Two drivers, two choices, one success story

Two drivers, two choices, one success story

Sometimes even the best-laid plans go awry, leaving you in a tough situation. The attitude you have in light of that makes all the difference.

Tempus driver James was recently faced with such a situation and chose to have a positive attitude, despite the mess he found himself in. Upon coming to orientation, he hit it off with another driver, and they decided that they wanted to team up. James believed that his potential co-driver was a nice and respectful individual with a large family, whose morals and values were indicative of his own. They both had similar goals and viewpoints, and their primary focus was going to be the work in front of them.

Shortly into their time with Tempus, both drivers realized they had misunderstood the pay schedule. They called in to dispatch, understandably upset. And this is where their attitudes made all the difference. Both drivers were given the same explanation, re-sent a copy of their driver agreement, and told where they can find the section about pay. We sincerely apologized for the misunderstanding and expressed how much we hoped we could keep them on board with us.

Here’s what James shared about his view of the situation and first-hand experience with his co-driver: “As a very logical and reasonable person who loves open communication, I was able to stop, think first, and then respond to the issue at hand. The opposite is becoming frustrated and acting out of rage. It turned out this philosophy wasn’t shared [between me and my co-driver]. Talking things out with a level-headed, sympathetic co-worker allowed me to vent my concerns and views without [Tempus Transport] playing micro-manager and browbeating me as so many managers would have done. It was hard though to sit in a 700 mile truck ride with someone who has already given up on his current job and drove the whole way back to his state actively looking for other work, and looking for me to concur and leave too.  Keeping in mind my values of stick-to-it-ness, plus my bills, I felt compelled to stay and stick things out.”

Ultimately, James’ co-driver, who repeatedly told us he wouldn’t, still jumped off the truck and abandoned James. James lost the load he was on with no way to deliver on time as a solo. He was stranded in Arkansas, not a terrible place for teams, but next to impossible for a solo to get a load out of. We worked every day to try to get him out of there, but it still took us 4 days, and yet he remained optimistic and kept a great attitude.

James believes, “Life is too short to concern myself with the negative things that may tear down my spirits. Focusing on my core beliefs and ignoring negative influences, trying to find the good in this awful world isn’t easy. But by continuing to try with a smile, comparable solutions always pop up, you just need to be humble and accept things you may not want but need.”

Since then, James has continued to excel with our company and has done some great things. He’s continued to be one of the most level-headed and kindest spirits I’ve met, and we’re excited to see where the future takes him.

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