Employee Spotlight: Recruiting & Retention at Bulk Transit

Recruiting great drivers is hard. Keeping them is harder. And doing both at the same time in a freight market that never stops moving is something most companies have not figured out yet. In Episode 12 of Always Pneumantic, Never Static, host Marcus sits down with Rachel Dellaposta, Recruiting and Retention Manager at Bulk and Spur Transit, for a conversation that is as honest as it is practical. Rachel breaks down how recruiting and retention are not two separate jobs but one continuous process, how the ebbs and flows of the freight market shift everything from hiring timelines to driver availability, and how terminal managers play a bigger role in keeping great people than most people realize. It is a refreshingly candid look at what it actually takes to bring the right drivers into Bulk and Spur and make sure they want to stay. And yes, we also find out that Rachel spent time as a college radio station DJ, which honestly explains a lot. New episodes every Wednesday at podcast.bulktransit.com.

Episode Transcript

(00:01):
You know what nobody tells you about trucking. It's not just hard to find drivers. It's hard to
find the right drivers and even harder to keep them because this is not a plug and play
industry. You don't just hire somebody. Hand them the keys and everything works out. That's very
rare in trucking. Sometimes the lifestyle doesn't fit. Sometimes the expectations don't match

(00:26):
reality. Sometimes the job is exactly what they were told that it would be, and it's still not
right for them. So today, we're talking to the person who sits right in the middle of all of it
the calls, the questions, the red flags, the this is going to work. And the this definitely isn't part
of the job. And here's the part I think you'll find interesting. She's not trying to hire

(00:50):
everybody. She's trying to find the ones that stick. So let's get into it.
You are listening to Always Pneumatic, Never Static. The Totally Pressurized podcast, brought to
you by Bulk Transit, where we keep the lines clear, 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

(01:13):
windows and let's hit it. Bulk and Spur. What's good out there?
Welcome into Always Pneumatic, Never Static. This is episode 12 and welcome to you. Thank you
so much for being here today, for clicking download and for checking out all the rest of the
episodes. Uh, today's episode is a special one because we're kind of closing off another kind of

(01:38):
three episode series here. We had the what What Are We Hauling series. That was really cool. We
talked to a bunch of drivers about different things that Bulk and Spur hauls. This three
episode segment comes to a conclusion today, with a little spotlight on some of the staff at the
Plain City terminal and just in at Bulk in general because we are talking to kind of high

(02:00):
level staff here. Of course, Tim Hamilton from safety, uh, Shawn Stephans, ops manager. And today we
will welcome to the show recruiting and retention manager, Rachel Dellaposta. Now she recruits for
all of the terminals. Um, so it only made sense. Let's get her in here. Let's talk about it a
little bit. And I'm very excited for this. And you'll find out why. Uh, coming up, for different

(02:23):
reasons, more personal reasons, if I may be so self-indulgent, but we'll talk about that later
once Rachel is in here. Um, I'm just excited about this because when I got to sit down at the Plain
City terminal with Rachel, uh, when we were at the, uh, the terminal there, just kind of meeting
everybody and starting to plan the podcast and decide exactly what it was going to be. Rachel was
one of the people that sat down with us that had this energy and this zest for the job that you

(02:48):
just don't find everywhere you go. Um, it it happens to some people, but it's not often that
you see somebody in Rachel's position as recruiting and retention manager. That's that
happy and always has a smile on their face and is really dedicated to not only doing the job, but
doing the job very well and doing the job in a way that leads to, um, better retention

(03:13):
down the line, like the recruiting part and the retention part. A lot of times get looked at as
two different things, but really two sides of the same coin. If Rachel does her job really well at
the beginning, um, the retention part sort of turns over with her. She doesn't have to work as hard on
that later down the road because she identified the correct fit. And as you listen to her talk

(03:35):
about the job, you're going to realize she puts a lot of effort into finding that right fit. So
we're going to bring her in here in just a few minutes, uh, and really learn from her. And also,
this is the part I really want you to stay tuned for. At the end of the conversation, I had her call
out a driver. Uh, not for any bad thing. Not for anything negative. I just wanted her opinion on

(03:57):
what driver from the company she wanted to hear on the podcast, and we got a name out of her. So we
will call that driver out at the end of the show and see if we can get them on here to join us for
some shenanigans, because now that we're wrapping up this kind of third episode on the terminal, I
think the focus is going to switch back onto drivers now. We got to get some of you guys in

(04:19):
here chatting about some of the stuff that we do, both on and off the job. Uh, you know, I, I want to
go through my notes here a little bit. We've got, uh, we've got drivers out there that I talked to
when I was at the terminal as well. They set me up because the first day I was there, I was there by
myself. They set me up with just nonstop meetings with drivers for, like, that whole first day. Um, I

(04:40):
got to sit down with Mike Upchurch, who's been on the show before. Mike was awesome. Uh, he's pretty
much said he'll come on whenever, and I greatly appreciate that. He was one of the awesome
conversations we had. Uh, Jeff Lynne, he's also one of the guys we've had on the show before. Welcome
back, both of you guys. Anytime. Uh, Bryan Alexander, another one we've got on the show. That was a

(05:01):
great conversation. AJ Reid, we haven't heard from you yet. Man, I we had a great conversation. Let's
get you on here. Daryl Robbins he's my duck fan in the group. You got a lot of Ohio State fans out
there running around next to that plane city terminal. And it's understandable because, well,
Columbus, Ohio. Uh, but we got a duck fan in our midst out here. And being a graduate of the

(05:23):
University of Oregon with a tattoo on my body that's permanent forever, that has the Oregon duck
logo in it, or one that my wife sort of modified. Uh, look, I want to talk to you, Daryl. So if you're
out there listening, give me a call, shoot me an email. Uh, you can get in touch with me by heading
over to podcast.bulktransit.com. Bookmark that website right now. Uh, because this is what I'm

(05:47):
going to do, man. I'm going to start calling out drivers and getting you guys on the show. And I
want you guys to be able to get in touch with me real easily. Also, anybody that works at your
terminal can get you in touch with me. Uh, you talk to your terminal manager, your dispatcher, they
will be able to point you in the right direction. But if you want to skip the middleman, just head
over to the website once again. podcast.bulktransit.com. You can email me there. The quizzes

(06:11):
are there, all the episodes are there, all the descriptions who were talking to what we're
talking about. It's a one stop shop for Always Pneumatic, Never Static. So make sure to head on
over there. Once again, podcast.bulktransit.com and let me know that you want to be on
the show. Man, I want to welcome all of you. And we could talk about whatever. If you have topic ideas,

(06:32):
feel free to send them to me there as well. Um, some really interesting stuff that we can get
into on this podcast that is planned. Uh, but we haven't started to execute the episodes yet.
Um, we talked about off-time hobbies. We're going to get to that one here real quick. Okay. Um, how
about a roundtable with the shop man. It was awesome. When I got to meet with Brad and the shop

(06:54):
guys, we all had a bunch of barbecue they brought in like the whole shop and sat down. That's a crew
that I would love to get on the air. Uh, the challenge with the shop crew is always the fact
that they are very busy. It takes them being very busy to run a well-oiled machine like they do
over there at Bulk and Spur. So we'll keep a pin in that one. It's going to have to be the right

(07:15):
timing, but I'll touch base with Brad and see if we can get at least some of the guys from the
shop on the show. That was a very fun meeting that we had. Uh, my the back of my neck hurt the hot
dogs on the back of my neck hurt by the time that meeting was over, because we were laughing so much.
Um, how about an equipment spotlight? Would love to get some of you guys on here that maybe are, uh,

(07:37):
maybe wrench turners in your, uh, in your off time. Maybe you got a project car or two and really
talk at length about the equipment. Pneumatic trailers are nothing to be scoffed at. There's a
lot going on, And there's a lot of people that are probably listening to this podcast from outside
the company that don't have any clue how any of that stuff works, so I'd love to showcase that at

(07:59):
some point in time here on the show. Um, and of course, there's more. There's always more. Uh, I want
to know what your playlists are. Let's have a conversation about your entertainment on the road.
You guys spend a lot of time, uh, out and about. A lot of windshield time, right? Some of you guys are
over the road for a certain amount of time. What are you doing to stay entertained in that cab?

(08:21):
What? How do you do? You listen to podcasts? I hope you're listening to this one. But do you have, like,
a whole playlist of weekly shows that you're listening to? Are you an audiobook person? Uh, are
you keeping movies or to watch? You got Netflix. You streaming stuff in the truck when you're, uh,
when you're not driving? Are you playing video games in the cab? I know we got a lot of gamers
out there. I have seen some very impressive gaming setups. Uh, in, in various over-the-road rigs.

(08:46):
I saw one guy that completely took the passenger seat out and put in a racing
simulator. So he parks the truck, he maybe hits the truck stop, grabs a roller dog and a shower, gets
right back in and gets into the passenger seat and starts driving digitally. I want to hear about
all that stuff. Okay, this is a podcast where we can talk about whatever. And, uh, part of whatever

(09:11):
is how you guys are staying entertained out there on the road. So there's just a few things that
we've got planned here in the future, and none of them have what I would call concrete dates yet. So
if you want to be involved with any of those episodes or anything else, maybe you've got an
idea for me that I haven't talked about. Great. Tell me how to tie a fly, I don't care. Uh, talk to

(09:31):
me about your your favorite caliber of deer rifle. We can literally go on and on and on
about the things that we can cover on this show. The important thing is we involve you, the Bulk
and Spur drivers. So that's why I'm keep telling you. And I think this is like the fourth or fifth
time I've said it. podcast.bulktransit.com. That's your website. That's your go to. Hit me in the pocket so we can

(09:54):
get you on the air. Uh, would love to talk to you about whatever you want to talk about. And with
that, it's time for us to move to the next thing we're going to talk about. We're going to bring
Rachel in here right now. Uh, this is such a cool conversation. I played a few different what I
would call radio bits here. Uh, we did a we did a red flag, green flag with Rachel. We also did kind

(10:16):
of a rapid fire question segment. Um, but all in all, so much good content here in this interview,
if you are curious at all about how recruiting and retention works, this is going to be a great
one. If you are a prospective Bulk employee, maybe listening to this podcast to try to get a feel
for the company and what type of fit they're looking for. Ooh, you're going to want to lock in

(10:38):
for this one. And, uh, maybe, maybe you're just interested in the good conversation about the
trucking industry. That's another thing that Rachel and I are going to talk about. We're going
to talk about the industry at large, kind of the peaks and wanes and how it affects recruiting.
It's a great conversation. I'm done setting it up. It's time for us to bring in Rachel Dellaposta

(10:59):
right now.
So pumped for this next interview here on Always Pneumatic, Never Static now. Our guest joining us
today, I got to sit down with for probably about an hour when I was out at the Plain City terminal
and, uh, just really get to know her a little bit. And, uh, was so excited that she agreed to come on

(11:25):
the podcast here and talk a little bit about the gig today. So please welcome, uh, recruiting and
retention manager, Rachel Dellaposta to the show. Rachel, thank you so much for being here today.
Excited to be here. Well, and I'm excited and I'm going to tell everybody why I'm kind of jumping
out of my chair right now. Uh, ever since I started making podcasts for truck drivers, going back

(11:47):
almost four years now, I've only spoken to one or maybe two other people that have broadcasting
experience in one way, shape or form. And both of those people have worked for the company that I
work for, doing what I do. So it makes sense. Everybody else that I ever talked to on this show,
and all the rest of them, that I do have zero broadcasting experience until today. Because,

(12:10):
Rachel, you told me that you got a little bit of radio DJ experience in your past, right? Yes. So
when I was in college, I actually took a radio class and I absolutely loved it. So the next
semester I applied for that to be my work study program. So I had a little radio show on the
college campus. That's so cool. And let me tell you how envious I am of you. Uh, first and foremost,

(12:35):
um, I didn't the the school I went to didn't even have a radio class, which I don't know if that
dates me in a good way or a bad way. They were all everything was moving to digital already, and they
had sort of phased out, you know, traditional radio classes, uh, classes. But they did have a college
radio station. I started volunteering when I was 17 on my local enterprise, Oregon

(12:58):
2000 Population Country radio station. They would let me come in for three hours every Sunday night
and play whatever music I wanted to. Uh, so I just brought my whole library a blink 182 and Green
Day in The Offspring, and just played punk rock for three hours every Sunday. And that was kind of
how I got my start. So you imagine when I showed up at University of Oregon for college, I saw that

(13:19):
they had a campus radio station. Rachel and I went nuts. I ran down there and grabbed an application
right away, and the only thing on this application that they wanted you to do was list 100 bands. And
it was better if you listed 100 bands that maybe they hadn't heard of. Okay. I got rejected.
I listed 150 bands on the back of that piece of paper by hand and I got rejected. Now, I

(13:45):
don't know how many other people they rejected for that job, but I do know that I did have a
decade long, successful career in radio in that town after getting rejected. So I'm a bit I'm a
bit sour about it. Still, 20 years later, Rachel. As you should be. Couldn't believe it. Did you have
fun doing it? I bet you that was an awesome gig. I absolutely loved it. What kind of what kind of

(14:06):
music were you playing? Um, all kinds of things. I know I played a lot of, uh, Creedence Clearwater
Revival at the time. That's a good call. That's a good call. Lots of people enjoyed it. I'm sure. Hope
so. Let's get into it a little bit here and start talking about work, because I could, uh, I could
bang the drum for radio all day long. But you guys don't want to hear that. We're here to talk about

(14:27):
Bulk and Spur and the great work that Rachel does within the company. Now, recruiting and retention
are two really big words in the trucking industry. Rachel, why don't you tell us a little bit about
what the day to day job entails for the recruiting and retention manager. Sure. So every
day is kind of the same, but every day is different. You kind of never know what you are

(14:48):
walking into or what's going to pop up. Um, it's a lot of making phone calls, leaving voicemails,
talking to people through like a basic initial conversation, introducing them to Bulk Transit, who
we are, what we do, answering their questions and setting up interviews. Um, but then it also does
involve, uh, some other things like, um, you know, running reports and getting people set up

(15:12):
for drug screens and physicals and kind of managing those and walking them through the
process. Now, right now, the industry is sort of, um, I will say there's motion in the
industry, right? We're seeing some rates climbing. Obviously, diesel prices are through the roof.
That's kind of hurting. But uh, we also are seeing some rates kind of start to climb up off the

(15:33):
floor a little bit. How are you feeling right now about recruiting versus retention at Bulk and
Spur in particular. We are at an interesting time right now because freight is really
picking up, but it seems to be picking up across the board everywhere, which makes competition
really, really tight. So not only are we seeing, you know, a lot of other carriers active in

(15:58):
hiring drivers, so that makes everything really competitive, but everybody wants to retain who
they currently have. So that increases the competition even more. So even if you get someone
who is interested in they're ready to come on board, then you still have to worry about, well,
their current employer might, you know, throw more money at them or try to work something out just
to keep them where they're at. Sure. And I mean that I never thought about it from that many

(16:24):
angles, how much competition you've got. Because you're right. The with with better rates all the
way across the board, everybody's hiring. And then everybody's also struggling to keep their drivers
do everything they can. You're getting hit from all sides. Exactly, exactly. And you mentioned when
we sat down and had our first conversation when we met that, uh, a lot of times summers get pretty

(16:46):
chaotic in your world. Uh, are you anticipating a super chaotic summer, given how things are already
looking in the spring? Absolutely. I am so right now. Um, just about all of our terminals are
actively hiring drivers, which is not always the case. You know, sometimes we'll have, you know, a
couple of our terminals that are that are actively in the market and then some that are

(17:08):
kind of passive where they're like, if you find a good one, send them my way. We'll consider them. Um,
but it's not like a desperate need. But right now we're at this phase where all of the terminals
are actively looking for drivers. We've got, you know, so much freight. We we need to bring more
people on board everywhere. And so that presents a lot of challenges. You know, as I was just saying,
it's really competitive right now. Um, but that kind of limits my time on what I can really

(17:34):
focus on per terminal as well. So I feel a little bit pulled in a lot of directions when that
happens, which can be a good thing or a bad thing. I like to stay busy and I like to keep hiring and
and keep things moving, so I prefer that over, you know, a boring, nobody's hiring kind of day. Sure,
100%. And it's a good problem to have when you have too much freight for the amount of drivers

(17:58):
you've got. I mean, it's it's a problem and we got to solve it, but it's a good problem to have. It's
like you said, much preferable to the other side of that coin. Um, so let's talk a little bit about
the team, because obviously you've got a few people working in recruiting there for you. And I
imagine based on the fact that all terminals are hiring, you might sometimes run out of fingers to

(18:18):
plug the holes in the dam. Uh, what what, uh, what kind of team do you have working beneath you that
kind of helps out with this stuff, Rachel. So, specifically in recruiting, it's just me. Oh. It's
just you. Okay? Yeah. So I do all of the the recruiting piece. Um, but then I work with, you know,
all of the terminal managers on, you know, how many drivers we need and what we're looking for. And

(18:40):
set up interviews with them. I work really closely with Tim, the safety director on, you know, are they
qualified? Is this something that we can work with as well? As you know, Andrea plays a huge role in
that part as well. And then just managing like drug screens and physicals. I work really closely
with Tim on that stuff too. Yeah, yeah. And uh, and Tim, he had a great episode here on the podcast

(19:04):
just recently, just a couple episodes before this one. And, uh, it really the reason I wanted to bring
you in and Shawn in and Tim in kind of in this cadence that we did is because all of these
moving parts are moving independently, but they depend on all the other parts moving
independently as well, in concert, uh, to, to make everything work. You are the recruiting and

(19:27):
retention manager, but without a guy like Tim and without the support of Andrea, your job gets a lot
harder, I assume. Absolutely. Yes, I am all the time running things past them and and kind of seeing
you know, I know this is this is questionable, but is this something we can work with. Is this
something we can do? So yeah, we we work really well together as a team. What do you find? Rachel

(19:48):
seems to be the biggest, uh, sticking point when your guys's turnover starts to climb. Uh, with all
your experience, I assume that you can kind of pinpoint things. Is it expectations? Is it culture?
Is it lifestyle? Uh, I ask this because the drivers I've talked to from Bulk and Spur all seem very
happy with the setup. They seem happy with their home time, they seem happy with their pay, and they

(20:10):
seem happy with the job. But it's a high turnover industry. So talk to me a little bit about what
causes turnover. When you do see it. I would say the the bulk of it is going to be
lifestyle. You know, people sometimes bite off more than they can chew when they come on board. So, you
know, we'll have drivers who will start at a terminal. And they know upfront that that terminal

(20:31):
requires them to be out 2 or 3 nights a week, but then they get in. They start doing it. And, you know,
we have situations all the time where they're like, you know, I've got a new baby at home. And so
I need to be home every night. So then they go looking for something that gets them home every
single night. And that's just not something that we can provide at every terminal. Sure it is at
some, but not others. So things like that are pretty

(20:56):
consistently a big reason why people look elsewhere. I would say, you know,
the pneumatic trailers are sometimes something that when people get the hang of it and they do
it, they love it, they stick around, but it's not for everybody. So sometimes people will come on
board and that is just not for them. It's like you were in my mind right there, because that was my

(21:19):
next question I was going to come to is the pneumatic trailers. Do you get a lot of drivers
that have zero experience with pneumatic trailers, and you kind of got to bring them along from
square one? Yes, absolutely. I talked to drivers all the time who have never even heard of a pneumatic
trailer, which is fine. We train, so that is not a concern. I do cover in our first conversation with

(21:40):
everybody. This is more physical. You are not bumping docks, you're not a steering wheel holder.
So I try to explain to everybody that, you know, you're getting in and out of the truck. The hoses
are heavy. You may be climbing on top of the trailer, but until you actually do it, you don't
know whether or not it's going to be a good fit for you. Yeah, you gotta get out in the weeds.

(22:04):
That's the kind of job this is. Even if you are just bumping docks without having bumped a dock
before you get in that truck and realize, wow, it's hard to bump a doc with 80,000 pounds on your
back. You know, um, it's interesting now because I'm kind of moving towards the driver's side of this.
What are some of the most, I guess, frequent questions that you get? What's the FAQ look like

(22:28):
for drivers calling you, or are you calling drivers to kind of set this whole process up? Are
they? Is it always pay? Is it always home time, or are there other things because of the type of
freight that we haul that drivers are asking about? Rachel. So pay and home time of course are
always going to be number one. That is just, you know, any trucking company that's going to be what

(22:50):
they want to know first and foremost. Um, for us, they want to know what we haul. And they want kind
of a better understanding of pneumatic trailers and what those are. Um, which, you know, ties in
perfectly with the podcast because I've pointed a ton of people, uh, in this direction so they can
listen to the episodes that kind of cover what we haul and what the day in the life looks like for

(23:12):
them. And you have, uh, one of the coolest things that I've ever seen done for the podcast. And I
was so excited, I even sent you an email about it. And I've told, like, 20 people, uh, that they need to
do this, but you put in your email signature just a link to the podcast with a little picture of
our logo and I, when I first saw that come through. This is brilliant. Why wouldn't the recruiting and

(23:34):
retention manager have this in their email? Uh, just genius stuff from your side of the board and
I thank you for that. You know, we take all the support we can get. Uh, we're not actively
advertising this that much. You know, we we make this podcast for the people that work at Bulk and
Spur. But what a great tool to have in your tool belt. Uh, because we will be talking to a lot of

(23:54):
drivers as this podcast ages. Yes. Anything I can use to kind of help drivers get a better feel for
who we are and what we do, and make sure it's a good fit for them. Um, I absolutely want to use to
our fullest potential. Like, I am not a recruiter who wants to just hire
anybody and everybody. I want it to be a good fit on both ends. And I want you to stick around. I

(24:18):
want you to be happy here. So if I can help you understand what we do, um, and kind of see the
culture and the environment and get a better feel for it before you even get to the interview
portion, I absolutely want you to to be able to to hear what we have to say.
For sure, for sure. Now, what you talked about, some of the things that drivers ask, obviously pay and

(24:42):
home time. You said our number one and two or number one and one really. Um, what are some
questions that maybe you wish they asked more about from your seat? I feel like if we're going
to use this as a recruiting tool, let's dispel some rumors. Let's talk about some things that
maybe you want out there as as knowledge. For anybody that's thinking about coming to work for
Bulk, what do you wish they were asking you? That they might not ask that much. I would say if they

(25:08):
wanted to know more information about, you know, how they're going to interact with the terminal
manager and what their personality is like. I think they would get a better understanding of
whether or not they're going to fit in well here. And, you know, I don't always know exactly what
that answer might look like. Um, because, you know, I'm not a driver. I interact with the terminal

(25:29):
managers in a different way. But I can kind of give you an idea of of who they are and how they
operate and what their personality is like. Um, you know, fit here is a big deal for me. So
anytime I can, um, help you understand. Is this a good fit? I want to be able to do that.
Got it. Well, I think that this is a perfect time to, uh, introduce a little bit that, uh, I've just

(25:54):
made up right here on the spot for Rachel. We're going to call this Red flag, Green flag. Um, can you
can you walk me through a few things that might. Red flag, uh, somebody in a conversation right off
the bat. And, you know, it's probably not the guy that we're going to be going with or gal or
person, let's put. It that way. The number one thing that comes to mind when you say that is

(26:17):
accountability. So, you know, job hopping in trucking is pretty common. You see that on a lot
of applications that, you know, guys go from company to company. Um, the big thing for me is
when people don't take any accountability for any of their jobs. You know, they've got ten jobs in
the past three years, and every single one. The company lied to me. They fired me for no reason.

(26:39):
They did this. They did that, and they take no part in that. To me, that signals a lack of
awareness, a lack of accountability, and just kind of a general lack of discernment on
who you're going to work for. Interesting stuff there. That's, you know, it makes sense. And
especially with your experience, you've been doing this a long time, right? We didn't we didn't cover

(27:02):
that at the top. How long have you been in the industry? So I have been in trucking for close to
a decade, specifically recruiting in trucking for close to a decade. And then prior to that, I
recruited executive nurses. Okay, so you're used to spotting these things just from the conversations
that you have. And, uh, you know, it's it's a little advice that we might give here to people that are

(27:24):
maybe thinking about interviewing and it could be for any job, not just trucking. Uh, those first
conversations, they might seem like just an icebreaker to you, but a lot of times, especially
if you've got somebody with your experience, you're using that conversation to really feel out
this applicant and and see if that fit is even in the ballpark. Uh, from the from word one, it sounds

(27:44):
like. Yeah. Yeah. Um, the other one that comes to mind that that always kind of makes me laugh a
little bit is, you know, you get those guys who are yes men, no matter what you say, they're like, yep,
that works for me. Yep. That works for me. And you'll ask them more specific questions like, you
know, how much do you need to make per week? And they'll tell you some outrageous number, and then

(28:04):
you tell them what that terminal's average tends to look like, and it's way off base. And they still
are like, no, that's fine, I can work with that. And I'm like, how? How did you go from this number to
this number? Are you just looking for like, any job just to make ends meet? Like, what are you actually
looking for because again, that retention piece plays into it. I don't just want to, you know, hire

(28:27):
people to lose them a month later. Right. Because it's expensive to hire and seat a driver and get
them moving. There's training involved. There's all, you know, the the drug screening that we talked
about. Of course, all of that involves expense. And you want a driver to stick around obviously,
because it's a good company. And why wouldn't they want to stick around? Obviously there's reasons.

(28:48):
But we we don't want them. We're not just like a, like a constant slip seat here where we're just
constantly adding new drivers. We want them to stick around. That's great stuff. Okay, so any other
red flags before we move to like fist fist pump, green flag moments. The ones that, uh,
that call multiple times in a row, multiple times a day, um, that is

(29:13):
always like, I want them to be interested in us, of course, but that is always kind of a red flag for
me because I'm like, why are you so desperate to move forward so
quickly? There is almost always a reason that's gonna pop up on on the MVR on, you know,
previous employment history, something like that, that's going to come back and tell me that's why

(29:37):
they're desperate and that's why they want to get in so quick. That's interesting to me because I
come from the school of, uh, you know, being being 40. I'm 41, actually. So when I was like
17, 18, 16, in that area, my dad's whole thing was the squeaky wheel gets the grease. We weren't
applying online at the time. You had to walk in with a piece of paper and hand your application

(29:59):
in. And if I hadn't heard anything for a day or two or maybe a week, my dad's first question was,
well, have you called him? Have you gone down there and stopped by? And what I'm hearing now is that
that might be okay to to call like once and just check the situation. But doing it multiple times a
day over multiple days signals some desperation that maybe you don't really like to see Rachel.

(30:21):
Exactly. Yeah. So if you want to call. Leave me a message. I'll get back to you. That's totally fine.
But if you call and then you call a minute later, and then you call two minutes later, and then you
call another minute later, I'm like, why are they calling so much when I'm on the other
line? You know, I can't get to them right that second. It just kind of signals a little bit of, uh,

(30:42):
of desperation there. Yeah. And let's face it, it doesn't matter if you're at work personal. Nobody
wants the call from the same number to come through 4 or 5 times. That can never be good, right?
There's never anybody calling you to tell you you won the lottery and they won't stop calling. They
just leave a message and wait. Right, exactly. So it's, uh, interesting stuff there. Okay, so fist pump,

(31:03):
green flag moments for when you're in a recruiting call. Is there anything out there that,
you know, uh, right off the bat, it's almost a 100% score. We're getting this one. Um,
I mean, of course, I love to see drivers with consistent work history, like the ones who have
been with the same company for ten plus years. Um, the ones who have prior pneumatic experience.

(31:28):
Obviously, I love to see that we train, so it's not a big deal if you don't have that, of course. But
if you do have that, that is awesome because I already know you know what to expect. And that's
not going to be a reason that you leave us anything else. Um, off the top of my head, I can't
really think of specifics, but those are those are kind of the big two. Yeah, the green flags I kind

(31:50):
of figured would be a little tougher because there's there's a bit of nuance to the process.
Right. You might get that green flag. Hey, I've worked for the same company for the last 20 years.
I've only done pneumatics. I really need to be closer to home. And I live in Columbus. Maybe
you've got something that works, but there could be drug screen problems, there could be MVR
problems, insurance, you name it down the line that you're not going to find out just on that first

(32:13):
conversation, right? Gotta dig around a little bit. Do you like the background check part of your job?
Not really. Um, it always makes me a little nervous. You know, you have that conversation and you think
you found a good fit, and then you run the MVR and you can't hire them. And that is always such a gut
punch, because, you know, my job is to hire drivers. I am not sitting here, like, looking for reasons

(32:37):
not to hire them. You know, I want to bring them on board. So when you think you found a good fit and
then you find out, like there's nothing I can do about it. That is always a tough thing to see. And
then it's tough to have to make that phone call and tell them I'm sorry. I know we had a great
conversation, but I can't bring you on. That's, I think, an underappreciated part of the job. And I

(33:00):
say underappreciated because, wow, we appreciate that you're the one that has to do that. None of
the rest of us do, because those are not easy calls to make. Rachel. Yeah. That is one thing that
I have definitely gotten better at throughout my years of recruiting experience
is developing a thicker skin. So I would say, you know, when I first started in recruiting, that is

(33:22):
not something that was maybe one of my my strong suits. But now, you know, I can pick up the phone
and let them know and just let it roll off my back and go about my day and not have it impact
me so much if they're, you know, so disappointed. Sure, sure. I totally understand it. I, you know, part
of my professional experience for a short bit of time was in sales. And the hardest part for me,

(33:46):
you know, doing the job that I do, what's really important to me is that everybody in the room and
everybody with this on likes me. I need you to like me so that you'll engage and so that you'll
have fun and listen to the show. That personality type is not a great fit for a high rejection
sales job, or maybe doing something that you've done or that you do if you can't develop that

(34:07):
thick skin. And I wonder, um, obviously we have to take language into a bit of a consideration here,
but I can also bleep out some swear words. Can you share maybe one of the worst responses that
you've gotten on these calls? Because I look. The company I work for handle some recruiting
services. I've seen some of the things that are said in just exploratory messages, like, people

(34:29):
will send us a message, our person will respond, and then what comes back from the person that
initiated the conversation can be some of the most heinous, terrible things I've ever seen
written down on paper. So. Oh yeah. I wonder, Rachel, do you have any experiences that you'd like to
share? Um, so really, when I talk to people on the phone, um, they're they're

(34:52):
fairly considerate. The ones who send me messages, you know, they're they're
keyboard warriors. That's when I really get, um, the the the
difficult conversation. That's a great way to put it. Difficult is so that's so soft of you to say
it that way, but but I understand why. Yeah. Yeah. So I admittedly am a

(35:17):
recovering people pleaser. So when I have these conversations with people on the phone, I do kind
of soften things and say, you know, I'm sorry we can't bring you on because of X, Y and Z, blah, blah,
blah. But I do get those occasional messages where, you know, you hang up the phone and then someone
sends me an email back because they want to fire back and tell me exactly what they think after

(35:39):
they hang up the phone with me. Um, and, you know, they tell me to go f myself was one I
had a week or two ago, so that's fun. And I want you to think if you if you're ever the type of
person and you're listening to this, you're the type of person that would get to the keyboard
after hanging up the phone. I want you to go take a long ten second look in the mirror and whatever

(36:01):
you're about to type, I want you to say it out loud to yourself in the mirror, right. See if you
still want to type it afterwards, because those are the worst. Yeah, well, and it's always
interesting Because, you know, like I said, it's my job is to hire drivers. I'm not looking for
reasons to stop you from coming on board. I am looking for reasons to bring you on, you know, so

(36:23):
if I'm telling, you know, there are solid reasons for that. Yeah, it's a loss all the way around. If
we've gotten to this point in the conversation, nobody's winning here. We're not happy. You're not
happy. It's it's kind of it's just a it's a bad situation. It sucks. But you got to move on to the
next one. Yeah, exactly. Uh, we talked just a little bit earlier in the conversation about, uh, some of

(36:44):
your terminals that you're hiring for right now. You're hiring for all of them. Uh, when we sat down
with you the first time, you specifically called out a few terminals, uh, Sidney, Sherman and
Evansville, uh, just for generally being great terminals. Can you talk a little bit about the
terminal managers and the role that they play? Um, you mentioned talking to the drivers about, uh,

(37:05):
this might be the way that you interact with your terminal manager, but how do the terminal managers
help you do your job? Rachel. I feel like I have a really good relationship with all of our terminal
managers, so I think they're all really great in different ways. Um, you know, some of them
have a lot to offer in that they were previous drivers. So it's really easy for them to connect

(37:29):
with someone who's potentially coming on board and give them like a really good insight into
what to expect and how they operate. And they are in that mindset that makes things a lot easier
for them to, you know, relate to, um, potential drivers and really give them a good
idea of what they're looking for. So I think that makes a big difference. And then, um, you know, you

(37:52):
mentioned Evansville. Charlie, uh, does a really good job of kind of weeding out who
he wants to come on board. He's particular. So that is good as long as we are not like in a situation
where like, okay, we need drivers right now. Right? So, um, you know, having kind of that balance

(38:12):
to be able to determine are they a good hire versus, you know, let's bring on at
a previous company, we called it two Feet in a heartbeat, where you just hire anyone who applies.
They have a CDL. Come on board. We gotcha. You know, we don't want that kind of situation. We do want
them to be a good long term fit. Um, so being able to kind of balance, um, we need drivers versus we

(38:36):
need the right drivers makes a big difference. Sure, sure. And how do the terminal managers doing
the, uh, the job that they do so. Well, uh, how does that affect your retention? Yeah, I imagine you
really see that when, uh, they get a good driver, they know it was a fit. Charlie's, uh, he's done his
homework. He gets a guy in there, and everything's running smoothly. Um, you probably depend on that

(38:56):
terminal manager and driver relationship for a big part of the retention. Yeah, absolutely.
Absolutely. That plays a huge role, I think, in in keeping retention rates up. You know, we talk a lot
here about being a family company, and that is not a tagline. That's not a slogan. That's
how we operate. You know, we want you to be part of our family. We want to get to know you. We want to

(39:20):
know what's going on in your life and be able to work with you and have this, um, be a good fit for
your lifestyle as well. You know, it's not just a job. We we want you to fit in here and feel
comfortable with us and feel like you are part of our family, right? So, you know, the terminal manager
is developing that relationship and making them feel part of the team is a huge deal for us. You

(39:44):
can really tell. You know, I have an interesting kind of fly on the wall perspective of of the
company, especially at this point. You know, we've done some episodes, but we don't we don't have 100
under our belt. Um, but I have met quite a few of the terminal managers. I've gotten to sit in some
of the meetings. We talked about that last week with Shawn. Um, it the, the work that they do in the

(40:05):
ship that they run and how tight you guys all can keep it together is really impressive. And the
first thing that every driver that I ask about working for, Bulk tells me is, uh, it's a family,
and and you can tell there's there's the difference between that being a buzzword sort of
phrase and that actually being something that's in practice. And you can tell it's been in

(40:25):
practice at Bulk and Spur for a very long time, and it's very intentional. You guys work really
hard to keep it that way. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, there's not a lot of companies where you can approach, you
know, the owners and say, I've got this driver who needs X, Y and Z and they know exactly who you're
talking about, what terminal, how long they've been with us. That's crazy. That's great. Especially the

(40:47):
amount of terminals you guys have and how spread out they are. That type of, uh, name retention is, is
wild. And I know I'm really bad with names. I'm terrible with them. And so I'm, I'm particularly
blown away at that fact because I actually we had Bryan in a meeting at one point in time and
somebody mentioned the name and he goes, oh, that's the guy from XYZ. I haven't met him yet. And he

(41:09):
said, you know that much about him and you haven't even met him yet. How are you doing this, man? It's
really impressive, really impressive. And I understand how much of a positive impact that
could have on retention. So I think it's amazing. Um, let me ask you this. If you could clone one
thing, that one terminal does really well and kind of match it across all terminals. Is there

(41:31):
anything that you would do that with? Is there anybody that you just really want to give some
flowers to? Right now, you mentioned Charlie and his process. Uh, anything else like that that you
might spread across the company if you could? Oh, that's that's a tough question because like I
said before, like all of our terminal managers are great in very different ways. And so

(41:52):
everything works to their advantage. Like at their individual terminal. So I don't know that, you know,
one personality trait from this terminal would work the same at another terminal. Perfect I
that's a great answer. I really I think that that just kind of puts a point on the individuals that
are working at each one of these terminals and how they run their ship while tight. A little bit

(42:14):
different. I think that's awesome. Um, let me see here. We've covered so much. I've kind of been
skipping around here a little bit. So I just want to check on my questions here because there's
some stuff I really don't want to get to. Um, you you mentioned back in the beginning of our
conversation that you freights up. You need drivers right now. All terminals are hiring. How's

(42:34):
your applicant pool looking currently? Are you, uh, in the midst of having to reject a bunch of
people? Are you seeing a lot of good applicants? And how does that change as the market moves in
your experience? So currently, things are tough. You know, as freight goes up, you've got a
lot of things impacting the driver market. So, you know, like I was I was saying earlier

(42:58):
when freight goes up and it's up across the board and everywhere is hiring, Um, you've got fewer
drivers in the market because freight is up, so they're happy where they're at. They're getting
their miles, they're getting their money, and they're not looking. So that impacts, you know, the
number of applicants that you're getting during that time. But it also definitely impacts the

(43:20):
quality of the applicants that you're getting during that time. Because, you know, when the
driver pool is slim and the good drivers are staying where they're at and carriers are
doing what they can to retain their good drivers, they maybe are not doing so much to retain

(43:41):
their bad drivers. And that is who you see in the market when you have times like this. Copy.
And and what are some of the the things that are disqualifying, uh, candidates that you see the most
of? Is it going to be violations, accidents? Is it a drug screen thing? What's what's kind of the
number one thing that's a qualifier that you see. Typically it's things like, you know, multiple

(44:03):
accidents within the past few years. Um, DUIs within the past five years. Um,
criminal records tend to be a big one right now. Yeah. Interesting. And do you think that's industry
wide, or do you think that's more of a of a niche, uh, freight issue that you guys are seeing? Um,

(44:24):
I feel like it's it's probably industry wide. Uh, just based on past experience at other,
uh, trucking companies, it seems to be, you know, when we have, um, rises and freight and dips
in the driver pool, that's kind of what you see. Interesting stuff there. I, you know, I the DUI

(44:45):
thing has always kind of blown me away in trucking. I, I've always felt like if you're a CDL
holder, a DUI has got to feel like the the closest thing to a death sentence that you could have in
your professional career. Um, but it it sounds like they're still out there applying. Um, so is there a
way? Let's say you get a DUI and you get five years beyond it. Does that driver have a chance

(45:09):
in the industry, or is that going to be something that people are going to look at and just
immediately draw a big red X on the application? No. So I mean, of course with anything, there is a
lot of nuance to this job in looking at their total history and what their more recent years
look like, how they discuss things with you. So, you know, that accountability piece is always huge. If

(45:32):
they can say, you know, I did this X amount of years ago, I was young and dumb. I've learned from
and I've grown from it. I don't do that anymore. You know, we can have a further conversation if
they're making a bunch of excuses and they've got, you know, several violations since then and their
their work history is rough and they've got a lot of other red flags. That is something that I would

(45:53):
kind of steer away from more. Right. So it really is one thing I'm uncovering here is a continue to
go through these questions with you is yes, you are evaluating the CDL holder, but you are very
much evaluating the person. And that's something that I think is a bit unique because I, I've
talked to a lot of recruiters on various shows. I've worked with many of them closely, and while

(46:17):
that is a trait that some of them have, it's not one that I see come through as consistently as I
would like to. And I think I, you know, I talked about giving people flowers. I want to give you
some flowers for that because it's very apparent that you are looking for a fit here. You've said
it multiple times. You're not just looking for a heartbeat in two feet, which by the way, I'm going

(46:37):
to use that, I love it. I'm your email signature. You're giving me all these new words to use. I'm
gonna make you a co-host. Hey, I'm going to give you another one you can use as a recruiter. I
heard this phrase and I loved it. You know, a lot of recruiters, um, tend to have the mindset of, to a
hammer, everything's a nail, and that is not me. You know, I am. I do not think every single driver is

(47:00):
the right fit for Bulk Transit. Yeah, and that's a very, um, interesting
perspective there because you've already mentioned so many times your job is to hire
drivers. You're having success if you hire them. It stands to reason why some other recruiters would
see every nail or every driver is a nail because they're the hammer. And that's just what they want

(47:22):
is a high higher rate. But you're evaluating the people. And I have to say, that's probably a really
big reason why everybody is happy that we've talked to here and why these jobs are so sought
after. I mean, pneumatic trailer or bust, it doesn't matter, right? If you get in with a good company.
And I've had drivers tell me on this podcast, they'll have to fire me or kick me out. I'm

(47:45):
staying until I'm all done. You got to feel pretty good if you've hired that guy. And now he's saying
that, right? That is my favorite part of the job. That is a phrase that I love to hear, that I have
heard from so many of our drivers, when they call me and they say, you will have to kick me out, I
love that. And you don't kick them out very often. I imagine that's not your purview, right? No, that's

(48:08):
good, that's good. You don't have to be the bad guy with that one. I like it, I like it. Um, okay, I've
got some. Just some rapid fire questions here for you. Um, and maybe you've already answered them a
little bit, but we'll just go through and hit them one more time, because we've still got just a few
minutes here. Uh, biggest misconception drivers have about recruiting in general, Rachel. So I'm

(48:29):
just going to go back to that whole mindset of, you know, a lot of times it feels like they think
I am looking for reasons to weed them out, and I am looking for reasons to weed them in. So I feel
like that is a big misconception. Um, you know, they I always say I feel like some
drivers think that they are the only applicant. They are the only person that I'm working with.

(48:55):
and, um, they they don't have a full understanding that, you know, when
you call me, I may be on the other line. I may have stepped away from my desk. I may not get back to
you right that second. Um, I will get back to you. So that is that is something that has been kind

(49:16):
of a funny little quirk to me in this job, in kind of adjusting to, um, but, uh, there are
a lot of little, I guess, different things that I work through in managing, um, you
know, expectations and helping them with getting their applications submitted. And, and I always say

(49:36):
I'm, I'm sort of, um, almost a part time IT specialist because they're calling me so much
on, you know, I can't get into my safety videos. My clearinghouse isn't working, things like that. It's
so funny. I've always pictured recruiters as a person that is talking on a phone while texting
on another one, and there's a third in their pocket that's ringing. Yes. You just don't have the

(49:58):
the capacity to be able to take all the phone calls that you need to take at that moment, and
I'm sure that that is that. Would you say that's one of the more stressful parts of the job is
just the constant firehose flow of incoming communication? Um, it depends. You know,
it recruiting is so weird because it's all or nothing. So you either have 100 phone calls right

(50:21):
now or you have nothing going on. Okay. It can be, you know, really
stressful one day and then really, like, you're digging through old applicants and trying to get
what you can get another day. So sort. Of. Stress. Feast or famine? Always up and down. Yeah. Yeah, yeah.
Sort of feast or famine there I like it. Okay. I got another, uh, another rapid fire question for

(50:44):
you. One thing drivers obsess over too much from your seat as a recruiting and retention manager.
This is going to sound weird, but, um. Hey, um, they want to know
exactly how much they're going to make, and I completely understand that. You've got to you've
got to pay your bills. You've got to make ends meet. But when, you know, I tell them this is the

(51:08):
average. This is what it looks like. Well, I need this number. Okay. Well, that's within the average.
Um, I can't promise you you're going to hit exactly that number from week to week, but that's
what it's going to average out to, uh, over the course of time. And they sometimes want to
have you tell them, yes, you absolutely are going to make x, y, z every single week. And I, I

(51:32):
can't promise that, you know, I can promise what it looks like over time. Well,
and there's there's that one element that matters so much is the person that you're talking to is
the one that's going to affect that number, not you. Right. It's how hard they're going to go out
there and run. How, you know, are they going to stay out or are they going to take the loads when

(51:52):
they're there? Or are they going to be a little bit lazy about it? And obviously, uh, if you're
going to do the latter, that number is going to drop a little bit. That's, that's, that's a, that's a
very common, um, I guess formula in trucking is if you're not rolling, you're not earning. Right.
That's pretty pretty standard. But interesting stuff there I like that you said pay because I

(52:12):
know that that's one that they obsess over, probably more than just about anything else. Uh, we
already mentioned it tied maybe with home time, but that's it. It's those two. And of course it's
it's vitally important. And I totally understand why they obsess over it. But them trying to get me
to, like, make promises that I can't like guarantee is kind of a difficult thing for me.

(52:35):
Sure. Uh, this is just a fun one because it's it's more, uh, I guess what I'll say subjective, but,
uh, which terminals out there having the most fun? Uh, you talk to the terminal managers all the time.
You talk to the drivers. Who's out there having who's out there. Just just, you know, getting a good
job done. Obviously, we've said it. They all just run a super tight ship. But I imagine there's a

(52:56):
few. There's like a terminal that's like your jokester terminal or your, you know, your class
clown terminal. Which one is that? Sidney. Every time I talk to Jason, he is just full of jokes
and and humor and having a good time. Yep. And, you know, I was I was going to question if Rodney's
terminal was kind of that way because he put the temporary tattoo on his cheek. Absolutely a

(53:18):
jokester too. Yeah, yeah. Okay, so so we're having some fun out there in Sidney. Nice. I'm. I'm just
trying to mark down when I make my next swing out there where I'm going to stop. So, you know, if I'm
going to show up with some whoopee cushions and some, uh, you know, some what do they call those
little things that shock you when you shake people's hands? The zappers. I want to go to the
right terminal. If I'm going to have my practical joke bag out. You know, um, if you could fix one

(53:41):
thing in the industry overnight by just snapping your fingers, what would it be? And this can be, you
know, specific to Bulk, or it can be outside in more an industry wide thing. What would you change
about trucking, Rachel? Industry wide, I would change the mindset
on job hopping. I know we've we've kind of covered this already, but that is something that seems to

(54:06):
be so common and things have changed a lot over the years with with that as well. Because, you know,
we went from a market where, you know, everybody was hiring, everybody who applied
and companies were desperate for drivers. And then things kind of flipped to where you could be a
little bit more selective. And drivers were still thinking, anybody will hire me. So

(54:31):
a lot of them actually still have that mindset. And like trying to explain to them, you know,
your work history is not the best. Um, and so at this time, you know, we've got some
other applicants that we feel are a better fit and then not understanding that can sometimes be

(54:51):
a challenge. Sure, I bet it can be. And if there was ever an apropos thing that happened on this show,
it was when Rachel just reached down to silence her phone, which was vibrating during that last
sentence. There. I want Mike to leave that in. He's not. I'm not going to have the editor go in and
try to get that out. I think it's important to see I'm surprised that hasn't happened 8 or 9 more

(55:11):
times when you've been on with me here. That was that was because that was my, uh, my cell phone. So
my other phone is on Do Not Disturb. So I got it. So you took care of it. That's good thinking there.
I don't even put my phone on. Do not disturb. Like I said, you should be my co-host. I mean, you're
doing this job better than I am at this point. I would love to be your co-host. You're welcome on

(55:33):
here anytime, Rachel. And. And with that, I feel like we could probably start to wrap this up a little
bit. I've had you here for almost 45 minutes. Um, I just before we leave here, I'll give you a chance
to kind of, uh, give us your final thoughts. If there's anything we left on the table you want to
discuss, we'll definitely get to it. But, uh, this podcast is definitely a big thing for recruiting.

(55:54):
We know that, we understand it, and we aim to bring you good content that if you're a Bulk or Spur
driver, you'll get something out of. But if you're thinking about coming to work for Bulk or Spur
and spur or even just applying, trying to figure out what pneumatics is all about, that's what
we're here to do. We're here to kind of shine a light on all of it, most notably the culture. Uh,

(56:15):
that is something that I think that that people that listen to this podcast are going to get out
of it more than any of the other podcasts I do. This the culture of this company was made a focal
point to me from the minute that we walked in the door and started planning this. And Rachel, I just
hope that from our side, we can provide you guys with everything you need so you can continue to
find the fits that you guys continue to find and knock out of the park every single day. Yeah, I'm

(56:39):
very excited to have the podcast as a tool in my tool belt because it's, you know, I always tell
people I'm just a recruiter. I'm not a driver. I've never been a driver. I can tell you what other
people have told me, but I can't tell you what the day-to-day looks like and kind of what to expect
as far as personal experience. So being able to point to the podcast and say, hey, this driver was

(57:01):
talking about X, Y, and Z on this episode. So go listen to that. That is a huge help to me. That's great.
We're going to keep doing it. Uh, final thoughts before we let you go, Rachel, uh, recruiting and
retention manager for Bulk and Spur, obviously, uh, huge thanks to you for the time and the care that
you've given this segment today. We greatly appreciate it. Uh, this Final Thoughts segment is

(57:22):
for you to do whatever you wish with. You can shout out people, if we left anything on the table
you want to bring up, now's the time. You've got as much time as you'd like. Take it away and thanks
for being here. Yeah. So my final thought that I'll leave you with is just, you know, I've worked for
other trucking companies in the past, and one thing that I have always said from day one at

(57:44):
Bulk is. This is an easy sell. Um, it's not going to be the right
job for every driver, and that's fine. But if you ask me off the clock, should I come to work
for Bulk Transit? I'm going to tell you. Absolutely, yes. And I have not always felt that way about
other companies that I have recruited for. Great stuff there. All right. One last thing. I want you

(58:09):
to call out a couple of drivers that you want to hear on this podcast. Just say their name right
now. So it's on the record, and I'll get to knocking on their door afterwards. Who do you want
to hear? The number one that comes to mind is Greg Sigler. Um, he is just a hoot and a half.
He's always a good time to talk to and he is always in a good mood, always smile and laughing.

(58:32):
Um, you know, he stopped in to say hi when he was through Columbus. And, you know, I love when drivers
do that. And, uh, so I think he would definitely be a good one. That's a good one to know. I was
privileged enough to get to sit down with Greg when I was out there in Columbus, and he's
definitely on the list. Rachel, thank you so much for the time today. You are welcome back here
anytime. Uh, put us to work. We are a tool in your tool belt, so I want to hear from you. If there's

(58:56):
ever anything we can do for you. Okay. All right. Appreciate it. That's Rachel Dellaposta. We'll be
right back.
Great stuff there from Rachel. She is welcome on the show anytime. She's got broadcasting
experience. She's better at this job than I am. Uh, and that was awesome. I can't thank her enough for

(59:20):
the time. You know, a lot of times when you come in and say, hey, uh, we're going to book you for an
hour, and, uh, we're going to we're going to talk about the job. Some people get a little bit
nervous, and, and Rachel even admitted to me before we turn the mics on that she had a few nerves
there. Did not see them at all. That was awesome. She answered every question. She was very well
prepared. That's something that you can tell. She's got a little bit of that experience from those

(59:43):
college radio DJ days. She was well prepared for everything I threw at her today. Can't thank her
enough. Welcome back on the show anytime. And, uh, right there at the end, I told you to stay tuned
for it. Greg Sigler, you got called out, and not in a bad way, either. Greg and I got to meet when, uh,
when I was out there in Columbus, and, uh, great guy. I can't wait to have you on the show. Greg, hit me

(01:00:06):
up. We'll get you in here for anything that you want to talk about. Uh, but a kind of a storied
career there. Uh, and and just a guy that I took just stream of consciousness notes when
I. When I sat down with Greg, and, um, he used to be a union ironworker. Uh, he retired, dabbled in
trucking a little bit. Listen, there's a whole story here, and I can't wait to get him on the

(01:00:29):
show to talk about it and anything else that he wants to talk about. And the rest of you guys, too.
I called out some other drivers at the beginning of the show. I'll save you from having to hear
your name again, because I don't want you to feel like you've done anything wrong. Daryl Robbins, AJ
Reid, uh, Bryan Alexander, Jeff Lynn, Mike Upchurch we we've we've talked to some of you. We haven't
talked to all of you. Uh, we're in fact, we're a long ways away from talking to all of you. Uh,

(01:00:52):
Jacob May is another one. Get on the show. Love to have you guys. Um, as you can see, we'll always just
kind of have a good time with the conversation. I was talking to some guys earlier today, and they
were asking me like, what's this? Like what? What is it? What's the makeup of it? I'll tell you right
now, the best way that I could describe the conversation that you will have with me on this

(01:01:13):
podcast when you decide to join, it is a lot more like having a cup of coffee around the break room
table than it is like sitting down in a studio with lights and a microphone for an interview. A
if you're a driver, nine times out of ten, you're going to be doing this interview over the phone.
Um, so that in and of itself sort of relaxes the environment a little bit. Um, I, I guess in just

(01:01:34):
kind of what you would call a student of human nature at, at the, at the ground level. I'm curious.
I love talking to people. There's nothing better in my life and in my professional life, but when a
conversation just goes, there's none of that uncomfortable silence. There's none of that dead
air. Um, that type of stuff drives a former live radio DJ absolutely nuts. Let me tell you how

(01:01:57):
long I can handle silence on a broadcast. Okay. Are you ready?
I didn't even make it to three seconds. I have a clock. Two point like seven five seconds. Right
there is is all I can handle before my brain starts to lose it. And I'll tell you right now,
after one second, I was ready to fire off some words. Uh, so that's what I really like is good

(01:02:20):
conversation, and I will do everything I can to keep it going. You guys can hear that on the show
here. Uh, but we're going to turn the focus to drivers for the next few weeks here. And I want to
talk to as many of you as want to. Come on, I talk to you about it in the open there. Um, there's so
many different things we can talk about, so many things we can cover. And remember, I'm Steve Nash

(01:02:40):
of this podcast. My job is not to score the points my ball is, or my job is to get the ball to you so
that you can score the points on this podcast, and very happy to do it. Always. Uh, didn't even have to
work hard today with Rachel on there. Just pass her the ball. She's knocking down corner threes
behind the back. Tomahawk slams. She's going between the legs with it I mean it was amazing.

(01:03:01):
And uh you know you it's it's a high bar to live up to. Don't get me wrong. But everybody set a high
bar so far. Tim did great. Shawn did great. Uh, there's not anybody that's come on this podcast
that hasn't given a A-plus performance in my eyes. So let's get more of you guys on it. Really
looking forward to talking about it. That off time hobbies episode. That's when I've got my eye on

(01:03:24):
man. Let's talk about some of the stuff you guys are out there doing. Uh, for instance, it was just
going through my notes here. Uh, we do have a video game streamer on the staff here.
Where is it at? There it is. AJ, let's talk about it. AJ, I know what you got going on for those off
time hobbies. I know you're a gamer just like me, man. I would love to get you in here and talk

(01:03:46):
about it. I'm going to stop calling out drivers now. I feel like I've done a pretty good service
of that today. And I enlisted the help of Rachel, which I will do all the time because she is a
fantastic resource for this podcast, she said. The podcast is a tool in her tool belt. She has no
idea how many emails I'm going to send her over the course of the next, however long this podcast

(01:04:08):
runs. They're just going to come because she's awesome. She's always going to hook me up with
somebody that will be perfect for the segment. So hats off to Rachel Dellaposta for not only
her performance here on the podcast today, but for the job she does in finding the right fit for
Bulk and Spur for all the terminals. Uh, you can tell I talked to the drivers. I know I have heard

(01:04:30):
many of them saying, even on this podcast, you're going to have to kick me out. I'm not leaving this
company. Um, that's, uh. That's just flowers for Rachel all day long. So, uh, next time you're over
by the plane city terminal, swing in and say hi to her and tell her what an awesome job she did on
the podcast. And don't forget to stop by Shawn and Tim's offices as well and tell them, because these

(01:04:52):
last three episodes have been awesome. Super informative. If you didn't know what Bulks all
about, these last three episodes give you a concrete idea of exactly what's going on between
the walls at Bulk and Spur, that's going to pretty much wrap up episode 12 of Always Pneumatic, Never
Static. Can you believe it? We're already a half rack of episodes into this thing. 12 episodes.

(01:05:16):
That's three months. We're going to keep cranking them out for you. We got at least 12 months of
these things coming for you. And if everything goes well, we'll be throwing high fives as we turn
it over after a year and start our second group of 52 episodes. Uh, it's it's very exciting. All
right. Over here in Eugene, Oregon. You might not be able to feel it out there in the Midwest and in

(01:05:36):
Ohio. But I am very excited about everything on the horizon for Always Pneumatic, Never Static.
Don't forget to stop by the website podcast.bulktransit.com to send me an email if you want to be on the show,
or if you have a topic that you think is worth me creating an episode around, I'll do it. Try me.
podcast.bulktransit.com. That's the website. This has been Always Pneumatic, Never Static. I

(01:06:01):
have been Marcus. You have been awesome. We will see you all next week for another episode. 5 a.m.
local time. Be safe out there, Bulk and Spur will catch you later. 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 to you by Bulk Transit. Thanks for rolling with us today. Till next time,

(01:06:26):
stay safe. Keep those lines clear and keep it pumping.