With the end of summer waning softly away, comes the cool evenings, the turning of the leaves, the thoughts of warm fires, and
The “ball of fire” driver will find out that “yes”, the company has no heart, and “yes”, the company can have unreal expectations during the peak season. Even the average performing driver will find out the craziness the company can expect during the Christmas season.
With the implementation of Telematics, the company expects to make huge gains in performance, not only year round, but during the peak season. Routes will be planned down to the “Nth” degree, and volumes will be put in place, regardless of the reality of the area.
After all of the plans are made, in comes the “Lord and Master” with his magic marker, ready to slash and burn what would otherwise appear to be reasonable expectations. The company spends a huge amount of money during peak season on helpers, and temporary drivers. You can expect to see huge cutbacks in the hiring levels for peak. They are still all about the “bottom line” these days. They have to keep the stock holders happy, even through Christmas.
Lettuce not forget an annual “right-of-passage” for the late fall, into the winter. That right is the devastating termination of a very senior employee for some “trumped up” charge. The point of the termination is to set every other driver into “fear mode” for the upcoming peak season. Management is all about intimidation, and loves to keep the fear level up when maximum performance is needed.
Experience as a steward has shown, that most major terminations occur in late September, or October. With Telematics the head hunting will be easy, especially for the “Lord and Master”. They may have their target in their sights as we speak, so be sure you are doing the job as they require, and do not leave any doubt as to what you are doing, and why you are doing it.
In other words, “Cover your ass“.
