Hire Truckers Podcast

00:00 - 00:10
Sandie Hutto: Welcome to the Hire Truckers podcast, where we interview experts in driver recruiting. We provide industry insights, marketing trends, and motivation to help you level up your recruiting game.

00:10 - 00:46
Aaron Craddock: Welcome to the Hire Truckers podcast. I'm Aaron Craddock, and today, I have Stacy Pressgrove and Sandy Hutto with Hobby Lobby. They've both been in the industry over 2 decades, and so I'm super excited to have them on just both for the Hobby Lobby brand and just learning more about what makes it different. And then also just, with the the wealth of experience and that they have. And, Sandy has been with Hobby Lobby for over 20 years and helped grow the fleet in the last 10 years from a 100 to almost 800 drivers.

00:47 - 01:00
Aaron Craddock: And then Stacy was has been in the transportation industry. She was at Walmart for a long time, has been in the industry over 20 years as well. So thank you guys for making the time today to to join me and have this conversation.

01:00 - 01:01
Sandie Hutto: Thank you for inviting us.

01:02 - 01:26
Aaron Craddock: So the different questions we're gonna cover today are are things around just a growth mindset. That's one of our core values. And then, radical honesty, just how are we honest with drivers and how does that impact things? And then just a giving spirit, which I think that's why I'm super excited, when Ginger said that she had talked with you guys to have you on today because I think y'all embody just Hobby Lobby as an organization.

01:26 - 01:40
Aaron Craddock: And then from what I see you guys posting on LinkedIn, just you you promote your drivers and promote all of those core values. So just to kinda kick us off a non industry related thing, what goals are you working on outside of work right now?

01:42 - 01:51
Stacy Presgrove: Outside of work, probably just trying to get more active. You know, the older we get, the more we like to sit, and so just keeping active.

01:53 - 02:00
Sandie Hutto: I'm involved in so many grandkids' sports and stuff that I'm gone somewhere all the time. She's on the

02:02 - 02:07
Aaron Craddock: How many grandkids? 15. 15. That's awesome.

02:08 - 02:09
Stacy Presgrove: Yeah.

02:09 - 02:20
Aaron Craddock: So is that, like, all weekend, every weekend? That's great. The, yeah, I have 2 littles. We have a 14 month old boy and then a 4 year old. He just turned 4.

02:20 - 02:59
Aaron Craddock: And, yeah, it's just such a blessing, but it it also just changes the dynamic of time. Just I I didn't realize how much free time I had until I had, 2 littles and, just go in nonstop and just reprioritizing things. Like, we don't even watch TV anymore just because there's no time. It's like we'd rather be doing other things, and so just the whole whole dynamic and time management change. And then I also relate to the the being active component because sitting at a desk, like, you I just have to be intentional and get out and walk and take a call, get to the gym, go on a hike with the family.

03:00 - 03:03
Sandie Hutto: We got a gym right here for our drivers that we can use too.

03:04 - 03:21
Aaron Craddock: That's awesome. So in office there, you have a have a jam. That's awesome. So, going into the next question. So what advice do you have for peers in the industry?

03:22 - 03:35
Stacy Presgrove: Mine would be be honest. Let them know what front what they're getting into. You know, as far as what you're offering, be honest what you're offering and what they're gonna be getting.

03:35 - 03:56
Sandie Hutto: The thing is if you're not honest, they're not going to be going where they wanna be. You know, if you can't give them what they're looking for, they're gonna go elsewhere looking for it. So to be honest right up front, we would measure it out that these drivers know exactly what they're coming into when they get here. You know, we're not for everybody. It's a great company.

03:57 - 04:00
Sandie Hutto: They get a lot of benefits here, but they work for it too.

04:01 - 04:14
Aaron Craddock: Mhmm. Yeah. And so so you're saying honesty in the context of just telling them, like, hey. Here are some of the challenges with the role here. Like like, what what ways are you you guys honest with drivers?

04:16 - 04:43
Sandie Hutto: Well, the fact that they're gonna run hard for the 5 days that are out on our team drivers. You know, with trucking companies, it seems like their drivers sit a lot, especially wherever they're going to load or unload. We're all working for the same company here, so it's a little bit different dynamic in the fact our drivers are on set routes. They leave out the same day every week. They go to the same store on the same day at the same time, same 2 days back home.

04:43 - 04:50
Sandie Hutto: If they wanna stop and take a shower, they plan that into where they're gonna have time available to do that.

04:51 - 04:54
Aaron Craddock: And it's, and so this is all team drivers?

04:54 - 04:56
Stacy Presgrove: Mhmm. Yes.

04:56 - 05:02
Sandie Hutto: We have some solo freight between Hutchins, Texas and Oklahoma City. That's the only solo freight we have.

05:03 - 05:17
Aaron Craddock: Okay. And so, Sandy, I'm just kinda curious, like, how how it's looked going from, like, a 100 drivers to 800 drivers? Like, is like, what is that growth been like just just from your seat?

05:18 - 05:36
Sandie Hutto: Well, you know, it wasn't overnight. It's been actually 11 years in the growing, you know, from a 100 to almost 800. But we use less dedicated carriers now than we were using in the beginning. Every year, some of those go away as we add to our fleet. That's amazing.

05:38 - 05:51
Aaron Craddock: And so you still have dedicated routes like with other carriers, and then you have Hobby Lobby Transportation that that hauls the rest. What percentage is all via your own fleet versus those dedicated carriers?

05:52 - 05:54
Sandie Hutto: I don't even know.

05:54 - 06:00
Stacy Presgrove: As a guest, I would say 80 80% Hobby Lobby, 20% outside.

06:02 - 06:03
Aaron Craddock: That's awesome.

06:03 - 06:21
Sandie Hutto: You know, every one of our stores get a full truckload every week. Their store number actually determines what day of the week, but some of these stores require multiple truckloads. So the first load out, which we call the a load, is when our drivers are hauling. It's It's gonna be the first load that goes in there, then the outside carriers deliver the rest.

06:22 - 06:38
Aaron Craddock: Okay. That's awesome. So you just have that excess capacity through the outside carriers. One one thing I'm curious about is is just, what do you what do you love about working with Hobby Lobby? Like, I feel like it just just from the outside looking in, it feels like it I feel like it has a unique culture.

06:39 - 06:42
Aaron Craddock: But what do what do each of you love about working at Hobby Lobby?

06:43 - 07:08
Sandie Hutto: You know, we grew from small to big, but we know every one of our drivers. You know, where a lot of companies can't say that, we take the time to get to know them. And once we get them in here, we're not through with them. We continue to stay involved in anything they need help with, whether it be changing a beneficiary to, you know, taking a child this morning out of driving here. His son had reached 26.

07:08 - 07:16
Sandie Hutto: Need to take him off the insurance. You know? So they come in here, you know, all the time for us to keep interacting with them, and

07:16 - 07:51
Stacy Presgrove: we know each other. Yeah. That's a big part, and we just we stay involved with them, and Hobby Lobby is seems like there's always something more to learn because it's not that's their job and that's your job. If something needs to be done, it needs to be done and you can learn something new and help with whatever processes are going on right now. Past 2 days, we've had a hot dog cookout for the drivers for the thank goodness it's quit snowing and everyone just pitched in.

07:51 - 08:03
Stacy Presgrove: We had people, you know, cooking, serving, you know, cleaning up tables because we all do what needs to be done. And that's what I like about it. No one ever says that's not my job.

08:05 - 08:23
Aaron Craddock: That's awesome. The, yeah, just showing that appreciation just is so important and doing it outside side of driver appreciation week. That's pretty cool. What do you guys do for, like, onboarding, like, keeping in touch with the driver in those first 30, 60, 90 days?

08:23 - 08:44
Stacy Presgrove: We don't have, anything in writing other than at 90 days, Sandy usually makes a phone call to them to make sure they've got their insurance card and all that. But other than that, we make an effort to walk the halls and we see so and so that just started, you know, 2 weeks ago. We're stopping them. How's your route? Is the truck good?

08:44 - 09:02
Stacy Presgrove: What you know, we just keep interacting with them. We'll go to the break room and get a drink, and we'll see one of the new teams in there. We might sit down and ask them how what's been going on. Are they getting home on time? Is that what they thought it was gonna be?

09:03 - 09:14
Sandie Hutto: So They're getting enough miles. Yes. Enough miles. Really good about staying up with them for the 1st week or 2, actually. Because she finds out what they're gonna do during that week.

09:14 - 09:30
Sandie Hutto: She came from dispatch, so she knows how to do that portion of it. And she stays with them. We booked their hotel for the week, you know, the whole bit. They they do a pattern we set up for them, and they only have one day in the office. And from then on, it's out on on the road.

09:31 - 09:51
Sandie Hutto: And so she keeps a real good track of them for the 1st week or 2. And then I call them somewhere between 60 90 days, really to find out if everything's going the way they thought it was going to. They have any problems, if somebody's not helping them. Maybe they have a route they don't like or don't care for. Maybe it's not the days that they wanted at home.

09:51 - 10:08
Sandie Hutto: We can't always adjust that, but there is a wish list they can get on at some point. You know? But, we wanna make sure they're getting enough miles. You know? Everything that we talked to them about before we brought them on, we wanna make sure they've seen each one of these things, you know, that there's not any problems.

10:10 - 10:22
Aaron Craddock: That's awesome. The, do you ever hear from drivers just kind of like appreciation for the way you do certain things, like, relative to other fleets they've been within the past? And so

10:22 - 10:23
Sandie Hutto: Oh, no.

10:23 - 10:29
Aaron Craddock: So give me give me some examples of that. Like, that are differentiators with Hobby Lobby that you hear directly from drivers.

10:29 - 10:51
Sandie Hutto: We had a driver call on Tuesday morning. Need to go get his physical redone. Told me when he was gonna be home. I filled out the paperwork, sent it all for his recertification, and get it all taken care of beforehand so he could pick up the paperwork here before he left and have it all taken care of when he got home. He's like, they never helped us with this.

10:51 - 11:07
Sandie Hutto: Same thing when they get their certification. They come in and they need to get that updated with their state. We don't depend on them to go do it. We we wish they, you know, that they would take the initiative, but not all of them do. And maybe they just don't have the time to do it.

11:07 - 11:21
Sandie Hutto: Maybe they're home only on the weekend, not able to get to their state offices to do this, so we do it for them. As long as they come in and tell us, we get a new signed form and send it all over to that state to keep them reinstated.

11:24 - 11:39
Aaron Craddock: That's great. And so so what what is you what is your retention rate look like? Because I know the industry average just across all fleets is like a 100% turnover. Like, what what what do you what do you guys see at Hobby Lobby? I know it's a lot lower than that.

11:39 - 11:44
Sandie Hutto: The 3% turnover. We have drivers that have been here for 30 years.

11:45 - 12:04
Aaron Craddock: That's awesome. And so what are they you know, a lot of a lot of fleets have drivers bounce in and out. Like, if you had to pick 1 or 2 just differentiators, like, what are what are you guys doing differently as a company to make them wanna stay and make a career out of it for 30 years?

12:05 - 12:20
Sandie Hutto: To get the miles. They're gonna get the miles here before anything else. Maybe more miles than they want, but they're gonna get them every week and their check stays the same. They can almost count on that check being to the penny almost the same every payday. Yeah.

12:20 - 12:20
Sandie Hutto: You

12:20 - 12:36
Stacy Presgrove: don't mess with drivers' paycheck or their time home, and those are the 2 things that we seem to focus on. We have their paycheck almost the same each week, and then they go home the same days each week. And that's what a lot of them are looking for.

12:38 - 12:49
Aaron Craddock: And so so not every driver's home on weekends. Right? And so it's just kind of a mix of days. It could be a Monday, Tuesday, and then out 5, and then summer home weekends.

12:50 - 12:54
Stacy Presgrove: Sometimes it's Sunday, Monday. They'll get at least one weekend day.

12:54 - 13:04
Sandie Hutto: We try to give them at least 1, but not all of them have. And some of them don't want it. They want it during the week. Their kids are grown, and they want days they can make appointments at home.

13:07 - 13:30
Aaron Craddock: Mhmm. Yeah. Yeah. It is a that would be a real challenge, like, being gone Monday through Friday, and then, you know, can't can't get anything done for the 8 to 5 Monday through Friday, like, getting your tag renewed or something like that. So I'm a, you know, a Christian founder, like, of of our company and that's that's something really important to me and that, you know, I think Hobby Lobby is known, at least I know them as just having a Christian founder.

13:30 - 13:34
Aaron Craddock: Like, how is faith, like, represented in your company culture?

13:36 - 14:00
Sandie Hutto: We definitely, you know, make sure that we read the owner's commitment and everything. You know, that's always gone over when they first come in here. But, you know, they don't all the things get sent whether they're religious or not religious based. Okay? And, you know, one of the things a lot of the drivers assume coming to work at Hobby Lobby, they're gonna have Sundays off for church.

14:01 - 14:22
Sandie Hutto: Unfortunately, that doesn't always work. We still have Monday deliveries. You know, a lot of them are home at least for a Sunday service, but maybe not, you know, all day or anything like that. That's one of the really big misconceptions. We don't put up with like bad language or anything around here.

14:22 - 14:28
Sandie Hutto: That's told multiple times before they're hired and again during orientation.

14:29 - 14:29
Aaron Craddock: But when

14:29 - 14:36
Sandie Hutto: you don't hear bad language around you, you know, it just kinda goes away. Mhmm.

14:37 - 14:44
Aaron Craddock: And so you think that's that's one way it kinda impacts it is just the language people use and way they the way the drivers carry themselves. Mhmm.

14:44 - 14:46
Stacy Presgrove: Mhmm. Exactly.

14:47 - 14:56
Sandie Hutto: That's awesome. Seldom ever see a Hobby Lobby driver that isn't smiling. That's one of my biggest stills here. I mean, they are always smiling. Well, why?

14:57 - 15:10
Sandie Hutto: You talk to them and ask them about his best job they've ever had. But we listen to them too. Really listen. You know, some don't. We really, really try to do that in here.

15:10 - 15:13
Sandie Hutto: If they have a problem, then we're here for them to go talk to.

15:14 - 15:17
Stacy Presgrove: Mhmm. Did

15:17 - 15:18
Aaron Craddock: you have anything you wanted to add to that, Stacey?

15:20 - 15:38
Stacy Presgrove: I don't think so. Just that we do listen to them, and like she said, they're always smiling. We had someone come in for orientation a few few weeks ago. And he said, I know I made the right decision. This is a good place to work because everyone that I've seen has been smiling.

15:39 - 15:44
Stacy Presgrove: From the receptionist to the drivers to when I introduced him to his dispatcher.

15:46 - 16:14
Aaron Craddock: Yeah. I don't I don't think people think of, you know, they're just when they think of the transportation industry and drivers, I don't think they think of, like, smiling happy people. And so yeah. Well, like, what what makes them smile? Like, is it is it kinda like just because some people do it's infectious or, like like like, what do you think if you had to put put a finger on, like, what the differentiator is that leads to that joy within your organization?

16:15 - 16:31
Sandie Hutto: We we tell them exactly what they're going to expect when they get here. And because of that, there are no misconceptions. You know? They know exactly what they're getting into. As long as they're getting the miles and the pay and the weekly home time, they're happy.

16:32 - 16:43
Sandie Hutto: And we've had some that tell me, you know, I came here to get ready for retirement. Why would I retire now? This is a retirement job. I'm home every week. Mhmm.

16:43 - 17:10
Stacy Presgrove: And just like for instance, there was one of our, drivers. They were affected by a tornado that hit this past week, and we immediately, you know, wanna ask them, is everything okay in your household? Did anything get hit? And they're just not used to, you know, the office staff or the recruiters or dispatchers, you know, reaching out and asking them if something in their personal life is okay.

17:11 - 17:28
Sandie Hutto: I suppose we had another driver in here the other day, and he'd had eye surgery. When he called in, I asked him how his surgery went, how he's doing. He says nobody has ever asked me that before. You know, he's just totally shocked that somebody would remember, I guess, and ask him about it. We

17:29 - 17:30
Aaron Craddock: it's part of

17:30 - 17:31
Sandie Hutto: our nature in here now.

17:34 - 18:07
Aaron Craddock: That's, so kind of the recurring theme that I'm hearing is just listening well and, like, listening differently and and then asking about just personal life and, you know, not everything is just about getting you know, being in the truck and going from point a to point b. And so what differentiates, like, a good leader that really listens versus like, you mentioned Sandy, like, listening versus really listening? Like like, what does it mean to really listen to your to your staff?

18:08 - 18:27
Sandie Hutto: Well, I believe that, you know, you have questions that come up later. You know? If they told you something that you really believe is important to them, if they don't bring it up, I do. You know? Because it's something that meant enough to them that they brought it up to me, then we need to stay with that and make sure that needs being met.

18:31 - 18:33
Aaron Craddock: So so following up on those things?

18:33 - 18:38
Stacy Presgrove: Mhmm. Yeah. Listening and remembering, just touching base with them again.

18:41 - 18:58
Aaron Craddock: That's great. Yeah. It was so funny. Like, when I was early in my career, like, I've I've been in the industry around 13 years now, and I had an opportunity early on to lead lead large teams. And I thought all of the personal stuff, like small talk is the way I viewed it was just a waste of time.

18:58 - 19:26
Aaron Craddock: I was like, let's get the job done. And then I was just humbled humbled early in my career when things didn't work out the way I intended. And most of that was me just not listening well, not talking about things outside of work, just the importance of those relationships. And and so one of the things we do in our culture too now is just I make sure before I onboard people that we know, like, what their personal goals are. Like, not just professional.

19:26 - 19:54
Aaron Craddock: Like, what are their health goals? Like, what are their goals with their family? What are their what are their goals outside of work or side projects or side businesses? And and then my aim is, like, not not just provide just a good career, like, with us, but just to to touch back on all those things when I meet with them quarterly. And, yeah, just that that differentiator has been a game changer.

19:54 - 20:21
Aaron Craddock: And and I had to learn from not doing it well, like, not, like, listening, but not listening. Be like, oh, okay. I'm glad you told me about your dog, but, you know, I would never follow-up. And, so, yeah, I really I really appreciate you guys sharing with that because because I I feel like it's second nature to to both you, Stacy and Sandy, like, as you share about it. But it's not for a lot of leaders, and and especially in this industry.

20:21 - 20:22
Aaron Craddock: So that's exciting.

20:23 - 20:27
Sandie Hutto: I always tell them, you know, if it went for the drivers, we wouldn't have a job. Mhmm.

20:29 - 20:50
Aaron Craddock: Yeah. One thing, when I was reading through, just the the pre call that you guys did with Ginger was, just some different perks. Like, you mentioned the gym earlier, but then also, like, their their parking looks a little different than a lot of companies. Like like, what are kind of some differentiators in terms of perks, at your office for your drivers?

20:52 - 21:07
Stacy Presgrove: Well, our Oklahoma drivers have covered parking. It's kind of different. We don't have covered parking. They have covered parking. So that was something that, Barbara Green insisted on doing for the Oklahoma drivers.

21:09 - 21:10
Stacy Presgrove: That's awesome.

21:11 - 21:26
Sandie Hutto: They all have assigned parking and stuff out here too. I mean, so there's nothing left to chance. They've got parking up here in the front part that aren't numbered or anything, but they're just running in here to do something, but they also have their own parking places too.

21:28 - 21:35
Aaron Craddock: Mhmm. Because that can be one of the most frustrating things is to get somewhere and not have a place to park. You know, we know we know the struggle across the country with parking right now.

21:36 - 21:51
Sandie Hutto: And we have a company van. You know, the driver's here from out of town, and he needs to run and pick up something. We give him the company van. He runs off and gets it, comes back, signs it out, and the next driver comes along for it too. Mhmm.

21:51 - 21:52
Sandie Hutto: That's awesome.

21:53 - 22:25
Aaron Craddock: So one of the things I do just in following you guys on LinkedIn, which if you're not following Stacy and Sandy, I highly recommend it because they do a really good job of promoting their drivers. But one of the things I see is you guys are always just promoting drivers. Like, this driver had 16 years experience or, here's a picture of their dog and, different things like that. Like, how do you get all that content? Like, I know you have busy jobs, and how do how do you also have the time or systematize getting that content promoting your drivers in that way?

22:26 - 22:44
Sandie Hutto: Stacy is great about running and getting pictures of everybody. But we can also see right outside these windows where the drivers are parked. You can look out there and you'll see their animals in the truck. Sometimes we'll just walk out there and take a picture. They take them in a grassy area where they can take them for a walk or whatever.

22:44 - 22:53
Sandie Hutto: You know which ones are their their babies are in the truck with them. You know? And they're always willing and eager to talk about their babies in the truck. So

22:55 - 23:08
Aaron Craddock: That's awesome. So so one thing, that that I heard about was the bulletin board. I think it's Stacy you have in your office, with, like, pictures pictures of different drivers.

23:08 - 23:10
Stacy Presgrove: We actually put it in our driver's lounge.

23:10 - 23:17
Aaron Craddock: Okay. In the driver lounge. Okay. Not in your office. But can you tell me a little bit about that that bulletin board and the impact on drivers?

23:18 - 23:43
Stacy Presgrove: We just started it. We have an area for, like, awards, million mile drivers, like you said, the 16 year award, the 20 year, you know, awards. And we also have new drivers. So when our new drivers come in, we will take a picture, put them on the board, welcome these new drivers from Texas, Tennessee. And you can see the drivers walking by.

23:43 - 24:01
Stacy Presgrove: If they see their picture up there, they'll kinda snap a picture with their phone, you know, and, you know, they want to show their family or something. So I think they've all really, they like it. They like seeing yeah. It's just might be a 5 year award, but it's like, hey. Someone Right.

24:01 - 24:04
Stacy Presgrove: Recognized and remembers that I've been here 5 years.

24:06 - 24:37
Aaron Craddock: That's great. I just I just feel like that would build just even more of a sense of community because, you know, one of the benefits of being with a team driver is you have somebody with you. You're not completely alone, but it can be lonely on the road. So I would imagine drivers too just seeing other drivers and like whether it's another one with a pet they can relate to or like their husband, wife team and they relate to another husband, wife team. Like, I I could see just the impact of being able to connect and community as well.

24:39 - 24:57
Stacy Presgrove: Yes. And we also have a newsletter that we put out every other month. And just this past what was it? March, we had our safety meeting, which a lot of the drivers who don't live here were in Oklahoma for the weekend. And they all got together, and they had a cookout.

24:58 - 25:21
Stacy Presgrove: They all several of them went fishing. They sent me pictures. We added stuff like that into the newsletter, and they just loved it. They love seeing that, you know, the pictures of themselves out having fun with their friends that they probably talk to daily or weekly when they're out on the road, but they don't get to hang out with and spend time with.

25:21 - 25:27
Aaron Craddock: Mhmm. So they they did fishing in Oklahoma there? Uh-huh. What kind of fishing? I'm just curious.

25:28 - 25:41
Stacy Presgrove: You know, by the fish, I couldn't really tell. There wasn't any really big ones, but I think they went out to a pond, you know, pond fishing. So probably bass, crappie That's awesome. For

25:41 - 25:54
Aaron Craddock: sure. Mhmm. The, yeah. I just love getting out in nature and and fishing. You know, I've never ever really been into hunting, but, just because I didn't I wasn't raised doing that, but fishing is a big thing.

25:54 - 26:18
Aaron Craddock: Like, Ginger that you met, they have a they have a ranch about an hour outside of Austin and, a couple they call them tanks, not ponds. But, me and my, I think I have a picture of my, like, son at 2, like, holding a fish, like, our our first son. It's just it's just fun. Anytime we get out there, they're like, let's go fishing. So good good memories.

26:18 - 26:41
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26:42 - 26:57
Aaron Craddock: Visit trucking clicks.com or call 512-982-0816 today. So what did I not ask that I should have asked that you that you guys think might add add value to to some of your peers in the industry?

26:59 - 27:08
Sandie Hutto: Really, I can't stress enough the listening. Just listen to them. You know? And and you don't wanna just put them off. If you don't know the answer, find out what it is.

27:09 - 27:15
Sandie Hutto: They'd much rather have an honest answer than to speed rush to site. Even if it's not an answer they wanted.

27:17 - 27:44
Stacy Presgrove: And a lot of drivers have said, they just it with their dispatchers as well. You know, it's encouraged if someone has called you, call them back. You know, just you always get back in touch with the drivers if they've reached out to you and because you're not always available right when they need you, but you can always make time to call them back or just stop by the office where you need something.

27:46 - 27:53
Aaron Craddock: Mhmm. So that follow-up is really important. Like, if you say you're gonna get just back to somebody getting back to them.

27:53 - 27:53
Stacy Presgrove: Yes.

27:55 - 28:10
Aaron Craddock: How do you systematize that? I'm just curious. Like, because I imagine you're really, you know, have a lot going on, with different orientation classes and things like that. Like, how do you systematize that that follow-up? It's just part of it daily.

28:10 - 28:12
Stacy Presgrove: It's just part of what we do.

28:12 - 28:32
Aaron Craddock: It's just a habit at this point. Mhmm. That's awesome. The, that's something I can definitely get better at. Like, I I think I intend like, I meet a lot of people just at industry events and different things, and I have an intention to reach back out to everybody, but don't always do the best job, following up.

28:32 - 28:38
Aaron Craddock: So I'm I'm kind of encouraged by just, how well you guys do that with your drivers.

28:39 - 29:00
Sandie Hutto: You know, we have a lot of our veterans, and we share this race across America project with them every year at Christmas, and we rotate that amongst our veterans. Plus all get a veteran sticker for their truck and stuff when they come in here. You know, those things are really important. You know, it it may seem like a small thing to everybody else, but it's not. Not to them.

29:00 - 29:01
Sandie Hutto: Not to them.

29:02 - 29:31
Aaron Craddock: Mhmm. So, actually, our episode that came out last, I think it was last Monday, was Courtney George with Reese Reese Across America. I met her back in her, Saia days when she was there, like, working working with them on the recruiting side, and then and she transitioned to Rees Across America. And when I was asking about guests, to have on the show after we had done the first couple episodes, everybody was like, Courtney, Courtney, Courtney. And so after like 10 people said get her on the show, I got her on.

29:31 - 30:13
Aaron Craddock: And one of the stories she shared was just the sound in the tip land where they get the I don't know what to call it, but the the tree clippings for the reeds, the the tips of the the trees. They they have like over I think it's over 16,000 dog tags. And she tells a story like that's in the show of just sitting in her car with the windows down. And like hearing as the wind blows like the the almost like a wind chime of all those dog tags and then, like, thinking of the impact of all those, you know, thousands of people had and what they what they did for our country. And so I I yeah.

30:13 - 30:16
Aaron Craddock: So I'm just encouraged you guys are are partnering with Reese Across America.

30:17 - 30:27
Sandie Hutto: Yeah. Probably 6, 7 years now. And we've gradually moved up. 1st, it was this one in Arlington, and it's Arlington and Houston for several years. But this last year, we were gonna give one to Oklahoma.

30:28 - 30:37
Sandie Hutto: It had multiple drops in it all over, but we actually got to physically go and distribute some of these, which we've never had to do that portion. So it's really nice.

30:38 - 30:48
Aaron Craddock: And so you you actually personally got to go out there? Mhmm. That's cool. That's something I have not done yet. I actually assumed as of a few months ago, I thought it was only in Arlington.

30:49 - 31:09
Aaron Craddock: No. And then and then Courtney was at I think it was the TCA in Nashville, and she was sharing about how just they're in, like, basically every community that has has a cemetery. And I think it was 3,000,000 reeds they put out last year, and they're gonna do even more this year. And, yeah. So that's really cool.

31:09 - 31:17
Aaron Craddock: I've gotta find out what's in and around Austin so I can, like, take my take my young ones to my my little guys used to be a part of

31:17 - 31:20
Sandie Hutto: Houston and Arlington and then the point where

31:20 - 31:27
Aaron Craddock: Oh, you do Houston too? That's cool. I might have to I might have to make that one because that's not far from me.

31:27 - 31:28
Sandie Hutto: Right.

31:28 - 31:38
Aaron Craddock: Because I I actually, Ginger, that you guys met, like, she's between Austin and Houston. And and you might have noticed the same last name, like, Ginger is my mom.

31:38 - 31:39
Sandie Hutto: So Okay.

31:39 - 31:57
Aaron Craddock: And, you know, I never I never imagined I'd work with work with family and she she plugged in not long after I started the company. It just kept on being like, hey, how can I help? How can I help? And, then eventually, she was doing so much. I was like, well, I I think you need to, like, actually join our team.

31:57 - 32:08
Aaron Craddock: And then, it's been it's been a lot of fun. Like, I know, some people, like, say that it's a challenge to work with family, but that, you know, for us, it's been it's been a real joy and We

32:08 - 32:14
Sandie Hutto: have a lot of family here. Big My daughter works here at night. She's a night dispatch.

32:15 - 32:17
Aaron Craddock: That's awesome. How long has she been there?

32:18 - 32:18
Sandie Hutto: 2 years.

32:20 - 32:21
Aaron Craddock: 2 years?

32:21 - 32:38
Sandie Hutto: Now we didn't used to have this position, and she's here from, like, 9 o'clock at night till 6 in the morning. And so there's somebody here 247. The other girl that comes in, like, at 4 o'clock till midnight or something like that. Then she's here at the 9 to 6.

32:39 - 32:43
Aaron Craddock: And so you have drivers running their dedicated routes, like, at night too?

32:43 - 32:44
Sandie Hutto: Mhmm. 947.

32:46 - 32:47
Aaron Craddock: That's awesome.

32:48 - 32:52
Stacy Presgrove: Yes. We have all of them teams. We have brother teams.

32:53 - 33:01
Sandie Hutto: We even had a a mother-in-law, son-in-law team. We don't put men and women in the same track unless they're married here or family.

33:01 - 33:03
Stacy Presgrove: Or related. Yeah. Mhmm.

33:03 - 33:03
Sandie Hutto: The good

33:03 - 33:05
Aaron Craddock: brother's great. Mhmm.

33:06 - 33:07
Sandie Hutto: Mhmm.

33:07 - 33:13
Aaron Craddock: What is what is the I see a lot of pictures with pets. I'm kinda curious too, like, what what's the pet policy look like?

33:14 - 33:16
Sandie Hutto: So there's no deposit?

33:16 - 33:27
Stacy Presgrove: No deposit, to 2 pets, and it has to be agreed upon by both drivers. And the truck needs to be clean if they move out of that truck. You know?

33:27 - 33:34
Sandie Hutto: There's no deposit or anything else. Just a copy of the shock records. Yes. We keep copy of the shot records. So

33:35 - 33:36
Aaron Craddock: Mhmm. A

33:36 - 33:42
Sandie Hutto: lot of drivers, that's a make it or break it deal right there. If they can't bring their babies up and then the truck, they're not coming.

33:43 - 33:56
Aaron Craddock: Mhmm. Yeah. We we, we waited around I think it was 9 years before we had our first kid when more and I got married. And, and so we had dogs, like, early on. And and so there we have 3.

33:56 - 34:11
Aaron Craddock: And so there, yeah, there are babies before we had real babies, and, yeah, they're they're like family. So what what other pets have you seen, like, that people have that ride with them? Like, is it dogs, cats, any unique animals? We don't allow

34:11 - 34:12
Sandie Hutto: anything about cats and dogs.

34:13 - 34:13
Aaron Craddock: Okay.

34:13 - 34:25
Sandie Hutto: We've heard too many horror stories. A bird flew out, you know, different things. I've been I do all these different truck shows. And at Walcott last year, a guy had 2 kangaroos that are in his truck.

34:25 - 34:28
Aaron Craddock: You know? I haven't heard of kangaroo. Is

34:28 - 34:30
Sandie Hutto: that so cool? He had

34:30 - 34:36
Aaron Craddock: them out there. Yeah. I've seen too many, like, videos on social media, like a kangaroo, like, kicking people or something. Yeah.

34:36 - 34:37
Stacy Presgrove: Yeah. Exactly.

34:37 - 34:50
Aaron Craddock: The, one of the things, one of our, one of our clients has, that hires a lot of teams. Like, they have a pig that's like a celebrity within their organization. I I think that's the coolest thing.

34:50 - 35:02
Sandie Hutto: We've been asked about that, and our company turned it down because they don't get rabies shots. And we have to have that rabies shot just in case something happened. Yeah. Or something.

35:03 - 35:13
Aaron Craddock: Yeah. And you have a good base with dogs and cats. I think that's what that's what most people have. We had it's kinda funny. We had, so Zip and Zoe were 2 of my pets.

35:13 - 35:36
Aaron Craddock: So when, I think I was in middle school, we had 2 baby squirrels, like, fall out of their nest. And and so we rescued them and, like, I had to get up every couple hours and, like, feed them at night. And, so that that's probably my most unique pet as we, like, raised from when they were little pink baby squirrels to when we would release zip. And so they climb up the curtains in the house. I mean, it was crazy.

35:37 - 36:03
Aaron Craddock: I can't believe my parents let me do it do it. But, eventually, they, they would go out outside and then come back and let me put them back in the cage. But eventually, as they got bigger, they would, you know, they eventually were out on their own. But, that was probably my my most unique. I I don't I don't imagine I don't know if any fleet I'd be allowed allowed to bring Zip and Zoe, but, it was it was a lot of fun.

36:04 - 36:26
Aaron Craddock: Well, thank you thank you for your your time today. I I really enjoyed just getting to know you guys, anyway anyway I can ever help. Just just let me know. We'd love to stay in touch whether it's like seeing you guys at Reads Across America, or a different shows and things like that. Are are you are you guys going to any any shows like the rest of this year that we already had?

36:26 - 36:28
Sandie Hutto: I'll be at Walcott in July.

36:29 - 36:31
Aaron Craddock: Walcott. That's actually one I've never made it to.

36:31 - 36:44
Sandie Hutto: That's the best show I've done. We've done Louisville, Saint, Houston, San Antonio, Kentucky, Kentucky, and walk out by ours, our best show.

36:45 - 36:50
Aaron Craddock: Is that just because like, like for teams or just for drivers in general, you think it's better turnout?

36:50 - 36:54
Sandie Hutto: It's a truck park, 80 acres of truck parking.

36:54 - 36:55
Aaron Craddock: Okay.

36:55 - 37:08
Sandie Hutto: There's nothing like that. I mean and this is open all weekend. We set up on Wednesday. It goes through Saturday night at 5 o'clock, and these drivers can come and go on the weekend. Now they have time to do it.

37:10 - 37:28
Sandie Hutto: So it's I mean, I had drivers last year that were waiting for me when I got there on Wednesday because their company had done away with their team driving as a husband and wife both running solo and they've met me there. So they were waiting for us to get there. They wanted the application. I don't know why they didn't call that.

37:29 - 37:31
Aaron Craddock: That's awesome. They're just, like, sitting at your booth, like

37:31 - 37:32
Sandie Hutto: Right.

37:32 - 37:32
Stacy Presgrove: Because I get

37:32 - 37:34
Sandie Hutto: the same booth every year,

37:34 - 37:34
Aaron Craddock: and

37:34 - 37:36
Sandie Hutto: so they were just waiting there for us to get there.

37:37 - 37:41
Aaron Craddock: That's awesome. That just shows you guys have a really good reputation in the industry.

37:42 - 37:42
Sandie Hutto: Right.

37:43 - 37:49
Aaron Craddock: Alright. Well, thank you thank you for your time. I re really appreciate it. Thank you, Stacy and Sandy.

37:49 - 38:03
Sandie Hutto: Thank you. Our goal with the Hire Truckers podcast is to provide industry insights, marketing trends, and motivation to help you level up your recruiting game. Thank you for joining us today. And if we added value, please take 10 seconds to share this with your network.