Did that really just happen....

T

TRANSPORTATION101

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Aug 13, 2008
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I had one of my drivers come and speak with me today as he was extremly upset. He was harrassed at a truck stop by a fellow driver in the industry - who couldn't believe he was a white guy working for an East Indian company (who used words I do not wish to share). And proceeded to go on and on about being racist and that his boss/company refused to hire people of that ethnic background and if he wanted a good paying company - here was their card.

This is not the first time I have heard this from my drivers. My driver proceeded to tell the guy to have a great day and to get his information correct before bombarding people in truck stops. First and foremost what is this world coming too? We all have our differences no matter what our back ground is. I have no problem telling people who I am and who I hire. I am proud of my company. Not only have we been in the industry for 20 + years dealing with fortune 500 companies down to the general freight shippers. I believe we have great service, great employees, good looking equipment, great safety rating and competitive pay packages. And I sure as heck do my due dilingence in hiring all drivers - white, black, brown, pink , purple, spanish, russian etc.

People really shouldn't judge a book by its cover because at the end of the day - no one is perfect. We all have our faults.

Lisa Carwardine
President & Owner
Trans-Send Freight Systems Ltd.
 
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First off: BRAVO Mrs Carwardine!! When an owner takes so much pride in their business, it's bound to be a good one...

That being said....and I do NOT want to hurt anybody with this.

East Indians have a very bad rap in trucking. A rep for cutting rates, working for fuel or less, having dirty trucks etc etc. I had my share of Hindi drivers, and some were very good, but some were very bad.

Oh guess what? JUST LIKE CANADIANS!!!! There is good and bad in everything. I also dealt with many Indian-owned operations, and MOST of them were decent.

That idiot driver that harrassed yours is probably some redneck who has no clue what a good company is like.
 
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I think we can all identify with this situation. After all, what is a Canadian or American? A white person? We have owner-operators that are naturalized Canadians and have experienced the same sort of treatment in the USA and in Canada also. We have heard they were called illegal Mexican aliens by shippers and receivers in the USA despite the fact they speak excellent English and are not even from Mexico. To their credit, they are loyal, hardworking people and we are proud to have them with our company. All we can do is look past the discrimination and judge them by their abilities and work ethic and leave the ignorance to the ignorant!
 
It's unbelieveable that people have the gall to do this. You're not the only race to have this sort of problem though.

Honestly, I don't really care if someone is white, black, brown, yellow ... straight or gay ... all I care about is that if we give them a job to do that they do it, and if they agree to pay us for services rendered that they do as well.

Being closed minded just leaves you behind.
 
It is sad to see this is still going on in these times. I am as white as the come and I do not judge on any ones ethnic back ground. We all have our issues but at the end of the day as long as we all try our best and do the job right and professional it shouldn't matter what we look like or where we are from.
 
Yes, no question the East Indians have a bad reputation in our business. Especially the container world. Some may be deserved, but by far the majority of drivers we have had with roots in India have been hard working, honest and caring. They are just trying to put a roof over the heads of thier families like the rest of us. As I told someone last week, when is the last time you saw an East Indian panhandler, or one standing in front of a hostel with a cigarette in one hand and a cell phone in the other. Not too often. Funny, when a 3rd generation Canadian lad is lazy or a crook we never refer to his great grandfathers place of birth.
 
Nothing Changes

I would advise your driver not to pay attention to the truck stop trash that is out there. Most of these guys have nothing better to do than trash talk every nationality, company owner, dispatcher, shipper or whatever. You get tired of hearing the "I made more money 20 years ago than I did now". Who a company hires is no ones business but the companies, how they want to keep their fleet looking is their business.
Please advise your driver that trucking is the last of the cowboy frontier and some on the road may not be happy with their current career choice so they must blame someone or anyone except for themselves.
Hope we all get through the day:)
 
Trans - Send an East Indian Company????????? I worked for Rob way back when they first opened shop in Erin and they were the greatest people I have ever worked for, still to this day.
 
Thanks Finnertyequip! That's great to hear.

Rob always treated people the same. It didn't matter if you were greasing his truck or trailers, behind the wheel or the President of Fortune 500 companies.

He certainly believed you treat all with respect. And I have learned that through the years of working underneath him and the reason why I take such pride in my company.
 
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