By Heidi O.
Dear Server
We truck drivers of the world have a long and hard day just like you do. At the end of our day, sometimes you are the only human interaction that we’ve had for the entire day. We would like to have a smiling face and a pleasant attitude greet us as well as us giving back a smiling face and pleasant attitude to you.
We want the same respect that you do. We want to be acknowledged with a smile and an “I’ll be with you as soon as I can.” – This means a lot more to us than you probably know.
We know some truck drivers aren’t the best tippers in the world – some simply may not be able to afford it as not all truck drivers make a lot of money. Actually, most truck drivers DON’T make a lot of money. We make enough to support our families, just like you make just enough to support yours.
We know that you depend upon your tips to make up for the meager amount paid to you – and we want to give you a great tip. Sometimes we are able to leave you an outstanding tip because you treat us exceptionally well, and sometimes we are not even barely able to afford the meal we just consumed, but we knew we had to eat.
We know some drivers come in before they have a chance to shower, and although most of us try not to do that, sometimes the showers are full, or we are so hungry at the end of our driving day that we want to eat first. We work hard and sweat, sometimes we are tarping in over 90-degree heat, and then have to go straight to driving – so we aren’t able to stop and shower and by the time our clock runs out we are so hungry that we just want to eat. So, I will apologize for all the drivers that may come in to eat before showering, sometimes it just can’t be helped.
There are many things we don’t understand about your job and how hard it must be to deal with so many people, but at the same time – you must understand that we don’t just sit behind a steering wheel all day. We get our trailers loaded up and sometimes we have to tarp that load and that is hot and time consuming and sometimes it takes hours for them to get us loaded and we must run with that load until our clock runs out.
At the end of our time, we just want to know that when we come in and sit down that we will get the best service that is humanly possible, along with a pleasant smile, and in return we will give a pleasant smile and the utmost respect.
Please dear servers, take all of these things into consideration the next time you wait on any of us! We are doing our jobs just like you, except you see your family every night and we don’t. You get a hot, home-cooked meal every day and we do not. You get to go out and enjoy time with friends – while we are out on the roads delivering the things that make your life easier and make it so you can have that job as a server.
We will try to understand you if you will take the time to also understand us.
Sincerely,
– The Truck Driver