How Cypress Ops Gets Drivers Home When It Matters

1 00:00:01,600 --> 00:00:07,040 Most trucking companies say they care about drivers. And then life happens and suddenly it's. 2 00:00:07,080 --> 00:00:13,800 We'll see what we can do. Translation probably not much. At most fleets, the relationship between 3 00:00:13,800 --> 00:00:20,159 drivers and dispatch is complicated. Somewhere between a marriage and a bar fight. One day you're 4 00:00:20,160 --> 00:00:25,000 working together. The next day you're yelling at each other over a missed load, a bad route. Or why 5 00:00:25,000 --> 00:00:31,480 am I in new Jersey again? But then there's Cypress and Sunbelt, 500 6 00:00:31,480 --> 00:00:38,120 drivers, 1500 trailers, which, if you're doing the math at home, means this operation should 7 00:00:38,120 --> 00:00:43,999 be absolute chaos. And yet drivers are getting home when they need to. Routes are changing on the 8 00:00:44,000 --> 00:00:50,120 fly, and somehow nobody's punching holes in the wallboard that they're hauling. So today we're 9 00:00:50,120 --> 00:00:54,840 asking a couple simple questions here on the Cypress Truck Lines podcast. How do you build a 10 00:00:54,840 --> 00:01:00,349 system where drivers can have it their way without the whole thing falling apart. And maybe 11 00:01:00,349 --> 00:01:05,989 more importantly, what does that actually take from both sides of the fence? 12 00:01:11,110 --> 00:01:15,709 Countdown to the Cypress Truck Lines podcast starts now. 13 00:01:18,069 --> 00:01:24,949 Your number one professional flatbed podcast here to deliver stories, safety updates and company 14 00:01:24,949 --> 00:01:29,750 news directly to your ears. Let's get down to business. 15 00:01:35,790 --> 00:01:41,029 How's the weather out there? Cypress and Sunbelt. Welcome into the Cypress Truck Lines podcast. I am 16 00:01:41,029 --> 00:01:46,790 your host, Marcus. Thank you so much for joining us today and every day we appreciate all of you guys 17 00:01:46,790 --> 00:01:52,230 clicking download. You guys are loving the show. We're getting more listeners, uh, kind of by the 18 00:01:52,230 --> 00:01:57,390 week here. It's a little bit of a slow crawl, but you give me enough time. I'm very insidious. I'll 19 00:01:57,449 --> 00:02:02,489 get in your head. And then all of a sudden we'll be friends. Uh, it's happened time, over time, and, uh, 20 00:02:02,489 --> 00:02:08,130 we're going to keep moving forward, producing some awesome episodes for you here at the Cypress 21 00:02:08,130 --> 00:02:13,449 Truck Lines podcast. I've said this before on the show. It seems like every episode keeps getting 22 00:02:13,449 --> 00:02:19,609 better. The the content gets juicier, people are more excited to be here. It's all good stuff. And, 23 00:02:19,609 --> 00:02:25,729 uh, we appreciate all the participation. As I've said also on this show, many times, I am merely the 24 00:02:25,729 --> 00:02:30,409 Steve Nash of this podcast. I get the ball to the people who score the points, and the people who 25 00:02:30,410 --> 00:02:35,529 score the points are all the great people at Cypress and Sun Belt. So if you want to be on the 26 00:02:35,529 --> 00:02:41,249 podcast, there's a very easy way for you to go about that. Head on over to podcast.cypresstruck.com 27 00:02:42,490 --> 00:02:47,689 and there is a Get in touch button over there. I don't know if it says get in touch or if it says, 28 00:02:47,689 --> 00:02:53,689 uh, you know, contact or what it is, but you will send an email if you click that link directly to 29 00:02:53,729 --> 00:02:59,720 my pocket and we will get you on this show to talk about whatever you want. Uh, you know, I notice 30 00:02:59,720 --> 00:03:06,280 that, uh, some of you Cypress drivers have some very interesting, uh, hobbies, unique hobbies, and, uh, 31 00:03:06,320 --> 00:03:13,240 something that I like to get into a good off time. Hobbies episode is always friendly. Uh, on 32 00:03:13,240 --> 00:03:17,600 the Cypress Trunk Lines podcast. I just love hearing about what you guys get into. I'm a bit of 33 00:03:17,600 --> 00:03:23,679 a hobbyist myself. Lots of different things that I enjoy putting my extra and spare time into. Uh, so 34 00:03:23,679 --> 00:03:27,480 if that's something that interests you, go ahead and get in touch with me by heading over to the 35 00:03:27,480 --> 00:03:33,520 website podcast.cypresstruck.com. Click that link and send me an email. I would love to talk to 36 00:03:33,520 --> 00:03:39,680 you about anything. Uh, under the sun. Now, the other thing that is at that website that's very 37 00:03:39,680 --> 00:03:44,639 important, obviously, are all of the episodes. And this saves you from having to go to Spotify or 38 00:03:44,640 --> 00:03:49,639 Apple or wherever you go to listen to your podcast, you can just go to one website, have it 39 00:03:49,639 --> 00:03:54,909 bookmarked. We say it every single day. Sooner or later, it's going to feel like it's tattooed on 40 00:03:54,910 --> 00:04:00,789 the back of your eyelids. podcast.cypresstruck.com. Get over there today, bookmark it and 41 00:04:00,789 --> 00:04:07,749 send me an email if you would like to take part in a future episode. All right. Today's episode is. 42 00:04:07,790 --> 00:04:14,229 It's a pretty simple concept, really. It's not simple in its application at all, but it's a very 43 00:04:14,229 --> 00:04:19,909 simple concept. And I think he said it to me the best. Uh, Matt Penland, when I was down in 44 00:04:19,910 --> 00:04:26,189 Jacksonville, said, man, we try to make this have it your way. Meaning the drivers, uh, can can kind of, 45 00:04:27,350 --> 00:04:31,950 I guess, dictate their routes a little bit, dictate where they're going to be and when. Because 46 00:04:31,989 --> 00:04:38,429 Cypress has 500 drivers, give or take, but Cypress also employs 1500 47 00:04:38,469 --> 00:04:44,190 trailers. And, uh, we're going to get a couple of people in here, both a driver and a driver trainer 48 00:04:44,190 --> 00:04:50,669 and also, uh, somebody from ops to talk to us about how this whole have it your way system works, 49 00:04:50,670 --> 00:04:56,579 because it really to me with all of the podcast episodes I've created for all of the trucking 50 00:04:56,579 --> 00:05:03,139 fleets that I've worked for. I really have to say that I'm blown away that this can 51 00:05:03,140 --> 00:05:08,940 actually work in practice. And not only does it work, but you've heard drivers right here on this 52 00:05:08,940 --> 00:05:15,219 podcast tell you I don't. I didn't have to want for anything, man. When my wife was sick, I was home. 53 00:05:15,219 --> 00:05:20,019 I never missed a doctor's appointment. There are so many examples that we've already talked about 54 00:05:20,019 --> 00:05:26,819 here on this show, that kind of shed a light on how Cypress does things. But one thing I 55 00:05:26,820 --> 00:05:30,979 wanted to sort of bring up here, and you'll hear us talk about it a little bit later on in the 56 00:05:30,980 --> 00:05:36,420 interview as well. But I wanted to really hammer it home here. And that is the driver dispatcher 57 00:05:36,420 --> 00:05:42,339 dynamic at fleets outside of Cypress that I've experienced. Now, I'm not going to name any of 58 00:05:42,339 --> 00:05:47,819 these because I know it's probably different at just about every trucking fleet. But I will tell 59 00:05:47,820 --> 00:05:54,519 you that some of the fleets I've worked for, the drivers and the dispatchers have what I would 60 00:05:54,519 --> 00:06:01,239 call at the very best a love hate relationship. It might remind you a little bit of a brother sister 61 00:06:01,239 --> 00:06:08,159 relationship, or a brother brother or sister sister, but it does not necessarily 62 00:06:08,160 --> 00:06:14,799 always have the same kind of love that a sibling relationship would have. Um, you know, 63 00:06:14,839 --> 00:06:20,279 drivers think dispatch doesn't care at a lot of these other fleets, and dispatch thinks drivers 64 00:06:20,279 --> 00:06:26,320 don't understand reality. Now, there's also a flip side to that. Drivers think that because dispatch 65 00:06:26,320 --> 00:06:32,119 maybe hasn't had the experience that they get every single day, that dispatch doesn't understand 66 00:06:32,119 --> 00:06:38,719 reality. Well, that makes you question what the heck is reality? Uh. It's there. Look, these these 67 00:06:38,720 --> 00:06:44,079 two parties aren't necessarily enemies, but it's definitely not always teammates either. And again, 68 00:06:44,119 --> 00:06:49,309 I want to drive home. This is what I've seen at other fleets when I compare and contrast this to 69 00:06:49,350 --> 00:06:56,069 Cypress, it seems like Cypress has broken that cycle. It really does, because not only do the drivers 70 00:06:56,070 --> 00:07:01,589 speak very, very highly of it, but you're going to hear somebody from the ops side speak very highly 71 00:07:01,589 --> 00:07:06,750 of the drivers. I'll be honest with you, they always like each other, but it's never something 72 00:07:06,750 --> 00:07:12,950 where they are falling all over one another to praise each other. And I've seen it time and time 73 00:07:12,950 --> 00:07:19,549 again. Okay. Outside of the walls of Cypress and Sunbelt, I really want to make that part clear. 74 00:07:20,069 --> 00:07:25,109 Uh, effective communication isn't optional. We know that you're going to hear that come through in 75 00:07:25,109 --> 00:07:32,109 the interview. Uh, but a bad day and a bad tone on in your voice almost 76 00:07:32,109 --> 00:07:36,749 always is going to equal a bad outcome. And one thing that you'll also hear in the interview 77 00:07:36,749 --> 00:07:43,710 that's coming up here is how important clear and concise communication really is. I think based on 78 00:07:43,710 --> 00:07:50,299 my experience and a lot of these other fleets that I've worked with. That is where the rubber 79 00:07:50,300 --> 00:07:56,259 meets the road. That's where the buck stops. That's. That's where it's all that. And a bag of chips. A 80 00:07:56,259 --> 00:08:02,299 lot of times these are simple communication issues. Um, a dispatcher at one of these other 81 00:08:02,300 --> 00:08:07,540 fleets might not have the patience when a driver calls in in the middle of Atlanta, traffic in rush 82 00:08:07,540 --> 00:08:13,458 hour, and their stress level is through the roof, they don't have time for niceties and platitudes. 83 00:08:13,459 --> 00:08:17,819 They need to get to the point. And all of a sudden, the dispatcher, well, maybe he's had a little bit 84 00:08:17,820 --> 00:08:22,540 of a bad day, too. And he goes, well, hey, how come this guy's being a jerk to me right now? It's 85 00:08:22,540 --> 00:08:27,499 really one of those things where you gotta try with this job to not take it personal, because 86 00:08:27,499 --> 00:08:34,418 there's so many outside things that affect what, what the job that we're doing and how well we 87 00:08:34,419 --> 00:08:40,579 are as far as our mental state. Right. Um, and again, you have to keep that mental state in ship shape 88 00:08:40,579 --> 00:08:44,979 because obviously there's the customer service side of things. We can't go in with that bad 89 00:08:45,039 --> 00:08:51,999 attitude and bad tone to a customer, because that makes even bigger ripples for us. And there's more 90 00:08:52,000 --> 00:08:57,679 questions that we have to answer down the road. So pay attention during the interview, hear coming up, 91 00:08:57,679 --> 00:09:04,079 and really listen to how valuable the communication piece is. When we're talking about 92 00:09:04,080 --> 00:09:10,919 how ops makes this happen at Cypress and Sun Belt. Another thing that that I 93 00:09:10,919 --> 00:09:17,719 want to bring up here is why I think most fleets would have a lot of trouble doing what Cypress is 94 00:09:17,719 --> 00:09:23,960 doing with 500 drivers and 1500 trailers and getting drivers home when they need it. Um, you're 95 00:09:23,960 --> 00:09:28,839 going to hear some anecdotal stories here from the two guys that are joining me, uh, coming up in 96 00:09:28,840 --> 00:09:34,798 just a few minutes that are going to kind of be mind blowing, like, uh, you would think about this 97 00:09:34,799 --> 00:09:41,038 happening at another trucking fleet, and you would say they would burn down the trailer shop before 98 00:09:41,120 --> 00:09:46,510 they would do what you just asked them to do. And it ain't the way that it is. It's Cypress. It's just 99 00:09:46,510 --> 00:09:53,349 not. Um. I think that the reason for that is, or at least some of the reason for that is, 100 00:09:53,469 --> 00:09:58,309 um, are that, you know, these other fleets, they don't have all these extra trailers. They're not 101 00:09:58,309 --> 00:10:04,590 running on this, you know, one loaded, one getting loaded in one sitting, empty thing. Um, they don't 102 00:10:04,590 --> 00:10:09,349 have the consistency of freight. You know, we've talked about it before. We had Debbie Master on 103 00:10:09,349 --> 00:10:14,629 from certainty, where we talked about the relationship that Cypress and Sun Belt build with 104 00:10:14,629 --> 00:10:21,590 their customers and how there's terminals that are located very strategically for that reason. Um, 105 00:10:21,590 --> 00:10:26,109 so, you know, you don't have the consistency of the freight at some of these other fleets to be able 106 00:10:26,110 --> 00:10:32,109 to run it like this. And I think a real big one is the trust factor. Another thing that's going to 107 00:10:32,150 --> 00:10:37,789 come through in this interview that's coming up just around the corner, is the fact that not only 108 00:10:37,830 --> 00:10:44,379 do drivers and dispatch and drivers and their driver managers trust one another implicitly, 109 00:10:44,380 --> 00:10:48,779 but that doesn't happen right off the bat. Everybody thinks that, oh, it's because I'm coming 110 00:10:48,780 --> 00:10:54,019 to work for this company. Snap your fingers, and all of a sudden that trust is there. You're gonna 111 00:10:54,020 --> 00:10:59,498 hear that that has to be built, that has to be earned. But if you do it and you go about it with 112 00:10:59,499 --> 00:11:05,899 a good attitude and dedication, uh, what you'll find is that the reward comes later on. And being 113 00:11:05,900 --> 00:11:12,419 able to get home on a drop of a hat or at the, you know, if you get a phone call and something's in 114 00:11:12,419 --> 00:11:18,179 emergency situation, look, if you've earned your spot, if you've shown up, then it's likely you're 115 00:11:18,179 --> 00:11:23,259 going to get back there when you need to be back there and you're going to hear ops and and driver 116 00:11:23,260 --> 00:11:28,139 managers and dispatch really bending over backwards to make that happen if they can. All of 117 00:11:28,140 --> 00:11:34,459 this, by the way, is going to be cemented in stone once you hear this interview. I know it sounds 118 00:11:34,460 --> 00:11:39,579 like speculation for me right now, but understand little podcast peek behind the curtain magic here. 119 00:11:39,580 --> 00:11:45,849 I've already done this interview. I know what's coming, and I feel like setting it up this way is 120 00:11:45,889 --> 00:11:50,889 is the correct thing. Okay, I'm using my judgment here. It's not always the best, but I feel like 121 00:11:50,890 --> 00:11:57,809 right now it's doing okay now. Every yes to a driver could cause 122 00:11:57,849 --> 00:12:03,489 like, you know, 5 to 10 different problems for operations. Okay. Understand that to that is a 123 00:12:03,489 --> 00:12:09,329 reason that a lot of other fleets don't do this. Um, a lot of other fleets would tell you that if 124 00:12:09,330 --> 00:12:13,889 they allowed their drivers to just call in any time and say, I need to get home, and then they 125 00:12:13,889 --> 00:12:19,288 made it happen for them, that would be a lot like the tail wagging the dog, putting the cart before 126 00:12:19,289 --> 00:12:24,849 the horse, the inmates running the asylum. Um, I don't like that last one because I don't think 127 00:12:24,849 --> 00:12:29,848 it's fair. But at the same time, that's how a lot of other trucking fleets would determine. If I 128 00:12:29,889 --> 00:12:35,530 keep saying yes to every driver that calls, then I'm never going to be able to get the work done. 129 00:12:35,530 --> 00:12:40,109 And I think what you're going to hear in this interview, too? Is that it? Look, the answer isn't 130 00:12:40,109 --> 00:12:46,668 always yes. It's just yes, a lot more at Cypress than what it is at all the other 131 00:12:46,669 --> 00:12:53,189 places that I've been a part of. So that that really is personal, anecdotal experience for me. 132 00:12:53,189 --> 00:12:58,789 But tell me. Just listen to me here. Trust me on this one. I promise you, this is a very unique 133 00:12:58,789 --> 00:13:04,069 scenario, which is why we wanted to build a whole episode around it. I mean, sitting in with some of 134 00:13:04,069 --> 00:13:09,269 the people that work for the same company that I do when we were doing our discovery, learning 135 00:13:09,270 --> 00:13:14,669 about everything that Cypress had to offer, this was a blow the top of my head off type 136 00:13:14,669 --> 00:13:19,630 realization that this is actually the way that things run at Cypress. And so we've been wanting to 137 00:13:19,630 --> 00:13:24,709 put this episode together for a while, and we finally got it for you today. So I hope you're 138 00:13:24,710 --> 00:13:30,030 ready to hear about how Cypress drivers have it a little bit different than a lot of the other 139 00:13:30,030 --> 00:13:36,939 drivers out there across the country. Okay, maybe it's not have it your way, but it's habit. Some 140 00:13:36,939 --> 00:13:43,820 semblance of your way. Okay. That's how I'll leave you with it. Please, uh, get very excited, get clingy 141 00:13:43,859 --> 00:13:50,059 about this next one, because there's a lot of great info, some fantastic stories, and I think, um, 142 00:13:50,059 --> 00:13:56,699 a real good peek behind the curtain on how operations at Cypress works in concert with the 143 00:13:56,700 --> 00:14:03,139 drivers to make everything work as smoothly as it possibly can. Let's get our guys in here for the 144 00:14:03,139 --> 00:14:03,939 interview. 145 00:14:13,219 --> 00:14:18,179 All right, time to get moving with our interview segment here on the Cypress Truck Lines podcast. 146 00:14:18,179 --> 00:14:23,260 And as always, I've got a couple of great guests here with a lot of great info that they're going 147 00:14:23,260 --> 00:14:28,779 to bring to the program. Let's welcome first back to the show. Uh, a guy that's a seasoned pro. Now on 148 00:14:28,780 --> 00:14:34,488 this podcast, we've got driver and driver trainer Angela Escoto. Angel, thank you so much for being 149 00:14:34,489 --> 00:14:40,049 here today, man. We always appreciate the time. Thanks for having me, Marcus. Now, I understand you 150 00:14:40,049 --> 00:14:46,689 got a trainee with you right now. Where are you guys at? We are in Kentucky. Are beautiful 151 00:14:46,689 --> 00:14:52,609 Kentucky dodging tornadoes this time of year. Dodging tornadoes. But they sent me here too late. 152 00:14:52,609 --> 00:14:58,729 Like the Derby just happened. We could have done this this weekend. It would've been great. Yeah, you 153 00:14:58,729 --> 00:15:05,049 could have put your fancy hat on and gone and bet the ponies, huh? Exactly. Awesome. Well, Angel, uh, as 154 00:15:05,050 --> 00:15:10,489 always, we appreciate the time, man. Uh, got a lot of good questions for you here today. You are joined 155 00:15:10,650 --> 00:15:15,169 by somebody making his first appearance on the show, and I'm very excited to have him here. Had a 156 00:15:15,169 --> 00:15:19,168 great conversation, actually, a couple great conversations with him when I was out in 157 00:15:19,169 --> 00:15:24,129 Jacksonville. And that is driver manager Blayze Padgett. Blayze, welcome to the show my friend. 158 00:15:24,129 --> 00:15:29,489 Thanks for stopping by. Good to be here Marcus. I appreciate it, man. Thanks for having me. Of course. 159 00:15:29,490 --> 00:15:36,239 Now, um, because I am a happily married man myself and enjoyed my wedding so much. I have to bring up 160 00:15:36,240 --> 00:15:41,080 the fact that you are a newlywed. Blayze, I want to give you a little round of applause and a 161 00:15:41,080 --> 00:15:46,080 congratulations here on the Cypress Truck Lines podcast. Man, I heard you guys had one heck of a 162 00:15:46,080 --> 00:15:51,319 wedding. Oh, yeah, it was awesome. That's, uh. It's been an adjustment, but I'm loving every second of 163 00:15:51,319 --> 00:15:57,199 it so far. That's great man. Well, congratulations and, uh, hope everything goes well moving forward. I 164 00:15:57,199 --> 00:16:01,919 know you get those, uh, those Penland boys out there, they can start quite the party, can't they? 165 00:16:02,119 --> 00:16:08,039 Oh, yeah, there's a thousand of them. That was half the half. The guest list was a Penland. Yes, sir. Yes, 166 00:16:08,039 --> 00:16:13,639 sir. Well, thanks for being here today, Blayze. Uh, I am going to jump in here and kind of just start 167 00:16:13,639 --> 00:16:18,840 with you, because what I found when we were doing the discovery out there at Cypress and 168 00:16:18,840 --> 00:16:25,559 Jacksonville was that it is a company that is incredibly unique for more reasons than one, in 169 00:16:25,559 --> 00:16:30,079 fact, more reasons than I can even count. We haven't even gotten to all of them yet, and we're 170 00:16:30,120 --> 00:16:35,739 like close to 20 episodes in here, but this one was one that really stood out to me. Now, I don't 171 00:16:35,739 --> 00:16:42,499 consider myself an authority on trucking, okay, but one thing I do have is I've made over 300 172 00:16:42,499 --> 00:16:49,418 podcast episodes for trucking fleets in my short career in doing this. And one thing I know is that 173 00:16:49,419 --> 00:16:56,219 any type of Have it your way is pretty unheard of in the operations department in most trucking 174 00:16:56,219 --> 00:17:02,900 fleets plays. But what I learned about Cypress was about 500 drivers, but 1500 trailers. 175 00:17:02,900 --> 00:17:08,619 And you guys make a real effort for the drivers to actually have it their way when it comes to 176 00:17:08,660 --> 00:17:14,899 their routing. Uh, so that sounds to me blase. I'll be honest with you. I'm not very good at math, but 177 00:17:14,900 --> 00:17:21,339 500 trailers or 500 drivers, 1500 trailers. Excuse me. Sounds like organized chaos. What does that 178 00:17:21,340 --> 00:17:28,338 actually look like behind the curtain in your day to day plays? So, uh, Marcus, we're really based on 179 00:17:28,339 --> 00:17:34,010 a hull and drywall. That's our our bread and butter, we call it. We've got drywall plants all 180 00:17:34,010 --> 00:17:38,728 over the country, and we try to put our terminals as close as we can to them. So the the reason that 181 00:17:38,729 --> 00:17:44,809 ratio is, is we like to have one trailer loaded that's moving, uh, one in transit to the shipper 182 00:17:44,810 --> 00:17:49,489 empty and one being loaded. That way, drivers, whenever they get their their loads ready, they 183 00:17:49,489 --> 00:17:54,729 can take off, drop and hook and, uh, really just speeds up the process. Helps us to make on time 184 00:17:54,729 --> 00:17:59,969 deliveries and, uh, really service customers better and helps the drivers out. I know Angel doesn't 185 00:17:59,969 --> 00:18:05,850 love the live load drywall. Angel you want to share your thoughts on live loading? 186 00:18:06,769 --> 00:18:13,729 I just finished the live load right now and it's, uh, of drywall, but it's rare, so 187 00:18:14,249 --> 00:18:19,409 yeah, if I can avoid it, I mean, it's great, but I think that's just par for the course. So it is 188 00:18:19,410 --> 00:18:26,369 what it is. You get some and but most of them are not that. So just like Blake said, 189 00:18:26,689 --> 00:18:33,039 they really try to have loads that are already ready preloaded. Right. Right now. Blayze. One thing I 190 00:18:33,040 --> 00:18:38,040 know, just from talking to how many drivers I've talked to across every different type of freight 191 00:18:38,040 --> 00:18:44,879 lane you can imagine, um, at most companies, if a driver calls their dispatcher and says, something 192 00:18:44,879 --> 00:18:50,319 happened, I gotta get home tomorrow. Uh, what happens is the hive really starts buzzing and the 193 00:18:50,360 --> 00:18:56,159 bees really start moving around. And things don't always go as planned. But I've had multiple 194 00:18:56,160 --> 00:19:01,959 drivers come right here on this podcast and tell me I've never had a problem getting where I need 195 00:19:01,959 --> 00:19:08,479 to be when I need to be there. Um, at Cypress, this doesn't seem like the problem that it is for most 196 00:19:08,480 --> 00:19:13,199 companies is that only because you guys have so many trailers, or what else is a part of it? How do 197 00:19:13,199 --> 00:19:18,079 you guys manage getting drivers where they need to be and when? Just kind of at the drop of a hat 198 00:19:18,080 --> 00:19:24,160 Blayze? Uh, so one of the things is we have sort of contracted freight, so we have a pile of loads 199 00:19:24,160 --> 00:19:29,859 already in our system that we have, we have access to. So it's not as difficult for us to drop a hook. 200 00:19:29,900 --> 00:19:35,019 We're not having to go out and book a load for a guy. Like agree on a rate and contact a shipper 201 00:19:35,020 --> 00:19:40,499 and say, hey, can we get a load going here and then this or that? Uh, well, you generally have a load 202 00:19:40,499 --> 00:19:45,699 out there going just about anywhere on the map. The trouble is, if there's one available that is 203 00:19:45,699 --> 00:19:51,619 economic and that you can make on time. So, uh, yeah, anywhere on the map generally there's a load 204 00:19:51,619 --> 00:19:56,458 probably going to where you need to be. Um, most of our guys are in Florida. So that's generally if 205 00:19:56,459 --> 00:20:01,619 you need to go to California, we can't help you. But. Right, right. Coming out West to see me just 206 00:20:01,619 --> 00:20:05,379 for a weekend probably isn't going to be something that, uh, you guys are going to work 207 00:20:05,379 --> 00:20:11,299 super hard on. But, uh, you know, I've, I've had so many drivers say, like, I one driver came on here 208 00:20:11,300 --> 00:20:16,540 and I'm his name is escaping me right now. But the story is what really stuck with me. And that was, 209 00:20:16,540 --> 00:20:23,099 uh, his wife had, uh, some, some health issues, and he needed to be home for a lot of time over the 210 00:20:23,100 --> 00:20:29,249 course of years, and he never missed a doctor's appointment. He never missed needing to. He never 211 00:20:29,250 --> 00:20:34,649 missed being there when he needed to be there. Blase. And when you hear something like that, uh, 212 00:20:34,810 --> 00:20:39,208 does that make you take a little bit more pride in the job that you do? Because as I said, this is 213 00:20:39,209 --> 00:20:45,649 a unique thing in trucking, at least as far as my experience goes. Yeah, absolutely. There's generally 214 00:20:45,650 --> 00:20:50,529 nothing that makes us feel better than retaining a good driver and just keeping them happy. I mean, 215 00:20:50,529 --> 00:20:54,889 we understand I mean, these guys have families. There's stuff going on. I mean, I'm going home to 216 00:20:54,930 --> 00:20:59,129 my house every day. I couldn't do what these guys are doing. So any chance that I can get to just 217 00:20:59,129 --> 00:21:05,728 help a guy out? Um, I've got a pretty cool story related to getting a guy to a place. Um, he's 218 00:21:05,769 --> 00:21:12,729 actually. He lives here in Jacksonville. And his. He had a spouse that was sick. So we started to 219 00:21:12,730 --> 00:21:17,089 run him locally here in Jacksonville, running loads up to Savannah and back down, getting home 220 00:21:17,089 --> 00:21:23,520 every day. And then just out of the blue he says, hey man, my uh, mom lives up in O'Fallon, 221 00:21:23,520 --> 00:21:29,159 Missouri, which is way away from Jacksonville. So a guy that's getting to Jacksonville every day, 222 00:21:29,159 --> 00:21:33,040 you're like, okay. And he's like, so I was thinking about booking a plane ticket up there, but I was 223 00:21:33,040 --> 00:21:37,279 wondering, is there any way I could get up there in the truck? And I was like, I, his name's Ivan. And 224 00:21:37,280 --> 00:21:42,199 I said, Ivan, we can get you there in three days. You tell me when and I'll make it happen. And it 225 00:21:42,199 --> 00:21:47,358 just so happened, like work out. He was planning on paying hundreds of dollars for a plane ticket, 226 00:21:47,359 --> 00:21:52,800 ended up getting paid to drive there and visit his mom. That's so cool, man. Those stories just 227 00:21:52,800 --> 00:21:59,239 make you feel so, uh, full in the heart for sure. And I imagine that hearing how happy that driver 228 00:21:59,239 --> 00:22:04,359 was when you worked that out for him makes you want to do that for every driver that you can. Oh, 229 00:22:04,359 --> 00:22:09,319 yeah. It was like he won the lottery. It was hilarious. That's a great story, man. I appreciate. 230 00:22:09,319 --> 00:22:15,799 You. Covers the Missouri lode angel. Uh, from from your perspective, the driver 231 00:22:15,800 --> 00:22:22,429 perspective. Um, I imagine that what you're hearing Blaise say kind of matches your experience. Any 232 00:22:22,430 --> 00:22:29,189 stories to tell us when you needed to get to a place and ops made it happen for you? I mean, 100% 233 00:22:29,229 --> 00:22:34,149 it does match up. I have had trainees that will call me after they get their own truck and they 234 00:22:34,149 --> 00:22:39,109 graduate and everything, and they've been doing it for a while and they'll be like, I have family 235 00:22:39,109 --> 00:22:44,709 that has been up north in such and such state. I'm like, well, I know we do have loads there. So I mean, 236 00:22:44,750 --> 00:22:50,909 the you can always ask. I mean, if you think about it this way, in our mind, we're asking for 237 00:22:50,910 --> 00:22:56,029 something that's like, oh, give me a free ride to go up there. But you're really not. You're just 238 00:22:56,030 --> 00:23:02,870 another day of work. And sometimes I'm sure for like dispatch, they're looking for guys to go far 239 00:23:02,870 --> 00:23:09,349 because we're a company that is like home base in Florida. So Florida we have locked down. But 240 00:23:09,349 --> 00:23:15,869 there's a lot of guys. I mean, the minority is part of the guys that actually go OTA and go far. So 241 00:23:15,870 --> 00:23:21,728 I'm sure when Blaise hear somebody wants to go up north. Sure. I have a load for you. And I was just 242 00:23:21,729 --> 00:23:25,369 looking for somebody. So you're going to be the perfect guy. So I do tell my trainees, you know, 243 00:23:25,409 --> 00:23:30,769 that graduate is saying, like, yeah, always ask because you don't know. To this day, I've been here 244 00:23:30,770 --> 00:23:37,449 four and a half years, and there's still places that I haven't gone that are either 245 00:23:37,490 --> 00:23:44,249 like right around the corner to a place that I've been going for since I started. And I'm like, this 246 00:23:44,249 --> 00:23:49,729 is like two miles away. And I didn't even know this was here. So they're always accruing like new 247 00:23:49,729 --> 00:23:56,689 contracts and new places. Um, you know, so it's not a surprise to me that we are not in 248 00:23:56,689 --> 00:24:03,409 almost every city in, in most of the states. But as far as for me, the main experiences that I've 249 00:24:03,410 --> 00:24:10,249 had of like I need to get somewhere is around hurricane season, right? I'll get a trainee 250 00:24:10,250 --> 00:24:16,529 and I'll tell him, hey, there's a hurricane that's probably coming this week. You have your family 251 00:24:16,560 --> 00:24:23,359 before we roll out and we leave for the week. Are you sure that you're willing to leave your family? 252 00:24:23,360 --> 00:24:28,879 Because that's kind of a big thing. You know, they mentally they have that prepared on a regular 253 00:24:28,879 --> 00:24:35,120 week. But add in weather and that's a little different, you know. So it's a it's a big 254 00:24:35,120 --> 00:24:41,560 stressor. Um, like as far as my wife and my family, we kind of have that in place already because 255 00:24:41,560 --> 00:24:45,479 we've been doing this for a while. So I had this one guy. I told him, are you sure you want to go 256 00:24:45,519 --> 00:24:50,239 like there's a hurricane coming? Your family's over here in Fort Myers. He's like, yeah, no, no, 257 00:24:50,240 --> 00:24:56,040 we're okay. Well, we start heading. And then normally, from what I noticed, Cypress will try to 258 00:24:56,079 --> 00:25:02,639 like. Well, if you're if you're out and working, let's try to get our trucks outside the storm. 259 00:25:02,640 --> 00:25:07,279 Right. Like, okay, if it's coming to Florida, it's cutting through. Let's go up north, stay in Georgia 260 00:25:07,280 --> 00:25:13,680 and then or stay lower in Miami until it passes and whatnot, you know? Well, we were out of the 261 00:25:13,680 --> 00:25:20,469 hurricane and all of a sudden he freaks out and it's like, I need to 262 00:25:20,470 --> 00:25:27,309 get home. And I'm like, dude, we're out here for a reason to get away from the storm, and you 263 00:25:27,310 --> 00:25:33,749 want us to go back? Well, there was no like and off or bus this guy needed to get home. So I had to 264 00:25:33,749 --> 00:25:40,389 call Cypress and I had to get us through. And yeah, sure enough, I mean, they got us back. They had to 265 00:25:40,430 --> 00:25:47,349 cancel our plan that we normally had dispatch to reroute us completely. You know, back, we 266 00:25:47,350 --> 00:25:52,989 actually, in the middle of the storm had to, like, take a ten in the middle of the storm. And then I 267 00:25:52,990 --> 00:25:59,589 got him back early to his family. Um, but it's like cases like that that even 268 00:25:59,589 --> 00:26:05,629 though we were routed differently and we told them that, hey, we're ready to come out, they were 269 00:26:05,630 --> 00:26:12,229 still willing to change. It wasn't like I never get a nope. Sorry. You already started. 270 00:26:12,389 --> 00:26:19,010 Tough luck. Suck it up. You know? Type deal. Um, you know, if they don't have a load, that's a little 271 00:26:19,010 --> 00:26:25,809 different. You know, they're not going to send us in there completely empty. From new Jersey, you 272 00:26:25,810 --> 00:26:29,209 know, to Florida. Just because you want to come home. You know, at that point, you're going to have 273 00:26:29,210 --> 00:26:33,169 to do something different, maybe take a flight or something like that, but. But yeah, if it's 274 00:26:33,170 --> 00:26:40,009 reasonable and there's a load, it's just another load for them, you know. So and they're really 275 00:26:40,050 --> 00:26:44,649 to they're willing to compromise. So I've always had good experience with that myself. Man you can 276 00:26:44,649 --> 00:26:49,649 really tell. And thank you for bringing up that story. Blaise, I wonder from your perspective when 277 00:26:49,650 --> 00:26:55,569 you hear angel training up guys like that, um, does that does that make you excited, knowing that the 278 00:26:55,569 --> 00:27:00,648 next crop of drivers kind of understands the way the game is played here at Cypress, because they 279 00:27:00,649 --> 00:27:05,289 get such good training from a guy like Angel or any of the other driver trainers that you guys 280 00:27:05,290 --> 00:27:10,129 employ. Oh yeah. Our trainers go through a well vetted process and Angel is one of the best of 281 00:27:10,129 --> 00:27:15,280 them. Whenever you, uh, you get a new driver on your board. That's kind of during eval week, we get a 282 00:27:15,319 --> 00:27:19,640 handful of new drivers, and they just kind of, like, select them out. So, hey, you're going to be blase 283 00:27:19,640 --> 00:27:23,160 is going to be your dispatcher. And then I immediately check and see, oh, who's this trainer? 284 00:27:23,160 --> 00:27:29,078 And if it says Angel, let's go to I'm like, oh, here we go. We got a good guy. There's a little flowers 285 00:27:29,079 --> 00:27:34,319 for you, Angel here on the show. Man, I appreciate that. You deserve it, man. You've got I, I hear 286 00:27:34,319 --> 00:27:38,879 plenty of people talk about you in very high regard with the quality of work that you do and 287 00:27:38,880 --> 00:27:43,799 the quality of training that you provide, man. And, uh, listen, I don't feel like there's ever a bad 288 00:27:43,839 --> 00:27:49,319 time for us to bring that up on the podcast. We should be, uh, showering you guys with praise for 289 00:27:49,319 --> 00:27:54,519 for doing the job. Well, um, now, Blayze, uh, it's something that I have to ask you here. Just, you 290 00:27:54,520 --> 00:27:59,600 know, I've been to, uh, lots of trucking terminals. One thing that I've noticed is that sometimes 291 00:27:59,600 --> 00:28:06,439 there's some, uh, dents in the wall or some holes in the wood paneling in, uh, in cypress case, when a 292 00:28:06,439 --> 00:28:12,069 driver will, uh, call and ask for this level of flexibility that Angel was just discussing, 293 00:28:12,069 --> 00:28:17,310 especially during times that, you know, freights. You guys got a lot of freight moving. Uh, there's 294 00:28:17,349 --> 00:28:23,510 weather, so everybody's kind of scrambling. What does this level of flexibility actually look like? 295 00:28:23,710 --> 00:28:28,389 Uh, when it when the pressure really shows up for your team because, yeah, you're good at it. You've 296 00:28:28,389 --> 00:28:33,309 done it a thousand times. You've shown that you guys can easily get drivers where they need to go 297 00:28:33,310 --> 00:28:39,229 in many different situations, but that doesn't mean that there's no pressure, uh, to, to make sure 298 00:28:39,230 --> 00:28:43,430 that this happens for these drivers. You care about them, Blayze. So can you talk about the 299 00:28:43,430 --> 00:28:48,749 pressure that you guys feel? Is there any how do you handle it when something like this comes up? 300 00:28:49,630 --> 00:28:54,989 Uh, yeah. There's definitely some pressure behind it. Uh, we're the shippers, the customers that we're 301 00:28:54,990 --> 00:28:59,590 hauling for. They're they have all the pressure on us. So they're not worried about our drivers and 302 00:28:59,590 --> 00:29:04,469 who's sick and who needs to be home. They're worried about this load getting to this customer 303 00:29:04,470 --> 00:29:11,019 by this time. So, uh, that's part of the puzzle piece. So, for example, if I have to have a guy from 304 00:29:11,019 --> 00:29:16,299 Alabama going to Florida and he's like, hey, I can't, I can't do this. I need to be in North 305 00:29:16,300 --> 00:29:22,578 Carolina tomorrow. I got a I very emergency situation. I can do that. But then I also have to 306 00:29:22,620 --> 00:29:27,259 cover this Florida load with somebody else. So it's a bit of a puzzle piece that can be the 307 00:29:27,259 --> 00:29:33,499 pressure situation. But as far as just making it happen, generally you have to be 308 00:29:33,899 --> 00:29:39,939 help urgent. Is it that you need to be home now like we had a guy the other day? Um, great driver 309 00:29:39,939 --> 00:29:45,500 for us, one of my top drivers on my board, and he said that his wife was sick and it was an 310 00:29:45,500 --> 00:29:49,578 emergency situation. Had to get him home. We actually dead headed him straight to the house 311 00:29:49,579 --> 00:29:54,899 and luckily we did. He got there in time, got to take care of his wife. It was all handled, all good. 312 00:29:54,939 --> 00:29:59,379 But then in other cases somebody's like, hey, I really need to be home this week. Like, it's, uh, 313 00:30:00,300 --> 00:30:05,499 just a I got to take my dog to the vet. I'm like, well, do we really have to take our dog to the vet 314 00:30:05,539 --> 00:30:11,159 right now. Like is there? Is there any way around this? Because it kind of it's difficult for me. I'd 315 00:30:11,160 --> 00:30:15,400 love to help you out, but you got to help me out a little bit. And most guys bend over backwards for 316 00:30:15,400 --> 00:30:22,319 us so we don't mind, you know, catering to them a little bit. Sure, sure. Now is it, uh. Is it ever 317 00:30:22,320 --> 00:30:28,920 hard to find the coverage? I mean, it seems to me like, um, the drivers I've talked to, especially the 318 00:30:28,920 --> 00:30:33,679 ones that come on the show frequently, are more than happy to jump in and help if they've got the 319 00:30:33,680 --> 00:30:39,119 time and the capacity. Um, but obviously you're working with a finite number of drivers, so the 320 00:30:39,119 --> 00:30:44,879 coverage is something that you, you're not always going to have. Um, what does it look like? I mean, 321 00:30:44,920 --> 00:30:51,279 are there moments there's obviously moments that you can't make it work. Um, but how do the drivers 322 00:30:51,279 --> 00:30:55,720 respond to that? I mean, obviously it's going to upset them a little bit, but, uh, are they mostly 323 00:30:55,720 --> 00:31:01,680 pretty understanding because of how much the answer is yes, please. Oh, yeah. In general, we have 324 00:31:01,800 --> 00:31:08,709 very responsible and respectful drivers. Um, one of the little, uh, I guess just like policies that 325 00:31:08,709 --> 00:31:13,670 we have is the guys that leave out earlier. So for starting the week on a Sunday versus a Monday, 326 00:31:13,670 --> 00:31:19,430 those guys, if you left out Sunday, you have the top priority to get the first load home. So guys 327 00:31:19,430 --> 00:31:23,349 that leave out Monday, we tell them any valley hey guys, it's not guaranteed that you're home every 328 00:31:23,350 --> 00:31:27,950 Friday. You're still going to get home a lot of Fridays. But if we have a load that needs to be 329 00:31:27,950 --> 00:31:31,789 delivered and it's going to bring in on a Saturday, it's going to be you over a guy that 330 00:31:31,790 --> 00:31:38,509 left his house on Sunday after church and sort of like, sooner you go, the sooner you can get back at. 331 00:31:38,550 --> 00:31:45,430 Yeah, that's makes sense. There's an incentive to it, I guess. Absolutely. And and Angel, um, would you 332 00:31:45,430 --> 00:31:51,429 say from your perspective that, uh, the drivers are mostly pretty good at not taking advantage of the 333 00:31:51,469 --> 00:31:57,709 have it your way, uh, uh, mode that that, uh, Blayze and all the guys in operations run in. I mean, I 334 00:31:57,750 --> 00:32:03,060 would think based on what I've seen at other fleets, that if a bunch of people were taking 335 00:32:03,060 --> 00:32:08,100 advantage of this type of system. This type of system would not work. What do you see from the 336 00:32:08,100 --> 00:32:13,578 driver's seat and the trainer seat out there? Angel. Yeah, I think that. I mean, it takes two, right? 337 00:32:13,620 --> 00:32:20,620 It's it's like kind of a teamwork thing. I think that maturity level of drivers, you know, 338 00:32:20,660 --> 00:32:27,499 the quality of drivers that we select. Um, this, you know, this batch has probably 339 00:32:27,739 --> 00:32:34,459 heard and seen all the excuses. So I think that's where kind of like where Blayze is leading to like 340 00:32:34,499 --> 00:32:41,219 sometimes they do have to give a little pushback. And maybe question is, is that important? Probably 341 00:32:41,219 --> 00:32:46,939 because of their experience. They've seen that, you know, somebody may come and ask for something, but 342 00:32:46,939 --> 00:32:52,419 it's not as urgent as the next person. So in their mind, at first they might be asking for it as an 343 00:32:52,419 --> 00:32:59,378 urgency, but they can get there instead of Friday. They can get the rest Saturday, you 344 00:32:59,379 --> 00:33:04,849 know, morning if that's the best you can do and they're fine with it. So I think that's probably, 345 00:33:04,890 --> 00:33:11,889 you know, where the where it lies, where it's on your question to Blaise, it was 346 00:33:11,930 --> 00:33:18,529 do does he feel a lot of pressure. Yes. But as far as like us on our side, we have to be reasonable 347 00:33:18,529 --> 00:33:25,449 as well. Like we have to be drivers that we know that our job is to get a load to 348 00:33:25,449 --> 00:33:31,889 a certain place. And once you're set with that load, the company is kind of working their way 349 00:33:31,890 --> 00:33:38,170 around the fact that you're going there. Once you say no to that or you have a problem with that, it 350 00:33:38,170 --> 00:33:43,129 does shift a lot of different things that we don't think about as a driver, because now we're 351 00:33:43,129 --> 00:33:48,569 just trying to get out of it because we're trying to do something out. So I think kind of like what 352 00:33:48,570 --> 00:33:55,569 you're saying, they do say yes to enough and get us to enough times 353 00:33:55,569 --> 00:34:01,549 in those emergencies that I don't think is being abused. And I think if there are guys that are 354 00:34:01,550 --> 00:34:06,789 probably abusing it, I think this batch could pick up on that. And at that point, if you're a person 355 00:34:06,790 --> 00:34:13,789 that's abusing that, you're probably doing other things that maybe are not favorable 356 00:34:13,790 --> 00:34:18,870 for you to get it yet. You know, so you just might be that person. I don't think it's like a one off 357 00:34:18,909 --> 00:34:24,509 thing or, you know, a couple of times I think when you're if you're going to be abusing one thing, 358 00:34:24,509 --> 00:34:28,829 you're probably abusing other things. And if you're doing that, the company probably is 359 00:34:28,830 --> 00:34:34,350 catching up to it. And then the question is like, should you be here? Is this the right company? And 360 00:34:34,350 --> 00:34:40,310 I don't think we run into that a lot, you know? Sure. Blayze, anything to add to what Angel just 361 00:34:40,310 --> 00:34:46,349 said there? Uh, absolutely. There's, uh, just the it's it's kind of like, uh, you scratch our back, we'll 362 00:34:46,350 --> 00:34:50,629 scratch your back. So. Right. One thing that I like to do, like an incentive, like I'll give you an 363 00:34:50,629 --> 00:34:56,110 example. Angel works a two week dispatch, so he stays out for a weekend. So on his Friday to be 364 00:34:56,110 --> 00:35:02,020 home, his top priority to get home because he did us that favor. He worked the weekend for us. He's 365 00:35:02,020 --> 00:35:05,779 going to get home as early as we can Friday. That way he gets a full weekend and then goes out for 366 00:35:05,780 --> 00:35:11,819 his two more weeks. Um, but one thing that I like to do, like a driver, that I really need him to do 367 00:35:11,819 --> 00:35:15,739 a tough load that's not going to get him home on Friday. And then he gets in on a Saturday the next 368 00:35:15,740 --> 00:35:21,499 week. He's my top priority to get him home early on Friday, and some of them don't mind it at all. 369 00:35:21,580 --> 00:35:26,139 Uh, like a positive to it is whenever you're if you're working an extra day, you're getting a lot 370 00:35:26,139 --> 00:35:31,659 more miles and a lot bigger paychecks. So, uh, but yeah, a lot of times it just takes a conversation, 371 00:35:31,659 --> 00:35:36,019 you know, calling a guy like, hey, man, I know it's Friday or it's Thursday. You're looking for that 372 00:35:36,019 --> 00:35:41,458 load going right to Orlando, right by the house. But I have three of them going to Charlotte, North 373 00:35:41,459 --> 00:35:46,419 Carolina right now. And he's like, you know what, Blaise? I'll do it for you. And or some of them are 374 00:35:46,419 --> 00:35:50,059 like, nah, I really have to be home this week. And then we're like, okay, we'll find another option 375 00:35:50,060 --> 00:35:57,009 here. Here's your Orlando load or whatever. Sure. But life happens, right? Yeah. Getting guys to do 376 00:35:57,009 --> 00:36:01,648 the tough load at the tough time, which is generally later in the week. Uh, it's a it's a 377 00:36:01,649 --> 00:36:07,129 puzzle piece, but we've, we've kind of we've gotten good at it. We got our certain guys to that you 378 00:36:07,129 --> 00:36:11,489 can rely on. We have a few drivers that even they prefer. They're like, hey, I want as many miles as 379 00:36:11,489 --> 00:36:16,249 possible. I want to be home for a few days to wash my clothes. But after that, like, just keep me going. 380 00:36:16,370 --> 00:36:21,089 Sure, sure. And you've got guys too, that have been driving for this company since it was four trucks 381 00:36:21,090 --> 00:36:26,729 under a bridge that, uh, I've heard stories about sending a guy, uh, up to new Jersey. And on his way 382 00:36:26,729 --> 00:36:31,169 back home, you get him another load halfway to send him right back up, and then he heads back 383 00:36:31,169 --> 00:36:35,409 home, and then, hey, we got another load going back to new Jersey. We need you to pick it up. I think 384 00:36:35,409 --> 00:36:40,849 it was three trips, uh, that, uh, that was it. Ronnie, that told me that story. Blayze. Is that, uh, does 385 00:36:40,850 --> 00:36:45,688 that ring any bells to you? His old new Jersey runs that he had to do. That's absolutely a Ronnie 386 00:36:45,689 --> 00:36:52,169 Norris story. Uh, we gotta get Ronnie on this podcast. Man, I had so many good conversations with 387 00:36:52,169 --> 00:36:57,269 that guy in the yard. Can't wait for us to welcome him. And he's got some stories too. But that I 388 00:36:57,270 --> 00:37:02,070 think the story that we just told, they're kind of the cliff notes version of it. Uh, is is what 389 00:37:02,070 --> 00:37:05,869 you're talking about, Blayze, when you say a reliable driver, we know that there's some guys 390 00:37:05,870 --> 00:37:11,188 out there that they'll run, even if we gotta stress them a little bit and, uh, and, and really 391 00:37:11,189 --> 00:37:16,389 put the miles on them, they'll do it in a safe and legal manner. And we all know Cypress is never 392 00:37:16,389 --> 00:37:21,188 going to push anybody to run past hours of service. They will take care of it, and they will 393 00:37:21,189 --> 00:37:25,669 do a good job for the company. And you got a handful of those guys out there. Oh, we've got a 394 00:37:25,669 --> 00:37:30,869 pile of them, man. And we're we're very grateful for them. They, they make this this company work. 395 00:37:30,950 --> 00:37:36,469 Yeah. Well I'll be honest. Oh sorry. Go ahead. Angel, please. No. Just to add to it to as well. It's like 396 00:37:36,509 --> 00:37:42,549 as a driver, you have to understand that, like, you can't just be here driving, expecting everything 397 00:37:42,550 --> 00:37:47,790 to go your way every single time. Like, especially in the beginning, I try to tell the guys that 398 00:37:47,790 --> 00:37:51,589 before they hop out of their truck with me, I'm like, look, in the beginning it's a little tough 399 00:37:51,620 --> 00:37:56,099 because you kind of have to build up your story, right? You're going to get assigned a dispatcher. 400 00:37:56,139 --> 00:38:01,299 That dispatcher doesn't know you. Really? He knows you by your truck number. Maybe your driver code. 401 00:38:01,299 --> 00:38:05,579 You don't know you by your first name yet. You know you don't have a rapport yet build up or a 402 00:38:05,580 --> 00:38:12,339 relationship. So in the beginning, you may have to like get those tough lows, get those lows that are 403 00:38:12,580 --> 00:38:17,979 not long loads are not easy, or they're live loads, or you got to do more typing or things like that, 404 00:38:17,979 --> 00:38:23,059 or a lot of local loads with traffic, but you kind of got to build up your resume of saying like, hey, 405 00:38:23,059 --> 00:38:29,658 I'm willing to do the dirty work for in the future for me to get those better 406 00:38:29,659 --> 00:38:36,100 loads that are easier. Their long runs get the good mile and your dispatcher will remember you 407 00:38:36,220 --> 00:38:40,699 like Blaise will call me and be like, I know it's Saturday, but I mean, I know it's Friday, but you 408 00:38:40,700 --> 00:38:46,939 think you get you you got home early. You think you could go run this 20 mile load real quick, and 409 00:38:47,179 --> 00:38:50,929 most of the time they're like, yeah, man, I'm already here. I got the hours. Let me go do that 410 00:38:50,929 --> 00:38:56,530 and I'll come back. And I'll still be. Still have most of my, you know, Friday. Other times I may be 411 00:38:56,530 --> 00:39:01,409 like, okay. Not this time, you know. And he he understands and he understands it because that's 412 00:39:01,409 --> 00:39:06,009 real. But for the guys that are just starting. They kind of need to understand that they got to build 413 00:39:06,010 --> 00:39:12,969 that up. It's not always going to be the nice pretty loads. You got to do the dirty work first 414 00:39:12,969 --> 00:39:18,929 and then they will recognize you and understand that you are a go to guy. So when you do get into 415 00:39:18,930 --> 00:39:25,729 that future situation, you don't you're not giving them any reason for them to say no 416 00:39:25,929 --> 00:39:32,289 because they're like, man, you've already done a lot of favors. Good on you. Thank you. Yes, of course 417 00:39:32,289 --> 00:39:36,449 we're going to get you home. Or of course we're going to get you this or that day off, you know, so 418 00:39:36,489 --> 00:39:41,449 you have drivers when they begin. They got to have that mentality when they start. And that makes 419 00:39:42,129 --> 00:39:46,329 their relationship with their dispatcher even better, because that's the guy that's giving you 420 00:39:46,370 --> 00:39:51,160 work, that's the female that's giving you work. so you got to have that relationship. Absolutely. You 421 00:39:51,160 --> 00:39:56,159 know, it's funny. We talked all the way back in the first couple episodes with, uh, with the whole 422 00:39:56,160 --> 00:40:01,679 Penguin family, and, uh, what I, what I found out there was that we got a little bit of history as, 423 00:40:01,719 --> 00:40:07,478 uh, D-1 college athletes in the Penland family. And. What angel? What you just told me right there 424 00:40:07,520 --> 00:40:14,279 gives me such a a marriage to a sports analogy here. If you go to practice and you drag 425 00:40:14,320 --> 00:40:18,719 ass all day, coach is never going to put you on the field. Why? Because he's watched you in 426 00:40:18,719 --> 00:40:25,678 practice, which is where we get good at this, not hustle. Um, but if you go out and you bust your ass 427 00:40:25,679 --> 00:40:30,799 every day in practice and you hustle, coach is going to find a place to get you on that field. If 428 00:40:30,840 --> 00:40:35,320 you are, uh, if you are an adequate member of the team. And that's what I'm seeing here, angel. It 429 00:40:35,320 --> 00:40:39,280 kind of sounds like what you just said. When you're first here, you might need to hustle a 430 00:40:39,280 --> 00:40:44,039 little bit, but that is meant to show your dedication to the job and to the company. Once the 431 00:40:44,039 --> 00:40:49,700 company sees that, uh, it's it's all. It's all love for you from then on out. Would you? Would you say 432 00:40:49,700 --> 00:40:55,339 that's kind of accurate? Oh for sure. I mean, they see the loyalty. You know, you stay here longer 433 00:40:55,340 --> 00:41:00,139 than a year. You're already kind of, you know, being part of the family. Then you, you know, if you go 434 00:41:00,139 --> 00:41:06,778 and you stay out, then now you're, you kind of put yourself in like a smaller 435 00:41:06,779 --> 00:41:13,580 percentage group of guys that are more dedicated. So obviously, the more dedication you 436 00:41:13,620 --> 00:41:18,659 give to the company, the more they have to reciprocate it and give it back to you. I mean, 437 00:41:18,659 --> 00:41:25,139 it's just like it's it's ebb and flow. You know, that's that's just how it is. Absolutely. Go ahead. 438 00:41:25,139 --> 00:41:28,859 No, you. If you weren't finished. I was going to say not to take away from any of the guys that are 439 00:41:28,860 --> 00:41:35,659 local or whatever, because all other facets have their ability to give more. You know, like 440 00:41:35,699 --> 00:41:42,300 it's just in their own realm how they do it. And if anybody's doubting that Cypress doesn't see 441 00:41:42,300 --> 00:41:49,129 it, it's there like it is. It's there. Clear as day. For sure. Yeah. Uh, 442 00:41:49,249 --> 00:41:54,489 Blayze, I want to come back to you here because as you talk to me about just the day to day and how, 443 00:41:54,570 --> 00:42:01,210 uh, you know, all the nuance with how this whole thing works as a very well oiled machine. My 444 00:42:01,210 --> 00:42:05,809 picture in my head is of you with. And you're young enough that you might not have ever seen 445 00:42:05,810 --> 00:42:10,609 one of these. So forgive me for aging myself and bringing this up, but I imagine you like one of 446 00:42:10,610 --> 00:42:15,689 those old switchboard operators we used to have. No no cell phones, and everybody had to dial on a 447 00:42:15,690 --> 00:42:21,330 wire. And you went to, uh, you know, an operator, and that operator had to plug you into it. Like, do you 448 00:42:21,330 --> 00:42:26,449 feel like you're just running a switchboard all day? Uh, or do you have this pretty well managed? 449 00:42:26,450 --> 00:42:31,889 And it's not just like drinking from a fire hose. Uh, some days it's catastrophic. I'll be honest 450 00:42:31,889 --> 00:42:36,569 with you, Marcus, but we've got a pretty good handle on it. Uh, a lot of times it's. A lot of my 451 00:42:36,570 --> 00:42:41,330 day is spent on the phone with somebody on hold. Somebody's calling my cell phone. Type it away. 452 00:42:41,370 --> 00:42:46,759 Sending a message to another driver. It's definitely a multitasking kind of job, but I've 453 00:42:47,360 --> 00:42:53,319 I've had some good training and I'm prepared for it now. So we we do a pretty good job of getting 454 00:42:53,319 --> 00:42:58,478 ahead and knocking all the tough stuff out as early as we can, and then kind of coasting our way 455 00:42:58,479 --> 00:43:05,079 through and just handling the odds and ends from there. But yeah, it can be like you said it, it can 456 00:43:05,080 --> 00:43:10,759 feel like the switchboard, no doubt. Yeah, I imagine so. Well, good on him to get a nice young guy like 457 00:43:10,759 --> 00:43:16,479 yourself in there with a strong hairline. Still, uh, you know, you got lots of energy. I mean, they they 458 00:43:16,480 --> 00:43:20,959 pick the right guy. Angel. I gotta be honest. I feel like. I feel like that was person of the hairline, 459 00:43:20,999 --> 00:43:25,398 right? Well, I mean, if you've seen mine, you understand? I'll comment on every good airline I 460 00:43:25,399 --> 00:43:32,280 see angel. Now to give flowers to Blayze, even though he gave me when since 461 00:43:32,280 --> 00:43:37,319 I see guys that I train and they leave and then they get assigned to somebody. The guys that tell 462 00:43:37,360 --> 00:43:43,099 me about like talk anything about Blayze, like the guys on it and I am. Even my personal like 463 00:43:43,139 --> 00:43:50,020 conversations with him, he makes it seem like the job is so easy because I feel like 464 00:43:50,020 --> 00:43:56,579 he understands it and he sees it like it's supposed to be. And his communication style with 465 00:43:56,580 --> 00:44:03,339 us is casual, but it's like just the fact and as a driver, that's refreshing and that's 466 00:44:03,340 --> 00:44:10,299 really kind of like what you want, you know? So he's understanding. He, he, he he definitely makes 467 00:44:10,300 --> 00:44:16,940 sure the work gets done. But it doesn't sound like overbearing or like you're not you're you're not 468 00:44:16,940 --> 00:44:22,819 cared for. So that's only everything I heard is positive. So yeah that's awesome man. Blayze. That's 469 00:44:22,820 --> 00:44:27,539 got to make you feel pretty good too. Hey, I'm glad you guys are both giving each other flowers today. 470 00:44:27,580 --> 00:44:31,699 Oh, yeah, that feels great to hear. I'm happy to happy to hear it. I just try to put myself in 471 00:44:31,699 --> 00:44:35,819 these guys shoes. They're doing a job that I couldn't do. At the end of the day, I'm a guy 472 00:44:35,860 --> 00:44:41,090 sitting in an office, air conditioned, staring at a keyboard all day. They're driving a truck in 473 00:44:41,090 --> 00:44:45,369 Atlanta traffic, and they've got a lot more to deal with than I do. So I have a lot of respect 474 00:44:45,370 --> 00:44:50,648 for them and just try to be as transparent, honest as possible on the phone. Sure, sure. Well, you know, 475 00:44:50,689 --> 00:44:54,769 we've had so many drivers on the show and one thing that we've asked a lot of them and angels 476 00:44:54,770 --> 00:45:00,850 answered this question is what's the hardest part about your job? And uh, obviously with truckers, 477 00:45:00,850 --> 00:45:07,408 there's a lot of different, uh, a lot of times you hear the traffic, the unknown, uh, the unpredictable 478 00:45:07,409 --> 00:45:14,050 but blase. I want to hear it. From your perspective, what's the hardest part of your job at Cypress? Uh, 479 00:45:14,090 --> 00:45:18,688 the hardest part, I would say, is just pleasing customers and drivers at the same time, the 480 00:45:18,689 --> 00:45:25,529 simultaneous, uh, satisfaction of everybody is almost impossible when you've got 500 odd trucks 481 00:45:25,530 --> 00:45:31,010 running across the road. Yeah, getting guys to do the loads that they don't want to do because like 482 00:45:31,010 --> 00:45:36,128 I said, I mean, these the shippers, they need drywall from point A to point B, our job is to get 483 00:45:36,129 --> 00:45:41,879 it there. Um, doing that effectively, where a guy works out where he doesn't have to waste time to 484 00:45:41,879 --> 00:45:46,879 get this short load off or like, incentivize, like, hey, if you do this one for me, I got this one 485 00:45:46,879 --> 00:45:52,839 waiting for you, right? So, you know, just a little picking and choosing and trying to keep everybody 486 00:45:52,879 --> 00:45:58,399 happy is tough. But I mean, at the end of the day, it's it's a business, but it's also a family. So we 487 00:45:58,400 --> 00:46:02,560 try to balance out both of those. I would say that's probably the toughest part though, is just 488 00:46:02,560 --> 00:46:09,119 keeping the shipper happy. And the driver's happy for sure. Now, how much of this is systems and how 489 00:46:09,120 --> 00:46:14,199 much do you attribute this to? Just people genuinely caring about the drivers and and the 490 00:46:14,199 --> 00:46:19,359 job that they're doing? I mean, obviously you've got to have some systems to make it run as smooth 491 00:46:19,360 --> 00:46:25,399 as it does, but I would think that that that care that your team has for, you know, keeping drivers 492 00:46:25,399 --> 00:46:31,280 happy, healthy, uh, where they want to be is also a big part of it. Blaise, what do you think? Yeah, 493 00:46:31,320 --> 00:46:38,189 absolutely. Um, let's put it this way. A miss load is a lot less important than a lost driver. So if 494 00:46:38,189 --> 00:46:43,909 it's if it comes down to it, we're choosing the driver every time. But um, as far as systems go, I 495 00:46:43,909 --> 00:46:49,069 would say it's I mean, the penalties themselves say this everything we have is like handcrafted 496 00:46:49,069 --> 00:46:54,829 and customized as to what they wanted. And, uh, Mr. Aaron Penland, every furious Cypress driver, you 497 00:46:54,829 --> 00:47:00,749 know who Aaron Penland is? He used to run all of the operations himself, and he's got it down to a 498 00:47:00,749 --> 00:47:05,029 science. That's kind of who we all learn from. You know, if you go here, you send the guy to this 499 00:47:05,030 --> 00:47:10,469 place. This kind of sets him up for this place, and then this sets them up for the house. I mean, it's 500 00:47:10,469 --> 00:47:17,429 a it's a puzzle piece. I've said that a few times. Yeah. Aaron's got it figured out. Uh, no, I would say 501 00:47:17,470 --> 00:47:24,309 like, the system that they've created is great. And me and Zach is the other, uh, main planner. I 502 00:47:24,310 --> 00:47:29,590 guess we've kind of got it figured out. Learn from Aaron, learn from the the professional himself. And 503 00:47:29,590 --> 00:47:35,090 doing our best to keep it moving. Well, and let's shout out Zach today too, because he was supposed 504 00:47:35,090 --> 00:47:39,449 to join us today, but unfortunately a little under the weather and we decided to take it easy on him. 505 00:47:39,449 --> 00:47:44,689 One thing I know about being sick and, uh, doing your first podcast appearance ever. Those two 506 00:47:44,689 --> 00:47:49,249 things don't really go in concert. So we wanted him to get out there and get some rest, get 507 00:47:49,250 --> 00:47:53,888 healthy today. We'll get Zach on for a for a subsequent episode, though. Blayze. Because I feel 508 00:47:53,889 --> 00:47:59,409 like we're going to be talking about this more than just one time. This is such a big aspect of, 509 00:47:59,730 --> 00:48:05,449 um, why I think Cypress drivers are happy in general, especially the ones that want to come on 510 00:48:05,449 --> 00:48:11,889 the podcast and talk to me. Um, and I mean, you mentioned keeping the customers happy. Keeping the 511 00:48:11,889 --> 00:48:15,969 drivers happy is a big part of keeping the customers happy, right? Because you got to have a 512 00:48:16,010 --> 00:48:21,289 happy driver smile on his face. Uh, customer service, professional attitude when they show up. 513 00:48:21,289 --> 00:48:27,208 And if they're at odds with dispatch, that's really unlikely to happen 100% of the time, isn't 514 00:48:27,209 --> 00:48:33,478 it? Absolutely. Yeah. The driver attitude makes a huge difference. There's, plays a big role. 515 00:48:33,479 --> 00:48:40,119 Absolutely. Uh, Angel, anything to add to that before we move on to the next thing? No, 100%. I 516 00:48:40,120 --> 00:48:44,799 think that's super important. I think some, you know, usually the newer guys don't really 517 00:48:44,800 --> 00:48:48,999 understand that for a while. Like what their relationship with their dispatcher, how they 518 00:48:49,000 --> 00:48:55,719 communicate with their dispatcher relates or directly relates to how they get run and how they 519 00:48:55,719 --> 00:49:02,239 get their work. And I think the better you are as a driver to your dispatcher 520 00:49:02,280 --> 00:49:09,198 like, is going to make your world so much easier because they are looking for somebody 521 00:49:09,199 --> 00:49:15,320 that they can trust to do the work. So you need to show them that you are that person, because if 522 00:49:15,320 --> 00:49:19,759 they like you, they're going to give you good loads. If you get to like what people say, a bad 523 00:49:19,759 --> 00:49:26,240 one or a hard one. Like Blaise said, the next one's going to be good. But you, it's you. You gotta you 524 00:49:26,240 --> 00:49:32,789 gotta cultivate that man. Like I believe in my dispatcher. And she's great. Katie in Smyrna. And 525 00:49:32,830 --> 00:49:39,749 like, it gets me to work done. And I'm happy because, well, actually all my 526 00:49:39,750 --> 00:49:43,149 dispatchers, I've always had a good relationship with them. It takes a while to sometimes, like in 527 00:49:43,149 --> 00:49:47,029 the beginning, to get that going. Like to understand each other's character and 528 00:49:47,030 --> 00:49:53,909 characteristics. But after a while and when that is a it's it's a good flow. Well shout out 529 00:49:53,949 --> 00:49:58,668 Katie and Smyrna. I'll always shout out a dispatcher on this show. Uh, we'll shout out 530 00:49:58,669 --> 00:50:04,389 anybody on this show. You watch me do it. You know, um, Angel, it's funny, sometimes I think about when 531 00:50:04,389 --> 00:50:09,628 I'm doing this, these podcast episodes, I'm trying to put myself in your guys's shoes. Now, I know 532 00:50:09,629 --> 00:50:14,708 that I could not handle the job that you guys do out there on the road. And sometimes I thought, 533 00:50:14,709 --> 00:50:20,389 well, hey, if I was a if I was an employee at a trucking fleet, where would I slot in? Well, because 534 00:50:20,389 --> 00:50:24,830 I obviously don't have the chops to be a driver. And and it was funny because I thought at one 535 00:50:24,830 --> 00:50:29,219 point in time I thought, hey, dispatch would probably be good for me, man, could you imagine 536 00:50:29,219 --> 00:50:34,459 having a chin swagger on dispatch like me that just won't shut up? I mean, come on, you gotta have 537 00:50:34,459 --> 00:50:40,099 somebody that communicates effectively, not just communicates. Uh, talk to me a little bit about 538 00:50:40,100 --> 00:50:44,779 that effective communication, angel, because it's stressful, the job that you guys do. And I imagine 539 00:50:44,780 --> 00:50:49,659 sometimes that's something you actually have to focus on a little bit, is communicating clearly. 540 00:50:50,100 --> 00:50:55,219 You know, it's crazy that you say that like, oh, where would I fit in and trucking? Because I had 541 00:50:55,219 --> 00:51:01,459 that question. When I first thought about trucking as an option, I always thought like, my hands are 542 00:51:01,699 --> 00:51:06,658 not made to be a trucker, right? Like, if my idea of what a trucker is, I don't wear enough plaid or 543 00:51:06,659 --> 00:51:13,620 that much jeans, you know, to even fit in to do this, right? Um, and my whole past experience 544 00:51:13,620 --> 00:51:20,378 has been like, inside office customer service on the phone, dealing with customers work. That Bank 545 00:51:20,379 --> 00:51:25,300 of America ten years, the insurance companies. And so you would think that hey dispatching that's 546 00:51:25,300 --> 00:51:31,878 your go to But I think because I've done it for so long, been in office that 547 00:51:31,879 --> 00:51:37,960 actually being out on the road is like my escape, you know, from that, like I dedicated all the 548 00:51:37,960 --> 00:51:42,119 office, so yeah, you could you could still do it. You can still you can still do it. Market you you 549 00:51:42,120 --> 00:51:48,119 can be out here on the road if you want to. But but but seriously on the, on the, on the 550 00:51:48,120 --> 00:51:55,079 relationship thing. It's like it's kind of like one of those things is not all the time 551 00:51:55,080 --> 00:52:01,559 you are going to get, you know, you get good lows, you get bad loads, you get horrible lows. All of 552 00:52:01,559 --> 00:52:07,279 each of those are going to be like subjective, right to what each driver thinks is good and bad 553 00:52:07,280 --> 00:52:12,679 and whatever what they want and part of the day. But I think you just got to come here as a truck 554 00:52:12,679 --> 00:52:18,120 driver to understand, okay, you're not the top dog here. I get you're driving and you're you're 555 00:52:18,120 --> 00:52:24,319 you're making the company money. But it's not all about us. It's it's a whole machine. And so, like, 556 00:52:24,399 --> 00:52:28,869 you have to take in the good and the bad. If you're a dispatcher, that's all they have. You know, 557 00:52:28,909 --> 00:52:34,509 you're in North Carolina and you need a and you're from Tampa, but North Carolina, I need you 558 00:52:34,510 --> 00:52:40,309 to run a short load. You need to run a short load. Right. You are a driver. You are a truck driver. 559 00:52:40,309 --> 00:52:45,109 That's what you got to do. So you can't come in here with like, a set frame of mind of how you 560 00:52:45,110 --> 00:52:51,549 want your day to be. And I tell my trainees, like when you start, hey, you might have them in your 561 00:52:51,550 --> 00:52:58,309 head that, hey, I want to get home on Friday by noon. Well, you might get home Friday 562 00:52:58,310 --> 00:53:04,830 by 6 p.m.. How about that? You know, so, like, if you just, like, pocket yourself in, like, one way of 563 00:53:05,230 --> 00:53:09,190 how you want the day to go, you're going to get mad and then what's going to happen? You're 564 00:53:09,190 --> 00:53:15,669 frustrated in traffic. Then your dispatcher calls you saying, hey, let's set you up for your next 565 00:53:15,669 --> 00:53:20,949 week's delivery, and then you rip their head off because you're mad because of Miami traffic. And 566 00:53:20,949 --> 00:53:27,659 it's like, that's not the person to get mad at. Yeah, I think you I think as truck drivers, we 567 00:53:27,659 --> 00:53:33,100 need to sometimes humble ourselves a little bit and then, like, open our mind to like all the 568 00:53:33,100 --> 00:53:37,819 things that the dispatcher has to go through through the day. Because I'm telling you, I don't 569 00:53:37,820 --> 00:53:42,418 want to be on this phone call. I don't want to be listening to all these truck drivers whining 570 00:53:42,419 --> 00:53:46,659 about something. I don't want to call a receiver saying that we're not going to make it in time. 571 00:53:46,659 --> 00:53:52,939 That's another tough thing. Even though Blaise said, oh, I'm I'm just in the office and AC, believe 572 00:53:52,940 --> 00:53:59,859 me, you can have the phone calls. Yeah. Uh, Blaise, I wonder how how much, 573 00:53:59,860 --> 00:54:05,659 uh, you just felt warm inside when Angel was talking right there, because sounds to me like, uh, 574 00:54:05,659 --> 00:54:09,899 that's a driver that's got dispatches back and kind of understands what you guys are going 575 00:54:09,899 --> 00:54:14,259 through in there. Yeah, those are the refreshing ones. The guys like Angel that kind of know what 576 00:54:14,259 --> 00:54:21,060 we're going through. Uh, I've got a little bit of a of a rapid fire segment for you guys here as we 577 00:54:21,100 --> 00:54:26,079 kind of wrap this up. I know you guys are both busy. You got a lot of work to do. Uh, you're always 578 00:54:26,080 --> 00:54:30,839 so gracious with your time. I gotta hammer these to you real quick. Blayze. I got three for you and 579 00:54:30,840 --> 00:54:37,158 Angel. I'll come to you for three as well. Um, and we've got to keep these fun, but also revealing. 580 00:54:37,199 --> 00:54:43,319 Tell us a little bit about it. So, Blayze. Uh, one word answer for you about your job. Stressful or 581 00:54:43,320 --> 00:54:49,360 rewarding? Rewarding? Why? Okay. You need an explanation. Uh, there's nothing better than making 582 00:54:49,360 --> 00:54:55,999 a driver's day, uh, getting a driver home on time. Or just get him a pile of miles making his 583 00:54:56,000 --> 00:55:00,279 paycheck. Well, one of the. I'll give you a story. It's actually one of Angel's trainees. I think 584 00:55:00,280 --> 00:55:06,720 he's been on here. He's Ryan widgery. Yes. He's one of the the nicest, just happiest guys I've ever 585 00:55:06,800 --> 00:55:11,639 got to deal with. And I happened to end up being his dispatcher. And he would tell me, like, hey, man, 586 00:55:11,679 --> 00:55:15,639 like, I know this is kind of a pain in the butt, but I really need to be back, like early because I 587 00:55:15,639 --> 00:55:19,599 got to take the kid somewhere and I'm like, all right, planned. I got this load here, this one going 588 00:55:19,600 --> 00:55:25,110 right home. And he's like, dude, you're the best. And Brian gives me praise every week. Every time that 589 00:55:25,189 --> 00:55:29,709 I set him up for something to get home on time, he's the most thankful guy. He actually got me a 590 00:55:29,709 --> 00:55:35,548 Chili's gift card for Christmas this year. That's awesome man. Nothing says I love you like a triple 591 00:55:35,549 --> 00:55:41,749 dipper on the house, right? Yeah, I love. It that that rewarding part that that trumps the stress. 592 00:55:41,750 --> 00:55:47,029 It is stressful, but I'll say rewarding over stress. Okay. All right. Uh, this one, I won't ask you 593 00:55:47,030 --> 00:55:51,548 for a follow up on. And, uh, you knew I was going to do that to you from the word I said. One word 594 00:55:51,549 --> 00:55:57,269 answer. When have I ever accepted a one word answer on this show? Uh, but, uh, how about this? A 595 00:55:57,270 --> 00:56:02,949 phrase that you hear from the drivers the most, and this can be, you know, if you want to go in a 596 00:56:02,949 --> 00:56:07,669 funny direction, if you want to go in a serious direction, I'm sure there's different categories 597 00:56:07,669 --> 00:56:13,350 of phrase that you hear the most. But what's one that stands out to you, Blayze. Um, what you got 598 00:56:13,350 --> 00:56:19,820 after that? Hey, that's gotta make you feel good, right? That means somebody wants to run. That means 599 00:56:20,379 --> 00:56:23,739 they got one that they're gonna do for me. But they really want to know what's coming next 600 00:56:23,740 --> 00:56:28,539 because they don't like this one. Okay, I got you. So I understood that a bit differently. Okay. 601 00:56:28,540 --> 00:56:35,379 Thanks for clarifying. Um, last one for you. Do you remember the most chaotic day that you've had, uh, 602 00:56:35,379 --> 00:56:42,339 at your gig since you got it, Blayze? Who probably let me think. Hmm. I feel like we've 603 00:56:42,340 --> 00:56:47,739 had a few. Uh, it's got to be one of the days where we just have more freight than we have drivers 604 00:56:47,739 --> 00:56:54,299 trying to get multiple guys on multiple loads, getting doing every every little nook and cranny 605 00:56:54,339 --> 00:56:58,978 we can do to cover as much loads as we can. Uh, it's it has to be one of those. I'm trying to give 606 00:56:58,979 --> 00:57:03,579 you a specific example. I have to think on it for a minute. Yeah. That's okay. Take your time there. 607 00:57:03,580 --> 00:57:08,619 And that that makes sense. Right. Uh, well, I think we always say it in this industry. Too much 608 00:57:08,659 --> 00:57:14,659 freight, not enough drivers. It's a good problem to have, but it is very much still a problem. Yeah, it 609 00:57:14,659 --> 00:57:19,129 absolutely beats the alternative of having too many drivers and not enough lows. That's even 610 00:57:19,129 --> 00:57:26,129 worse. Absolutely. Absolutely. Angel. I got some rapid fire questions for you. Uh, one word 611 00:57:26,129 --> 00:57:32,449 about your job. Freedom or responsibility? Uh, I'd say 612 00:57:32,490 --> 00:57:38,809 freedom. I say freedom for sure. I mean, like I alluded before, I did so much 613 00:57:38,809 --> 00:57:45,769 corporate world before that, even though you go home every day and every 614 00:57:45,809 --> 00:57:52,129 I work more hours going into an office and stressed out more 615 00:57:52,649 --> 00:57:59,609 to turn in TPS reports than this job. So this job is freedom. So Office 616 00:57:59,610 --> 00:58:04,128 Space is one of those movies that speaks to you on a real etheric level. Is that what you're 617 00:58:04,129 --> 00:58:09,969 saying? I'm a millennial, so yeah. Yeah, he got it. Every one of us has wanted to take a bat to a 618 00:58:09,969 --> 00:58:16,029 printer like that, I know it. It's 100% true. Okay. Um, and you know what? I was going to ask you to 619 00:58:16,030 --> 00:58:19,909 follow up there, just like I did Blayze. But you saw it coming, and you followed up without me having 620 00:58:19,909 --> 00:58:24,669 to ask. So, uh, you you you're you're starting to get wise to my tricks here on this show, angel. 621 00:58:24,669 --> 00:58:29,750 That'll happen when you come on. I got you, I got your number. Yeah. You do. Uh, biggest myth about. 622 00:58:29,750 --> 00:58:35,629 Have it your way. Is there one? Uh, in that kind of philosophy that ops runs with, is there? Are there 623 00:58:35,629 --> 00:58:42,549 any myths? Uh, myths that, you know, we would like to believe, but they really don't stand true? Or is 624 00:58:42,550 --> 00:58:49,229 this as good as it sounds on the surface, angel? No, I think it's as good as it sounds. I 625 00:58:49,229 --> 00:58:55,869 mean, you're this ain't Burger King. Okay? So, like, we're not really gonna have it your way in 626 00:58:56,229 --> 00:59:02,668 that aspect of it, but I think in the confines of what can is reasonable. 627 00:59:03,069 --> 00:59:10,069 Yes, I have heard horror stories of other companies that are not even reasonable. And I 628 00:59:10,069 --> 00:59:15,620 have guys have come in from other stores like, oh, what? They're surprised. Like, oh, they're always 629 00:59:15,620 --> 00:59:20,139 gonna get me home. And it's like, well, that's yeah, I mean, that's kind of what that's what they 630 00:59:20,139 --> 00:59:25,179 promote and they do it. You know, unless the week is just terrible, then, you know, those are off 631 00:59:25,180 --> 00:59:32,178 chances. But as far as like being way off the mark and being 632 00:59:32,219 --> 00:59:38,540 like this, oh I hear it. But you come in and then you're getting Okie doke. No, I've never 633 00:59:38,540 --> 00:59:45,539 experienced it. Uh, this is not the way it runs here. I think maybe some 634 00:59:45,580 --> 00:59:50,139 those stories that come out or maybe people that come in here, their expectations are extremely 635 00:59:50,139 --> 00:59:56,298 high. And it was not even something that type was even offered, but they still wanted it. Um, um, but 636 00:59:56,299 --> 01:00:02,819 if you're within the reality of like what they offer and you give yourself like dedicate, you 637 01:00:02,819 --> 01:00:08,779 know yourself to do the job right, you will experience the good stuff. Great stuff there. Uh, 638 01:00:08,779 --> 01:00:15,050 last one for you. One thing drivers should not do if they want this system to keep running as well 639 01:00:15,050 --> 01:00:20,049 as it does. You sort of already alluded to this earlier, but I want you to touch on it again just 640 01:00:20,050 --> 01:00:25,489 to really drive it home. So the question again is one thing drivers should not do if they want this 641 01:00:25,490 --> 01:00:32,449 system to keep working. Obviously, I mean, the easy thing is like don't abuse it. But um, I think 642 01:00:32,449 --> 01:00:38,569 that's too easy. Um, I was say like, don't, 643 01:00:39,490 --> 01:00:46,369 don't expect more than you pump out, right? So like, you can't be a driver 644 01:00:46,370 --> 01:00:52,689 that comes in here. You want all the pay, you want all the money, and you don't do anything to get 645 01:00:52,689 --> 01:00:59,449 that, but you expect it like it doesn't work that way. Like, you know, that person is not going to pay 646 01:00:59,449 --> 01:01:05,649 you and you barely run any miles, and you're supposed to be regional. Like, it just it's it just 647 01:01:05,650 --> 01:01:12,389 goes hand in hand. Like you can't lie. You can't run away for the money. So don't don't expect 648 01:01:12,390 --> 01:01:19,189 more than what you provide. I guess like you have to put your part into it and then you will get 649 01:01:19,229 --> 01:01:24,629 it in return. Really well said there, man. And that you you had you hit the nail on the head because 650 01:01:24,629 --> 01:01:29,229 that was exactly what I was thinking, is that you talked about, you know, abusing it a little bit 651 01:01:29,229 --> 01:01:35,709 earlier, but really it's a, it's a give and take thing here. If you put in the effort, the miles 652 01:01:36,109 --> 01:01:41,589 and the dedication, you're going to get that back in spades. Yeah. I mean I've had guys come here 653 01:01:42,190 --> 01:01:48,589 like they for some reason they get hired on or they apply for a flatbed company 654 01:01:48,590 --> 01:01:55,549 and instantly are mad that they have to do so much staffing. Come on. That's the 655 01:01:55,550 --> 01:02:01,269 first thing. Right? That's the very first thing you gotta know that's coming. Did you even look at the 656 01:02:01,270 --> 01:02:06,909 pictures of the trailers from the West Side? Yes, sir. Yes, sir. You know, don't be unrealistic. Well, 657 01:02:06,949 --> 01:02:11,699 Angel and Blayze, this has been a fantastic conversation. You guys have been again very 658 01:02:11,700 --> 01:02:16,219 gracious with your time. I greatly appreciate it. Want to get to our Final Thoughts segment here? Uh, 659 01:02:16,220 --> 01:02:21,460 before we let you guys get back to work, uh, Blayze, I'm going to let you take a listen to Angel real 660 01:02:21,460 --> 01:02:26,580 quick because he's done final thoughts so much and he is really good at him. Uh, but this segment, 661 01:02:26,580 --> 01:02:30,938 as we always say, it's wide open for you. If we left anything on the table that you want to bring 662 01:02:30,939 --> 01:02:35,780 up, now's the time. If you want to give shout outs to anybody that might be listening, now's the time. 663 01:02:35,780 --> 01:02:42,539 It is. The floor is yours 100%. Driver and driver trainer Angel Escoto Another fantastic 664 01:02:42,540 --> 01:02:47,698 experience with you here on the podcast today. Thank you so much for your time, man. Final 665 01:02:47,699 --> 01:02:52,859 thoughts from you. Before we let you get back. Uh, I would say, 666 01:02:54,380 --> 01:02:59,379 uh, put yourself in the position that you don't give 667 01:03:01,020 --> 01:03:07,689 Cypress the reason to say no to you. That's some sage advice, man. I'm betting Blaise probably 668 01:03:07,689 --> 01:03:13,570 sitting there thinking, man, that's good advice. Yeah, absolutely. That's a good one. 669 01:03:14,649 --> 01:03:20,050 Angel, thank you so much for the time, man. You're welcome back anytime. As you know. Uh, Blayze, let's 670 01:03:20,050 --> 01:03:23,809 go ahead and get final thoughts from you, my friend. Anything we left on the table or any 671 01:03:23,810 --> 01:03:28,248 shoutouts you want to give here before we let you get back to it today? Uh, the first thing I want to 672 01:03:28,249 --> 01:03:31,729 bring up is that quote from Angel. I think we're going to have to put it on the wall in cipher 673 01:03:31,729 --> 01:03:37,729 somewhere, that this ain't Burger King. Then you gotta tell Matt to start walking or stop walking 674 01:03:37,730 --> 01:03:42,609 around saying, have it your way, because that's what he said to me 6 or 7 times, man. This is not 675 01:03:42,610 --> 01:03:48,850 Burger King. That was a good one. Uh, no final thoughts, I guess. Just, uh, like Angel said, I mean, 676 01:03:48,890 --> 01:03:53,370 earn your way in. I mean, these guys, some of them bend over backwards for us. And whenever you do 677 01:03:53,370 --> 01:04:00,009 that, we're willing to make anything happen for you. So, uh. Yeah, I mean, we're driver first here, and 678 01:04:00,009 --> 01:04:05,119 we want to keep it that way, so we still have to. We got a job to get done, so you do your part. We 679 01:04:05,120 --> 01:04:10,639 do ours and all together. It's a it's a well-oiled machine. I'm happy. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. At the end of 680 01:04:10,639 --> 01:04:15,080 the day, we got a lot of wallboard to haul. So you better get ready to. You better get ready to haul 681 01:04:15,080 --> 01:04:20,638 it. Blayze Padgett, driver manager. And Angel Escobedo, driver and driver trainer. You guys are 682 01:04:20,639 --> 01:04:25,080 awesome today. Thank you so much. We'll get you back on here again soon, okay? Thanks, Marcus. 683 01:04:34,840 --> 01:04:41,800 Huge thanks there to Angel Scotto and Blayze Padgett. What a great interview that was. Um, 684 01:04:41,840 --> 01:04:48,239 you know, part of doing and having an interview turn out well is when I'm not 685 01:04:48,239 --> 01:04:53,080 necessarily always the one setting up. The next thing you hear, the guys kind of go back and forth 686 01:04:53,080 --> 01:04:58,879 and talk amongst each other, but also you hear them praise one another without necessarily being 687 01:04:58,880 --> 01:05:04,459 led there by me. Okay? Like, hey, listen, I know how to ask a leading question. I've been a broadcaster 688 01:05:04,459 --> 01:05:10,379 for 20 years. I can do it. I don't necessarily like that. I don't think it's honest. We like to have 689 01:05:10,379 --> 01:05:17,019 open, honest conversations here on this podcast, as you guys know. And what I loved about that last 690 01:05:17,019 --> 01:05:22,979 one that I will say the open and honest part was you heard Blaise just shower Angel with praise, 691 01:05:22,980 --> 01:05:27,659 and then you heard Angel come right back and do the exact same thing, uh, for Blayze. And it wasn't 692 01:05:27,659 --> 01:05:32,099 because it felt like that needed to happen. It felt forced. It's because those guys have spent a 693 01:05:32,100 --> 01:05:37,100 lot of time working with one another, or in kind of the same realm as one another, and they 694 01:05:37,100 --> 01:05:44,059 understand what it takes to make this well-oiled machine work. Big, big thanks to Angel and Blayze 695 01:05:44,060 --> 01:05:49,179 for coming on to today and giving us almost an hour of their time. Uh, they're busy dudes. They've 696 01:05:49,180 --> 01:05:53,259 always got something going on, and the fact that they'll come on here and share time with me, I'll 697 01:05:53,260 --> 01:05:58,059 tell you, it just warms my heart. Now, here's the truth a system like this doesn't just work 698 01:05:58,060 --> 01:06:04,169 because of trailers. It doesn't just work because of freight, it works because of people. That's the 699 01:06:04,169 --> 01:06:08,969 whole point that we're trying to get to from the start to the finish of this, because drivers are 700 01:06:08,969 --> 01:06:14,089 willing to do the tough loads when it matters, because dispatch is willing to go to bat for 701 01:06:14,089 --> 01:06:20,649 drivers when life happens, and because somewhere in the middle of all of that, there's trust. At 702 01:06:20,650 --> 01:06:27,569 most companies, it's drivers versus dispatch. At Cypress, it's drivers and dispatch. 703 01:06:27,569 --> 01:06:34,448 And yeah, does it get stressful? Of course it does. It's truck driving. It's going to be stressful. 704 01:06:34,490 --> 01:06:41,209 Does everything go perfectly? Not a chance in the world. But when both sides understand the 705 01:06:41,209 --> 01:06:48,089 deal, you show up. You communicate effectively. You earn your spot. You don't just get miles. If you 706 01:06:48,090 --> 01:06:53,769 do those things, you get flexibility, you get consistency, and you get a system that actually 707 01:06:53,769 --> 01:07:00,679 works. And like Angel said, just don't give them a reason to say no, because if you don't, there's a 708 01:07:00,679 --> 01:07:07,520 whole team on the other side of that phone figuring out how to say yes. And you heard 709 01:07:07,520 --> 01:07:13,159 Blayze. All right? We heard it from his mouth. Like, sometimes it's hard to say yes, but you can tell 710 01:07:13,200 --> 01:07:19,999 by the tone of his voice it's not for not wanting to say yes. You heard Blaise say, uh, the 711 01:07:20,239 --> 01:07:26,959 rewarding feeling that he gets when he gets a driver home when they need to be home is second 712 01:07:26,959 --> 01:07:32,799 to none. And I think that's why we can tell you right now. It's the people that really do this 713 01:07:32,799 --> 01:07:39,079 that's a good person in Blayze's brain. Okay? That's a good person in Angel's brain saying, don't give 714 01:07:39,079 --> 01:07:45,679 him a reason to say to say no. Earn your spot. Be a good employee. And, uh, listen, I think we've got 715 01:07:45,679 --> 01:07:52,320 really good examples on today's episode of why this is an effective strategy. Um, and not only an 716 01:07:52,320 --> 01:07:58,749 effective strategy, but an effective system that Cypress and Sun Belt run like a, well, 717 01:07:58,789 --> 01:08:05,750 spinning top. Okay. I'm telling you right now, 300 plus episodes for trucking fleets. And I have 718 01:08:05,750 --> 01:08:11,429 never seen anything like this before. I think that it, uh. It deserves to be in the Louvre. If you want 719 01:08:11,430 --> 01:08:16,909 my honest opinion or, you know, maybe, uh, the guys at the American Truck Historical Society can do 720 01:08:16,910 --> 01:08:22,309 something with this system and put that in there, uh, in their hauls that they display things. I 721 01:08:22,309 --> 01:08:27,749 don't know how he would show a picture of this, uh, or how we would actually put this on display for 722 01:08:27,750 --> 01:08:33,829 people to really understand what it means. But it's worthy of a spot in a museum. Uh, in the lure 723 01:08:33,829 --> 01:08:39,509 of how trucking companies not only stay afloat, but become massively successful and go from just 724 01:08:39,509 --> 01:08:45,430 a few trucks under a bridge to what Cypress and Sun Belt have built today. Uh, I want to thank 725 01:08:45,470 --> 01:08:51,829 Angel and Blayze again for joining the show today. And, uh, just want to thank everybody at Cypress 726 01:08:51,830 --> 01:08:56,809 that clicked download today. You guys are awesome. You're the reason we do this show. We want to talk 727 01:08:56,810 --> 01:09:03,689 to you. So get in touch with me again. Podcast dot Cypress com is the website. You can email me 728 01:09:03,690 --> 01:09:08,609 there. And if you already have my phone number, feel free to call or text. Let's get you back on 729 01:09:08,609 --> 01:09:14,409 the show. All right, that's gonna wrap up this episode of the Cypress Truck Lines podcast. Uh, 730 01:09:14,410 --> 01:09:21,009 we'll be back next week. Same time, same place, same Cypress channel. And we'll be talking about more 731 01:09:21,009 --> 01:09:26,009 of the amazing things that this company does every single day of the week. Be safe out there, 732 01:09:26,009 --> 01:09:31,130 drivers. We'll talk to you next week. This has been the Cypress Truck Lines podcast. I'm your host 733 01:09:31,130 --> 01:09:33,209 Marcus signing off for this week.