#3 - Management Philosophy - You're More Than a Number Here

At Bryan Truck Line, you’re never a number, you’re a person, and you’re treated as such.  On episode 3 of the Bryan Truck Line Show, we’re diving into the management philosophy of Bryan Truck Line.  We’ll talk with Zach Dean, Recruiter Judy Norrick, and Driver Manager Heather Valdez to hear about their thought process behind treating drivers well and building a lasting culture at Bryan.

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Welcome to the Brian Truck Line show.
I am your host Marcus and thank you so much for being here on this episode of the Brian Truck line show.
Uh Everybody out there that clicks that subscribe button or downloads the podcast helps us out.
So we really do appreciate the participation.
And if you want to be on the Brian Truck Line show,

(00:21):
uh If you're a driver out there listening right now and you're thinking,
hey,
I got some things I'd like to say to that dude.
Please get in touch with your dispatcher,
have them touch base with Judy Norrick over in recruiting.
She will get you in touch with me.
Uh And,
and it's just been a pleasure so far to work with everybody that I have and we're only like two or three episodes into this thing.

(00:42):
So I'm really looking forward to the prospects of this show going forward,
getting you all of that juicy info uh and entertainment that you want out of the Brian Truck Line show.
So,
what are we getting into today?
Well,
uh we're gonna talk some management philosophy today and before you go for the left knob and turn the volume down.

(01:02):
I want you to know that this conversation will be more exciting than the term management philosophy sounds.
I've got Judy Norrick coming in to talk about some of the,
uh,
relationships that she formulates with recruit or during the recruiting process,
excuse me,
uh,
with drivers and then the relationships that they have on down the line.

(01:22):
Um,
Judy's been with Brian for quite some time now and I can't wait to get her on and,
and hear a little bit of about,
about how she approaches her job.
Um It's,
it's so fascinating to me to hear the care that you can hear in a lot of employees voices when they talk about their jobs.
And that's kind of where we're going today.

(01:43):
Let's hear the philosophy behind why you do the things you do and why those things that you do make Brian Trump line a great place for a driver or a staff member to work.
I'm also going to talk to Zach Dean a little bit later on and I've got some other surprises for you coming up later on as well.
But without further ado,
it's time to kick this episode of the Brian Truck Line show off.

(02:06):
So let's get started less than truckload,
more than trucking.
This is the Brian Truck Line show from Northwest Ohio to wherever you are with your host,
Marcus Bridges.
Joining me here on the Brian Truck Line show for the very first time.
I've got recruiter from Brian Truck line,

(02:26):
Judy Norrick on the phone,
Judy.
Thank you so much for being so generous with your time and jumping in here to join us on the show today.
Thank you for having me Mark.
I,
I really appreciate it.
Of course.
Uh I,
I got to sit down with you when I was there at the terminal.
It was very great to meet you in person.
Um You are just a fantastic lady and I had so much fun talking to you.

(02:47):
And so I'll be honest with you,
I've been very excited to get you on the phone and chat with you a little bit about the podcast.
Can you walk me through real quick,
Judy before we get into the nitty gritty here?
Uh How long you've been working at Brian and,
and how you ended up at Brian?
Well,
I have been at Bryan for 14 years now.
Um I actually came from a totally different world.

(03:10):
I was in the manufacturing aspect of things,
but I was on the benefits consultant type end of it.
So I came to Brian truck lines with zero experience in the trucking world and have just kind of learned as I went with that being said,
I spent some time doing log verifications.

(03:34):
I,
they moved me over to our LTL dispatch position,
then moved me back over to safety and eventually ended up in recruiting,
which I have done now for probably,
oh,
about,
uh,
11 years.
And so it's just been a natural progression.
My next stop is retirement.

(03:56):
Well,
I'm glad that you got that posted on a board somewhere.
Uh,
because that's what's important is to keep remembering where,
why you're putting in all this work.
It seems like kind of a common theme of people.
I've talked to when you,
uh,
start at Brian,
sometimes you are going to do a little bit of hopping around.
And I think that based on what I've heard,

(04:16):
that really helps you kind of learn the industry,
especially for someone like yourself that came in without any prior experience in trucking.
Well,
in thing about the Brian to line management,
uh group,
if they,
they have a employee that they feel is suitable for something more,
they're not gonna hold you back.

(04:37):
If you have the opportunity and the drive to move forward and move up,
it's all open to you because you,
you're not necessarily stuck in the,
in the same position for the entire livelihood of your time spent with them.
So they're always looking to have people expand.
That's great and a great philosophy to have because as people spend,

(04:59):
you know,
decades at,
at a certain job,
the job might change,
but the people also change as those years go on and sometimes it's just not the right fit anymore and to be able to stay within the same company and,
and keep all of those relationships that you've built intact while just doing something different.
Seems to be a really good way to go about things and,
uh,
minimize turnover if nothing else.

(05:21):
Exactly.
Exactly.
So,
can you talk me through just a little bit of,
of the recruiting process?
Uh,
before I get into more management philosophy,
questions for you,
Judy?
How does,
how does a driver go from,
start to finish,
uh,
if they want to work at Brian Truck Line?
Well,
you know,
we,

(05:41):
we put our ads out in a multitude of different,
uh,
aspects,
um,
whether it's Facebook or whether it's in the newspaper or,
you know,
occasionally radio ads,
Craigslist,
you name it wherever they hear about us or,
um,
many times we're in a very rural community.

(06:01):
So a lot of times it's just a drive by,
you know,
they see our,
our building or our signs on our fence and,
you know,
we'll pick up the phone and dial in.
I,
I generally take phone calls is as soon as they arrive,
I will talk with them,
I will ask them to tell me,
you know,
what it is,

(06:22):
what it is that you're looking for.
You know,
I could go on and on and on about all of our different divisions and our opportunities that we have.
But if being out over the road is not your cup of tea,
you wanna be home night because you've got two,
a wife and two kids,
then I need to tailor that conversation to fit what you're looking for.

(06:43):
So,
my philosophy,
as far as the recruiting part of it is first and foremost,
honesty.
I try to be upfront with everyone.
I,
I try to tell them exactly what Brian Truck line has to offer them.
Well,
my,
my feeling is if I try to sell you something that we truly can't support,

(07:08):
then I have failed because you're not gonna be happy,
you're not gonna stay.
And that's not what we're looking for.
We're looking for those drivers that walk in the door.
There are,
there are everything that they were get told during the recruiting process is exactly what they're going to get.
If that person isn't happy,

(07:29):
they're not gonna stay.
And that is not our goal.
We were looking for that with longevity because that's,
you know,
that's where the money is for themselves and for Brian truck lines,
that's where I go with it.
That's great.
Well,
I think that's,
that's really important that you mention honesty upfront and foremost because as I've,

(07:53):
I've spoken to a lot of drivers during my tenure as,
as a podcast host.
And one thing that I always hear from them is,
well,
I went to work for XY Z trucking and they promised me the moon and the stars and they gave me a bowl of dirt when I showed up and that was all I was expected to want.

(08:13):
And it doesn't seem like a very effective recruiting strategy to me.
I mean,
it's sort of a bait and switch deal and that just sets the,
sets the stage for an angry employee from the word go.
I hear a lot of that as well.
One of the biggest things I'm hearing most recently is,
oh,
they offered me this huge wage and,

(08:36):
you know,
it's great.
Yeah,
I'm making that wage but I'm working three out of five days a week or two out of five days.
Or,
you know,
they left me setting in Wyoming for,
you know,
three back haul and I can come back and I can tell you that it was a,
with,
find the way we dispatch nine times out of 10.

(09:00):
You know,
exactly what your dispatch is before you leave here with the load.
So,
um,
you know,
leaving that,
you know,
hey,
I've got my back haul.
It's,
uh,
15 minutes down the road from where I'm dropping and I can shoot right over there,
grab my load and be right back and,

(09:23):
you know,
there's no setting while you're out on the road just waiting,
wondering where they're heading you next.
So,
a lot of our drivers who have come from a situation like that at first,
I don't think they believe it,
but it is,
but it is,
it's exactly what we do.
Um,
even our,
our Texas drivers know when they,

(09:45):
when they depart,
they know what they're picking up,
you know,
to make their way back and they're not going to be hung out to dry.
So,
if you're not moving,
you're not making money.
Amen.
Amen to that.
Let's talk,
let's talk a little bit about management philosophy here,
jud.
Uh,
how would you define the management philosophy that Brian employs with respect to the drivers?

(10:06):
Well,
I've heard it many,
many,
many times the drivers are the backbone of this company without the drivers.
I don't get a paycheck.
Nobody gets a paycheck.
We are dead in the water.
So it's,
you know,
the drivers are,
are our number one priority because if we don't have drivers,

(10:27):
we're not picking up freight.
It doesn't matter how customers we have.
So,
you know,
we,
we try to treat the drivers respectfully and with the importance that,
that they have to the company.
So,
and you know,
in speaking with some uh,
Brian drivers,
that is one thing that was constantly noted to me was that I feel seen and heard here.

(10:51):
If I have a problem,
I can go to the correct person and that problem will be addressed.
Whereas sometimes at other companies,
if I had a problem,
it was just another problem in the bucket of problems and uh deal with it or don't,
whatever you feel is,
is the best for you,
but the company is not going to take care of it for you.
Why do you think Brian has become such a driver centric company?

(11:14):
Obviously,
aside from the fact that it all starts and ends with the drivers,
nobody's even going to work tomorrow if the drivers aren't showing up.
So,
uh,
but what other things do,
Brian does,
Brian do to kind of be such a driver centric company,
Judy?
Well,
I mean,
there's,
there's many factors,
there's a lot of people who are always willing to help and to listen from my side from day one in the orientation and recruiting process.

(11:44):
I encourage the drivers that,
um,
you know,
you've got,
you've got a question,
I don't care whether it's on payroll or whether it's on dispatch or whether it's on,
you know,
something to do with the Qualcomm.
Don't question it.
Don't let stew about it.
You've got enough to worry about out there on the road with all the crazy drivers you're up against every day.

(12:06):
Don't stew about that kind of stuff.
You pick up the phone,
you call me.
I'm right here.
If I don't have an answer for you immediately,
I will get in touch with someone.
I will get you the answer or I will have them call you directly to walk you through whatever the issue is.
And I think it puts them at ease right from the get go that,

(12:31):
uh,
they know they're not just going to be a number out there in somebody's playbook.
They're actually going to have a one on one that they,
they have some direction as to where they can go with the problem eventually,
you know,
the drivers that have been here,
a longer period of time will go directly to the source because they know who handles what at this point.

(12:57):
But in the meantime,
I'm that initial contact and I'm always happy to do that and it sounds like it.
I can,
I can just hear it in your voice.
And how important is that relationship that you build right off the bat with those drivers?
I mean,
having somebody like you there that makes them feel comfortable and know that they can,
they can just go to you and you'll facilitate the correct response.

(13:19):
If you don't have it yourself,
that's gotta just be something that,
uh,
that they don't get at every other company that recruits them.
So,
how important is that relationship both to you and the driver?
Well,
I've had,
I've had drivers that have retired and they still,
and just to chit chat and see how things are going.

(13:40):
That doesn't surprise me at all.
Judy.
I'm,
I'm gonna end up calling you just to chit chat.
All right.
I'll tell you that right now if you do that.
But yeah,
I mean,
it's the long term.
I,
I run into,
I run into drivers at Walmart and we'll stop and talk in the aisle.
We're one of those annoying people that stop in the aisle and talk while you're trying to get through,

(14:02):
but it's just a building of trust and,
and I think that comes from,
you know,
the open honest approach I take from the very first initial contact with them.
They,
they just have that sense that somebody's there and somebody cares and,
uh,
that,
that doesn't just stop with me in our facility.

(14:26):
It's the dispatchers.
You'll find that our drivers talk so highly about our dispatchers.
They can tell you their kids names,
they can tell you,
you know,
hey,
I know you went camping last week.
How did it go?
The raccoons get your trash or what?
You know,
it's just,
it's just a camaraderie between the groups and so that makes it nice and,

(14:50):
and,
and I think we all feel better about it because,
you know,
it's,
it's not all 100% you know,
driven,
you know,
work,
work,
work,
work,
work there,
there's other things to life,
you know,
it's a,
it's a work life balance and we all recognize that and we all need it and we all want to go home to our families at the end of the day and not have a bunch of bald patches on our head where we've pulled our hair out at work.

(15:18):
And that's,
that's something that drivers deal with frequently too.
It's a stressful job.
There's no question about it.
And we just want to get him home safe.
That is the end of the day goal.
Right.
And it's,
and if it's not,
you know,
the crazy drivers that have cut him off of lanes and,
or the,
or the trains that have drove across the road and held them up for an hour and a half or,

(15:42):
you know,
any crazy things that can happen out on the road does,
there'll be times when drivers call in here they're hot,
they're angry,
they're upset and you know,
our,
our dispatchers will say,
man,
you know,
let it go take it out on me.
If you have to take it out on somebody,
you know,
don't,

(16:03):
don't,
don't do anything silly out there on the road,
you know,
let it fly.
I'm good,
you know,
and,
and they'll,
they'll listen to him,
calm them down and nine times out of 10,
if something like that happens,
the driver will call back in 20 minutes later and say,
man,
I shouldn't never talk to you that way,
but it's like it's ok.

(16:24):
I,
you know,
those things happen and I'd much rather hear it than to have,
have you.
You know,
I feel angry out there on the road that something,
something far worse happens than if you Right.
Right.
Words,
those can go into the ether and be forgotten forever.
It's the actions that stick with us from time to time.
So Judy,

(16:45):
this has been just a great peek behind the curtain on how,
uh recruiting and management sort of approach the relationship with drivers.
And,
uh thank you so much for,
for the time here.
Today.
But I do want to give you a chance before I let you go.
Since this is your first time here on the show.
Uh,
is there anything you'd like to say to any of the drivers or staff that might be listening or perhaps family members and friends that you might turn on to this?

(17:09):
Now that you're a budding podcast star?
Ok.
The one thought that comes to mind is,
as you can tell,
I'm,
I'm closer to that retirement age than probably most.
And over the years,
I have learned sometimes the hard way,
how important it is to balance that work life and home life situation.

(17:34):
Find something that makes you happy,
find something that works for you and your spouse and your Children.
Find whether and if there's no spouse with Children involved,
if it's fishing on Saturday afternoon,
find that stress relief comfort zone that uh you need to make life happy,

(17:57):
sage advice,
Judy.
That was very well put.
Thank you so much for your time today.
We will definitely be getting back in touch with you at a later date to get you back on the show.
Ok?
Ok,
Marcus,
thank you for the time next up here on the Brian Truck line show.

(18:19):
I've got Zach Dean on the line.
Zach,
we're always grateful for the time.
Thanks for being here.
Yeah.
Hey,
Marcus,
happy to be here.
You know,
we're discussing management philosophy at Brian today and I before I get into,
uh,
any real nitty gritty questions about how things are right now.
I,
I did want to ask you a little bit about some of your past experience and how it's shaped you.

(18:42):
Now,
you've got,
uh,
you went through the MB A program at Ohio State University and you've spent some,
uh,
extensive time in corporate America as well.
What are some lessons that you learned through that experience that you've applied at Brian to make it uh or help make it into the company that it is today.
Well,
one I really enjoy,

(19:03):
I got from corporate America is we leave our titles at the door?
I know you've heard me say that before,
which kind of applies to the second one that I would,
that I learned,
which is no one is as smart as everyone.
So I don't care if you're the,
I don't care if you're the intern or the CEO.
I wanna hear all the ideas,

(19:23):
I wanna hear everyone involved and engaged,
which to make sure we're getting feedback from all of the stakeholders,
right?
Especially the people that,
you know,
great ideas rarely come from the boardroom,
right?
Because those aren't the people doing the jobs.
So you gotta get with the people who are,
who are doing the work and make sure you're getting their feedback to make sure that it kicks off,

(19:47):
right?
Because you might have a grand idea and you never,
you never even talk to anyone,
you know,
who's doing the,
doing the work and they're like,
yeah,
that's great.
But you missed a and we can't go forward until,
until we do that first or something.
Um,
and so I think,
you know,
getting,
getting other people's input,
uh,
but I think there's,
there's a caveat there that would be,

(20:07):
we're eventually gonna come to a solution and if it's not yours or you don't agree with it,
that's ok.
But you're not allowed to sabotage it.
So we're gonna get input.
We're gonna see how it goes.
And if you know the way that you wanted to do it isn't where we end up.
That's ok.
We're gonna keep coming to you for feedback.
But I,
I gotta know that you're not gonna,
gonna sabotage.

(20:30):
You know,
I,
I'll equate this a little bit to,
uh my,
my best friend in the world has worked in uh like preventative maintenance and construction work for a large factories for a long time.
And,
and one thing that he always complained about was,
he said,
you know,
an engineer will walk in and he will hand me the plans that he's drawn up and they're great plans.

(20:51):
You can tell that he did really well in engineering school.
But the one thing that he didn't do was come down here on the floor and see that there's a staircase here where I can't run a pipe through,
but he's drawn it into the plans to run the pipe through it.
And it's not possible.
All I need him to do is just come and be in the weeds with me for a day and he'll know everything and it kind of is,

(21:12):
is equitable to what you said about the board room is,
you know,
these guys great minds in there,
but maybe not always their fingers enough in the sand to know exactly what little details are needed to make,
you know,
XYZ work out.
I got a really funny story about that.
We um we were building one of our flagship stores on Fifth Avenue in New York and um we were still looking at the plans and our CEO was like,

(21:37):
I want like a like a grand staircase on that like third floor going up to the fourth and he like blocked it out and kind of set of what he wanted.
And um they were like,
yeah,
we can move that,
but no one's gonna be able to get to,
you know,
456 or seven because that's gonna block the access.
He's like,
yeah,
I guess you don't need that.
So,
um a very similar experience but like if you didn't have those people in the room to tell them no or challenge him or,

(22:02):
or,
you know,
it,
we would have been a big mess,
you know.
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
So,
tell me how would you define your management philosophy uh that,
that Brian employs there?
And and how it pertains to the drivers.
How do you,
how do you manage this company with respect to the fact that the drivers are the most important thing.

(22:23):
So I'm gonna speak from,
I'm gonna speak from the whole company as a whole because mine and my dad are very different than maybe some other people the way they manage.
So I'm gonna speak to the company as a whole because we need to be consistent and we need to make sure that again,
we're looking out for whether it's our hr rules and labor laws or our driver's best interests or,

(22:48):
you know what legal says is best or what our insurance company requires.
So I'm gonna kind of project this from,
you know,
the company as a whole.
You know,
I would say that we're firm but fair and that we're willing to change and when someone brings ideas or they have a,
a new customer or a better way to do something,
we're,
we're,

(23:09):
we look forward to those opportunities to working with,
you know,
our drivers,
our shop or our doc,
you know,
whoever comes up with these great ideas,
whether it's in the office or on the road.
I think that we have to do our testing in small batches.
We don't wanna just take one thing and replicate it over,
you know,
100 100 and 20 trucks.
And if it's something really bad that now we have 100 and 20 bad results versus,

(23:32):
you know,
one or two.
Let,
let you know,
let's try it.
Let's prove it.
Let's now throw the baby out with the bathwater,
let's tweak it.
Let's keep testing it.
Keep seeing what the results are,
keep tweaking it.
So,
you know,
we're getting a little better each day.
There's my continuous improvement philosophy,
but I know that,
you know,
sometimes our policies aren't what our drivers want to hear or even what our office employees want to hear.

(23:56):
So we're open to making changes.
I know that the vacation schedule,
I was able to add some days on the front end that our employees did not have when they started.
And we were able to add some days in the middle because we were,
when we looked at a study for,
uh,
you know,
nationwide,
where,
where did we stack up on the high end?
We were good,

(24:16):
but you have to be 20 years to get to the high end.
And that was not what corporate America and the rest of the country was doing.
So we had to make some of those tweaks.
And I mean,
that's just one example,
but we do have to follow what the policy is.
So we need to be firm there,
but we'll be fair if there's something that we can do,
let us know.
And one note that I jotted down,

(24:37):
I'm gonna say this more than once.
If we don't know about something,
we cannot help.
So I'll have people that,
you know,
they,
they didn't,
they didn't share something with me or there was something at the time.
It was little and they didn't say anything and they didn't say anything.
And now that it's this big eight headed monster that takes a lot more work to handle than,
you know,
when it was a two headed monster.

(24:58):
So if you,
if you want our help and you,
you know,
and we do want to know these things and we do want to help.
But you got to let us know,
I can't read mine and I don't see the things other people see,
I see something,
you know,
from my office that isn't the view of someone out in operations and they don't see things the way our drivers see things nor do I.
So I think that goes back to that,

(25:19):
you know,
no one's as smart as everyone.
And if you got the information,
please,
for the love of God,
share it because I can't fix it if I don't know about it,
you know,
and speaking with some of the drivers when I was there at the terminal,
I jotted down in the notes that when I would ask him,
why do you like working for Brian?
Quite a few of them told me because I feel seen and heard here and I think this is probably a good opportunity to tell other drivers that are listening.

(25:44):
The reason those drivers feel seen and heard is because they do make themselves seen and heard because it helps you understand what's going on out there.
So,
if you want to be seen and heard at Brian just be seen and heard it,
it seems like a pretty simple thing there.
Yeah.
And,
you know,
there was some other things,
you know,
one of your questions or,
you know,
thought behind this is that scene in her thing.

(26:06):
You know,
what do you think makes Brian such a driver centric company?
I know very,
very early on.
Um,
my dad had an open door policy.
Anyone could go see him about anything.
I will put an asterisk there.
It's good if you address any sort of problem with your manager first,
like see if they can fix it because it doesn't look good that you went,

(26:27):
you know,
running to Larry or me and now we have to go back down the chain and let,
let your manager know something.
They're like,
well,
jeez,
why didn't they just tell me?
You know what I mean?
It's,
it's one of those kind of things and the open door policy,
which we're actually in the process of redoing has essentially turned into our,
what we call our retention committee.
So let's just say,

(26:49):
you know,
the comment you have is probably not gonna make you leave,
but it is tied to retention because if that problem was exacerbated or magnified,
you're probably,
you know,
not really gonna love it.
So I put it in this retention category because what happens is when a driver has an issue,
either through the open door policy or working with their retention team,

(27:11):
these issues come in,
my team will do the research,
they'll ask questions,
they'll get pictures,
you know,
what was the pro number?
Where's,
you know,
where specifically did this happen?
You know,
what was the issue?
You know,
can,
can you describe it from maybe the customer's perspective,
you know,
my team gathers all of that information and then we meet.
So there might be a problem that you come to and it might go from operations over to Judy,

(27:38):
Becky and Brent and then it might come back to you and then we might do a little more research and then we come to you with,
you know,
here's a solution or here's how we're gonna tackle it.
Not once did you hear my name or hear from me?
But I'm directly involved in every single one of those conversations and I give direction for,
you know,
how I think it should be handled.
But again,

(27:58):
we,
we,
we work it all out together.
So sometimes I feel like the guys think that,
you know,
I got a lot going on and I'm not listening or I'm not necessarily directly involved.
That's far from the truth.
I just have,
you know,
a really good set up and good,
good team that I trust to,
to get that information so that we can,
I can plow through it real quick with them and then they can get it back to you.

(28:19):
That,
that's kind of how,
how that works.
And I think that does make it driver centric and I'm,
I'm working on making sure that I,
I let them know I'm hearing and seeing those things even if they would have no idea that I am,
you know,
buying the scenes for sure.
And,
and I can definitely speak to that from a little bit of experience just in working with different trucking fleets.
Uh I have never heard a retention team mentioned by any of those other fleets.

(28:43):
And that right there,
I think speaks to why Brian is a driver centric company is because you have a team in place to problem solve in order to cut back on,
on turnover and keep drivers happy and,
and working at a job that will give them a good paycheck,
keep them safe,
uh give them good equipment to run and,
and just get the job done,

(29:04):
which I know is,
that's the number one thing on many drivers minds they're here because they want to earn a paycheck and support their family and the company that can make that for them with the least amount of headaches and hair pulling.
Uh is the one they're gonna stay with?
And it sounds to me like you've got a really good road built.
Uh here for,

(29:25):
for keeping employees at Brian and,
and solving these problems,
working together with yourself and other employees just to make it a good place to be that if,
if I could define driver centric,
that's,
that my very convoluted definition would be that I,
you know,
and I think,
you know,
I,
we have this little phrase,
you know,
we hire them to retire them.

(29:45):
Not that I'm looking for anyone to retire,
Let's just be clear there.
Um But if you did,
you,
if you do,
you earned it,
we're happy,
you know,
for everything you did over the years.
But once we get a driver and they've been here,
you know,
12,
maybe three years,
they're pretty much here for,
for the foreseeable future.
And you know,
the first couple weeks,

(30:06):
first couple months can be rocky and I'm gonna go ahead and beat the dead horse if we don't know,
we can't help,
but there's something wrong with your truck and you didn't let our shop know and you're not letting me,
uh,
you know,
operations or safety know about this issue,
no one's gonna fix it.
So let us know immediately if the window isn't working or you just don't understand how to do.

(30:26):
I don't know X or you don't think your extension cord works to plug your truck in at night cause you're having trouble getting it started every morning.
Let us know because you know those,
those first couple of weeks,
say a lot about the company that,
that you are and I know that it feels like that's where,
you know,
Murphy's law happens.
You get someone in,
they're the perfect,

(30:46):
perfect guy and you got the perfect run and then,
you know,
some out of left field comes in and,
and then they're not feeling warm and fuzzy about,
about the company,
but we don't know about it.
You know,
it's,
it's hard to change that but speak out,
you know,
ask for help,
talk to people,
talk to other drivers.
Our drivers are so helpful to other drivers.
Um,

(31:07):
oh man,
you know that,
that is a bad place to get in and out of it if you go in the way most people do.
But you know,
you go around the corner to take a laugh,
take a LA and come in and you'll be able to back right in.
There's something off,
you know,
off the side which clear it's safe.
But when you pull it looks like this is the only way in and you're like,
you know,
I'm gonna have to have someone get out there and like hold traffic.
No,
no,
no,
we're not doing that,

(31:27):
talk to another driver and,
and you know,
they'll help you and you know,
they give each other their phone numbers.
We have a great team on our LTL board where they'll call and ask where someone is and where someone else is.
Well,
I got this pickup but I thought you might be near there.
Yeah.
And they'll call operations and we'll just flip it because,
you know,
again,
no one's as smart as everyone.

(31:47):
There's some things that operations does do and we make some,
you know,
some managerial questions.
But my drivers are the boot down the road.
You have the best view of what's actually going on out there.
I can look at Google Maps.
I can use our satellite software to tracking trucks.
I can use street view,
but I'm never gonna have the view that my drivers have.

(32:07):
So I,
when they work together and collaborate,
I think that it really sets,
sets the tone for why they stay because it is,
you know,
one thing.
Absolutely.
And I,
I'll echo something that uh Judy Norrick said because we had her on,
uh just before you came on and she mentioned,
hey,
in those first couple of months,
those first couple of weeks,

(32:28):
things are crazy.
You might not know everybody here,
call me,
you know,
me,
I recruited you.
I'm the one that can,
if I can't answer your question right here on the spot,
I can find you,
the person that will be able to help you.
And uh again,
it just speaks to the team that you've got in place there.
I can tell just by listening to Judy talk about it,

(32:49):
she will bend over backwards for these drivers to get them off the ground and get them into a,
a good starting position.
And,
uh,
after that,
you know,
you start to,
when you have a team that's that close knit and people that are that willing to help out,
it never takes that long to really get in there and just feel comfortable asking questions,
talking to the right person,
asking a driver to switch up a load with you because you're closer than they are.

(33:13):
That's all things that are pretty unique uh,
to Brian Truck line,
at least in the experience that I've had dealing with other fleets.
So I have to say hats off to you and the team that you've installed and the way that things are run,
I think the management philosophy and this is not coming from a management expert,
but I think the management philosophy is spot on it.
Brian Zach,
you guys do a great job there.

(33:35):
I appreciate that,
man.
It's,
uh,
it,
it's a lot of work but it's,
it's rewarding.
Absolutely.
Well,
Zach,
I know that you're a busy guy.
I wanna give you a couple of seconds to say anything else that,
uh,
that you didn't get to talk about if you might have notes or something like that or anything to your drivers or staff members that might be listening.
I'm just gonna give you the floor here at the end of the interview if you'd like it.

(33:57):
I would just say thanks like this is one team and everybody works really hard.
I reiterate if I don't know,
I can't help and that we're firm but fair.
But if we don't know about something,
we can't,
we can't change it.
So bring it to our attention and,
uh,
let's see what we can do to make it better.
That's Zach Dean from Brian Truck lines.

(34:18):
Zach,
always a pleasure.
Thank you.
Thank you,
Marcus.
Take care next up here on the Brian Truck Line show.
I had this segment uh reserved,
excuse me for Heath Gotschall,
who's a senior driver manager for Westway Operations.
Uh you know him.
Well,
he's a great guy.

(34:39):
He was very gracious with his time when I was at the terminal,
uh figuring out how we were gonna make this podcast work.
And so I greatly appreciate all the info that Heath has already given me.
He wasn't able to join us on this podcast,
but he did answer a bunch of questions that I sent him via email and I'm just gonna go ahead and read through my questions and his answers so we can get our heads wrapped around exactly how it is that Heath approaches the job with Brian Truck line.

(35:06):
My first question was,
how would you define the management philosophy that Brian employs with respect to their drivers?
He says,
quote,
I would say not micromanaging the drivers and giving them freedom.
My drivers have a lot of stress driving 3200 miles to Texas and 4200 miles to California.
So the last thing they need is for me to question every decision they've made between here and the destination.

(35:31):
Questions such as why did you leave at this time?
Why did you stop 20 times on the way?
Why did you go this direction and so on this then correlates to the freedom.
We give our drivers for them to make the decisions on what departure time they should have what routes are best for them and when they need to stop,
I feel this makes for happier,
more fulfilled drivers when they aren't being questioned about every move and decision they make,

(35:55):
which is a win for Brian and a win for the drivers.
Brian has been a family owned business for 70 plus years and instills that family atmosphere in the workplace.
When you feel like you're part of a family or a team,
it always makes things easier and more welcoming for a new driver or employee.
I think that's a really good answer and,
and very complete.

(36:17):
Uh,
that part right there at the end seems to be ringing throughout this episode and will ring throughout this podcast as we move into the future.
Uh You can tell Brian is a family and that's exactly how they want to run the company.
They want to make you feel like you're a part of the family and not just a number on a spreadsheet somewhere.
I think it's very effective.

(36:37):
Um I know that I have a fantastic team of people around me working on this podcast and I could not do it without them.
So I really respect what he had to say here.
Um,
and,
and just agree with the fact that feeling like you're part of a team and part of the family,
uh,
it makes you want to go in,
it makes you want to do a good job.
It makes you want to,

(36:58):
uh stay at this job because you're treated so well.
My next question was as follows.
In speaking with some drivers,
I noticed that drivers frequently commented on how they feel,
seen and heard by management.
What do you think makes Brian such a driver centric company?
Heath says,
quote,
we have an open door policy.

(37:19):
If you have something to discuss,
come in and discuss it,
we can both learn from it positive or negative.
This allows us to make changes for things that are negative and also allows us to keep the positives continuing and growing so that we can continue to be positive.
A lot of dispatchers have been here quite a while and have a very good open communication with the drivers,

(37:42):
especially the drivers who have been here for a while.
And if you're a new driver out there,
I think that uh hearing what he had to say there is uh kind of paramount for you because if you're a new driver and you feel like,
man,
I I just don't feel like I'm quite seen and heard enough or maybe I,
I feel like I just haven't developed the relationships yet.
I think what Heath is saying here is the best way to develop those relationships and make sure that you are seen and heard is to be seen and heard as we've already discussed.

(38:10):
So,
if you have an issue,
sounds like the open door policy is pretty friendly.
Uh,
make sure to go in and discuss it with your driver managers,
your dispatchers,
uh,
or whoever else might be able to help.
It's,
it's very apparent to me that Brian wants to hear from its drivers.
They know the whole thing starts with you.
My next question for Heath was how important are the relationships you build with drivers?

(38:35):
He says it's beneficial for dispatchers and drivers to have a good starting relationship during the process of recruiting.
This would be the start of the building blocks for drivers and dispatchers.
Relationships moving forward when they get out on their own expectations from each side are known and hopefully fulfilled.
And again,

(38:55):
knowing what's expected of you,
knowing exactly what it is that you need to do to make your job go,
the dispatcher's job,
go,
your manager's job,
go.
Uh,
it really,
it really all just comes down to good communication.
Uh,
I'm somebody that really does pride myself on communicating well,
um,
whether it be in my marriage or with my friendships or my family,

(39:18):
my parents,
uh my employers,
the people that I work for,
the best thing that we can do is be on the same page and you don't necessarily have to be a wide open book to be on the same page.
Just communicate when it's time to communicate.
Uh,
I am known for giving a little bit too much information and that's probably something you'll hear over the course of the Brian Truck Line show.

(39:41):
However,
the only reason I do that is because I feel like when there's other people that might not be swimming around inside my head and know exactly what I'm thinking,
it might be tough for them to make a decision based on what they think I might be thinking.
So it's best for me just to communicate as well as I can with whoever I need to.

(40:01):
And I think that's what Heath is getting at here,
open that communication door,
right when you get recruited,
right?
When you meet your dispatcher and get on good terms with them wide open communication helps everything run very smooth.
Finally,
I asked Heath the same question that I've been asking everyone on this episode and that is,

(40:21):
is there anything you'd like to say to any of the drivers,
staff or even family members and friends that might be listening?
Heath says,
quote,
I really appreciate all the drivers at Brian Truck line.
Mine on the road,
sacrifice a lot of home and family time I really appreciate all of the drivers,
they work very hard,
long hours and it is appreciated.

(40:44):
Keep on keeping on and sage advice there from Heath again,
him just being willing to answer these questions for us so we can get it on this episode was huge.
And,
uh,
Heath if you're out there listening.
Thank you so much.
Uh It sounds like you are a fantastic driver manager for Westway operations and,
uh,

(41:04):
I did get to talk to a couple of the team drivers,
uh your California team when I was at the terminal and not only did those guys seem happy,
but they seemed like two peas in a pod brothers if you will,
uh they were dogging on each other like best friends,
but you could tell that they cared deeply about one another.
They want each other to uh be safe and sane out there on the road and they definitely have figured out how their team works and the best way to navigate the waters of driving with another driver.

(41:35):
It's not something that every driver gets to do or has to do.
And uh these teams that head out to Texas and head down to California need to have all of those lines of communication wide open so that they can do their job appropriately.
So,
Heath got y'all senior driver manager for Westway.
We really appreciate him coming on,
uh via email,

(41:55):
answering some questions for us here on the Brian truck line show.
Let's get to the next interview next up here on the Brian Truck line show.
I've got Heather Valdez joining me,
uh,
from the main terminal.

(42:15):
I think she just took me into a side room so that we could have a little chat.
Just you and I,
is that correct,
Heather?
Well,
thank you so much for being here today.
We really appreciate the time.
I,
I had a great conversation with you when uh when we sat down in person,
when I was out there in Ohio.
And uh you were so gracious with your time,
you talked to us for a very long time,
given us all the ins and outs of Brian Truck line.

(42:38):
But I also got to hear some of your personal story and I,
I wanted to share that here on the podcast if you were willing.
Um You have a very interesting career path.
Can you walk me through kind of all that and how you ended up where you are today?
I started,
actually started out in the medical field and then somehow I ended up working in corrections with that for six years.

(43:01):
And then I decided,
let's go see the world.
So I got my CD L,
my husband got his team.
We drove all over the country except we never went across the Rockies,
which we never had any interest in all the way up to Minnesota,
down to Laredo,
Texas,
Maine,
uh Georgia,
all over the place and then I decided to go local and I did some local driving for a while and then I decided it was time to be home.

(43:27):
And next thing,
you know,
this job here at Brian Truck line fell in my lap and never looked back.
And that is,
that's so cool.
Do you feel like all that driving experience really helped you,
uh,
with your job?
Because I've got you here.
You know,
we like to say we leave titles at the door and I'm all good with that.
But,
uh,
at at least the title that came with your email that you sent me is driver manager.

(43:49):
So I have to imagine that all of that experience driving,
uh,
both with your husband and,
and just in general really helps you be an effective driver manager.
Is that,
is that true?
I believe that it is.
I hear a lot of positive feedback from my drivers that they appreciate the fact that I have been in their shoes.
And so when they call sitting somewhere for an extended period of time,

(44:13):
you know,
I start making phone calls and sending emails because I know how valuable their time is and how they want to get back home to their families just as much as I did when I drove.
Well,
and,
you know,
you never got all the way over here to the west coast where I'm at,
never came over the Rockies.
Have you ever vacationed over to the west coast at all just to see that part of the world.

(44:34):
I have,
I have,
it was a very,
very long time ago.
Um,
I have been to San Diego in the La Jolla area and it is absolutely beautiful.
I wouldn't want to live there,
but I wouldn't mind visiting again.
Yeah.
That's exactly how I feel about it.
And,
uh,
you know,
it,
it's nice to visit and let me be clear with you,
Heather.
I would not want to drive over the rocky mountains,
either especially not in the winter or anything like that.

(44:56):
Those pictures that I see and experiences that I hear about going over those mountains just make the hair stand up on the back of my neck.
So I'd just like to say great job.
You're obviously a very good decision maker because uh you didn't go and,
and uh dive headfirst into that chaos.
So,
uh yeah.
No.
Thank you as a driver manager there,

(45:17):
Brian,
how would you define the management philosophy that Brian employs with respect to their drivers?
Heather.
Wow.
You know,
the biggest thing is listening to my driver when they express concerns about different locations or back hall.
You know,
I take that into consideration and think about that the next time we have to go out there.

(45:39):
If the second time it was good,
maybe,
you know,
it was just a flip situation if the,
you know,
drivers tell me Hey,
I don't wanna go here.
Then I make a point to make sure that they,
you know,
I have drivers that will not go to Chicago.
So they don't,
they do a lot of Detroit area,
Cleveland or Cincinnati because there's always other options than just Chicago.

(46:01):
But I,
you know,
I do listen to them.
I know personal things about them and I know something personal on every single driver.
You know,
I take my,
my management to that next level.
I wanna get to know them.
They're not just people driving trucks,
they're their family here at Bryan Truck line.
They're,
they're family.
I've heard that so many times now from so many people and I think it's so cool because I,

(46:25):
I got to see it,
you know,
happen right in front of my face when I was there at the terminal.
Um The drivers e even you guys have a,
a team drive,
a team of drivers that are headed out to California and I spent some time with them and they literally,
if you told me they were brothers,
even though they looked nothing alike,
I would have said,
oh yeah,
100%.
Those two are definitely related and they're not,

(46:48):
they're just two guys that uh that climbed in,
joined a team and they became family as they worked together at Brian.
And I think that that's such a cool culture to have there.
Um You know,
everybody wants to be listened to,
everybody wants to be seen and heard.
We've,
we've echoed that sentiment on this episode already.
And,
uh,
i,
it's very evident that you are that Brian,

(47:10):
you are seeing and hearing the drivers,
they're not just a number,
they're not even just a driver,
they're a member of the family,
like you said.
And,
uh,
I,
I just can't say enough about how,
uh,
from the outside looking in it.
It's always,
you know,
when you're a part of it,
it is just,
it's the standard.
It's what we do when I've seen so many different trucking companies not necessarily operate that way.

(47:32):
It's very impressive to see you guys keep that together and keep everybody moving forward all for the same goal.
So,
uh,
hats off again,
once again,
great decisions there.
Not that I'm qualified to say it,
but I want to put you in a little bit of a hypothetical situation here.
Let's say that I'm a brand new driver and regardless of the fact that I would never be able to make it through orientation,

(47:56):
let's just pretend that you gave me passing grades and I'm jumping on and you're gonna be my driver manager,
Heather.
What are some of the most important things that I should know about the way that Brian operates?
Well,
one of the things that I do when I sit down with a new driver and I go through,
you know what I expect of them and,
but yet at the same time I ask them,
are you an early riser?

(48:17):
Are you someone who likes to sleep late?
You know,
and I can modify their route based on that?
You know,
are they someone who wants to go to Chicago?
Do they not want to,
um,
you know,
they'll have my on-call phone day one.
So if there's anything that happens,
either sickness or there's,

(48:37):
you know,
something happens while they're out driving,
they can always get a hold of me any time of the day,
morning,
noon or night.
I'm always available.
I can't tell you how many times I've been woken up at 23 in the morning and I still manage to get things fixed and done and then I go back to sleep.
But there's,
there's never a time when we're not available to them.

(49:00):
And with that being said,
you know,
it's all about just getting to know them and what I need to do to make their job easier because driving a truck is not an easy thing to do,
especially when you're doing it day in and day out.
Especially like our over the road drivers and even our local drivers,
they get barely 10 hours off and they're right back in again and it's hard,

(49:23):
it's a,
it's a hard life for sure.
And,
and I'm betting that,
that attitude that you have with your first drivers rather than just kicking them into the pool and saying,
figure out.
But you sit down with them,
you talk with them,
you figure out their wants and needs.
I will when they first start before they even know where they're going like that for next.

(49:44):
You know,
because they go out with a,
with a driver to learn our Qualcomm system.
And then normally what I do is I'll put their phone number in my,
in that on-call phone and I will text them,
they,
um,
where they're going and what their back hall is so they can trip plan accordingly over the weekend.
So they already know exactly where they're going on Monday and exactly where they're going to pick up on Monday.

(50:06):
Can I get that number?
Because I've got some,
I've got some organization that I could really use some help with and it sounds like you've got this thing down.
So I'm gonna need that number from you,
Heather before too long.
And I'm on the west coast.
So a little O CD when it comes to,
when it comes to,
uh,
being organized.
But you have to,
you do,
you really have to be,
and,
and look,
I'm over here on the west coast,

(50:27):
like I said.
So even if I call you at two in the morning,
you'll probably already be up,
it'll be 5 a.m. where you are.
So,
you'll be up and moving around.
That sounds like you early riser,
I would guess just by virtue of the job.
Yeah,
when my husband and I drove,
I drove from 1 a.m. to 1 p.m. So,
yeah,
how hard was that to get used to?
It wasn't,

(50:47):
it wasn't,
what was hard to get used to is once we'd get home on the weekend,
sleeping in a bed that wasn't moving.
I imagine.
So,
it's like that reverse kind of,
uh,
sea legs that you get when you're,
you know,
you're on a boat and then you stand on dry land and it kind of feels like everything's moving.
Is it sort of similar to that?

(51:08):
Yeah,
pretty much well.
Did you sleep well on the road?
That's always a question that I wonder for team drivers,
especially,
uh,
moving it.
I mean,
you know,
even just a slight tap of the brake,
somebody cuts your,
your partner off and all of a sudden they tap the brakes,
like,
was it hard to get good sleep while you were doing that?
No,
for me it wasn't your man.

(51:29):
It wasn't.
I did,
I did find sleep and all.
He was very good.
Good because I,
I would,
and look,
I know that this is not ok.
So don't think that I'm,
I'm not familiar with the rules,
but I would need a metric ton of Benadryl to sleep soundly in that situation.
So I had a weighted blanket.
I won't lie.
Perfect.

(51:49):
That works too pound weighted blanket.
That helps.
Oh,
man,
I like that.
That's,
it's something I should look into.
You could make me a blanket out of chain mail and it probably wouldn't be heavy enough.
So I,
I definitely can definitely relate to that.
Well,
listen,
Heather,
you've already been so great with your time here today.
I know that you're busy.
I know that you're filling in this week and you've got a ton on your plate.

(52:11):
So I want to get out of here and let you get back to it,
but real quick before we let you go,
is there anything that you'd like to say to any of your drivers?
Any of the staff that might be listening,
friends or family that might be out there listening.
The only thing that I have to say is that I appreciate every single one of my drivers.
I appreciate everybody that I work with.
We're short staffed,

(52:31):
everybody jumps in and house and you'd never feel like you're just alone and,
you know,
inside the office and,
you know,
my drivers,
you know,
I like to call them my drivers and,
you know,
they're,
they're my family,
even though most of them are probably old enough to be my father.
I still look after them and I still worry about them like,
like little mother hen and I have to watch out for all my little chicks.

(52:56):
Well,
you can definitely hear it in your voice when you talk about them and I look forward to having uh,
more conversations with you in the future as this show matures Uh Thank you so much,
Heather for coming on today.
Uh,
we'll be in touch with you soon.
All right.
All right.
Thanks Marcus.
That's driver manager Heather Valdez from Brian Truck Line.

(53:21):
All right,
Brian Truck Line,
that's gonna wrap up episode three of the Brian Truck Line show.
Thank you so much for being here today.
So happy to have you all.
Don't forget to click that subscribe button.
It helps us out greatly.
And if you have something that you want to hear on this show or maybe you want to come on and be on the show,
I would love to have you get in touch with your driver manager,

(53:44):
your dispatcher,
uh,
talk to Judy Norrick there at the front.
You can talk to pretty much anybody and they will definitely get you in touch with me so we can get you here on the program.
Love to have you love to hear all of your stories from the road.
We're gonna talk about all sorts of fun stuff as this show unfolds in the future.
So,
don't worry right now,

(54:05):
we're just laying the groundwork and letting everybody know exactly what Brian Truck line does and why they're good at it.
And as this show goes on,
we will get plenty of great information down the line to you drivers and maybe we'll even have a little bit of fun along the way.
Uh I'm really looking forward to it and I also would like to thank everybody that joined me today on the show.

(54:28):
I already said her name once Judy Norrick,
it was fantastic to talk to her Zach Dean coming in and uh Sharon with us.
Always appreciate the time there.
Heath Gotshall couldn't make it on the phone,
but that's ok because we still got some email answers from him.
And that was really nice to just get some of his input and uh as well as Heather Dez,

(54:48):
you guys did.
Awesome.
And I really look forward to doing plenty more episodes of this show with all of you on board.
So stay safe out there.
Drivers,
keep the shiny side up and we'll see you next time right here on the Brian Truck Line show.
Thanks for joining us for this episode of the Brian Truck Line show.
Don't forget to subscribe,

(55:09):
rate and review the Brian Truck Line show on your favorite platform and tune in for new episodes every other Wednesday.
Until next time.
Stay safe and keep it rolling.