Secret Shopper reloaded

Land Line goes undercover to get scoop on OOIDA’s customer service.

A lot can change in nine years. That’s how long it has been since I last trolled a couple of co-workers (for a good cause) pretending to be someone who is just learning about the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association.

This time, I’m Jeannie West (Land Line Managing Editor Jami Jones’ mom), and my husband is a company driver, but we’re thinking of going out on our own.

I dialed the number. That hasn’t changed. It’s still 816-229-5791, and real people still answer the phones during office hours.

It only rang twice before a brief automated message let me know the call might be recorded for quality assurance. Then a friendly voice came on the line. Lori, a switchboard operator, introduced herself and asked how she could help. I told her I had never called OOIDA before and I wanted to know everything about the Association.

Lori connected me with the Compliance Department, and Adam was the rep who assisted me.

Something I like is that the staff here immediately offer their names when they answer a call. It’s a small thing, but it makes me feel like I’m making an actual human connection as opposed to a strictly business transaction.

I gave Adam my fake identity and asked him to just tell me about OOIDA. Maybe a little devious on my part, because I know that’s a huge order. But Adam was ready for it. Right away, he explained that OOIDA has always and will always fight for the rights of truck drivers in all levels of government.

After he explained a bit about that, he gave me a hearty list of the services OOIDA offers for owner-operators, drivers on a lease plan and employee drivers.

There are so many new benefits OOIDA has developed since the last time I did this.

One of those new services is called Compliance Connection, and it almost does it all. Adam calls it OOIDA’s way of offering a “back office” for your trucking business. The program tracks important dates, documents, motor vehicle records and more, just like a secretary or office manager would.

For life after trucking, OOIDA offers a flexible retirement annuity plan. For your four-legged co-pilot, OOIDA offers access to a pet insurance plan. For drivers who need to comply with the Food and Drug Administration’s sanitary transportation rule, OOIDA offers a one-hour certification course.

Speaking of education, OOIDA is committed to educating drivers not only about their rights but also about business.

Members can visit OOIDAOnlineEducation.com to take dozens of classes covering topics from equipment to health to leases to inspections. Most of these courses come free with membership and can be taken online at your convenience.

Ever been affected by identity theft? OOIDA now offers protection plans and resolutions to prevent you from falling victim to what has become a very common type of fraud.

As much as things have changed, there are many things that are still the same. OOIDA is here to fight for truckers’ rights, period. Profits from other services the Association provides are put back into the fight against bad regulations.

Do those other insurance companies do that? Probably not. If anything, they’re investing in groups that lobby against the interests of small businesses and professional truck drivers.

OOIDA is still the same place you should call when you have questions about your business, regulations or the industry in general. Knowledgeable, helpful staffers answer phones at HQ Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Central time. Visitors and pets are

welcome at the office, too.

The most important thing that has remained the same is OOIDA’s mission: Fighting for the rights of all truck drivers, whether an owner-operator or an employee driver. And that fight happens at every level of government in every state and on Capitol Hill.

Helping members become proactively involved in this fight is what every employee at HQ strives to do. They will look up contact information for your representatives and senators. They can give you details on hot legislation such as bill numbers and deadlines for filing comments. They can help you sign up for the OOIDA Calls to Action so you’re directly notified when there’s a strategic time to make calls and send messages on a trucking industry issue.

The benefits of OOIDA membership, the services OOIDA offers and everything else the Association does in statehouses and with Congress is too voluminous to cover in a spread, but I hope you get the picture.

As a small-business trucker or an employee driver who’s an independent thinker, you may feel alone in this industry. But OOIDA has been here for the past 45 years, and it isn’t going anywhere for the foreseeable future. You’re not alone. You’ve got Lori, Adam and all of our co-workers here for you.

For more, visit OOIDA.com, or give us a call. LL