A Bar-Nunn driver gets a ticket in Canada. He isn’t used to the border rules, and he doesn’t know he has to go back to the customs agent after seeing the brokers. The company is going to make him pay the ticket, saying he should have known the procedure.
But thanks to an innovative mentorship program at Bar-Nunn, the man has recourse. He contacts one of the 10 driver-mentors whom the company makes available to its 740 drivers, and he complains.
The mentor appeals the case to his boss, who agrees that Bar-Nunn doesn’t go into Canada often enough for the drivers to know the rules. “It wasn’t really in the company manual,” says Jim Nesterak, who has driven for Bar-Nunn for five years and has been a mentor since December.
In addition to getting him out of paying the ticket, the man’s appeal may lead to a change in the company. “Now, Bar-Nunn is thinking about making a checklist of what you have to know to go into Canada,” Nesterak says.
For three years running, the program has given drivers a voice, say officials of Granger, Iowa-based Bar-Nunn. “These are guys who are out there on the road who can help drivers who are having problems, whether it’s company or family issues,” says Mike Freauff, the company’s training and development manager. “And if they can’t answer them, they know who to contact directly so the driver can avoid going through a maze to find the answer.”
All Bar-Nunn trucks are equipped with satellites, so it’s usually not a problem to hook up a driver with a nearby mentor, Freauff says.
Giving drivers someone to talk to makes the road a safer place. “You’ve got to have a clear mind when you drive, or you’re an accident waiting to happen,” says Mike Manatt, a mentor and an eight-year Bar-Nunn driver. “The mentor program allows us to air our problems.”
