation out there in Columbus and the following week we talk off time hobbies. So get
your emails into me right now. This has been Always Pneumatic, Never Static. I want to say again
a huge thank you to Shawn Stephens, Director of Operations for Bulk and Spur gave us almost a
full hour on the air here today. I can't thank him enough. Awesome stuff. We're going to continue to

(01:04:43):
bring you great content every single Wednesday at 5 a.m. local time. So be safe out there, Bulk and
Spur, and we'll see you next week. And that's all she blows for today's episode of
Always Pneumatic, Never Static. Your number one and probably only Pneumatic Trucking podcast, brought

(01:05:03):
to you by Bulk Transit. Thanks for rolling with us today. Till next time, stay safe, keep those lines
clear and keep it pumping.