Industry Focus Expediting Veteran Claude Lawson
By Dale W. Gose
Sep 26, 2008 - 2:05:49 PM
CL:This year makes 11 years!
I was teaching at a school down in
New Orleans, and they
brought me up as a recruiter for Autoquik (a former division of Roberts
Express, which then became FedEx Custom Critical).
I had done some consulting work with Roberts
Express in February 1992 while still in the Air Force, where I was the lead
instructor at the Air Force Recruiting School.
Roberts had me come up and do a 3 day training seminar with their
recruiters.
I was totally impressed with
the amount of professionalism I saw in the building.
When I went home, my wife asked what I
thought of the company, and I said “Honey, I could really work for that
company!”
Once I retired from the Air
Force, I became a teacher for 2 years, and then in 1997, I sent a resume to
Roberts Express, and I’ve been here ever since.
D:What would you say is the biggest difference
you’ve seen between Roberts Express and FedEx CC?
CL:Other than just pure size, we went from a
company that had a solid base at the time, but we went from being just being
number one in the Expedite industry in our little area, to the big FedEx scale,
and that was a very big change.
It
wasn’t such a big change in the way we do business, as Roberts was always about
servicing of the customer.
The emphasis
on that hasn’t changed; it was just multiplied several times over. It’s always
been ‘what can we do to make sure we take care of our owner operators, and how
can we ‘tweak’ the business a little bit more to make sure our customers are
satisfied.
You’ve always got to go a
little bit farther.
D:What difference have online sites such as
Expediters Online made in the applicants you get now, vs before such sites
existed?
CL:We’ve always gotten a lot of people who knew
nothing about the business,.
Now in
addition to all the information I give them,
I direct them to do their research at EO, and
see what other drivers are saying bout what the business is really like, what
to expect, and how to go from zero to success.
I give a special Kudos to EO for their workshops.
They are excellent for taking someone who has
no knowledge, going thru the basics from financing, clear up to experienced
expediters who discuss the do’s and don’ts of the business, and what being out
on the road is really like.
That way,
they don’t come to me with no clue what the business is like, and we have a
more informed applicant.
D:What kind of people do you see coming into
the business now?
CL:We still get a few of the traditional OTR
tractor trailer drivers, who are tired of getting beat up in a tractor, doing
drop and hook every day, and they want to switch to a straight truck.
Lately, though, with everything that’s going
on with the economy, plant buy-outs, etc… we’re seeing a lot of people who
finished one career, and they’re not ready to retire.
For example, the other day I had a gentleman
sign on who was a banker.
People like
that come to me and want a complete change.
D:How do you see the state of the business now?
CL: I think it is still
growing, the need is still there.
Larger corporations still don’t want the expense of warehousing large
amounts of their product, so I think it will continue to grow, and companies
such as FedEx will continue to cater to their needs, and make the changes we
need to make to be sure we’re meeting the changing needs of companies, such as
with our T-Val, Temperature controlled units, and specialty loads.
D:Why do you feel makes FedEx attractive both
to companies looking for an Expedite provider, and also prospective owner
operators?
CL: (for the company) Commitment to getting it
done right the first time.
You need it
there at a specific time, we’ll get it there, you need it picked up at a
certain time, we’ll be there.
We will
get it right the first time.
For the prospective driver, if
you want to be with a company with a solid base, that helps you provide for
your family long term, you can be there for 10, 15, 20 years, ….and you know
it’s going to be there.. FedEx Custom Critical is the company for you.
If you want a company that will help you
provide for your family long term, if you’re looking for a company that cares
about its owner operators, and makes sure not only the companies interests are
looked after, but their contractors are taken care of… FedEx Custom Critical is
the company to come to.
D:What is the future for FedEx?
CL: We are always looking for that ‘new thing’
that we can provide for our customers… looking for that new niche within our
industry that will not only satisfy a need for our customers, but will allow
FedEx to be The Innovator in the industry.
What I will tell you on that is ‘stayed tuned, news at 11’!
