Image
Let me start out by apologizing for not blogging recently. I have been very busy quoting freight rates for the next year. Last Thursday I stopped at the Yellow Hammer truck stop along I-65 in Alabama. When I walked in there was a lady who asked if my company made me dress the way that I did. My uniform consists of a button down oxford shirt that has our logo embroidered on them, pleated slacks, steel toed dress shoes and is finished off with a tie. She was once a driver her self and had never seen a driver sporting a tie as part of their uniform. I told her that it was my way of trying to improve the image of our industry. Dressing the way I do starts a lot of conversations that have helped my business tremendously. I consider my self a representative of whoever uses me as their carrier. This is my way of showing them that I take representing them very seriously. I also like all the conversations that my attire has started while I am out on the road.
April 14, 2009 at 10:32 am
Henry, I applaud you for wearing a tie while driving a truck, however, It wouldn’t work for me. Simply because, I like to be low key and do not want everyone eye-balling me. It is akin to wearing a tie while doing construction work or digging ditches. Hey, did you put the anti-flat tire goop in your S/S tires yet?
April 14, 2009 at 12:59 pm
Good afternoon Henry,
Two questions. First, how are you doing on achieving your goal of reaching 8 mpg? Hopefully you have achieved it.
Second, when you answered my question under the “Thanks” title about the strength of the Jake brake, you said you split one gear down to 12th and it holds you going down Fancy Gap in North Carolina at 78,000 lbs. That is impressive. My question is, how long is Fancy Gap and what percent grade is it?
I’ve never driven further east than Idaho and Nevada. Here in the Northwest we have some pretty good hills. There is one not far from my home that is 6% grade for almost 10 miles with curves posted at 40 mph. It drops in elevation from 5,800 feet down to about 1,000 feet in those ten miles. The hill has a couple truck escape ramps that do get used on occasion, fortunately not by me. It’s not unlike the Grapevine in California. Hence my interest in the strengh of the Jake.
Take care and be safe. You seem to run a classy operation.
Craig
April 14, 2009 at 3:05 pm
I think the tie idea and being dressed as a professional truck driver is from the old days when a driven was looked upon differently than we are perceived now. We also wear a uniform and are often amazed at the reception we receive at the shipper or receiver. When we walk in the door the company will often take one look at us and start pulling our paperwork before they will the guy that walked in the door before us. If our uniforms would allow my husband would also be in a tie after meeting Henry Albert and how he represents his company. I would rather have people look at me wondering about my uniform then people looking at me in disgust at my attire. We have met some awesome people out here who have started talked to us because of our uniform. There are plenty run of the mill drivers out there why be one of them? A pair of coveralls work wonders in a lot of situations to protect your clothing while loading and unloading. I applaud Henry Albert for being a leader in the field.
April 14, 2009 at 3:16 pm
It is a pleasure reading about someone who takes pride in what they do for a living! I hope you don’t mind, but I would like to copy your post in the 20 Group’s new Group on cdlofit.com called Proud of Who We are and What We Do. We too are doing what we can to improve the image of the professional truck driver. Like you, we are starting with ourselves! Keep up the great work!
April 14, 2009 at 9:26 pm
Barry, I got my inspiration for my uniform at a transportation museum. The look that I went after is 1940’s to 1950’s. There was a time line on the wall and it showed that the average road drivers wages were right behind a doctor or lawers wages during the same time period. This one change in my uniform has really changed my daily life in a positive way. I have not put the tire sealant in yet, but will be using the product from Ride-On.
Craig, I think that Fancy Gap is about a five to six percent grade that is around five miles long . You might want to ask Kurt Grote about the Jake Brake performance because he runs out west where the mountains are more like what you are used to .The weather has not been cooperating with me ataining my goal of eight miles per gallon. Here is my results so far 7.563, 7.227, 7.011, 7.716, 7.782, 7.277, 7.292 and 6.992. I would have made my goal on the 7.782 tankful but I got caught up in a massive traffic jam.
Linda and Lily, Thank you for the complements on the way that I try to improve the image that our industry has. I have heard of the Twenty Group and it sounds like a group that is also promoting a positive image for the industry. Keep up the good work.
Thanks to all of you for taking the time to comment, Henry
April 22, 2009 at 4:47 pm
It is obvious that Henry wears a tie because he has class and he takes pride in what he does. That may not fit for everyone but for him it’s a good chouice.