In my last newsletter I mentioned my dream of starting Camelot’s own trucking school. This dream was born from my frustration with the limitations of graduates of current truck-driving schools. However, perhaps it is not the schools that are limited but the skill level required of Camelot’s drivers that is expansive!

 

 

Let’s imagine the average freight driver on the road: S/he would most likely be driving from warehouse to warehouse, both conveniently built in an industrial area just off a large highway, which was undoubtedly designed to accommodate large, heavy 18-wheelers with wide lanes and shoulders and highly visible signage. Upon arrival, our average freight driver will back her/his truck up to a dock, where someone else will unload the freight.

 

Now let’s imagine the typical journey of a Camelot driver: Her/his journey starts at our client’s home, where s/he does not sit by idly but along with her/his Camelot team, loads the customer’s belongings. Where is that home? Not sitting on the side of a highway with lovely on and off ramps! That home could be at the top of Silver Lake or a few miles up Bouquet Canyon. It could be on the 26th floor of a high-rise in LA or in the far back corner of a condominium complex. And I guarantee it does not have a loading dock. So once our driver navigates the 18-wheeler to the home—no matter where it’s at—and loads the home’s contents, s/he will hit the road.

 

At some point on her/his journey, our driver will veer off the road well-travelled to once again navigate the tight corners, small neighborhood streets, low foliage, and perhaps even the adorable narrow vintage bridge to arrive at the new home. I haven’t even begun to go into detail of the weather and terrain our drivers will meet on the road—from the brake-challenging steep slopes of the Rockies to the radiator-challenging temperatures of the desert. Upon arrival, once again there is no loading dock and certainly no warehouse crew to handle the unload. Once parked, our driver will hop out and unload our customer’s belongings into their new home.

 

So where do we find these Swiss army knives of drivers? Most commonly, from right here at Camelot. Most of our current drivers had worked for Camelot for many years—fine-tuning their moving and customer service skills—by the time they decided they wanted to become one of our drivers. As soon as they are enrolled in a truck-driving school, we start training them in the extra skills needed to drive for us. Often, by the time they graduate and pass their driving exam, they have already demonstrated that

they hit Camelot’s high driving standards! But just to be sure, we send them out with one of our experienced drivers for their first year of long-distance deliveries.

 

I am confident that we have the best driving team out there. But even more fulfilling and on a personal note, it is hard to express the pride I have in watching each of these individual drivers develop and hone their skill and craft. I’ve known most of my drivers since they first started at Camelot in their late teens or twenties. And I’ve had the privilege of watching them mature and develop not only into stellar

professionals—but indeed into my colleagues.