Driver 'Rate My Location' feedback leads to customer changes

Editor’s note: This is the second in a five-part series on a company-wide Schneider Driver Experience initiative. Read part 1.

Listening is a big part of improving the driver experience – through focus groups, surveys, one-on-one conversations and feedback features built into our Schneider Compass mobile app.

I’d like to highlight one of those features today, along with some tangible changes initiated based on driver feedback received through it.

Introducing Schneider ‘Rate My Location’

“Rate My Location” is a feature available through our Schneider Compass mobile app that allows drivers to give direct feedback on locations they visit. To date, thousands of drivers have sent in feedback, from compliments and high scores, to serious complaints and low scores.

Our team then takes that feedback to the customers, who love the opportunity to see their facility through the eyes of a driver. Most of the time, they take the data and make improvements. If they don’t, it gives us leverage as we consider the future with that customer.

Examples of driver feedback leading to customer changes

1. A chemical plant was typically running 4-6 hours behind and offered no driver rest area.

Driver feedback direct from app: “No restrooms, only portable toilet. Loads never ready on time.”

Customer actions: Created a comfortable, climate-controlled driver break room with restrooms, free coffee, TVs, comfortable chairs and more.

2. A customer had a clay-based yard that resulted in poor drainage when it rained, which resulted in stuck equipment and slippery conditions.

Driver feedback: “This is ridiculous!”

Customer actions: In the short-term, the customer hired a yard jockey to move equipment. In the long-term, the customer budgeted to fix the issue and upgraded to a gravel-based yard.

Driver feedback after change: “I feel much safer in this lot and driving the equipment coming out of it.”

3. A supplier to a major customer had excessive load times and poor operational performance, leading to major driver frustration.

Driver feedback: “Worst place to come for drivers. Not at all truck driver friendly.”

Customer actions: We’ve worked with them to implement a drop trailer program with trailer pools, eliminating the need for live loads and supporting drop-and-hook options for drivers.

These are just three examples of countless issues that we are currently working on with customers and consignees to improve the driver experience. None of these changes would have been possible without driver input, so we continue to encourage drivers to use the Schneider “Rate My Location” feature to initiate change.

It’s just one more step we’re taking through the Schneider Driver Experience initiative launched in 2018.