Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: From dispatching flowers to dispatching machines.
[00:00:02] Speaker B: It was a big, like, a big change. And that's the reason why, like, I take a tremendous amount of pride in making sure that, you know, I answer the phone, that my guys are there, and that we take care of the guys that we have so that we can get the job done for the field. Because their job, you know, if they don't have the right tools, the right equipment, then nothing's going to work. And a couple beers turned into, you know, more than that six pack, 12 pack.
It was never, you know, anything that affected me to where the job didn't get done, but it affected me in my home life, my personal life.
[00:00:54] Speaker A: Matthew. So from dispatching flowers to dispatching machines, it's kind of what you do here, right? Hamas?
[00:01:03] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, we take care of the whole fleet when it comes to heavy haul aggregates, things like that.
We have, was it, in total, two lowboys, heavy haul RGNs. We have two aggregate end dumps, one super tandem, and a variety of other vehicles that we use and utilize.
The biggest thing is, you know. Yeah, it started in flowers. I started out at a small company in Dallas and went from, let's say, a thousand deliveries on Valentine's Day to move into, like, I guess we'd say we went from a thousand deliveries to just maybe five deliveries, six deliveries in a day. But it went from $25,000 in product to six, sometimes multimillion dollars.
It was a big change. Was it?
I came on to Moss in 2022, so it was a big change. Whenever I came on, I was able to meet Garrett at a function and got to kind of just talk to him for a little while. And once we talked, we got to know each other a little bit.
He kind of gave my name to the transportation manager at the time, and. And when I talked to him, you know, we went through the phase, we did a working interview, things like that, and I came on. And when I came on in 2022 in March, it was a big, like a big change. Huge. I mean, I went from kind of being bored at the job that I was in and being able to do it kind of just every day with my eyes closed to not knowing what I was going to run into the next moment, and that was kind of a big change in life.
[00:02:48] Speaker A: So you ran into a little bit more obstacles coming on.
[00:02:51] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah.
[00:02:52] Speaker A: So. So you said dispatching flowers. Right. So how long were you there for?
[00:02:56] Speaker B: I was there going on 10 years.
[00:02:58] Speaker A: 10 years?
[00:02:58] Speaker B: Yeah, it was about to be 10 years coming up the next year, we had a lot of things change over time, just in that company. And I was kind of looking to get out and kind of the way God wanted it when I was at my last company, and that was one of the big reasons why I got out and I was open to the opportunity to move to Moss was that when I was there, I just. I did struggle with some depression.
I struggled with just complacency. And when I say, you know, I could do the job with my eyes closed, it's because, you know, it was. I was bored.
And I think how fast and how fast paced our company moves and our industry moves, you can't get bored.
And I think with the complacency that I had there and that I could do the job so easily, a bad habit formed into an addiction, an alcohol addiction.
And with alcohol, for me, it was, hey, we're gonna stop by and buy a couple beers.
And a couple beers turned into, you know, more than that. Six pack, 12 pack.
Then it was, you know, let's get the.
Let's get the cheapest stuff that's gonna get us the most to the highest point, you know.
But, you know, there was a time where it was a struggle, and then it was a really big struggle.
I know there's a lot of people here at this company who've had my back, especially when it came to that. When I got clean, clean and sober, it was never, you know, anything that affected me to where the job didn't get done, but it affected me in my home life, my personal life.
And I've always looked at people through a different lens of, you know, I don't know what's going on with people in their home lives. You only know somebody for what you see at work. And, you know, what they tell you about.
For me, it wasn't, you know, anything like.
Anything really, like, deep, deep. It was a bad habit. And a bad habit turned real bad.
I was able to get past it.
Spent a week, you know, sobering up. That was really hard week. Came back after, I think it was about two weeks when I came back. Close to it.
And I've been alcohol free since. So since it's been like two years now, almost two years. So this Thanksgiving around the 27th of November, it'll be two years alcohol free. Completely went cold turkey. Cold turkey. That day I went to the hospital.
The night before was the last time I drank.
And it's been cold turkey since then.
You know, a mocktail. There's nothing wrong with a mocktail. There's nothing wrong with, you know, near beer. Non alcoholic beer. Yeah, I know there's. There's multiple people here at the company who enjoy, you know, non alcoholic beer.
It's one of those things, especially if you're in the environment with people and everybody's having a good time.
Sometimes when you're around everyone, you do want to feel like you kind of fit into the crowd. You don't want anybody to look at you differently. So you kind of say, hey, you got any non alcoholic, you know, beverages or anything like that? Or can you make me a, you know, a virgin margarita? I know at our Rough Creek Lodge outing now there, they made a really good virgin margarita. It was really good. I was like, whoa. I was like, this is.
[00:06:52] Speaker A: Are you sure?
[00:06:53] Speaker B: This is kind of taking me back here. But, you know, it was a big struggle to get through all those times, but I'm glad I was able to do it. It's glad I was able to do it while I was able to still be here at Moss.
[00:07:06] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:07:06] Speaker B: And just keep on going.
[00:07:08] Speaker A: If I'm being honest, I don't. I notice a difference and I feel like you're. You're happier, but, like, I feel like you. You took it like a champ. Like, I feel like you. You knew what you needed and, you know, you were like, you know what? Today it stops. Like, this is the day.
[00:07:27] Speaker B: There was that moment when, of course, I was in hospital for the better part of five days. Yeah, I remember that. Five days in the hospital. I think my biggest worry was, hey, am I going to live?
Because they did say, hey, you know, if your liver fails, you know, there's possibility you're not coming back, you know, you're not going to survive.
And I was able to get through all that, make it through those struggles. And I think seeing my kids, knowing that when I came back to work, I needed to just put my head down and go to work. I didn't need to worry about anything else. I didn't worry about, you know, any outside factors, and I was able to do that. I was very happy I was able to do it here.
I think it's one of those things where this place is always going to have a very big place in my heart for the ability to live through that and go through it with everyone here.
It's one of those things. Family is everything. And I feel like this company in general is family to me. And for me, it was a big culture shock to come from a family owned company to a huge company that's still Family owned. Yeah.
And it was a big change in life and I really didn't want to make it, but I kind of just forced myself at that time. It felt like the time to do it and I'm really glad I did.
[00:08:55] Speaker A: Nice. So, starting to move machines. Did you realize how impactful your job was going to be at the time?
[00:09:01] Speaker B: No, I didn't even know exactly what it meant. Like, you see you drive by all these excavators on the highway, when you see all this construction, all these things going on, and you see all these different brands. Well, every brand is different. Every brand labels, every single excavator differently. And I remember there were days when I would call certain supervisors, certain superintendents and be like, hey, what does this number mean? Or how big is this excavator? It's like, what am I trying? Like, what am I sending these guys into?
And for a long time it was kind of like a running joke. Like, hey, is Matthew going to make it to the right job?
Are these guys going to show up to the right job with the right machine?
[00:09:39] Speaker A: That's how, you know you were doing constructions.
[00:09:41] Speaker B: Yeah. And you know, it was one of those thing, it was a running joke for a little while and I think it still is somewhere sometimes around the office. Like, hey, is Matthew gonna get to the right place?
I don't think we've had a mistake like that happen in a while.
But there was a few of those that happened in the very beginning just because it was so different.
But in, you know, in our line of work, especially in the transportation department, you know, we can't have those mistakes. Yeah, we, we joke about them, but we can't have them.
It's something that we're, you know, if something goes to the wrong job, it can be very impactful on just the day to day process of what's going on out there in the field.
[00:10:18] Speaker A: So you quickly realized your impact, you know, moving from, you're moving a machine from point A to point B, right?
[00:10:26] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:10:27] Speaker A: And what machine to move from point.
[00:10:29] Speaker B: A to point B. Yeah.
[00:10:30] Speaker A: And who, you know, what superintendent you're going to piss off from the machine from point A to point B. Because when I first started on, I just remember I was with Giovanni and you know, it was, you know, one of my first weeks. I got, you know, put with Javon and just kind of like shadow him and see kind of what his operations were and how he, you know, the cruise ran and how he ran his cruise. And I, you know, he picks up the phone, he was like, hey, Matthew, I got a 911. And I was like, a 911? I was like, what the hell does that mean? You know?
[00:10:58] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:10:58] Speaker A: And he just, you know, he was like, hey, it's somewhat urgent. I need you to move this machine. And so I'm sure you get those 911s pretty often, you know.
[00:11:07] Speaker B: Yeah, we get them when they come. You know, you hate to hear the, you know, those three numbers used in sequence, but it's. It's going to happen. There's going to be things out there.
I know in McKen, we just had one happen.
Not too re. Not too far back, you know, a tree fell and it hit a.
I guess you could say a spin. A suspended water system or whatever was going on over there.
[00:11:33] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:11:33] Speaker B: And see, I know I'm not in the field, so I don't know exactly know the terminology for what they have going on now, if you ask me what's going on in the trailer, I. I could tell you. Yeah, but it was one of those things. He was like, hey, we need to get a truck out here now. We got to get equipment out here today.
It doesn't matter what else is going on.
And that's. Sometimes it kind of goes back to, like, the way, I guess you could say the name of the podcast, too Big to Fail. I mean, because in this department, there's sometimes where the whole company's riding on if it's going to get there or not, if it's going to get there or not, if the project's going to start, if the guys are in trouble with what's going on in the field, you know, regardless of what we have going on in our personal lives and just in anywhere else, the job is the main thing. It's. It's the number one priority. And that's the reason why, like, I take a tremendous amount of pride in making sure that, you know, I answer the phone, that my guys are there and that we take care of the guys that we have so that we can get the job done for the field.
Because their job, you know, if they don't have the right tools, the right equipment, then nothing's going to work. And that's going to happen.
[00:12:47] Speaker A: Yeah, you hear. You always hear that the guys are the ones that do the work. Right?
[00:12:52] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:12:52] Speaker A: But to be able to do the work, you know, to Dave's point, to be able to do the work, you need to have the machines to do the work. Right. So. And the right machine. Right. I think we, you know, I had one of my Safety guys go out to sulphur springs and they were going to be crossing under a overhead utility line.
[00:13:10] Speaker B: Right.
[00:13:10] Speaker A: And so I think the excavator that was sent out there was, you know, it was a big excavator and they're like, look, we're not digging very deep. So can we change it out to a smaller one so we can have more clearance on that overhead utility line? And so knowing those, even those factors when it comes to moving machines comes. It's a big. It's a big deal. You know what I mean?
[00:13:30] Speaker B: Yeah. And I mean just like when you look at the different sizes of excavators, I mean obviously we have in the fleet we have some huge. What's the biggest excavator we got a Cat 9 395. Cat 395. If you want, you break it down towards cat. I mean it's a little different than when you break it down towards it to cabelco or a link bell.
But the Caterpillar 395 is the biggest machine that we operate.
[00:13:53] Speaker A: What about wheel loader?
[00:13:54] Speaker B: Wheel loader? It's a Hitachi 370.
And those, I mean when they get pretty big like that, it takes multiple trucks sometimes it takes a lot of coordination.
You've got to coordinate multiple trucks. You've got to have guys on site just to help, you know, they've got to help. We've got to guide trucks in.
And it's one of those things. It's a big team effort, but there's a lot of coordination that goes into it.
And I think our guys, our guys are great at their jobs, but we do give them the tools to be great. And I think we always strive to say, hey, what else do you need? What else do you need? You know, whether it's a height stick or whether it's a new oversized load sign or anything like that, you know, there are things that we have to provide and there's no, hey, we can get by without it. No, we really can't. Because if we, if we hit a bridge, if we hit a light, we hit something, we hit a. You know, God forbid we do any of those things. But if those things happen, it's because we didn't do our job job as, you know, the management personnel to make sure that they had everything they needed when they got there or when they were trying to load.
And those things, they're inexcusable when those things happen because they put everybody's life at risk. And we can't.
When we, whether it's in the field or whether it's on the truck. Our number one priority at the end of the day is to make sure that all of our guys go home safe and can enjoy their family and enjoy the time that, you know, I have a big, I guess you say it's a big motto of mine, you work so you work so hard so you can do the things you enjoy in life.
You know, I'm a big believer in, hey, we come to work, to work, but so that we can enjoy our lives.
[00:15:45] Speaker A: Absolutely.
[00:15:46] Speaker B: And I think that's, it's a big responsibility that we take on ourselves as managers and supervisors to make sure our guys are safe in the field and on the road.
[00:15:55] Speaker A: Yeah, very well said, Matthew. Very well said. So what you're telling me is, in other words, for you to be able to go watch wwe, you have to, you have to make sure you move your machines from point A to point.
[00:16:07] Speaker B: B. Yeah, if I want to go, if I want to, you know, take use my leisure time as I feel fit, I've got to make sure everything goes from point A to point B. Yeah, that's awesome. Whether that's, you know, watching WWE or something like that, we've got to make sure everything goes right.
[00:16:23] Speaker A: Yeah, no, that's, that's what it's all about, right, Is being able to do what you enjoy. Right. Because, I mean, you have two kids, right?
[00:16:30] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:16:31] Speaker A: How old are they?
[00:16:32] Speaker B: 115 year old who has told her dad that she wants to go to an Ivy League school.
And I have a 13 year old who, you know, he's playing football and everything like that right now. So we got those things going on.
[00:16:46] Speaker A: Yeah. So you got, you got, you know, your family, you got your, your dreams for them and you know, man, look up to their dad, you know, to, yeah. You know, get stuff done and, you know, play a, a vital role at a company. Right.
Because it really takes someone, like you've said before, to throw things at a wall and make it stick. Right?
[00:17:09] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:17:10] Speaker A: Not everybody can do, do that, you know what I mean?
[00:17:12] Speaker B: Yeah, there's, there's plenty of times, you know, where you're in the office and things come in late, they come in early and you're kind of just sitting there racking your brain like, hey, how are we going to get it done? How is it going to make sense for these guys?
Because the last thing I want to do in the day is say, hey, you're going to deliver this in Sulphur Springs, but you live in Sanger, Texas, so We've got to go from Sulphur Springs to Sanger at the end of the day after, you know, 4 o' clock in traffic and everything like that. My objective is to get our guys off as close to home as I can so that they can maximize the time that they have with their families and so that, you know, we can be as efficient as possible. Sometimes you can't, you can't cater to everyone. You can't take care of, you know, everyone's wants and needs just because that's what the job asks for. The job asks for us to do the job.
And if, you know, sometimes I've got to take, I've got to talk to the guys and be like, hey, you know, today I can't take care of you like that. But you know, next week, later on down the line, I'll make sure you get off early, make sure you can get home to your family, make sure you can be at that game, the baseball game for your kids or something like that.
We try to, we try to model ourselves with the culture that we have within the rest of the company.
You know, family first. When it's a win win, we all win, things like that.
Obviously sometimes there are days when no one wins, but still we've got to keep going, gotta keep pushing and keep going.
And it's, yeah, it's my job to throw things out the wall until they stick. Whether that's calling third party companies to come out and say, hey, I've got a 395 that I can't get today or I've got a 750 I can't get today. Can you guys handle it? We'll take care of the back end of it.
Or working with some of our other partners like upt. I don't know if I'm allowed to say their name.
Yeah. You know, but yeah, so there's, there's times where we've got to work with them, say, hey, I'm going to take care of you today. I'm going to, you know, make sure you guys can get your stuff so we can get our stuff going.
[00:19:15] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:19:15] Speaker B: You know, because at the same time we've got to work well with, you know, our vendors and things like that.
[00:19:20] Speaker A: How many pieces of equipment do you, do you know how many we have?
I'll stop here to roughly how many pieces of equipment we have.
[00:19:27] Speaker B: Oh, that might be a question for Hankins to have.
[00:19:31] Speaker A: No, I think, I think, you know.
[00:19:32] Speaker B: No, it's, it's not that I don't have that in me, I don't have that number.
[00:19:37] Speaker A: No, I mean, if you think about it, that's why we have, give or take, 54 crews. Each crew at least has two, two machines, right?
[00:19:46] Speaker B: Each crew at least is predominantly going to have a mainline, a mainline machine. They're going to have a backfill machine, they're going to have a wheel loader.
If they have everything they need, they're going to have compaction, whether it be a ride on roller or something like that. They're also going to have water truck.
Our punch crews, obviously we move a lot of stuff for, for our smaller crews that kind of move around daily.
Every now and then we do got to pick up, you know, their trailer breaks down. My guys got to go out and say, hey, we're going to move this small Mini today. Because the punch crew can't do their, can't do their work.
It's again, it comes down to, hey, the job's got to get done. Whether it's a E35 Bobcat Mini that's got to move today or it's a 395 caterpillar. I mean whether, regardless of what it is, we've got to get it done and we've got to get it moved.
And I think our guys in the field take pride in that. I know that we have a very high success rate in our department and I know that they're all very proud of that and the success that we have every day in and day out.
[00:20:50] Speaker A: Do the foreman call you sometimes for the machines or is it mainly superintendents?
[00:20:55] Speaker B: Foremen do call, but nine times out of 10, it's the superintendent's calling, the superintendents will call. And whether it's, hey, I forgot to, I forgot to request this machine two days ago like I was supposed to, or hey, you know, they're doing the right thing and you know, planning it out a week ahead of time, we've still got to take care of them. We've got to take care of everything that, you know, is asked of us.
[00:21:18] Speaker A: Sometimes that's just the name of the game, right? It's just taking care of, just taking care of everybody, taking care of everybody. Whether it's a week early or a week late, you gotta take care of them.
[00:21:28] Speaker B: You know, I know some of them will tell me every now and then be like, hey, YouTube, man, you take care of everybody else. But me, I'm like, that's sometimes that's the way the cookie crumbles, man.
[00:21:37] Speaker A: Either that or they're playing a game on you where they're telling you, why do you take care of him and not me?
[00:21:42] Speaker B: Yeah. So every now and then I've got to tell him, you know, like, hey, you know it's not true. You know it's not. You know. You know, I take care of you, too, but these guys, I mean, at the end of the day, we. We work well together.
And with that comes, you know, like, every. The jab here and there. You know, it's one of those things if no one's talking to you, no one likes you, if everyone's messing with you.
[00:22:04] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:22:04] Speaker B: Pretty well liked.
So I think I. I'm pretty. I would say I'm pretty well liked. I hope I am in the.
[00:22:11] Speaker A: Yeah, I think you are. Yeah, I think you are.
There we go.
Have we bought any new hammers?
[00:22:22] Speaker B: No, we're not going down that road today. We're not talking about hammers.
[00:22:26] Speaker A: You don't talk about hammers.
[00:22:26] Speaker B: We're not talking about hammers.
[00:22:28] Speaker A: Okay, we won't talk about.
[00:22:29] Speaker B: No, no, no, no. Thor's hammer today.
[00:22:31] Speaker A: That's what timer is.
[00:22:32] Speaker B: No. Yeah, I got to edit that out, make sure that that hits the cutting room floor.
[00:22:39] Speaker A: No, that's good, man. I think your position here at Moss is. Is very important.
You know, it's. It's.
It's one of those, like what you said, if you can't get what you need, you know, to. To give the guys out in the field the machines that they need to put the pipe in the ground, and it's just. It's not going to work. It's not going to work. And, you know, Parker relies on you, and the entire team relies on you to make sure that you get the machines from point A to point B.
[00:23:07] Speaker B: Yeah, it's one of those things. We've, you know, we've got to work at it. We've got to do it every day.
And like I said, I did tell somebody this. The hardest part of my job is telling people, because obviously sometimes they reach out and we don't have that piece of equipment. Somebody will say, hey, I need another Mini. And I'll be like, well, we don't have an available one. Okay, well, we got to rent one. All right. And, you know, part of my job is to, like, go to every single vendor and see who's got the best, who's got the best availability, who's close to the job and who's actually got what we need that matches the need that we have.
And sometimes the hardest part of my job, like I said, is to Just have six vendors working on it and then have to apologize to five of them and say, hey, I know you called me back and said you have it, but this guy call me back first.
[00:23:55] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:23:55] Speaker B: So you were a couple minutes too late.
[00:23:57] Speaker A: Sometimes you just got to do what you got to do.
[00:23:59] Speaker B: Hey, it gets pretty competitive out there with the way things go.
Vendors are always trying to make, you know, they're always calling, they're always saying, hey, we got this over here if you need it. You sometimes gotta say, hey, you know, we're not looking for that right now. We've gotta continue. You know, do you have this? And sometimes even if I ask them for it, I've gotta tell them, nah. Well, I asked and now I don't need it. Yeah, unfortunately.
[00:24:24] Speaker A: Yeah, that's.
I think that's kind of the industry. Yeah, unfortunately, for lack of better words.
[00:24:32] Speaker B: But I think it's industry standard. But it just kind of sucks sometimes. Yeah, you know, you reach out. But that's why I think biggest, one of the bigger part of our job is to build great relationships with vendors. I mean, we've got to, you know, sometimes we've got to bend over backwards, but because they do it all the time for us.
[00:24:50] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:24:51] Speaker B: So every now and then, you know, when I say, hey, I got somebody on the phone, I've got somebody on the phone.
[00:24:57] Speaker A: Yeah. What's one of your favorite, you know, things here at Moss?
[00:25:00] Speaker B: It's got to be the culture. I mean, just the fact that we do so many things.
I came from a very small family, family orientated business that was, you know, less than 30, 35 employees to a company that's, you know, more than a couple hundred.
And even though we're as big as we are, we still feel like, you know, you know, everyone.
I know, I have a unique perspective on that because I deal with the office and I deal with the field and both of them so much.
So with that I can, you know, I can kind of know every form and know everyone in the office. So it's kind of different for me because I'm on both sides all the time.
[00:25:46] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:25:47] Speaker B: But that's a real special thing for me.
I think the thing is that, you know, if once you start to buy into the culture that we have here, it really becomes a way of life.
[00:25:59] Speaker A: That's. Yeah. Way of life. I think I could. I've fell into that. It's kind of my way of life now. Yeah, I like it.
[00:26:09] Speaker B: Yeah, it's. It's one of those things, once you get going into It. It's kind of like, I'll give Hankin some props on this. When it came down to that samsara that we have. Every time it pings me for my seatbelt being unbuckled, when I start the vehicle and I start going, you know, it pings you, hey, your seatbelt's unbuckled. And then it's changed the way I drive. So just buying into the culture, buying into the products and technology that we have here that we give to every single person, it really can make you a safer operator. It can make you a safer person just in general, and it can make you a happier person.
[00:26:48] Speaker A: Yeah. You seem very happy here at Moss.
[00:26:52] Speaker B: Yeah, except for, you know, the 4am calls when it's a 91 1.
[00:26:56] Speaker A: 91 1. Yeah. It's kind of what keeps you going, right?
[00:27:01] Speaker B: Yeah, but that's probably the scariest part of it. It's, you know, every now and then when you get the calls late at night, it's like, oh, what happened? And you try to avoid it, but you try to avoid feeling that way because it's inevitable. But, I mean, I think it's just human nature.
[00:27:18] Speaker A: Do you feel like the foreman know who you are?
[00:27:21] Speaker B: They know who I am as the guy who doesn't speak Spanish.
[00:27:26] Speaker A: Yeah, But I think they also know that you're the guy that gets that machine to that project.
[00:27:31] Speaker B: Yeah, I feel like they know that they can count on us.
At the end of the day, we try. We really do try to take care of them, to make sure that everyone has what they need in a timely manner. And sometimes, sometimes budget doesn't matter.
It has to get there in the office. And I think in just office culture, you're always looking at the budget, you're always looking at different things on how to save money and how to be, you know, the most productive. And sometimes in the transportation world, it. It just doesn't matter. It doesn't matter how much we got to spend. We've got to get it there.
[00:28:12] Speaker A: You're always going and you're never stopping. Yeah, your machine, I mean, they say your machines, but your, your halter drivers never stop.
[00:28:20] Speaker B: Yeah, they never stop. I've got to force them to take vacation days sometimes.
But it's one of those things, you know, kind of like Parker said. He's like, hey, there's no, there's no excuses. There's no excuses when it comes to making sure that these guys have what they need and whether that's, you know, calling six third party movers because two of our Trucks are down, or at the same time having all of our trucks running and at the same time calling six third party movers because we've got to get there.
[00:28:49] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:28:50] Speaker B: So every now and then I do tell people. I'm like, hey, don't hold off till Friday afternoon to put everything in for Monday.
[00:28:57] Speaker A: Yeah. So, I mean, it's, it's. I think the superintendents have their challenges as well as, like, you know, like, you have a million things going on, and next thing you know, they have this new project. So they got to make sure they got the machines going.
[00:29:08] Speaker B: Oh, yeah.
[00:29:08] Speaker A: So, you know, and. But it's just, you know, with time and I think these guys have slowly understood that you're just doing your best.
[00:29:16] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:29:16] Speaker A: Like you're literally there to make sure that they get what they need. Like that's. That's your goal for them. You know what I mean?
[00:29:23] Speaker B: Yeah. I think the part of this, this position is to make sure everyone has what they need, whether it be from the machines or just a sounding board.
I know in general, some of our drivers.
Something I do want to speak out on is that drivers in general are pretty isolated.
Sometimes they're a little rough around the edges.
Sometimes, you know, you do got to take care of them. You do got to be a sounding board for them. And I've always prided myself in being able to be there for them and let them, you know, get things off their chest, whether it's, you know, I do know, you know, being in Texas, how hot it is. So sometimes these guys get in the truck and, you know, they.
They've just had a hard day. They've got to, you know, talk about things, whether it's 10 to 15 minutes or just like, hey, you know, sometimes you got to let them, let them venture. They need some coolant. Yeah, they got to cool off a little bit.
[00:30:19] Speaker A: They need some coolant.
Yeah, that's. Yeah, the heat. Heat is no joke here in Texas, man. I mean.
[00:30:26] Speaker B: Yeah, it's a big deal.
[00:30:27] Speaker A: Even if it's just, you know, to unload that machine. I mean, it gets hot out there.
[00:30:32] Speaker B: Yeah, it's a very.
I know people, when you think about all their driving. No. Well, everything that touches their trailer is their responsibility.
Whether it's, you know, excavator, wheel loader, mini or anything, it's their responsibility. Buckets, hammers, anything that touches their trailer is their responsibility. And their biggest thing is to make sure that they're safe on the road.
Whether that's, you know, tying everything down with the chains, binders but you know, when you're moving 20 foot long, 38 chains, they get pretty heavy and you know, you're, you're making sure that the road is safe. And sometimes these guys are driving down the road with, you know, if it's an excavator on there, sometimes it's worth more than three or four Ferraris on that trailer.
[00:31:20] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:31:21] Speaker B: You know.
[00:31:22] Speaker A: You know, I don't think people realize how expensive.
[00:31:25] Speaker B: I know I didn't.
[00:31:26] Speaker A: You didn't know how much?
[00:31:27] Speaker B: No, no. I've rare. Every now and then I'll ask people in my personal life. I'm like, how much do you think that cost? And they're like, oh, you know, 100 grand. I'm like, think about like seven.
And they're like what? I'm like, yeah, excavators are pretty high.
[00:31:43] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:31:43] Speaker B: And they're pretty high. And they're pretty heavy. Pretty expensive and heavy. And you know, that's. I can't say it enough is that safety is our biggest thing. When you say they're pretty expensive and heavy. Yeah, they can tear some stuff up pretty quick.
[00:31:59] Speaker A: Yeah. Imagine what.
I can speak on it. But like now that's not going to start knocking on the way. Yeah, yeah, those, those machines, I mean the low boys. I know the low boys have like a big responsibility, Right. It takes, it takes a good driver to really, you know.
[00:32:15] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:32:15] Speaker A: Be able to handle those low boys.
[00:32:18] Speaker B: Yeah, they're unique individuals.
Very unique individuals is what we have when it comes to those type of machines with the RGNs.
They, they're some of the hardest working guys we have.
But sometimes you just gotta hear them out. Let em vent, let them talk, take care of them.
[00:32:39] Speaker A: They're in full wrestling move on you.
[00:32:42] Speaker B: No, no wrestling moves.
[00:32:44] Speaker A: Nah. Well, I appreciate you coming on board today, Matt and talking about, you know, a little bit your history and you know, what your passion is here at Moss and it's, you know, moving big blue machines from one project to another.
You know, it takes someone like you to have pride in what they do and you know, go getter and like, you know, I always hear, you know, Jose, Julio, Matthew, I need this machine. I need this machine. And it's.
I don't know, I would take, you know, some satisfaction of like, you know, I got that machine there, you know, you asked for it, it's there, you know, so don't, you know, it's not my fault that, you know, or whatever something else happened. Right. But you got your machine where you needed it to be, right.
[00:33:25] Speaker B: It's a big moment of joy when you see a project done. You're.
I didn't put the pipe in the ground, but I made sure they were able to put the pipe in the ground. Yeah.
All right.
[00:33:33] Speaker A: Well, I appreciate you coming on board today, man.
[00:33:35] Speaker B: I appreciate you having me.
[00:33:36] Speaker A: Sounds good.
[00:33:37] Speaker B: Thanks, man.
