'As they say in all the best soaps, get in touch with your emotions'
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have been told several times lately that I am not a mere driver but a service provider and driving is just one of my skills. What total poppycock. The sheer inane stupidity of such comments can only emanate from the sort of management that has lost contact with itself, its staft and, most important, its customers.
Let me explain. We are constantly told white-collar staff are working longer hours than ever. No doubt there are a hundred reasons for this but the two that stick in my mind are the arrival of the computer and the aftermath of the mid-eighties recession. IT has not conquered paperwork—it has multiplied it a thousand fold. When documentation was hated labour, it was kept to o minimum. Now we all have terminals there is every incentive for companies to cover their behinds in the pretence of efficiency with a mountain of paperwork that can be endlessly analysed. If in doubt, cook up some meaningless statistics that can be quoted at the next board meeting. The pressure from the top creates an atmosphere where the selling of failure to your managers and ultimately to the shareholders is more important than putting it right. All this takes time and I honestly believe that much of it is wasted. The work ethic strongly promoted during the Thatcher years only encourages this mindless scramble among middle management who seem ever more blinkered. As they say in all the best soaps, get in touch with your emotions. Transport management under pressure has to have an outlet and the first casualty is often the driver. It is only too easy to blame the guy behind the wheel. There are three big advantages to this from the manager's point of view. First, it sounds plausible to the customer who is unable to check with the driver. Second, it avoids having to take responsibility. But third, and most important, the driver cannot defend himself. Pyrotechnics at debrief is the most visible sign of this attitude but far more damaging is the hidden grievances the driver will carry around with him, resulting in poor motivation and many other negative factors. Respect from staff has to be earned, not assumed or demanded.
So how does the customer see all this? My well-founded suspicion is that they scream with hilarity at the very thought of a "service provider" (delivering their goods rather than a good honest driver who knows how to back 44ft of trailer into a nine-foot gap and take 38 tonnes down a steep twisting hill without injury. Do customers really see a driver as a company tool or as an individual? Does a uniform speak of corporate efficiency or does it smack of fascism? If a company has the arrogance to dictate the colour of a driver's boots, then how will it treat its customers?
We drivers are usually honest and hardworking, we are ultimately responsible for the condition of our vehicles and loads which are often worth many thousands and we are responsible for the safety of others on the road. By law we cannot dodge these responsibilities or pass the buck. We are under pressure to deliver goods to ever stricter schedules and to work increasingly longer hours without proper reward. We are told what to wear and others are encouraged to criticise our standard of driving through freephone numbers on the trucks. We are open to abuse, with little defence, from customers and management. When managers subject themselves to such a working environment, then perhaps we will listen.