Employee Spotlight: The Office Manager Behind Bulk Transit

1 00:00:01,840 --> 00:00:06,560 You know, most trucking podcasts spend a lot of time talking about the visible parts of this 2 00:00:06,600 --> 00:00:12,760 industry the trucks, the chrome, the horsepower, the weather, the breakdowns, the truck stops, the 3 00:00:12,760 --> 00:00:19,200 miles. But we're not like every other trucking podcast here at Always Pneumatic, never static. 4 00:00:19,240 --> 00:00:23,319 There's another side to trucking that most drivers only think about when something goes 5 00:00:23,320 --> 00:00:29,040 wrong. That's the paperwork. And before you roll your eyes and think. Today's episode is about 6 00:00:29,040 --> 00:00:34,680 forms and filing cabinets. Let me tell you something right now. This conversation changed the 7 00:00:34,680 --> 00:00:41,440 way I look at the entire backside of this industry, because every load tells a story. 8 00:00:41,640 --> 00:00:47,600 A driver stuck at a plant for five hours because of low psi restriction. A trailer pushing product 9 00:00:47,600 --> 00:00:54,000 eight stories into a building, a broken valve, a plugged line, a deadhead route, a missed note that 10 00:00:54,000 --> 00:01:00,029 can change a paycheck. And somewhere in the middle of all that chaos is somebody trying to piece the 11 00:01:00,029 --> 00:01:06,349 whole thing together from a few handwritten notes on a trip sheet. Today's guest is one of those 12 00:01:06,349 --> 00:01:12,509 people. Laura Holstein is box office manager in Plain City. But after this conversation, I think 13 00:01:12,510 --> 00:01:18,910 you'll realize she's also part detective, part teacher, part counselor, part problem solver, and 14 00:01:18,910 --> 00:01:23,949 maybe most importantly, one of the people making sure drivers get paid correctly for the work they 15 00:01:23,949 --> 00:01:30,790 actually did the first time. She's been with bulk on and off since the year 2000. And if there's one 16 00:01:30,790 --> 00:01:36,829 thing that became crystal clear while talking to her, it's this the best companies aren't built on 17 00:01:36,830 --> 00:01:42,989 trucks. They're built on people who care enough to get the details right. This is one of my favorite 18 00:01:42,989 --> 00:01:49,070 employee spotlight conversations we've done so far. Office manager Laura Holstein right now on 19 00:01:49,070 --> 00:01:55,990 always pneumatic, never static. You are listening to always pneumatic, never 20 00:01:55,990 --> 00:02:01,870 static. The totally Pressurized podcast, brought to you by Bulk Transit, where we keep the lines clear, 21 00:02:01,870 --> 00:02:06,910 the tanks empty, and the conversation anything but dry. Whether you're running powder pellets or 22 00:02:06,910 --> 00:02:11,190 anything in between, pull up a seat, crack the windows and let's hit it. 23 00:02:14,710 --> 00:02:21,149 How's it going out there? Bulk and spur. Welcome in to this episode of Always Pneumatic, never static. 24 00:02:21,149 --> 00:02:26,829 I'm your host, Marcus. Thank you so much for joining me here today. Uh, podcast.bulktransit.com 25 00:02:26,869 --> 00:02:32,030 is our website. You want to head over there and bookmark that. So you get every single 26 00:02:32,030 --> 00:02:38,429 episode right when it comes out without having to open up another app. Uh, it's such a great website. 27 00:02:38,470 --> 00:02:43,029 Shout out to my guy Tyler for building it and maintaining it. Uh, there's plenty of stuff up 28 00:02:43,030 --> 00:02:48,669 there. You can take a quiz associated with every single episode after the episode airs. Uh, just to 29 00:02:48,670 --> 00:02:54,470 test your mettle a little bit. And we will use those quizzes as entries, uh, later on down the 30 00:02:54,470 --> 00:02:58,499 line. In the future, we'll be doing another giveaway here. So I always want to mention that 31 00:02:58,499 --> 00:03:04,100 off the top of the episode, just so you guys go and get that website bookmarked now so you can 32 00:03:04,100 --> 00:03:09,139 get to it easily when it's time for us to give away some of the good stuff once again. 33 00:03:09,139 --> 00:03:16,099 podcast.bulktransit.com. Now today's episode is another employee spotlight and these 34 00:03:16,100 --> 00:03:22,779 are some of my favorite episodes to record. Why? Well, it's because I get such good insight 35 00:03:22,779 --> 00:03:29,660 into why everybody loves working for Bulk and Spur. It really is. Constantly. These episodes are 36 00:03:29,660 --> 00:03:35,819 a peek behind the curtain. This takes a village. Do you hear me say that all the time? There's so many 37 00:03:35,859 --> 00:03:42,059 hands involved in making this company run well. And some of the times those hands just don't get 38 00:03:42,060 --> 00:03:47,219 appreciated like they should. Well, we've got this platform, so we might as well bring them in here 39 00:03:47,219 --> 00:03:53,179 and appreciate them. And today's guest officer manager Laura or office manager. Excuse me, Laura 40 00:03:53,210 --> 00:04:00,049 Holstein, uh, is she's one of those people that really can take. Uh, if you were to 41 00:04:00,089 --> 00:04:07,089 take a puzzle, a thousand piece jigsaw puzzle in a box and throw it into the air and punt it into 42 00:04:07,089 --> 00:04:13,809 the sky. I'm convinced after this episode that before the 1,000th piece hit the ground, Laura 43 00:04:13,809 --> 00:04:18,569 would have that puzzle piece together and at least, uh, laid out so that we could put it 44 00:04:18,570 --> 00:04:23,369 together immediately if she hadn't already put it together before it hit the ground. That's the type 45 00:04:23,369 --> 00:04:29,329 of person we're dealing with today. It was hard for me to even wrap my head around some of the 46 00:04:29,329 --> 00:04:35,649 order that she has to bring to chaos, and I'll tell you right now, that's the meat of today's 47 00:04:35,649 --> 00:04:41,768 episode. Everything about this interview that you're about to hear, uh, has its place here in the 48 00:04:41,769 --> 00:04:48,410 well-oiled machine that is Bulk and Spurs. So without any more chin wagging of my own, I am 49 00:04:48,410 --> 00:04:55,079 going to bring Laura in here and get this episode started, because. Wow. Stay tuned afterwards for the 50 00:04:55,079 --> 00:05:01,199 outro. You and I are going to chat again real quick about exactly what we just heard. And listen, 51 00:05:01,200 --> 00:05:05,720 I'm talking to you from the future right now. I've already recorded this interview. You're going to 52 00:05:05,720 --> 00:05:07,199 want to strap in for it. 53 00:05:15,280 --> 00:05:20,119 All right. Welcome back in here to always pneumatic, never static. Let's get our guest here, 54 00:05:20,200 --> 00:05:25,119 uh, in the room today, because a very important guest is joining us for our employee spotlight 55 00:05:25,160 --> 00:05:30,480 today. And, uh, what I would say about this person. And I was fortunate enough to get to sit down in 56 00:05:30,480 --> 00:05:35,160 the same room with her and have a nice conversation. When I was out in playing City, uh, 57 00:05:35,239 --> 00:05:41,879 this next guest is a pro at translating chaos into clarity. Uh, she's one of the people making 58 00:05:41,880 --> 00:05:46,719 sure drivers actually get paid correctly. Uh, customers are getting billed correctly, and the 59 00:05:46,720 --> 00:05:52,199 company doesn't lose money just because somebody forgot one tiny detail at 230 in the morning at a 60 00:05:52,200 --> 00:05:59,079 dusty factory. Our guest today is office manager Laura Holstein. Laura, thank you so much for the 61 00:05:59,079 --> 00:06:05,399 time today. Uh, you've got your hands in everything here as far as Balkan Spur is concerned. So even 62 00:06:05,399 --> 00:06:10,240 getting this time with you today, I know is is a big deal for us. Thank you so much for being here 63 00:06:10,240 --> 00:06:16,279 today. Yes. Thank you for having me. Marcus I'm excited. I am too, I am too. And one of the things I 64 00:06:16,279 --> 00:06:21,239 want to talk about, just jumping in here, is kind of your history with the company, because we can 65 00:06:21,239 --> 00:06:28,079 draw a line all the way back to now. In my notes, I said the year 2000, uh, the turn of the millennium 66 00:06:28,079 --> 00:06:34,079 here. So walk us through your career path, uh, with bulk and spur from the very beginning. Laura. Okay. 67 00:06:34,200 --> 00:06:40,839 Um, well, from the first back in 2000, I was just looking for something different, and I 68 00:06:40,839 --> 00:06:46,560 applied for an advertisement that I saw for bulk transit. Um, they were looking for a payables 69 00:06:46,560 --> 00:06:53,029 person. Um, and I had experience. So I thought, well, you know, I could try doing that and see what kind 70 00:06:53,029 --> 00:06:58,869 of company it is, because normally I, I tend to grow pretty fast with the company. So I didn't 71 00:06:58,869 --> 00:07:04,108 hear anything from them and I had heard from somebody else. So I went ahead and accepted a 72 00:07:04,109 --> 00:07:10,670 different position. And then after a couple of months, I received a phone call from Brian, and he 73 00:07:10,670 --> 00:07:16,509 actually wanted to bring me in for an interview. He did tell me that, uh, you know, the position that 74 00:07:16,510 --> 00:07:22,590 I applied for, he felt he and the family thought I was overqualified for. Um, but now they had a 75 00:07:22,590 --> 00:07:27,749 different position. Um, that was right up my alley. And if I would come in and talk with them. So I 76 00:07:27,749 --> 00:07:33,989 agreed, and I met with him. And at the end of that conversation, he said he would talk with the 77 00:07:33,989 --> 00:07:39,189 family and get back with me. And I think it was like the next day he called me and said, would you 78 00:07:39,230 --> 00:07:45,949 be willing to come back and interview with me and my family? And I'm just a a 79 00:07:46,110 --> 00:07:52,219 small girl from Southside Chicago, I thought. Interview with the family. Oh my God. 80 00:07:53,020 --> 00:07:57,259 Am I going to have to kiss a ring or something? What's going on here? Right, exactly. You know, what 81 00:07:57,260 --> 00:08:03,980 am I being initiated into? Um, so, uh, we scheduled for, um, for an evening. Um, that I could come 82 00:08:03,980 --> 00:08:10,619 in after my, um, my current position, and I, lo and behold, I met with the 83 00:08:10,620 --> 00:08:17,539 entire family. Wolf was there. His wife Gloria was there. Brian. Uh, 84 00:08:17,539 --> 00:08:23,060 Brad. Andrea and Brad's dog, Max. Oh, yeah. So 85 00:08:24,340 --> 00:08:30,460 I got everybody's seal of approval that day, and I was brought on as apparel and, uh, billing manager 86 00:08:30,460 --> 00:08:37,418 back in 2000. I was here for 16 years, I loved it. This is by far my 87 00:08:37,419 --> 00:08:44,139 most favorite adult position, but unfortunately, in 2016, um, something else that 88 00:08:44,140 --> 00:08:50,609 landed in my lap, and I had a few things that I needed to clear up at home and take care of. So I 89 00:08:50,609 --> 00:08:56,929 took the opportunity to to go on to a new venture. I spent many years in 90 00:08:56,929 --> 00:09:03,489 insurance. Um, and then, uh, they were phasing out the position. Uh, Commercial Lines 91 00:09:03,489 --> 00:09:08,449 underwriter did not sound appealing. It sounded like a snooze fest. So I thought, well, I'll look 92 00:09:08,449 --> 00:09:13,649 for something else. And that's when I went. And I did, um, two years with the Department of Defense. 93 00:09:14,010 --> 00:09:20,889 Um. Oh, wow. Yeah. And then, um, you know, with, with that stint, I had heard from a 94 00:09:20,890 --> 00:09:26,369 friend that I had heard from in the past that said, hey, bulk might be interested in talking to 95 00:09:26,369 --> 00:09:31,609 you again. And, you know, each time they nudged me over the years, I would just comment, um, you know, 96 00:09:31,610 --> 00:09:38,609 no, that would be like going backwards. But I did miss it. I missed the family. I missed everybody 97 00:09:38,770 --> 00:09:44,769 the the entire ten years that I was gone. Nine, nine and a half years. Absolutely missed everybody. 98 00:09:44,769 --> 00:09:50,969 So this time around when I was, you know, kind of finding myself a little bit, uh, homesick, I texted 99 00:09:50,969 --> 00:09:56,409 Brian, um, and by now I had a new last name to go with it. So I was like, you know, this is Laura 100 00:09:56,409 --> 00:10:03,369 Holstein, aka Laura and my my previous name. Um, and I heard, you know, that you might be interested 101 00:10:03,369 --> 00:10:09,289 in talking with me. And he immediately texted me back and said that he was out of the country on 102 00:10:09,289 --> 00:10:16,289 vacation and how at 4:00 next Wednesday, work and bye. And I told him that was fine. And 103 00:10:16,289 --> 00:10:22,369 by 4:00 the following Wednesday, my phone was ringing and we had an amazing conversation. I came 104 00:10:22,369 --> 00:10:29,128 into the office, I met with him and Andrea and I'm just so blessed to be back. Is is the whole 105 00:10:29,129 --> 00:10:36,129 thing. I love what I do, I love who I do it with and who I do it for, and I like doing it 106 00:10:36,129 --> 00:10:41,639 well. You know, you're not the first person to tell a story about Brian, uh, putting in a phone call. 107 00:10:41,640 --> 00:10:47,039 And one thing I can say. Having having sat in the same room with the guy, having had plenty of 108 00:10:47,040 --> 00:10:53,759 conversations at this point, I don't know if it's possible to say no to Brian. Um, that that man is 109 00:10:53,760 --> 00:10:59,360 is one of the friendliest, nicest guys. And Andrea, two, and Brad, I mean, the whole family. I, I didn't 110 00:10:59,360 --> 00:11:04,919 get to meet dad, unfortunately, but I've heard so many things and and just hearing you talk about 111 00:11:04,919 --> 00:11:11,800 it, that's really part of what bulk and spur, uh, offer. As you know, we talk about 112 00:11:11,800 --> 00:11:16,800 compensation and benefits all the time, Laura. But some of the unsaid things and the things that 113 00:11:16,800 --> 00:11:23,478 don't show up on paper and don't show up on a paycheck can be so valuable to us as people. And 114 00:11:23,479 --> 00:11:29,718 what you're speaking of right now is, is something that I see just running through bulk and spur, um, 115 00:11:29,719 --> 00:11:36,000 like like water flowing down a river. It's just everybody is happy. Everybody loves the people 116 00:11:36,000 --> 00:11:42,228 that they work with, and they love to work very hard for the DeWolf family, and I think that's 117 00:11:42,229 --> 00:11:47,349 almost irreplaceable. You said this is your favorite adult job. Have you ever felt like that 118 00:11:47,349 --> 00:11:53,549 anyplace else that you've been that connection with the people running the show? No, never. Um, and 119 00:11:53,549 --> 00:11:59,709 and it's not that I'm difficult to get along with or anything, but this is just, um, these people are, 120 00:11:59,749 --> 00:12:06,469 at their core, bulk transit. They do everything knowing how it affects them 121 00:12:06,469 --> 00:12:13,189 and how it affects us as employees. Um, that's how they base their decisions. Um, 122 00:12:13,189 --> 00:12:18,509 they're kind and they're caring and they're loving. Um, you know, I've heard on numerous of your 123 00:12:18,510 --> 00:12:25,430 other podcasts and stuff, you know, everybody boasting about them. It's true. Um, they really care. 124 00:12:25,430 --> 00:12:31,150 I'm not just employee number, blah blah, blah. Um, I can walk into Brian's office, Andrew's office, 125 00:12:31,150 --> 00:12:38,099 Brad's office, anytime, any day. Close the door, sit down and just speak my piece. whether it's 126 00:12:38,099 --> 00:12:44,859 something that they want to hear or not, they hear me out. We we, you know, go back and forth with a 127 00:12:44,860 --> 00:12:51,739 plan. You know, they're just down to earth people that really care. They really are. You know, you 128 00:12:51,780 --> 00:12:57,379 hear open door policy with a lot of different managers or ownership. And that is more lip 129 00:12:57,379 --> 00:13:03,499 service than it is real. Um, I, I waltzed in to Brian's office. I waltzed into Andrew's office. I 130 00:13:03,499 --> 00:13:08,539 was only there for three days, and I felt like I had been there for five years. With the access 131 00:13:08,539 --> 00:13:13,819 that they gave me and the willingness that they were, uh, that they had to just let you pop in and 132 00:13:13,820 --> 00:13:20,499 ask a few questions. Uh, that that's not common in our industry. Laura, it's, you know, that you've 133 00:13:20,500 --> 00:13:26,539 you've worked in and outside of it for so long. It's not common in, in many industries at all. Um, 134 00:13:26,539 --> 00:13:31,979 but to see it and to hear it so many times on this podcast, like you're saying, I don't pull that 135 00:13:31,979 --> 00:13:37,779 stuff out of people. I just allow them to speak to to their own experience. And that's what everybody 136 00:13:37,780 --> 00:13:44,739 brings me. Um, and man, we'll always make room for it here. It's so down to the core that it's it's 137 00:13:44,780 --> 00:13:50,099 their their families and their children and everything. When I, when they rehired me in 138 00:13:50,340 --> 00:13:56,899 December of 24, by the end of January of 25, we were having our first 139 00:13:57,059 --> 00:14:03,900 annual managers meeting. And at the dinners Friday and Saturday night, the families 140 00:14:03,900 --> 00:14:10,659 of the owners and families of, um, you know, like our IT guy and stuff, their spouses were 141 00:14:10,659 --> 00:14:17,659 seeking me out and thanking me for coming back, um, and welcoming me back. I mean, I left 142 00:14:17,659 --> 00:14:24,620 in tears that night, um, after the meetings and stuff. Um, they're just they're just great 143 00:14:24,620 --> 00:14:30,539 people. They really are. We should all be so lucky to to work for a company like that, because it 144 00:14:30,539 --> 00:14:35,730 really does have an impact when you go home. I mean, Listen, Laura, I've heard a lot of stories of 145 00:14:35,730 --> 00:14:40,729 people leaving work in tears, but none of them have been happy. Stories like yours was. So sad. 146 00:14:41,650 --> 00:14:47,569 That that says a lot. I want to ask you real quick before we kind of dive into, uh, what the office 147 00:14:47,570 --> 00:14:53,289 manager position is really all about, because that's a deep pool that will jump in. Um, but talk 148 00:14:53,289 --> 00:15:00,049 to me about bulk. Back in 2000, when you started in that stretch from 2016. Uh, fast forwarding to now, 149 00:15:00,090 --> 00:15:06,929 2026 and your your current tenure from 24 to 26. Uh, what changed about the 150 00:15:06,929 --> 00:15:13,690 company? Obviously, the culture didn't change. Was there any big differences that you noticed, either 151 00:15:13,690 --> 00:15:19,488 with the company itself and the growth that it had experienced over the time you were gone, or, uh, 152 00:15:19,489 --> 00:15:24,729 the industry itself? What were some of the biggest differences you saw between 2016 and coming back 153 00:15:24,729 --> 00:15:31,688 in 2024? So we implemented a lot of things within my first 16 years. Um, I think I was 154 00:15:31,689 --> 00:15:37,519 here probably six months or something, and Brian called me down to his office because I was two 155 00:15:37,520 --> 00:15:43,600 miles down the road at a at a different location with the billing staff, because we didn't have 156 00:15:43,600 --> 00:15:50,519 this beautiful office building built at the time. But he called me down to talk one evening, and 157 00:15:50,840 --> 00:15:57,760 he mentioned that with Y2K, back in 2000, they had purchased a product to 158 00:15:57,800 --> 00:16:04,600 to prepare, just in case. You know, we woke up Y2K morning and everything was down. 159 00:16:04,640 --> 00:16:09,080 Things weren't working, that sort of thing. They had purchased a product that they left on the 160 00:16:09,080 --> 00:16:15,520 shelf. They they got it open and they started it. Um, they had our, our core files 161 00:16:15,520 --> 00:16:22,119 built. Um, and it was just kind of waiting there. And then when Y2K didn't happen, they didn't 162 00:16:22,120 --> 00:16:28,479 finish implementing it. But he asked me, he's like, I really think you're the person who could help 163 00:16:28,480 --> 00:16:35,469 us implement this Project and I was like, give me the box, Brian. Just just hand it over. Um, and that 164 00:16:35,469 --> 00:16:42,149 started us down a path of so many great things. Um, we've always been an eye series 165 00:16:42,149 --> 00:16:48,830 based software system. Um, which I love, but we are starting to dabble with 166 00:16:49,069 --> 00:16:55,989 some online. Um, a new TMS system and stuff. Which which I'm so excited to 167 00:16:56,030 --> 00:17:00,629 get going. Um, because this will be the second transition that I have helped with. And we kind of 168 00:17:00,669 --> 00:17:05,749 joked around, um, when I came in and talked with Brian and Andrea at the, at my interview, um, that I 169 00:17:05,750 --> 00:17:10,348 got him onto the system that we're using now. Um, and now they want me to get them on to another 170 00:17:10,349 --> 00:17:16,348 new system. And you're the you're the person, right? And and that's the kind of thing that I love 171 00:17:16,389 --> 00:17:22,909 doing. I love the research. I love digging deep. Like, why is this not working? Everything about 172 00:17:22,910 --> 00:17:28,949 this says that it should find X and it's not finding X. And I will, you know, 173 00:17:29,910 --> 00:17:36,029 I'll just put heads down and and figure it out until I find it. So we we got up on the new 174 00:17:36,030 --> 00:17:42,989 platform, and this thing has been a dinosaur. Um, but it's been a rock solid dinosaur. 175 00:17:43,109 --> 00:17:48,630 The only reason we're trying to move away from it is, um, they no longer support it, and we need 176 00:17:48,630 --> 00:17:54,989 something more new age and modern. You know, everyone these days, they want the point and click 177 00:17:54,989 --> 00:18:00,269 environment. Um, and a nice series. You don't necessarily get a point and click. You get a menu 178 00:18:00,270 --> 00:18:06,669 option. You know, you you take option 16 from your keyboard instead of pointing and clicking at 179 00:18:06,670 --> 00:18:12,949 option 16. That just means dispatch. I mean, it's just a different way of looking at it, but a lot 180 00:18:12,989 --> 00:18:18,188 of times it's it's the I series that probably is working in the background and you're just looking 181 00:18:18,189 --> 00:18:25,110 at a GUI overlay system. Um, gotcha, gotcha. So it's the technology is is is the 182 00:18:25,110 --> 00:18:29,858 biggest part, I think, of what I'm taking from. You, it. Really is. So yeah. So we got up and running on 183 00:18:29,899 --> 00:18:36,579 that. Then our next goal was to implement. It wasn't logs back then, but it was communication 184 00:18:36,579 --> 00:18:43,139 between the truck and dispatch and the mechanics. Like, um, we had an onboard system that 185 00:18:43,139 --> 00:18:49,818 would notify us of hard brakes, you know, if they if they slammed on the brakes one morning or 186 00:18:49,819 --> 00:18:56,660 something. I believe it also notified us of the, uh, engine temperature and the oil level and 187 00:18:56,660 --> 00:19:01,699 different things like that. So it was it was a great monitoring system that then we could also 188 00:19:01,699 --> 00:19:06,859 use for communication back and forth from the driver, so the driver could input that he's 189 00:19:06,860 --> 00:19:13,019 arrived at the shipper. Um, and then he would input when he departs from the shipper. And then that 190 00:19:13,020 --> 00:19:19,938 all integrated into our TMS system. And it started the process of the paperwork to where 191 00:19:19,939 --> 00:19:26,009 it automated things. Um, we were no longer waiting for the trip sheet to come in, which 192 00:19:26,010 --> 00:19:32,969 sometimes, you know, back in 2000, early 2000, it would be snail mail with some of 193 00:19:32,969 --> 00:19:39,689 these drivers, and we try to produce a weekly payroll. Um, so, you know, 194 00:19:39,730 --> 00:19:46,249 it it helped, uh, leapfrog us ahead into getting paperwork a little bit quicker, or at least 195 00:19:46,250 --> 00:19:52,409 getting the data into the software quicker. And then we were just waiting on the paperwork when 196 00:19:52,410 --> 00:19:59,170 the paperwork came in. By then, it was typically ready to come to my team. My team would. Back in 197 00:19:59,170 --> 00:20:05,969 the day, we had a dot matrix printer that would print on that old green bar paper, the green and 198 00:20:05,969 --> 00:20:12,849 white lined paper. Um, that tractor feed. Yeah, it was like 18in wide and stuff. And it was probably 199 00:20:12,849 --> 00:20:19,730 all of two and a half, three inches thick. Um, and my staff would, um, sort it through that. 200 00:20:19,730 --> 00:20:26,639 Looking for a shipper, a consonant and a bill to combination. Pertaining 201 00:20:26,680 --> 00:20:33,599 to that load. And they had to match commodity. You know, if it was fly ash or if it was lime, and then 202 00:20:33,600 --> 00:20:38,079 they would write the code on the bottom of the trip sheet. In doing this, they would also be 203 00:20:38,080 --> 00:20:44,640 looking at all of the factors of the the driver's trip sheet. They would mark whether or not we're 204 00:20:44,640 --> 00:20:51,279 going to build for a vac, a scale, a wash. Um, they would look at the driver's routing information 205 00:20:51,280 --> 00:20:56,519 for deadhead and calculate that, and they would basically write everything on the trip sheet and 206 00:20:56,519 --> 00:21:02,840 then hand it to another person in my office who would then translate that and key it into the as 207 00:21:02,840 --> 00:21:09,839 400. Then we would print bills based on what that person had keyed. 208 00:21:09,880 --> 00:21:16,680 That keying encompassed what we were billing and what we were paying the driver. So I am always 209 00:21:16,680 --> 00:21:23,559 telling people that our billing drives our payroll. So then we would print the invoices, 210 00:21:23,560 --> 00:21:30,520 and then we would audit every single piece of paper from the list, build 211 00:21:30,520 --> 00:21:35,679 it printed to the invoice that printed, then the backup documentations, a copy of the trip sheet, 212 00:21:35,680 --> 00:21:42,639 copy of the delineating. Um, we would audit over a thousand invoices a week. Then one of us would 213 00:21:42,640 --> 00:21:48,639 bring them down here, two miles down the road to this office where we had the postage machine. And 214 00:21:48,719 --> 00:21:53,959 while we would fold them up and put them in envelopes, and we'd had stickers with the, you know, 215 00:21:53,999 --> 00:22:00,318 who to mail it to, and they would weigh it down here and put it out in the mail. And then, you know, 216 00:22:00,359 --> 00:22:06,719 we would just wait for the check to be issued these days. Fast forward. Um, 217 00:22:06,840 --> 00:22:13,559 we we barely see any paperwork. Paper wise. It's all scanned to us, 218 00:22:13,560 --> 00:22:20,429 and as soon as it's scanned in, we can start working it. We we do the same things, 219 00:22:20,430 --> 00:22:27,309 we look at it. We play the matching game as what I call it. We have the trip sheet on one 220 00:22:27,310 --> 00:22:32,749 monitor. We have the S 400 on another monitor, and we start going back and forth, you know, auditing 221 00:22:32,749 --> 00:22:38,269 the driver, the bill of lading, the weight, the routing information, the truck number, the trailer 222 00:22:38,270 --> 00:22:44,109 number, all the important things. And the more accurate that paperwork, that trip sheet is 223 00:22:44,110 --> 00:22:51,109 completed and the more accurate their attachments are of their bill of lading, their scale tickets. 224 00:22:51,109 --> 00:22:56,749 If there was a wash ticket and things like that, that's the more accurate that we can produce an 225 00:22:56,749 --> 00:23:02,309 invoice the first time around. If they leave something out. Then if we know that maybe 226 00:23:02,310 --> 00:23:07,989 something is missing, we can set it aside, and then we can start making phone calls or sending emails 227 00:23:07,990 --> 00:23:13,270 and doing the research to get it. But if we have everything that we need, we're able to invoice it 228 00:23:13,270 --> 00:23:20,099 and poof, get it done and pushed it on. And then the invoices instead of us mailing 229 00:23:20,099 --> 00:23:26,818 them and paper auditing and everything. They auto email from a program. 230 00:23:27,100 --> 00:23:33,979 That's. For our postage. Um, amount has significantly decreased. I bet. 231 00:23:34,019 --> 00:23:39,420 I mean, just the cost of postage alone was probably crazy. And I will say this right now 232 00:23:39,420 --> 00:23:44,019 you're looking at a at the video of me. Uh, for those of you that are just listening to this, 233 00:23:44,060 --> 00:23:49,059 we're on a video chat right now, and I want to tell you, I'm a duck on the pond because from the 234 00:23:49,060 --> 00:23:54,780 shoulders up where Laura can see me, I'm calm, cool and collected. But listening to you talk about the 235 00:23:54,780 --> 00:24:00,579 organization that must have had to be involved back when you first started all the auditing, all 236 00:24:00,579 --> 00:24:06,059 the matching, all that paperwork. My legs were going a million miles an hour because it was just 237 00:24:06,060 --> 00:24:12,859 driving my HD ADHD crazy. Laura and I, there's something else that I want to touch on too. We 238 00:24:12,860 --> 00:24:18,889 could very easily have drivers out there listening to this right now that were either very, 239 00:24:18,890 --> 00:24:25,649 very young or not born yet when Y2K was a thing. So just to catch you young 240 00:24:25,650 --> 00:24:32,649 bucks up here, Y2K was a scare that they thought because they only programed two numbers for 241 00:24:32,650 --> 00:24:39,608 the year in the computer software, i.e. 9899. It didn't say 1999. Uh, 242 00:24:39,609 --> 00:24:45,889 there was a scare, if I remember correctly, Laura, that when the clock turned over on the year 2000, 243 00:24:45,890 --> 00:24:51,009 that those computer clocks were going to reset to zero zero, and it was going to shut the whole 244 00:24:51,010 --> 00:24:55,329 system down because the computers were going to think that they hadn't been born yet, essentially, 245 00:24:55,569 --> 00:25:01,809 and that the technology hadn't evolved yet. So, um, people were pulling their hair out for Y2K. It's 246 00:25:01,810 --> 00:25:07,208 kind of something that's almost lost to time now, because it was 8 to 12 months of everybody 247 00:25:07,209 --> 00:25:12,849 worrying about it. And then we woke up on January 1st and everybody's computers thought, fine, 248 00:25:12,890 --> 00:25:18,728 despite how many millions of dollars were probably spent in preparation for such a thing. So, 249 00:25:19,089 --> 00:25:25,810 um, you know, I think it highlights how much different technology is just 26 short years later, 250 00:25:25,930 --> 00:25:30,728 uh, than it was back there when you first started with Bulgaria. Right. Yeah. Because, seriously, you 251 00:25:30,729 --> 00:25:35,649 had people in both sides of the camp. Some were like, oh, it's going to be just fine, you know? And 252 00:25:35,649 --> 00:25:40,129 then you had other people like, you know, the grocery stores are going to be closed. There's not. 253 00:25:40,129 --> 00:25:46,769 Going to be any. Electric. Um, you know, how will we do this? How will we do that? Um, that was Y2K. That 254 00:25:46,770 --> 00:25:53,249 was our pre-COVID cursor. Right? Yes, yes. Another one that kind of did that to us was in 255 00:25:53,249 --> 00:25:57,529 2012, when they thought the Mayan calendar was going to end and the waves were just going to 256 00:25:57,530 --> 00:26:02,529 come over the mountains, and we were all going to be swept away to sea. Uh, similar to where you had 257 00:26:02,529 --> 00:26:06,569 people on both sides of the fence saying, I think you haven't thought this through well enough. And 258 00:26:06,569 --> 00:26:13,360 you had people whose bunkers were fully stocked. Um, and and fortunately, uh, for 259 00:26:13,360 --> 00:26:20,280 Y2K, at least it didn't, uh, didn't mess up your guys's system that you had so well dialed at that 260 00:26:20,280 --> 00:26:26,279 point in time. Um, but it sounds like now, at first I, I want to say the fact that you've got such a 261 00:26:26,280 --> 00:26:32,039 nice head of hair left after dealing with all of that in the early 2000 is kind of a miracle, Laura, 262 00:26:32,079 --> 00:26:37,680 because I'm. I'm going bald just thinking about it. I mean, that must have been an absolute pressure 263 00:26:37,680 --> 00:26:43,719 cooker every single week with the volume that you guys were facing. Yeah, the volume is a lot. Um, and 264 00:26:43,719 --> 00:26:49,438 we, we really strive to have everybody's paycheck right the first time around. Um, but we make 265 00:26:49,439 --> 00:26:55,759 mistakes. And if we do, just let us know, you know, we have a process, um, a payroll discrepancy form 266 00:26:55,759 --> 00:27:01,479 that if you fill that out, turn it into your terminal. This way, you know, something happened. The 267 00:27:01,479 --> 00:27:07,919 terminal knows that it happened. It comes in here. It gets divided up amongst 3 or 4 people, myself 268 00:27:07,920 --> 00:27:13,829 being one of them. Um, so I actually can have my eyes on every single payroll discrepancy. So if I 269 00:27:13,829 --> 00:27:19,589 get a driver who calls me and says, Laura, my check has been wrong every single week for six months, I 270 00:27:19,630 --> 00:27:26,149 can pull the file and I can say, well, I see you've complained three times, you know. Let's let's talk 271 00:27:26,189 --> 00:27:32,509 about the differences and things like that. Um, to where I mean, we do try to keep, like, a checks and 272 00:27:32,510 --> 00:27:39,189 balance. Um, it's a way for me to help coach and train my team. I'm not somebody who 273 00:27:39,509 --> 00:27:45,270 will look at my team and say, no, that's just the way we do it. I will stop and take the time and 274 00:27:45,270 --> 00:27:51,510 explain, you know, this is the way we do it, and this is why we do it the way we do, for sure. You 275 00:27:51,510 --> 00:27:55,949 know, this brings me to something that you said to us when we were out there and playing city the 276 00:27:55,949 --> 00:28:00,749 first time we met. Um, you said something that I wrote down and underlined in my notes a few 277 00:28:00,749 --> 00:28:07,149 different times, and that is, I want to feel like I was in the cab with you, uh, speaking to the 278 00:28:07,149 --> 00:28:12,659 drivers. Can you walk me through that? That mindset a little bit. Why is it so important that you feel 279 00:28:12,660 --> 00:28:17,099 like you're right there in the cab, with the drivers on your side of things? It is. And I still 280 00:28:17,099 --> 00:28:22,139 use that to this day. Marcus, we have new hires that come in for what we call a meet and greet. 281 00:28:22,140 --> 00:28:28,019 And first off, I start off with there's two ways to not get paid. The very first way to not get 282 00:28:28,020 --> 00:28:33,859 paid is to not turn in any paperwork for what you did. The second way to not get paid would be to 283 00:28:33,859 --> 00:28:39,579 turn in paperwork, but don't put your name on it, and you would not believe how many times that 284 00:28:39,580 --> 00:28:46,500 happens. Yeah, but yeah, it's just a matter of you can tell the difference between 285 00:28:46,500 --> 00:28:53,499 an organized driver and maybe somebody who's a little bit newer, but, you know, everything's 286 00:28:53,499 --> 00:29:00,339 the same. You know, we we need the same information basically on each trip sheet. Um, it 287 00:29:00,340 --> 00:29:07,220 helps make the, the madness and the chaos a little bit quieter. Um, when we can determine what's 288 00:29:07,220 --> 00:29:13,179 billable and what's payable because not everything is both. Sometimes we end up paying the 289 00:29:13,179 --> 00:29:20,019 driver and we do not build the customer. Okay. And I think a lot of people don't realize how much of 290 00:29:20,060 --> 00:29:26,820 that we do. Sure. Can you give me an example? Um, just a real world example of 291 00:29:26,820 --> 00:29:33,419 one small missing detail that could completely change the outcome or affect the driver's pay. Um, 292 00:29:33,459 --> 00:29:38,899 we I know that the job that they do is so involved and so detail oriented that it's 293 00:29:38,899 --> 00:29:44,699 something I see across the trucking industry, is that paperwork tends to be, uh, the tedium of the 294 00:29:44,699 --> 00:29:50,659 job and, you know, the the pole and hoses and the crawl and over train cars and all of the stuff 295 00:29:50,659 --> 00:29:57,619 that is trucking 101 type stuff. It takes so much focus that sometimes it can be a little bit hard 296 00:29:57,619 --> 00:30:03,099 once you get back to the paperwork time. So I'm looking for just an example here for you that the 297 00:30:03,099 --> 00:30:09,250 drivers can kind of Uh, relate to that. Hey, if you don't do this one little thing, we extrapolate all 298 00:30:09,250 --> 00:30:14,969 the way back to your paycheck, and you can see big changes here with just one tiny mistake. Right. We 299 00:30:14,969 --> 00:30:21,368 have a lot of opportunities on the trip sheet itself for them to mark boxes or write comments. 300 00:30:21,609 --> 00:30:27,290 Um, so like, for example, their routing information is highly important in order for us to process 301 00:30:27,290 --> 00:30:33,089 their deadhead. With that being said, we still have a lot of people who think that their routing 302 00:30:33,090 --> 00:30:39,929 information should mimic their log. Um, their log is something totally different. And now that we're 303 00:30:39,929 --> 00:30:46,249 on logs and stuff, all of that is log related. Anything that you have to do for Tim and safety 304 00:30:46,250 --> 00:30:53,008 and your log and your log and, you know, for the state highway patrol, that's separate. Your 305 00:30:53,009 --> 00:30:57,208 trip sheet tells me where you've been and what you've done. I don't need to know where you got 306 00:30:57,209 --> 00:31:03,359 fuel necessarily. I don't need to know when you went into the sleeper berth or, um, you know, in 307 00:31:03,359 --> 00:31:09,439 what town you were in your sleeper berth. But at the bottom of the trip sheet, the drivers can mark 308 00:31:09,479 --> 00:31:15,879 the, um. If they're requesting deadhead, they can mark if they're requesting scale. Um, if they did 309 00:31:15,879 --> 00:31:22,519 some inner plant work, which is an hourly, um, paid item, they can there's a whole 310 00:31:22,519 --> 00:31:27,239 section for just notes that weren't at the shipper or at the company. It's just, you know, 311 00:31:27,280 --> 00:31:33,449 miscellaneous notes to where if they were shut down on a highway due to a fatality, you know, 5 or 312 00:31:33,449 --> 00:31:39,760 10 miles ahead of them, they can put that down. You know, I was down for two hours because I 71. The 313 00:31:39,760 --> 00:31:46,319 more information that they can give us, um, the easier it is to pay them, because I can go back 314 00:31:46,319 --> 00:31:53,239 and I can look on, um, you know, on their truck data history as far as, um, you know, where they 315 00:31:53,239 --> 00:31:59,079 really stuck in traffic for two hours. Um, so if they tell me, like, where and the times and then 316 00:31:59,080 --> 00:32:05,079 their terminal manager signs off on it and gives us their approval and stuff. That's that's how to 317 00:32:05,079 --> 00:32:11,279 get paid for. Everything that you do is to remember to request pay for it. And if you're not 318 00:32:11,279 --> 00:32:17,879 sure, you can mark the box. If you're not sure if it pays deadhead or not by mark in the box will 319 00:32:17,880 --> 00:32:23,919 run the deadhead. And if it doesn't pay, we just won't pay it. And if you call and ask, you know, hey, 320 00:32:23,920 --> 00:32:30,639 I thought this should have been, uh, had deadhead on it, you know, I'll explain how Deadhead works to 321 00:32:30,639 --> 00:32:37,040 him, and we'll walk through it while the driver is on the phone with me, and we will either come up 322 00:32:37,040 --> 00:32:42,559 with the exact same answer that my team did and the deadhead wasn't valid, or I'll see where 323 00:32:42,560 --> 00:32:48,360 possibly my team made a mistake and picked the wrong county code. You know, you'd not believe how 324 00:32:48,360 --> 00:32:55,159 many New Albany Ohios we have. Um, and. Different things like that. So it's sure it's as. Easy as. 325 00:32:55,199 --> 00:33:01,988 That. So it's sort of. And maybe the drivers don't always think about it like this. But from your end, 326 00:33:02,030 --> 00:33:08,869 that trip sheet is sort of storytelling from the driver's end. It is. And I do tell them, um, you know, 327 00:33:08,910 --> 00:33:13,869 because I'm not in the truck, you know, when when you get finished at the loading site or at the 328 00:33:13,869 --> 00:33:19,270 unloading site, get in the truck, grab your clipboard and start writing a story. And I even 329 00:33:19,270 --> 00:33:23,789 joke around with them. I tell them, I say, you can look in your passenger and say, hey, Laura, watch 330 00:33:23,790 --> 00:33:30,790 this and and just write exactly what happened. Be kind, be courteous. Because the trip 331 00:33:30,790 --> 00:33:37,670 sheet does go with the invoice to the customer. So if you're having problems with somebody 332 00:33:37,670 --> 00:33:43,469 at that site, that's a conversation for you and your terminal manager or your terminal staff, and 333 00:33:43,469 --> 00:33:50,228 they can help try to rectify it or, you know, try to put a squash to it. Sure. I 334 00:33:50,229 --> 00:33:55,909 don't want you getting too emotional on the trip sheet. I know things happen, and I know that that 335 00:33:55,910 --> 00:34:02,218 might be part of your reasoning. But what I try to get at is, you know, look, if somebody just ghosted 336 00:34:02,219 --> 00:34:07,659 you. If the, if the person you know, told you what silo to hook up to and then they ghosted you. They 337 00:34:07,699 --> 00:34:13,739 went they sat on their phone. I don't need to know what all they did. I just need to know. Shipper did 338 00:34:13,739 --> 00:34:20,539 not come back to to release me, you know. Or I was three hours waiting for, you know, the shipper to 339 00:34:20,540 --> 00:34:27,219 come back or I was two hours waiting for my seals to seal the load. Because for different 340 00:34:27,220 --> 00:34:33,939 loads we do seal them. Give me the specifics. Leave the emotion out of it. That's a conversation to 341 00:34:33,939 --> 00:34:38,979 have with your terminal manager. You can call and tell me about it. Um, there's not a lot I can do, 342 00:34:39,260 --> 00:34:44,859 but the terminal manager should be working with the shippers and the companies to try to mitigate 343 00:34:44,860 --> 00:34:51,219 some of those obstacles. Sure. You know, you told us a story when we were out there and playing city 344 00:34:51,219 --> 00:34:56,769 about a driver that had a five hour unload somewhere around a five hour unload because the 345 00:34:57,050 --> 00:35:02,649 PSI restriction at the customer was very low. I think if I remember correctly, it was something 346 00:35:02,649 --> 00:35:08,449 like four psi or something, and this driver just kind of took it on the on the chin and thought, 347 00:35:08,449 --> 00:35:13,449 well, this is just part of the job and didn't know that that had happened. And there was a pay 348 00:35:13,449 --> 00:35:18,488 discrepancy after that because, hey, that's part of the job, right? Five hour unload or five minute 349 00:35:18,489 --> 00:35:23,488 unload. You're still getting something for that. And that's a very important detail that you need 350 00:35:23,489 --> 00:35:28,289 to know. Correct. Can you catch me up on that story a little bit and just kind of talk through? Sure. 351 00:35:28,289 --> 00:35:34,849 Can. Marcus. Thank you. Um, if they're instructed when they get to a company to unload at a low 352 00:35:35,169 --> 00:35:41,169 PSI, like, for example, the four psi that you mentioned, that is extremely low. I think we can 353 00:35:41,169 --> 00:35:48,129 typically unload most of our products somewhere around 10 to 12 psi. So imagine you're blowing 354 00:35:48,169 --> 00:35:55,049 product through a straw and, you know, imagine there's a child blowing through a straw and then 355 00:35:55,049 --> 00:36:00,688 an adult blowing through the straw. But also, depending upon what you're trying to push through, 356 00:36:00,689 --> 00:36:07,168 that straw may clog up on you. Yep. Um, you know, there's fly ash loads and 357 00:36:07,169 --> 00:36:14,168 there's dust loads and things like that, or chunky loads that, uh, you know, the faster 358 00:36:14,169 --> 00:36:20,569 you try to push it out the hole, um, it's just going to clog up on you and you're better off, you 359 00:36:20,570 --> 00:36:26,049 know, slow and steady wins the race. They've always told us that since school. Um, and it's the truth 360 00:36:26,050 --> 00:36:31,730 with a lot of these products, if you're restricted to a low PSI, you really just need to tell us. You 361 00:36:31,730 --> 00:36:38,329 know, I was restricted to four psi. Some loads are six psi. Um, and then that tells me that it's going 362 00:36:38,330 --> 00:36:45,329 to take you if it's unloading. Um, your base pay is based on one hour at the shipper, two hours at 363 00:36:45,330 --> 00:36:52,009 the constant E, so four psi, you're going to take longer than two hours to blow off 40,000 364 00:36:52,060 --> 00:36:58,879 pounds. Okay. There's other examples where you hook your your line to a line that's 365 00:36:58,879 --> 00:37:05,878 laying there. But then that line goes somewhere along the ground, up over a rail car and 366 00:37:05,879 --> 00:37:12,399 out. Who knows how many, you know? 80 or 120ft to a silo that you don't even see where you're 367 00:37:12,399 --> 00:37:19,319 unloading into. That, to me, is a long blow or a long push. And that's going to take a while 368 00:37:19,320 --> 00:37:26,119 if you're trying to move that product from your trailer, another 120 foot and not just 20 foot 369 00:37:26,120 --> 00:37:31,279 away from your trailer, that's going to take a little bit longer. So it's the details that we 370 00:37:31,279 --> 00:37:37,919 need for that, because me and my staff and and the folks that are paying the invoices, they typically 371 00:37:37,920 --> 00:37:44,559 are not of the plants. They're not they're seeing the the obstacles that we come up against. I had 372 00:37:44,560 --> 00:37:51,229 one driver that, uh, he was unloading at a place and he forgot to write down his 373 00:37:51,229 --> 00:37:58,110 unloading detention time, and I can't remember if it was the five hour one or or more, but he was 374 00:37:58,110 --> 00:38:04,909 literally pushing product from his trailer up. Eight stories. Eight. Oh, wow. 375 00:38:05,110 --> 00:38:10,708 Into an open window that, I don't know, maybe then they were, you know, unloading it into Gaylord 376 00:38:10,750 --> 00:38:17,550 boxes up there, but he was going up eight flights. Um, that's a long, hard 377 00:38:17,550 --> 00:38:24,189 push. Gravity. Right? It comes into. Play, you. Know. Um, and then there's other 378 00:38:24,189 --> 00:38:30,909 places that will be at that. Um, I've heard that we can be using our our blower 379 00:38:30,949 --> 00:38:37,709 to offload our product, but then on the receiver's end, they are also using something on their end to 380 00:38:37,750 --> 00:38:44,709 suck the product off. Okay. So so that means things up. Means that, you know, this is a difficult 381 00:38:44,709 --> 00:38:50,459 product or if it's it's a difficult line. Um, you know, there's there's all sorts of different 382 00:38:50,459 --> 00:38:56,979 reasons. Um, and then we all have hoses and connections and valves and 383 00:38:57,219 --> 00:39:03,939 things like that. So if something breaks while the driver is unloading or loading. Um, whose thing was 384 00:39:03,939 --> 00:39:10,179 it that broke, you know? Was it ours? Was it the ship or was it the constantly we need to know? 385 00:39:10,179 --> 00:39:15,179 Because then that tells us whether or not it's billable. If it was our trailer that broke. I 386 00:39:15,220 --> 00:39:20,018 certainly do not want to penalize the customer for that, but I don't want to penalize the driver 387 00:39:20,019 --> 00:39:26,099 either. So we'll pay the driver and not bill for it as long as we have the information we need. 388 00:39:26,659 --> 00:39:32,899 Details. Details. And this is why I said turning chaos into clarity. Because if all this stuff 389 00:39:32,899 --> 00:39:39,819 comes at you out of a fire hose, uh, it is pure chaos. But, uh, going through, uh, the Laura Holstein 390 00:39:39,820 --> 00:39:46,820 filter, it comes out very clear and, uh, and legible, if you will. Um, I think that's so cool. I, I can't 391 00:39:46,899 --> 00:39:52,779 wrap my head around the organization that you must have to have in your brain to keep all this 392 00:39:52,779 --> 00:39:56,779 straight, Laura, but that's where the experience comes in. You've got a lot of time behind the 393 00:39:56,779 --> 00:40:03,059 wheel, uh, figuratively speaking, here. And, uh, I think it shows. I mean, you're very confident. You 394 00:40:03,060 --> 00:40:08,300 don't. I've seen some office managers that if their hair was virtually on fire all the time, 395 00:40:08,300 --> 00:40:13,259 they would probably be more comfortable than they were when I talked to them. I don't get that from 396 00:40:13,259 --> 00:40:18,659 you at all. And what I find when I hear you talk, you mentioned it earlier. You talked about 397 00:40:18,699 --> 00:40:25,579 training and teaching and you seem big on those, but specifically the why behind it. Uh, 398 00:40:25,580 --> 00:40:31,059 have you found that that your team and also the drivers perform better when they really 399 00:40:31,059 --> 00:40:37,379 understand the reasoning behind all of this organization and all of these details? I really do, 400 00:40:37,540 --> 00:40:44,499 and I try to I try to model my life based on be the person that you needed. You know, 401 00:40:44,540 --> 00:40:49,809 if you ever stop and think about a time in your life. We all go through seasons. But think about a 402 00:40:49,810 --> 00:40:55,169 season that you might have been in and think about who showed up for you. Okay. Who helped you 403 00:40:55,209 --> 00:41:02,009 through that? If anything, I guess I consider myself, I don't know, a I'm 404 00:41:02,009 --> 00:41:07,889 probably ADHD as well, but I'm adaptable. I can be diversified and I can be a 405 00:41:07,889 --> 00:41:14,529 multi-purpose player. Um, to where I really, truly believe that managers 406 00:41:14,529 --> 00:41:21,290 manage people and processes and leaders create a safe learning environment. And I want 407 00:41:21,290 --> 00:41:27,009 my team to have a safe learning environment where they can come in and close my door, sit down and 408 00:41:27,010 --> 00:41:32,530 say, Laura, I just don't understand how to run Deadhead. How did you get the number that you got? 409 00:41:32,530 --> 00:41:36,330 Because I'm getting something totally different and we can sit down and we can have a 410 00:41:36,330 --> 00:41:41,089 conversation about it. When the driver calls me and says, you know, Laura, I didn't get Deadhead or 411 00:41:41,090 --> 00:41:47,639 I don't understand my per diem. you know, I like to be able to dissect it and break it down. Um, 412 00:41:47,639 --> 00:41:54,439 and, you know, hopefully, um, convey the information that they need. By the end of the conversation so 413 00:41:54,439 --> 00:42:00,239 that they feel more confident in what they were paid. Well, it's it's times like this here, and you 414 00:42:00,239 --> 00:42:04,359 say things like that, that I wish you were my math tutor all the way through high school and college 415 00:42:04,360 --> 00:42:09,959 because, uh, I never had somebody that could sit down and help me work it out and tell me why and 416 00:42:09,959 --> 00:42:15,520 explain it to me. Um, and that's, you know, it goes beyond just the math of everything. There's 417 00:42:15,520 --> 00:42:21,079 reasons that you guys do everything that you do the way that you do it. And, uh, a lot of times 418 00:42:21,080 --> 00:42:27,360 those reasons have years of experience stacked up behind them. And, uh, all you have to do is have 419 00:42:27,360 --> 00:42:30,999 somebody that's willing to explain that to you. And all of a sudden, the whole picture becomes 420 00:42:31,000 --> 00:42:36,959 clear. Um, I there's something else that you said, uh, when we were out in Plain City that sort of, uh, 421 00:42:36,959 --> 00:42:41,120 ties into that. And and you said that if somebody's having trouble communicating or if 422 00:42:41,120 --> 00:42:46,229 somebody by nature is a bit of a a poor communicator, your counter to that is to 423 00:42:46,269 --> 00:42:52,669 overcommunicate with them. Um, as somebody that communicates on a daily basis and gets paid for 424 00:42:52,669 --> 00:42:59,228 it, I understand the importance of the importance of over communication and also the distractions 425 00:42:59,229 --> 00:43:05,110 that poor communication can bring. Um, talk to me a little bit about that over communication when 426 00:43:05,110 --> 00:43:11,229 somebody maybe, um, not communicating as well as what you'd hoped when they, when they took the 427 00:43:11,229 --> 00:43:17,709 position or started the project. Um, well, I just try to slow them down and explain to them, you 428 00:43:17,710 --> 00:43:23,948 know, really what we're looking at. Um, as far as the drivers go, their base pay is based on shipper 429 00:43:23,949 --> 00:43:29,229 toxicity and back to the shipper, regardless of whether they go back to the shipper or not. Their 430 00:43:29,230 --> 00:43:35,149 base pay is also inclusive of one hour at the shipper and two hours at the company. So when they 431 00:43:35,149 --> 00:43:41,549 put that they were at the shipper for three hours and they put normal load time. Well, 432 00:43:41,549 --> 00:43:48,549 now normal load time is the one hour that is included in your base pay. But not only 433 00:43:48,550 --> 00:43:54,609 that, behind the scenes we know that well with that shipper. We really can't bill until after two 434 00:43:54,610 --> 00:44:00,229 hours. So if you're telling me you are there for three hours and you're just going to put normal 435 00:44:00,229 --> 00:44:05,829 load, there's something not normal about it. Normal would have been the one hour. So I need to be a 436 00:44:05,830 --> 00:44:12,788 little bit more wordy. Um, you know, give me those examples of, you know, the low sigh or 437 00:44:12,789 --> 00:44:18,830 even slow moving product when we're loading out of silo nine. I don't know 438 00:44:18,870 --> 00:44:25,468 necessarily that silo nine is the furthest silo from the plant, and therefore it's the longest 439 00:44:25,469 --> 00:44:31,709 push from the plant that it has to go past silos one through eight to get to nine. Some of these 440 00:44:31,710 --> 00:44:36,629 facilities, there's silos that are stacked, you know, one in front of the other and you really 441 00:44:36,629 --> 00:44:42,419 don't know, you know. Is the product going to one, two, three, four, you know, through eight first and 442 00:44:42,420 --> 00:44:49,060 then hitting nine, or is it coming down the left side and feeding the odd number silos or you know, 443 00:44:49,100 --> 00:44:55,299 vice versa, the right side of the silos. So since, you know, I don't I don't know that for each 444 00:44:55,300 --> 00:45:02,299 shipper and the people who are typically paying our invoices, um, at the customer side, they may not 445 00:45:02,299 --> 00:45:07,979 know. So the more information that they can provide us, I don't need an entire dissertation as 446 00:45:07,979 --> 00:45:14,379 to what happened, but just the facts. You know, if something broke, if there was a low PSI, just 447 00:45:14,379 --> 00:45:19,699 provide us, you know, what they think we need. Because trust me, Marcus, if I was at a customer 448 00:45:19,699 --> 00:45:26,219 unloading and I was there for five hours, I would have a story to tell. Absolutely, 449 00:45:26,219 --> 00:45:32,019 absolutely. It kind of what it sounds like you're telling the drivers here is we need you to be the 450 00:45:32,020 --> 00:45:37,529 the, the purest form of Walter Cronkite that you can be. And if if our younger listeners don't know 451 00:45:37,530 --> 00:45:44,529 who Walter Cronkite was, he's the iconic example of how news should be reported. Zero spin, 452 00:45:44,570 --> 00:45:51,409 zero personality in it, only the facts followed by the next fact, followed by the next fact, and then 453 00:45:51,409 --> 00:45:58,289 get out under a beautiful mustache. My, if I do say so myself. But that is really, I think, the at the 454 00:45:58,290 --> 00:46:04,569 core of what you're looking for here is any type of of injection. As far as how I felt, this 455 00:46:04,570 --> 00:46:11,049 situation happened isn't really needed. It's just what did you see? What happened? Get it down on the 456 00:46:11,050 --> 00:46:16,970 trip sheet. You nailed it, Marcus. That is exactly. It. I love it. I love a big Walter Cronkite fan. If 457 00:46:16,970 --> 00:46:23,330 you can't tell doing what I do, uh, you know, and and also, it's like, think about it. If, if, uh, a more 458 00:46:23,330 --> 00:46:30,009 current example fits, you better think about it as not being your Fox News or your CNN. Think about 459 00:46:30,010 --> 00:46:35,879 it as being just what they're reporting without all of the spin that you get. I find it funny. We 460 00:46:35,879 --> 00:46:40,519 used to call it Fox News. Used to call themselves the No Spin Zone. Yes. I haven't seen no spin since 461 00:46:40,519 --> 00:46:46,560 Walter Cronkite left this great mortal coil. So, uh, that is that's a really good example. Look up some 462 00:46:46,560 --> 00:46:50,759 YouTube videos of the guy. If you've never heard of him before, it's worth your time. And I think 463 00:46:50,759 --> 00:46:55,918 it'll help with this, uh, with this sort of painting. The picture on the trip sheet. Right. In 464 00:46:55,919 --> 00:47:01,398 broadcasting, that's a line that we constantly say is, we need you to paint the picture. People aren't 465 00:47:01,399 --> 00:47:07,638 seeing what you're seeing, but you're telling them about it. So imagine your words painting a very 466 00:47:07,639 --> 00:47:12,399 clear picture of what's happening. And that's what's happening with the trip sheet. Right. And we 467 00:47:12,399 --> 00:47:19,199 have some remarkable trainers out there, you know, like Bob Fortner out in Sydney. Um, he really, um, he 468 00:47:19,199 --> 00:47:24,919 takes it to the next level. He's like, Laura, what can I tell the drivers? You know, I'm presenting 469 00:47:24,920 --> 00:47:31,479 them with how to do this and, and the process, you know, and and he'll call me, we'll have 470 00:47:31,479 --> 00:47:36,479 discussions. I have drivers that will stop in. Even if they're just here to swap out a trailer, 471 00:47:36,479 --> 00:47:42,800 they'll come on in, they'll sit down, we'll chat for a few minutes. Um, we'll talk kids, grandkids, um, 472 00:47:42,800 --> 00:47:49,239 and, you know, and shop all in the same conversation. Um, the, the staff that we 473 00:47:49,240 --> 00:47:55,799 have wants to take care of the, the newcomers, you know, 474 00:47:56,039 --> 00:48:02,679 um, like when I heard your podcast with Stephanie and Jackie. Jackie is just phenomenal, for starters. 475 00:48:02,680 --> 00:48:09,159 And I really do hope that at some point, him and Stephanie do get to meet up, because, Marcus, I 476 00:48:09,159 --> 00:48:15,519 gotta tell you, I consider you the lettuce. Okay, let okay. Let us bring the sandwich 477 00:48:15,519 --> 00:48:22,199 together. Okay? And that's Stephanie and Jackie together. Like, led us to a sandwich. 478 00:48:22,360 --> 00:48:29,120 Okay. We have drivers out there. That they will get stuck. They will get plugged up, they will call 479 00:48:29,120 --> 00:48:34,909 each other, or they will call their terminal manager, or they'll call one of our mechanics, and 480 00:48:34,910 --> 00:48:41,549 there is always somebody on the other end of the phone who is willing to take the time to 481 00:48:41,590 --> 00:48:48,069 walk them through, even if they cause the plug up themselves. Here's how you clear it. 482 00:48:48,509 --> 00:48:54,509 Right? No judgment. Just let's help out here. Exactly. I've been in your shoes. Let me. Let me 483 00:48:54,509 --> 00:49:01,388 help you. I'm not there, but I still want to help. Right, right. I love it. This has all been so great. 484 00:49:01,389 --> 00:49:06,989 Laura, I. I can't thank you enough. And I've just got a few more things here that are a little bit 485 00:49:06,990 --> 00:49:13,589 more kind of fun questions, if you will, and will draw on the vast experience that you've had. And 486 00:49:13,590 --> 00:49:18,709 also, I think, highlight, uh, just how good you are at your job of office manager, because if you 487 00:49:18,709 --> 00:49:23,989 haven't figured it out yet, uh, Laura's got it together. Okay. And there's a very good reason that 488 00:49:23,989 --> 00:49:30,459 book and spur run like a well-oiled machine. Um, but some fun here. What type of paperwork 489 00:49:30,459 --> 00:49:36,218 instantly makes you smile? Is there any kind? Anything that's on that sheet that comes through 490 00:49:36,219 --> 00:49:40,939 that just warms your heart? Because you saw that the driver understood the assignment and 491 00:49:40,939 --> 00:49:46,339 everything is as it should be. Yes. Um, especially with the new drivers after they do the meet and 492 00:49:46,340 --> 00:49:53,339 greet and I see the change in their paperwork, the way it comes in, the neatness. Um, trust me, 493 00:49:53,340 --> 00:49:57,939 you're not going to be able to read my signature either. But when it comes to my payroll, I do try 494 00:49:57,940 --> 00:50:04,379 to print my name and list my employee number as clear as possible, just to ensure that I'm the one 495 00:50:04,379 --> 00:50:10,379 getting paid. Because when we have, you know, 200 drivers that we're paying, um, you know, some 496 00:50:10,379 --> 00:50:16,820 numbers blend together, some signatures look the same. Um, so the more clean and accurate your 497 00:50:16,820 --> 00:50:22,779 paperwork is, um, it just produces a better invoice. And when we produce a better invoice, we produce a 498 00:50:22,780 --> 00:50:27,849 better payroll. There you go. And that's all part of producing the great product that bulk is known 499 00:50:27,850 --> 00:50:33,569 for. And I think that's those things. That's the point. That's the reason we brought you in here, is 500 00:50:33,570 --> 00:50:38,249 to connect the dots today. And and you just see the dots connect all the way down the line for 501 00:50:38,290 --> 00:50:43,609 that. Now on the flip side, I couldn't let you out of here without asking this. Uh, have you ever 502 00:50:43,610 --> 00:50:48,649 looked at some paperwork and thought, what on earth is going on? 503 00:50:50,289 --> 00:50:56,490 Yes. I do not remember the driver's name, but I do believe that I called the terminal manager more 504 00:50:56,490 --> 00:51:03,090 than once. Probably. And I asked him to please ask this driver to either, um, fill the 505 00:51:03,090 --> 00:51:08,729 paperwork out away from his steering wheel or turn the truck off. Because trucks are like 506 00:51:08,729 --> 00:51:15,689 motorcycles. They jiggle. Okay. And when you've got your. Your paperwork on top of the steering wheel 507 00:51:15,689 --> 00:51:20,929 and you're writing, my writing's not all that great to begin with, but then you add the truck 508 00:51:20,970 --> 00:51:27,929 shaking. Um, it looked like a Tourette's Person. Completed. His paperwork nine times 509 00:51:27,929 --> 00:51:32,850 out of ten, but then other times it would be clean and clear to where it's like, okay, he was a 510 00:51:32,850 --> 00:51:39,729 hometown, a cup of coffee when he did that. Yep. I love it, I love it. On that note, you talked 511 00:51:39,729 --> 00:51:45,129 about working with the terminal managers. You also work with the drivers. Um, you got a chance to, uh, 512 00:51:45,129 --> 00:51:50,009 to to make some hay here for us. Who's harder to train terminal managers or drivers? 513 00:51:53,090 --> 00:51:59,330 I think they both get a fair shake at the stick. Um, the terminal. Managers, they, they have, um, they 514 00:51:59,330 --> 00:52:05,209 have more to digest with the software that we use and getting the, uh, the things from start to 515 00:52:05,250 --> 00:52:11,289 finish. Um, but then the drivers, um, I just love our drivers, you know, they're not steering wheel 516 00:52:11,330 --> 00:52:17,089 holders. They're not dock bumpers. Um, I have so much respect for them. They're out getting dirty. 517 00:52:17,090 --> 00:52:22,409 I've heard about the flour bombs and things like that. And ending up with plastic in places you 518 00:52:22,409 --> 00:52:28,599 don't want to tell your friends about, um, you know, our drivers. Um, they're not the the 519 00:52:28,679 --> 00:52:34,439 typical, you know, stereotypical type of driver that just goes home clean and shiny every single 520 00:52:34,439 --> 00:52:39,559 day. Just the way they walked out the door that morning. Um, I love that we have more female 521 00:52:39,559 --> 00:52:46,479 drivers involved now than we've ever had. Um, but they, uh. Yeah, 522 00:52:46,679 --> 00:52:51,239 they bring it all together. They they. Bring them. Home. They really. Do. Yeah, they really do. It takes 523 00:52:51,239 --> 00:52:57,279 a village, right? It definitely does to make this company run as well as and as smoothly as it does. 524 00:52:57,320 --> 00:53:02,799 Um, Laura, again, I can't thank you enough for coming on here sharing as much time, because with 525 00:53:02,800 --> 00:53:08,479 the amount of things that you deal with, taking an hour out of your day almost feels criminal on my 526 00:53:08,480 --> 00:53:15,039 part. But here you are with a smile on your face. Thank you so much for the time here today. Um, we 527 00:53:15,039 --> 00:53:20,239 do a segment with everybody that comes on the show called Final Thoughts, and this segment is 528 00:53:20,240 --> 00:53:24,709 really built just for you to get anything out on the table that we might have left off that we 529 00:53:24,709 --> 00:53:30,148 didn't get to talk about, or it's great for shout outs. It's great for a message to the company 530 00:53:30,190 --> 00:53:36,429 however you want to take it. The key is the floor is yours. Office manager Laura Holstein joining us 531 00:53:36,429 --> 00:53:41,749 today on Always Pneumatic, never static. Thank you so much for the time. Once again, final thoughts 532 00:53:41,749 --> 00:53:46,589 from you before we let you get back to it. Okay. Yeah. I just, you know, a huge thank you again to 533 00:53:46,629 --> 00:53:52,949 the family and to their extended family for welcoming me back. It's like I never left. 534 00:53:53,470 --> 00:54:00,269 I'm just so blessed to be back and to be able to do the things that I do. Um, to my team 535 00:54:00,429 --> 00:54:07,349 who are learning to work with me and learning new things, um, learning why we 536 00:54:07,389 --> 00:54:13,629 decided to do things the way we did. They don't have the past 26 years experience, or even that 537 00:54:13,629 --> 00:54:20,539 first 16 years when we were still doing it paper wise, so they have nothing to refer it back to, but 538 00:54:20,540 --> 00:54:26,139 yet they're open to learning and stuff. So just please keep learning, keep asking questions. My 539 00:54:26,139 --> 00:54:33,100 door is always open. And then to our 12 grandkids and our one great grandchild on the 540 00:54:33,100 --> 00:54:40,059 way, a shout out to you. And then a shout out to Leonard. Um, he's my husband. He's the string to 541 00:54:40,060 --> 00:54:45,899 my kite. He has steady hands. He keeps me tethered. Uh, he's my gentle anchor in life. 542 00:54:46,379 --> 00:54:51,139 Fantastic final thoughts segment from you there. Laura just knocked this one out of the park. Thank 543 00:54:51,139 --> 00:54:56,138 you so much. We will definitely be knocking on your office door because we know it's open, so 544 00:54:56,139 --> 00:55:00,859 we'll get you back in here again sometime soon, okay? Yes. Anytime, Marcus. Thank you. 545 00:55:09,419 --> 00:55:15,099 Office manager Laura Holstein. What an awesome conversation that was. You get some real true 546 00:55:15,100 --> 00:55:21,819 insight into why it all works so well with that conversation and something else that I 547 00:55:21,860 --> 00:55:26,499 noticed about Laura that I want to bring up here. And I've noticed it about so many people that 548 00:55:26,500 --> 00:55:33,299 we've done employee spotlights on. Um, you can just tell that the dedication just bleeds through this 549 00:55:33,300 --> 00:55:38,699 person. They want everything to work out in the best possible way. They want all the drivers to 550 00:55:38,699 --> 00:55:44,540 get paid. They want everybody home safe. And when you ask them a simple one sentence question about 551 00:55:44,540 --> 00:55:50,619 their job and they give you a few minutes, that's when you know that this person is dedicated. They 552 00:55:50,620 --> 00:55:57,580 are on a level, uh, that it takes you being on that level to be able to perform the way that they 553 00:55:57,580 --> 00:56:03,859 do in the face of all of the chaos that is put in front of the office manager. You know, we didn't 554 00:56:03,860 --> 00:56:09,179 even talk about the fact that is is Laura the person that's got to go order a new box of pens? 555 00:56:09,179 --> 00:56:14,939 That's that's an office manager duty right there. There's a lot that we didn't cover that Laura is 556 00:56:14,939 --> 00:56:19,329 probably responsible for. Which just means that we're going to get the pleasure of bringing her 557 00:56:19,330 --> 00:56:25,809 back on here again later on in the life of this podcast, and learn even more about everything that 558 00:56:25,810 --> 00:56:32,329 she's got her hands in. Now, I think the biggest takeaway from today's conversation is this 559 00:56:32,649 --> 00:56:38,209 the details protect the drivers. That's really what all of this boils down to when you think 560 00:56:38,209 --> 00:56:43,648 about it. The details protect your pay the details protect the customer relationship, which is oh so 561 00:56:43,649 --> 00:56:50,329 important. The details protect the company. Also a pretty big priority. And the details help the 562 00:56:50,330 --> 00:56:55,289 office tell the real story of what happened out there. Which means you get paid for what really 563 00:56:55,290 --> 00:57:01,329 happened out there. Because as Laura explained today, not every unload is just normal or typical. 564 00:57:01,370 --> 00:57:08,369 Not every delay is visible on a trip sheet. Not every obstacle is obvious from the outside. 565 00:57:08,370 --> 00:57:14,599 And that's why Laura says, you. I want to feel like I'm sitting in the cab with you from her seat 566 00:57:14,600 --> 00:57:21,319 unless it shows on a trip sheet. It's really hard to tell. Uh, that there's lo sigh a long push. A 567 00:57:21,319 --> 00:57:27,279 plugged line, a broken valve, a customer restriction, or a highway shutdown. But all of 568 00:57:27,280 --> 00:57:32,559 those things matter. And they matter big, especially when it comes to our paychecks. They 569 00:57:32,560 --> 00:57:37,879 only matter, though, if someone knows about them. Otherwise, they're in the ether, right? So if 570 00:57:37,880 --> 00:57:43,439 there's one thing to take away again, it's probably this. Don't assume that people know what 571 00:57:43,439 --> 00:57:50,079 happened. Tell the story. Write it down. Communicate it clearly. Be Walter Cronkite. 572 00:57:50,120 --> 00:57:56,959 Zero spin, zero opinion. Just the facts. And from everything we heard today, if you do 573 00:57:56,960 --> 00:58:03,399 that, folks got people like Laura in place who genuinely want to get things right. And if they're 574 00:58:03,399 --> 00:58:08,960 not right, she wants to make them right and identify the problem and coach it up so that we 575 00:58:08,999 --> 00:58:15,149 don't deal with this problem a lot in the future. Huge thanks again to Laura Holstein for her time 576 00:58:15,149 --> 00:58:21,989 today to get an hour of her time when she has so much on her plate. Man, she talked about 577 00:58:21,989 --> 00:58:26,789 being blessed. I feel like I'm the one that's blessed today. Uh, to get to sit down and have such 578 00:58:26,830 --> 00:58:33,470 an insightful conversation with her. Uh, but that's going to wrap it up for us here on this episode 579 00:58:33,470 --> 00:58:38,989 of Always Pneumatic, Never Static. I want to remind you one more time. Our website is podcast.bulktransit.com 580 00:58:39,030 --> 00:58:44,668 TIf you're listening to these episodes and you're going, this podcast thing is really 581 00:58:44,669 --> 00:58:51,109 starting to pique my fancy. I want to get on there and talk to this Marcus guy. I would love to talk 582 00:58:51,109 --> 00:58:56,388 to you. Maybe you just have an idea for an episode. That's fine. I take driver emails and turn them 583 00:58:56,389 --> 00:59:01,669 into episodes all the time, but you got to go over to the website and get in touch with me. Or you 584 00:59:01,669 --> 00:59:07,389 can talk to one of the many drivers or the many office staff members out there that have my phone 585 00:59:07,389 --> 00:59:13,270 number and my email. I am happy for them to give it to you. They all know that you guys can get in 586 00:59:13,270 --> 00:59:18,709 touch with me and get on this podcast. Become a part of it. Have some fun with us in here. You know, 587 00:59:18,749 --> 00:59:22,829 a lot of these conversations, we do take them pretty seriously, but you'll notice that there's 588 00:59:22,830 --> 00:59:28,428 always a few laughs. We're always enjoying the time that we have with one another, and we want 589 00:59:28,429 --> 00:59:34,149 you to be a part of that here on Always pneumatic, never static. So go by the website, hit me right in 590 00:59:34,149 --> 00:59:39,429 the pocket and let's make some magic here on always pneumatic, never static. You guys be safe 591 00:59:39,430 --> 00:59:45,429 out there and we will see you again 5 a.m. next week, local time for a new hour of content right 592 00:59:45,429 --> 00:59:52,229 from us here at APN S. And that's all she blows for today's 593 00:59:52,230 --> 00:59:58,109 episode of Always Pneumatic, Never Static. Your number one and probably only Pneumatic Trucking 594 00:59:58,110 --> 01:00:04,069 podcast, brought to you by Bulk Transit. Thanks for rolling with us today. Till next time, stay safe, 595 01:00:04,110 --> 01:00:06,828 keep those lines clear and keep it pumping.