How United States Cold Storage Uses Truck Driver Happiness to Compete and Differentiate

Demonstrating Commitment to the Drivers’ Experience

The company launched a trial placing Smiley Terminals at seven locations in late 2018, and a further roll-out to a total of 13 locations by Q4 2019. “We wanted to focus feedback on the quality and efficiency of their loading and unloading experience and how they were greeted onsite, from the security gates to the loading docks,” says Keith Mowery, Vice President of Logistics.

USCS started seeing value right away. “We started getting positive reports on how our employees interacted with the drivers, which enabled us to recognize associates whose performance may not have been evident before. We could spot when an employee moved a driver in and out quickly even when that driver was late for an appointment,” tells Keith. “That’s right in line with our key objectives.”

Uncovering Pain Points and Improving Scores

If a truck full of ice cream arrives and the temperature of the product is a degree or two out of the range, it’s up to the USCS team to further inspect the shipment which means the driver has to wait–and waiting can trigger a dip in happiness.

“We found that what caused them to register a less satisfactory experience wasn’t just the delay, but not knowing how far along we were in the inspection process,” explains Keith. “They might have felt they were being ignored, so we improved communication with the drivers which improved their experience and our [HappyOrNot] scores.”

Differentiation Leads to ‘More Capacity and At a Lower Cost.’

If on a given day in Fresno there is demand for 100 loads of freight to be transported by various companies, yet only 80 drivers are available, that means that either 20 loads won’t go anywhere or the companies will have to pay higher shipping rates. Now, shippers are competing for truckers, and those drivers have a big say in which companies they will serve.

“That’s where differentiating our service to drivers is critical,” tells Keith. “In the end, as a preferred client to the drivers, we have more capacity and at a lower cost, and that has a positive effect on our bottom line.”

Happy Drivers (and Happy Canines) Help Drive New Business

The drivers’ perception of storage companies like USCS is important when potential new customers search for a cold storage provider. “Potential new customers of USCS ask carriers which warehouse companies they prefer to work within a given region, and drivers share their positive experience with USCS internally at their companies. We have had the carriers recommend us, leading to new business,” Keith said.