TORONTO, ON – How your truck drivers are treated by customers can have a big impact as to whether they want to stay or find another job, but there is a solution.

That’s the conclusion of a six-month study recently completed by the Ontario Trucking Association (OTA), called Operation Upgrade,” to find out how truck drivers are treated at shipping and receiving facilities and measure their level of satisfaction with their carriers’ customers.

Specifically, the study found drivers complained about how little attention is paid by bad customers in honoring appointments and turnaround times.

Delays and wasted time eats up drivers’ allowable working hours, costs them money and keeps them away from their families longer, according to the study. Worse, many drivers report maltreatment and even discrimination at more than a few of the worst-offending facilities.

OTA says the truck driving profession is facing a shortage crisis in Canada. “With freight demand increasing across North America and capacity tightening, buying power is swinging in truck drivers’ favor – giving them not only more choice of who they work for, but also which customers they want to serve.”

The graphic, below, highlights the results of the campaign, and the implications for the supply chain, according to OTA. Also, there are two videos.

The first is a ‘white board’ animation which illustrates the issue of driver treatment and shows businesses how they can become preferred ‘customers of choice’  – ensuring them transportation capacity throughout the driver shortage, according to OTA

The second video profiles a young Canadian Sikh truck driver who discusses his love for the job while sharing insight about truck driver maltreatment and discrimination.

“We asked drivers to speak up about what they were experiencing at certain facilities and this communication package encapsulates their sentiments,” says Marco Beghetto, vice president of communication at OTA. “There’s no single cure-all for the driver shortage. But at the very least treating truck drivers like the professionals they are can go a long way.  We recommend that carriers forward this package to their customers and supply chain partners to hopefully begin a dialogue on these issues.”

l