Immediately I started calling around to local computer repair shops in the town were we were stopped for the day.  Each local computer shop said no to what I thought I needed.  Not one asked if I could bring it in to see what they could do they all said "No" maybe next week we could get a part. 
 
I then remember a place in Kansas City where I had sent my last computer after it had an accident.  Yes I caused that accident as well when my fingernail polish remover spilled in the keyboard.  I called IresQ and they said yes...  I explained what had happened and what it looked like and once again I heard yes.  I really thought I was hearing things so I explained again my predicament and that if I brought my computer into them I would have to wait till it was fixed.  Again a Yes and no problem, we will fix it in the morning and have it done by noon.  Mind you this business was 150 miles away and I had to rent a car so I needed that yes.  When they opened I was standing at their door with my broken computer and once again I heard Yes the computer will be fixed in no time.  I left to go get some breakfast with a smile on my face knowing they would do what they said they would.
 
We use the power of yes in our business as we are often asked to provide a solution when picking up our customers freight.   The customer might not have a dock, they might have stairs coming out of their building, and they might not have any way to move a box.  Sometimes the freight requires being blanket wrapped or secured in the middle of the box instead of to the side of the box.  Our job is to solve a problem or come up with a creative solution to a customer’s problem and say Yes we can do this.
 
This is one of my favorite memories of the power of yes and our truck:
 
We were to pick up signs that were going to be used for a grand opening at a small bike shop on Rhode Island.   These signs were delicate and we had been warned of this when we accepted the load.  
 
We backed into the dock and started loading the signs while using a lot of blankets and corner protectors.  Each sign was treated as a priceless treasure and all were loaded and secured.  The dock supervisor told us that as we were pulling onto the property the manager of the plant had asked him to recrate the signs so they would travel safer.  He said I told the manager maybe you should come look at this truck as I do not think we have anything to worry about.  They did not recrate those signs,
 
Once we arrived at the consignee we knew we had our work cut out for us.  We were in a small very old upscale shopping area that did not have room for a Volkswagen Bug much less us.   The store was in a flurry of activity as the Grand Opening was the next day...  When we told them what we had he asked how much held did we need and we told him we could handle it.  The look of relief on this poor mans face was almost comical.   We set out our safety cones and proceeded to use the lift gate and move all of the signs inside the store to where they were needed while they continued to set up the rest of the displays.   They signed our paper work and we left them with a smile on our face as our "Yes we can solve your dilemma” made our day and we had a happy customer.
 
Our motto is to say "YES" or to give an alternate solution to a customers problem. 

Comments (3)

Linda Caffee

Bob and Linda started their driver careers after their children left home for college in 2000. Bob started as a driver for a large motor carrier with Linda as a rider. They decided to enter the Expedite industry as team drivers in 2005 and purchased their first Freightliner. Both, Bob and Linda have had their Class A licenses since the early 80's starting out driving in the oil field and hauling grain as fill in drivers where Bob worked as a diesel mechanic. Linda worked at the local country courthouse in data processing.

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Willingness, experience, and common sense can sure help what some folks see as a major obstacle turn into a situation that isn't really a problem. Of course having the proper equipment along with a liftgate sure can help.

April 13, 2015 20:54:39 PM

Nicely done!! I too try to help customers with transportation related issues they may have when I come across them. If th customer is willing to hear what I have to say sometimes they gain better insight into the process of moving their freight from one point to another. I just played rescue to another one of our trucks that was hauling fresh produce from the port in NJ to Canada. He ran out of hours 150 miles short of his delivery customer and I was tasked to go rescue the load and deliver. After switching trailers with the other driver, I headed to the waiting customer. Unfortunately, due to the load shifting at some point in transit, they could not wait the extra time to unload as promised and I had to overnight. The next day, they began to unload the cantaloupes and discovered many of the 20 pallets had tipped including the singles distributed thru the trailer. The conversation turned to me why the load was such a mess and I had to explain that the methodology of loading at the port on a unionized dock presents the driver with very limited powers to define how the load is positioned and secured and that other than carrying a forest of load locks, there is no ability for the driver to roam the dock for dunnage. I also explained that the pallets are piled quite high and that the bottom cases are subject to crushing very easily and with no overhang over the pallets, they do not sandwich tightly against the pallets ahead and behind for better stability. Beyond cutting the height of the pallets so that it was stretched over 22 pallets, simple solutions were hard to come by when coupled with dealing with a union dock. While I couldn't solve their problem, at least they gained some insight into the reason behind the damages.

April 10, 2015 14:55:26 PM

There is a lot to be gained by looking at a problem and solving it, rather than seeing it as someone else's problem.

April 07, 2015 5:30:03 AM