Here to Stay: Because Storey Is Family

Kris Thompson used to call his father from the road during his route from Tennessee to California. They’d chit chat and his father would ask him “Where you at?” and Kris would respond with his location. His father would say, “Yeah, I remember where that’s at.” Turns out, it was the same route his father took as a marine reporting to duty at Twentynine Palms base during the Vietnam War.

Kris’ father had always supported his dream of becoming a truck driver. When he died in 2016, Kris called his boss, Storey Trucking President & CEO Eric Storey to let him know. Not only did Eric allow Kris to take the time he needed to make the trip home, but he also bought the wreath for his father’s casket. “That meant a lot to me,” says Kris. “A lot of companies wouldn't do that.”

Within the same month, Kris’ wife April, who is a team driver with Kris, lost her mother to breast cancer. Storey once again told them to take as much as time as they needed to come back to work. “Other companies would call you 24 hours a day, ‘When are you coming back?’" says Kris. “Not Storey. Storey is different.”

Storey Calls You by Your Name, Not by Your Number

Kris and April have worked for Storey for four years. In that time, they’ve learned the benefits of working for a company that treats employees like family. Other companies they’ve worked for just refer to drivers by their numbers, not even their names. And the conversations would revolve around business and nothing else. But for Kris and April, this isn’t the case at Storey, which is why they definitely see themselves staying with Storey until they are ready to retire one day.

“They ask about your family and praise you,” she says. “Getting a ‘Hey, great job guys! Y'all did really good’ — just getting that little compliment from dispatch — that means the world to you,” says April. “You want to do the best you can for them.”

Family Isn’t Just an Idea, It’s a Way of Life

Another aspect about Storey Kris and April love is the camaraderie with other drivers. When they see another Storey trucker on the road, there’s a unique bond they haven’t experienced with drivers from other companies. When Kris and April pass another Storey driver, they all wave out of excitement, call each other on the CB, and ask each other how they’re doing. And when they get to a yard for drop off or pick up and meet another driver, they always chat for a little bit.

“We help each other out, no matter what,” April says. “Nobody’s going to put you off, that’s not a Storey driver.”

During one of their stops, April and Kris even recruited another set of team drivers to Storey just by telling them how much Storey treated them like family. Now, Diane and George E. have been with Storey for a year and are friends with April and Kris, often hanging out together during their time off and watching out for each other on the road. Since then, April and Kris have recruited other drivers as well.

“All of us have become really close friends with a lot of drivers really quick.”

Because Storey Is Family

When Kris and April’s granddaughter Mia Grace Grooms had to have open-heart surgery at six months old and was on life support for three days, Storey was there once again to offer support to April and Kris. Eric, along with other team members, made time to talk to them and offer support.

“They didn’t have to do that,” says April. “They were checking on me. They were checking on our family. Storey is just like that.”

Mia Grace, by the way, fully recovered and is doing just fine.

Here to Stay

“I’m not going anywhere,” says Kris about the potential of ever leaving Storey. “They trust us as drivers,” he says.

According to Kris, there’s no micromanaging because Storey trusts their drivers to get the job done, and they put drivers’ safety first. One of the things Kris likes best about Storey is that he knows when he gets home from a trip and he needs some time off, he can just let his boss know and he’ll get it, no questions asked.

“Eric is just one of the best bosses I’ve ever had,” says Kris. “I’ve worked for a lot of places and Eric is just a different kind of person. The company really cares about its drivers.” If a company treats you really well, then the employee is going to treat you with the same respect 100%, he says.

“This company is awesome,” says April. “We just want to get the word out to other drivers about how good Storey is to their drivers.”

To learn more about driving with Storey Trucking, visit our Drivers page.

You can also call Steve or Eric and 800.633.2444.