From The Driver's Seat: Averitt Has It!

Welcome to From the Driver Seat, the Averitt podcast for all Averitt drivers to keep up with news and information across our network. Make sure to subscribe on your preferred podcasting app to make sure you're notified as soon as every episode drops. And now hosting from the driver's seat, director of driver services, David Royals. Hey, everybody. It's Dave Royals with Averitt podcast again. Looking forward today. Got a great podcast. Got a great guest. Somebody that's never been on with us before, but I want talk about one thing before we get there. I want to talk about the health screenings again. I know you all have been hearing me talk about it, but it's very important. Health screenings are so vital to what everybody, I think. You need to do your health screenings at least once a year. And it's coming up at the end of September. Right now, everything's paid for. If you go get your health screening, go get it done, get it scheduled as your service center, Talk to your leader, find out where they're doing them. Go by and get your health screening done, get your results, find out how well you're doing. Or if you've got an issue, let's get it taken care of now before it turns into a big issue and you start missing work and not feeling good, maybe separate your family for a while. You don't want to do that kind of thing. Let's make sure we're all healthy. The only way you do that is get your health screening done. Appreciate if you do that, take a look at it, let's get that done. Meanwhile, I got a great guest with us today. I got Ashanti. How are you doing, Ashanti? I'm doing beautiful this morning. Well, good. I ain't had my coffee yet, but I'm alright. You're alright. I'm alright. Usually takes me more than one cup to get going in the morning because I've only had one cup, but I'm doing okay, I think. Hey, I know that's right. That's right. I gotta get it to get the jump start but I'm alright this morning. Well, good. Yes, sir. Well, let's talk a little bit about you for a minute and introduce you to the folks. Okay. You know, first of all, how long you've been with Averitt now? Two months. Two months. Yeah, two months now. Yep. Not a lifetime yet, right or no, not a lifetime but I'm looking forward to be one. Good. Well, that's what we're looking for. Indeed. But let me ask you a question, you know? How how long you been driving? I've been driving now eleven years now. Eleven years. Yep. Yep. Been with several companies in that time, I guess. Well, got my CDL. It was it was interesting. It was new. It was fresh. I was excited to get my CDL. Hey, more money. You know? Yeah. And basically, we're just driving from east to West. You know, California, Minnesota, Connecticut, you know. And then, I left it. I I just had a baby. She was brand new. She was my blood precious. And, I wanted to be home more. So I end up finding a local company that could be home every day. So I went with the company, drove them for five years, and then it was another opportunity for another company for me to drive to. I don't wanna mention their names. Yeah. But it was a logistics company. I drove for them for, six years, drove down South Regional, home on the weekends, and it was pretty decent until I came across Averitt. And then I was like, oh, wait a minute. Everything I was looking for, even have it. You know? Yeah. I didn't got it. Yeah. You know? So, what were you looking for? I was looking for somewhere I can retire, but also have benefits that can accommodate me and my family as well. And then, like, I was looking for some a place where we can exercise, a place that we can relax. This is what I was looking for. I I was looking for something, and then Averitt initiated more than I was looking for Yeah. That we needed as drivers. You know? And, I love it. Our owner started a slogan a long time ago called our driving force is people. And that's really where all that starts that you're talking about. He always believes in the people and that's part of our Averitt culture. The folks you've met so far and everybody else, we all believe in our people, believe in the culture. That's who we are, right? Makes a difference, doesn't it? It really makes a big difference. The consistency on the support that calls you throughout the week. Hey, we're just checking on you. How you doing? You got any problems or concerns about anything? Like, man, I'm it's beautiful. I'm glad you called me. You know, it's it's a beautiful thing knowing that there's somebody out there calling to check on you. Not just you, but your well-being. Right. You know? And then you just mentioned a minute ago on the opening about go get your screening. That's you being concerned about the drivers that's out there. You know? Hey, don't forget. As a driver, you need to go get yourself checked out. Yep. Because you don't want something to sneak up on you. That's support. Us drivers need that out there. You know, it just be us there out in the field and we all try to make money and get home safe. But knowing that you got a facility of people that's sitting there, let me call this person to check on them. And they call you, and they're, hey, we just call and check you, and then the energy be vibrant, the energy be like life. You know, you could be just driving, just be in your mind, I gotta pay this light bill, or I gotta pay gas bill. And then somebody call you with this vibrant energy. Hey. This is such and such with Averitt. We was calling, supporting you if you have anything you need. You got any concerns or questions, you know, you can call us or talk to us. You know, you can take my number personally and call me, know, we can discuss anything or any issues that you have. I love that. I've been driving for eleven years, never got that. You know, and it's needed. Well, know, we always say Averitt's different, I guess, you know, and so you've got a lot of good experience driving, that's obviously that's part of the requirement to come to Averitt. You told me a story earlier about coming to Averitt and you thought it wasn't like a separate trucking, it's a different trucking company because just because you picked Averitt didn't mean we picked you. Oh, man. Yes. Yes. Because, like I say, I was looking for a place that I could retire from. Right. And I was you know, I had plenty of companies was calling me. Hey. Hey, mister Kelly. You wanna come in and do your orientation? I'm talking about, I would be on.com and I would pull in my application. I would get a phone call in five minutes. And they'd be like, Hey, this is such and such from such and such and such was calling to get your application. I was Oh man, y'all desperate. Y'all looking for drivers that fast? Golly, I didn't even hit submit yet. You already calling me. You know, but it showed me that, okay, there's a lot of companies out there just looking for drivers. But when I fill out the application at Averitt, it wasn't like that. It was like the phone call came and the interview, phone interview was like, we want to see, is you a good fit for our company? And we want to make sure that we are a good fit for you. That showed me that it wasn't desperation in just hiring a driver for a number, or somebody to take a load, but we was more concerned about what is it that you want. And if this is a place that you can retire from, we're going to take in consideration what you want and what we want and look for as drivers. And we're see if that a good fit for you. So I thought that when I called Averitt and when Averitt interview called it, I already had it. I got ten years, whatever, I got it. But it wasn't like that. I was like, oh, wait a minute. Okay. Hey. I had to change my, you know, character when they called because this is serious. Yeah. Like, so and I really wanted to work for Averitt. So, I was like, yes, ma'am. Okay. So, hey. She said, what is it that you're looking for? A place that I can retire from. That's most important. And a support and they was like, much you looking for to make a week? Right now, I'm just looking for finances to take care of my family, you know? And she told me that with the driver coming in and making. And then about thirty thirty days in driving, they was like, John called me. He was like, hey. Congratulations, mister Kelly. Guess what we getting? A raise. You're going from $58.08 centimile or something to 66 centimile. I was like, what? For real? He said, yeah, man, you came in right on time. I said, well, thank you. You know, but the interview process was like, it it was, hey, we checking everything about you. You know what I'm saying? It was thorough. It took about two weeks, but it was a respected two weeks, because they wanted to make sure that I was a good fit and I was a good fit for them. And I waited, I pushed every other company aside. I'm waiting on Averitt. And my wife was like, well, we need to check now, such and such is going on. You know, I said, I'm waiting on And when Averitt called and said, Hey, Mr. Kelly, want to come in for your orientation? I said, When? Now? Because I'm on the way. I was already, so that's how that process went. That's great. And it's always good to hear that everybody's doing the right thing. We always encourage everybody to be friendly to our associates, treat associates just like you would family. We're like a family here. So it is a little different, I guess. I And guess, you know, probably a little different for you to be able to stop at a service center at night, right? Yes, it is. One of the most troubling thing, disturbing thing that us drivers go through is driving eleven hours to three hours of the night and you're exhausted. Now up north, you gotta pay. You go to a love's or some place, they want you to pay the part. Right. And then, you know, some places in North Carolina, South Carolina, they don't want you parking on side of the road. They said no parking. So, it makes an inconvenience for the driver. You already exhausted, you got like forty five minutes on the clock, and you're like, oh my god, I swear to park, man. And if you do end up parking on the side of the road, you won't get no sleep, because all night all you all them cars, all night. And then you don't know somebody like drunk or sleepy, might just run into your truck and all that stuff. But Averitt, they got all these these support centers everywhere. And you go to a support service center and they got plenty of space for you to park the rest of the night. And it's quiet, you can wake up, you can take a shower, you can get you some coffee or some snacks, you can, you know, wash and dry clothes. It's always available. And that makes it so convenient for the driver. Knowing that I can drive with confidence, knowing that when I got about an hour and a half on the clock, I can drive to a support center, park my truck, go relax, watch TV, workout, exercise, or just go to sleep. Oh, the truck wash Bay. It's beautiful. It's beautiful. Because we ain't never have that at Any place I ever worked at, we ain't never had a truck wash. Really? Every truck stay shining out here on the street, on the highway. You know, we stay clean, you know, and that shows a lot about the what the company stands for. You know, wear uniforms, suit, be clean, be neat. The truck gotta be neat. Paperwork, neat. Everything neat. That's what Averitt stand for. That's what you call integrity. You know what I'm saying? So when I see an Averitt truck, I can I have confidence that that truck driver has integrity, which separates you from any other truck company out there that's out right now? Know, integrity means everything. It does. It a lot. It means a lot. Yep. It really does. I think our image is what sets apart too. Yeah. You know, you go to a customer, you got a uniform on, you look good, you know. Yep. You're not walking out there in shorts and flip flops and stuff. Yep. You know, you look like you're you're you're in business, right? Yep. Sure enough. Makes a difference. It makes a big difference. Even when the DOT got a one of those solo private scale. Yeah. And then they wave when everybody come in, but when Averitt truck come out, it's just go around. You know? Just go around. Y'all just go around. Because they already know. You know, so that, you know, there's a level of integrity that the company stands on, even though hours of service. You know, they stand on that, and then they'd be on top of you to make sure you don't violate, because that keeps our score. I think the score has to be low or high? That's me. Low. Low. The score low. So that gives us confidence that when we go, even we go across a scale, you know, like, hey, green light every time, you know, but I love that, you know, being part of a team that we have that type of integrity. But it's all about support. You said earlier, it's all about supporting the driver and all the things that come up. Like you said, there's a lot of things come up when you're driving that you don't expect, or things happen at home or things happen, you got benefits issues and stuff like that, but you got to be able to reach out and get that support that you need. So you're not worrying about that when you're driving. Get it off your head. And you got to think about it. Yep, exactly. Exactly. And I love it. My wife, she loves it. You know? Great. Yeah. She loves it too. You know? And you just showed me something this morning that I didn't even know about the the board that people been here for forty plus years. You know what that say? The turnaround is low. That's right. There's not a lot of people leaving. If you see people at a company that have been there for twenty and thirty years, it's something they hanging on to that they love, and I needed that. Because a lot of companies that I've been to, they've been in and out. People been there two months. I've been there two months and I quit. And people been there, management is always turning, you know, so there's no, there's nothing there that, that you can hold on to and be like, this is a place I wanna retire from. You know? Yeah. Because truck driving is not a job. It's a career. That's right. The other thing, you're talking about retirement all the time, the thing that we have that a lot of folks don't have, we have profit sharing. And that money, of course, you gotta get vested in I think it's five years, five years you're vested and all that at 100%. But profit sharing, I think last quarter was 8.5%. 8.5% extra dropping in and dropping in just appears. 8.5% of your salary drop, profit sharing gets in there. So by the time you get ready to retire, you said use 40 something, right? Twenty years from now, you're going to have a lot of money just if you not count what maybe you might put in, but what the company is going to put in for you on your four zero one ks, it's going to be impressive. Right. And that's what we're looking for. That's right. That's what we're looking for as a driver. A lot of people like don't want to deal with company drivers. They want to control their own loads and all that. But then again, you got to pay for your own insurance and you got to pay for your own four zero one ks and then it's like there's no support center and all that. I'm okay with being a company driver. I don't have no problem with it. You be able to rest at night knowing that you got all these extra benefits and perks that come along with it. We need the support and Averitt provides the support that we need. Whatever we need, Averitt has it. We appreciate that. It's amazing to me you've only been here two months, I guess. And the insight that you've already gained at Averitt Express, it's like talking to a driver that might have been here ten-fifteen years I guess. You're hitting on all the points that we like to try to make sure that we're serving the driver. I think that's where we're at. I think you're recognizing a lot of that. So that's a good thing and it's great. It really is. It really is. Even on my interview, of the people that I talked to, because I talked to a couple of people during the interview, and a lot of them been here for a while. They've been here for like, they're about to retire. Yeah. That says a lot about the company and about me. Yeah. Like, oh, this is what I want to put my time into, you know. And this is a company that I would like to invest in. You know I'm saying? Two, can can retire from. Right. Because they've been here for a while. That means there's a consistency of something that they hold on to. Right. Know? Even even even I talked to Glenn in Bessemer Yeah. He was saying he's he maybe by thinking about retiring, and but he told me how long he'd been here. And I was like, what? For real? He said, man, most of the people he started naming names. I didn't know him, but he was naming names of people who've been here twenty plus thirty years. That says a lot about something that is that is extremely consistent that they hold on to the way they want to retire from Averitt. And I was looking for a place to retire from and everything that they was initiating is what I was looking for. Well, I'm glad to hear that. Well, hey, it's been great talking to you this morning, Sean. Been a great thing, man. Love it. Anything you want to tell the drivers out there or potential drivers? Anything you want to tell anybody before we leave? Drivers that's out What camera am on? Down right now? Hey, you new drivers that's out there, or if you're thinking about looking for a company that you can come to and that has the support, and they're consistent about the support and everything that you're looking for in the company, Averitt do has it. I might just make me a shirt that say Averitt has it. But but but but listen. Listen, though. Like, anything that you're trying out new, anything that you started trying to do or, you know, there's always gonna be resistance. But resistance is what elevates you. So remember that airplanes take off against the wind. Come over Averitt. Thank you, man. I appreciate it. Thank you so much for your time. Thank for kind words. Look forward to seeing you a lot in the future and staying in touch with you. No problem. You should see where you go. Thank you. Hey, what a great podcast. Great, great podcast. A lot of stuff about Averitt culture. One of the things about Averitt culture, and Ashantay mentioned it, was our benefits. And we have great benefits. We work **** ** those every year. Benefits enrollment's coming up in October. Very important time of year. Make sure you do your benefits enrollment. You got to do it even if you're going to maintain the same benefits you had last year. Just tell everybody, Hey, I want to keep what I had last year. I don't want to change a thing. Or I wanna add this or I wanna take this off or whatever you wanna do. The enrollment guide's coming in the mail. Take a look at it. Make read through it. Make sure you're prepared. I'll talk more about it on the podcast coming up. Thank you so much. Look forward to seeing you on the road.