Today's Thoughts

We hear a lot about rude cashiers and attendants at truck stops; about rude shipping and receiving clerks, and about the rudeness shown to us by the public numerous times.  We scratch our heads and wonder why in the world we are so disrespected.  Some of you need to look in the mirror!

I stopped at my favorite Pilot truck stop, the location does not matter, and as I walked up to the counter to get my scale ticket I quipped as usual, “hey ya’ll, how are my favorite people at my favorite Pilot?” 

To my amazement, the older lady behind the counter said, “I hate truck drivers!”

This was so counter to how I knew that lady that I took a step back and I think my jaw dropped.  “She softened what she had said by saying, “present company excluded, but those last three drivers took the cake.”

I asked her what had happened.  She told me that the first of the three had come up to the check out and demanded a shower right away; when she told him he would be next up for a shower, he cussed her and stormed out.  The second one was just as rude about wanting something in the store that they did not carry. 

The third was the worst though she said.  There were two cashiers working behind the counter and there was a line with people alternating between the two cashiers as they became available.  The next person in line was an elderly man.  A driver came charging up, literally shoved the old man out of the way to barge his way into the line in front of the other cashier to pay for his soda pop.  When the lady told him he should wait his turn, he told her it was a truck stop and he was a trucker and used bad language while doing so.  The cashier lady is a nice lady and I have been dealing with her for over two years.  She was really shook up over those driver’s actions and I have to ask what in the world were those drivers thinking? 

Now, I get ticked off too sometimes at a truck stop who disrespects the truckers who shop there; I have even had words with a fuel desk manager at a J one time but it was because she told me she ‘would rather deal with busloads of tourists than truckers any day’ first…and I still did not cuss her.  99% of the drivers I know would never shove anyone much less an elderly person out of the way for any reason other than if they were in danger.

So what gives with that other 1%; perhaps their mommas and daddies should have spanked that arse for them when they were young and taught them manners!  When a trucker acts like that in public, do they think they are invisible or something?  They are not invisible and people see them act like that and tar every one of us with their dislike.  Is it any wonder we are being regulated up to our ears and banned from places; no it is not. 

Let us do some practicing for that 1%. 

When there is a line, stand at the end of it and wait your turn. 

If you have to wait for a shower, then either wait or say “No, thank you ma’am, I’ll get one later” and leave. 

When a cashier hands you your change and receipt or the wait person delivers your meal, say, “thank you sir or ma’am” even if they are younger than you.

When you check in at a shipper or receivers, even if the clerk is grumpy, kill them with kindness and say, “hello, I am John or Jane Doe, driver for XYX trucking and I am here to pick up or deliver a load” and say “thank you ma’am or sir” when they give you dock assignment or your bills.

You want respect from your peers and the general public, then you 1% who lack civility need to learn to give some respect to others first.  While I might agree that truckers are special folk, it does not mean that truckers cannot say please and thank you to other truckers and the general public, especially those who work with and for us.  You 1% think you are some sort of legends, well it is only in your minds, true legends in trucking know civility.