The Guy With the Cowboy Hat

I'm just about recovered from the Winnipeg Truck Show last week. Through two days of exhibiting and walking around I met lots of interesting people and had a great time overall, but it sure is draining.

The highlight of the show, for me, happened on Saturday afternoon, near the end of the show. I was standing at our booth and two owner-operators came up to talk. These guys were a classic example of what people think of when they think of truck drivers - older, white guys, cowboy boots, belt buckles, - the whole package. They started asking me about the program we run in partnership with Humber College and going through the standard questions about what courses are included, how long it takes, etc. One of them was asking most of the questions while the other one was kind of nodding his interest, but not saying much. We got through the normal questions about the program and how it helps them run their businesses better, get a college education that's actually relevant to the job, and that kind of thing. As we headed to the logical end of the conversation, the quieter of the two, who had been staring down at the brochure up this point, looked up sheepishly (and definitely not making eye contact) and asked if you need grade 12 to participate.

I said no, the program is open to anyone and doesn't require grade 12. Well, this guy lit up like a Christmas tree. We talked for a few more minutes about the program and this guy was like a different person. When we were finished, he fixed me square in the eye with a look that went through me and down my spine, and said "thank you, very much. The industry needs this".

I wasn't expecting that response, and it shook me up a bit.

When we were putting this college program together, I knew that there were a lot of drivers who would love a college education but never considered it an option since they didn't finish high school. In the past, they haven't had the opportunity to participate in post-secondary programs at all, so I wanted to make sure that our program was open to them as well. After talking to these guys, I know that was the right decision.

This conversation was also interesting for another reason.

I talk to a lot of people about online training and there are still people that think their drivers won't be able to use it. They tell me that drivers don't want to use computers, that older drivers have problems with technology, they can't read. In many cases, they're making assumptions that they haven't validated by talking to the drivers directly.

This is all crap. 

Drivers are regular people and they live in the same world as the rest of us. If there's something online that's useful or interesting, they're going to go online and get it just like everybody else does.

The guy with the cowboy hat is a perfect example. Here's a guy that's a typical example of a career trucker, exactly the kind of person that people assume won't use a computer. However, when he found out that he could get a college education, without coming off the road, and didn't need grade 12, he was sold. The fact that it was online was not an impediment for him in any way. In fact, that was a big selling point, since it allowed him to work through the material without sacrificing mileage.

I think that's really cool.

On top of that, the weather was good too! I'm definitely looking forward to the next Winnipeg Truck Show.

Looking Into The Future - Part I

10 years from now, I think the Internet is going to be everywhere. It's almost everywhere now, but not quite. And many of the places where it is available, it's slow and unreliable. Or you have to pay a premium to get at it. It seems to me that 10 years from now, the Internet will be like electricity. It will be a utility service (which it almost is now) and the price will be low enough that we won't even think about it. When that happens, you'll be able to get it for free in all these places where you have to pay for it now.

For instance, if you're at an airport, you can plug your laptop into the wall and charge the battery for free, but you have to pay (a ridiculous price!) for Internet access. It's the same story in the downtown Toronto core - there are lots of outlets around that you can use if you need quick power, but wireless Internet service is slow and expensive. Ditto for truckstops.

In ten years, I think that will be fixed. Anywhere that you can plug in for power now, you'll be able to get Internet with the same quality for free, and with much higher speed than we have now.

Once that happens, think about where technology can take us. If super-fast Internet is everywhere, then realtime connectivity to your fleets will be there as well. Realtime data being fed back from EOBRs. Realtime voice and video communication with your drivers (OnStar to the max), realtime GPS, traffic and weather data so you always know if your drivers are about to hit a traffic jam.

What else will you be able to do with that kind of communication power? How much would your business change if you truly had realtime connectivity with your fleet today?

Let me know your thoughts.

Making Tough Decisions

I went to see Anna, my haircutter again this week. Last time I went to see her I blogged about how I think she should raise her prices.

This time, we had another discussion that I found very interesting.

Anna, in addition to cutting hair, also sings in a Fleetwood Mac tribute band. We were talking about her upcoming gigs and she mentioned that she'd been offered a chance to do a gig in Japan. The gig would be a couple of nights in Tokyo, with all travel and accommodations provided for free.

Anna said no to the gig.

Her reason for saying no was pretty straightforward - she already has a 3-week vacation booked and the Japan gig would have come pretty much immediately after that. She's going (home) to England for the 3 weeks, so she'd basically be flying from London to Toronto, spend a day in Toronto, then jump on a plane again for Tokyo. Jetlag would be a bit nasty, but her biggest concern is that she'd be away from her customers for nearly a month and she was concerned that she'd lose them.

I told her she was crazy. If someone offers me a free trip to Tokyo (even if it's only for 2 days), there's no way I'm saying no!

I pointed out that she has two kinds of customers - ones who come specifically to see her, and ones that just want an open chair. The ones in the second group are unreliable and unpredictable and she can't spend her time worrying about them. The ones in the first group are the good customers, since they're coming to see her specifically. Those customers aren't going to leave her because she took an extra week off. 

If they're already dissatisfied with her service and thinking of leaving, then this might push them over the edge, but that's not the extra week that's causing the problem, it's something else.

Her regulars are happy with her work and they don't care if she takes an extra week off. Haircuts aren't something you need every week anyway, so at most someone might be inconvenienced for one of the 6-8 cuts they get from her each year. Hardly a case of bad customer service. After 14 years of having her cut my hair, I'm certainly not going to leave over this.

Of course, once Anna realized this she was kicking herself for turning down the gig.

It's a tough decision, though, and one of those tough decisions that have to be made quickly so there isn't time to poll the client base and gauge their reaction. That kind of decision comes up from time to time in every business, and they're always tricky. There's no easy way out, but if you understand your customers, then you're usually pretty safe following your gut. Anna's gut was telling her to take the gig, but she second guessed herself and now she's regretting it.

I've done the same thing in the past and learned the hard way to trust my gut.

What about you? Do you trust your gut when you're making tough decisions or do you try to base your decision squarely on the facts?

Let me know your thoughts....

Getting the Feds to Pay For Your Training Program

Here's something interesting for any of you that are looking to improve your fleet fuel efficiency (is there anyone that DOESN'T apply too?). 

Transport Canada, through their ecoFREIGHT initiative, runs a program called the Freight Technology Demonstration Fund. If you're implementing new technology or processes that are designed to reduce fuel consumption, air pollution, or greenhouse gas emissions, this fund can subsidize up to 50% of the cost (up to a total of $500k over 2 years).

When I first discovered this fund, I assumed that they would only fund big hardware projects, but after speaking to them about it, I discovered that they'll fund large and small initiatives, including hardware, software, and even some process-related things.

Here's why this is really cool - if you run a training program on fuel efficiency or defensive driving (which, of course, saves fuel and lowers emissions), those can get funded as well. So, if you're planning to implement a training program that includes defensive driving as a component, it may end up costing you a whole lot less than you're expecting.

Of course, you have to fill out some forms and apply for the funding (and they approve it in rounds, several times a year). I'm sure there's a cap on the number of people who can get approved, and the amount of money in the fund, but the representative I spoke with said they haven't hit any of those limits yet. So far, they've been able to approve or reject applications solely on their merit, without running out of cash.

You can find out more about this fund here.

I Found Myself On iTunes

This doesn't have much to do with trucking, but it's pretty cool. 

As some of you know, in a previous life I was a musician and played with a number of different bands that never went anywhere. Well, that's not technically true. We went all over the place (especially in the dead of winter), to pretty much any town that was big enough to have a bar (and you'd be surprised how small a town can be and still support a bar), but "success" was a destination we never reached.

However, one of the acts I played with - Psycho Key - is still going and now has a pretty good distribution deal in Europe. There's a compilation record on iTunes with tracks from their first few albums, and sure enough there's some stuff from my time with them.

Yeah, I know. It's not exactly a Grammy or a full house at Wembley stadium, but it was a nice surprise anyway. I guess I should go and hound them for my cut of the royalties - might be enough for a coffee!