Complaint Review: Diego A Gracia

Mr. Gracia is as shrewd a young businessman as I am a "worldy" man. He has a style of graciousness that is synonomous with his surname. This "graciousness" is part of his ploy to be successful and gain points with other "sales types" in the freight brokering business, but it also is his primary way of gaining his objecives as a business person who in essence has no actual business or trucking knowledge or individual talent. When those methods fail, as they did with me, Mr. Gracia is simply deceptive, a quality that is far from true to his feigned graciousness.

In addition, where he is not deceptive, he is an "ostrich, either deliberately or ignorantly hiding his head in the sand," to avoid the truth of his business realities, his unsafe vehicles, his lack of understanding of day to day over-the-road trucking, his unawareness of vehicle maintenance, repairs, Department of Transportation or FMCSA safety regulations, and finally, his employee relations, both personally and within the laws of the state he employees drivers in.

Upon our separation I referred to him as an "immature boy in the trucking business," a simple truth. He is not "worldy" enough, trained, experienced, seasoned, well-worked, tried or trued, to operate either a single commercial vehicle on public highways, not to mention a small fleet, or a team of owner-operators, either as a manager or as a driver/supervisor.

In the final analysis there is no reason for me or anyone else to file a vindictive report about Mr. Gracia, or for that matter anyone else, unless it is true. There is no gain for me, except in two areas, both very obscure and indirect, to put Mr. Gracia on notice that he must change his modus operandi if he plans to remain in business employing professional drivers who have earned the privilege to drive commercial trucks through their years of struggle, study, and long days and nights on public highways, and/or to prevent him from causing grief or damage to other professional drivers who rely on the trucking industry for their livlihoods while also seriously protecting the status of their driving records.

I eschew Mr. Gracia's written well-wishes to me or his attempts at appeasement; I do not reciprocate with my feelings. While I drove Mr. Gracia's broken Freightliner and pulled his illegal trailers, I was put to the toughest tests I have ever experienced in any job, doing anything, either in the trucking business or anywhere else. I endured this under the threat of my safety, the safety of others, and my well-being, and I did it as a man. Yet, once told by Mr. Gracia that I did not measure up because I complained about his inability to repair his risky equipment, it seemed only right and just that I make my observations public, something I assured him I would do.

When reading "J. Dawg's" report I am curious as to why this person chose to use such an unprofessional nickname. I understand the desire to protect to his identity. But would assume he would like to have his report taken seriously. Regardless, I will respond to these claims as best I can. Secondly, I urge you to contact me directly, by phone or email, if you still have any concerns after the fact. 

J. Dawg, as he has decided to call himself, drove for my company for less-than two months. When hiring him, he brought to my attention that his previous employer would make him do illegal Pineapple runs and that he was forced to alter his logs to deliver on time. That being one of our first conversations, I explained to him that at no point should he be running illegally while running freight for my company. I also reiterated this numerous times via text and email, which I will produce screen shots of. I explained to him several times that shippers and brokers would actually appreciate it if we operated legally and would understand if their freight was late because of this. I have received awards from several of the major freight brokers for my outstanding service and I am constantly praised for over communicating. This is appreciated throughout an industry that is heavily dependent on communication. 

On a more positive note. I will say that J. Dawg is very intelligent and worldly. On many occasions I enjoyed our conversations. One of the main reasons I chose him over other candidates was because he has over 50 plus years of life/business experience. I believed that he was the perfect addition to my small but very proud business. 

I appreciated his work and overlooked constant problems at shippers as well as receivers. On one occasion the passenger side fairing was destroyed and the truck wall was dented while attempting to deliver. Mind you, the driver side fairing was damaged by a previous driver, so I chalked it up to the cost of operating a business. Out of the 10 roundtrips we made between California, Nevada, and Arizona. We had issues at 8 out of 10 shippers and receivers. J. Dawg had driving issues as well as personnel issues. I did not witness any of these personally but they were constantly brought to my attention by J, as well as the customers. I received complaints on numerous occasions that we were unable to back up to loading/unloading docks from brokers and shippers. On one occasion, though it is yet to be confirmed we were accused of having caused physical damage to a shipper’s facility. The shipper provided me pictures of the damage and J denied having caused it. Later that evening he messaged me saying after he examined the photographs, that we would not deny or confirm, but that it may have been possible that the damage was caused by us. The last issue that led to our parting was a potential solenoid/starter issue. While I appreciate J’s knowledge and 50 plus years of business and life experience. I was advised by several mechanics that changing either without them failing would be taking a shot in the dark and very costly. Again, I appreciate that J was being proactive and trying to prevent a potentially more uncomfortable situation along the road.

The problem occurred, when I disagreed to heed his recommendation. He became verbally abusive and very irate. Questioned my experience, business knowledge, and my overall ability to function as an adult. I made the mistake of calling J a “Clown” and saying that our relationship had become a joke. All which spiraled into further verbal abuse as well as threats. I understand that being called a name can be very inflammatory and I regret having gone there. The truth is, after that, I completely backed away while he continued his assaults through texts as well as emails. Threatening my livelihood, and business, which in turn affects me personally. I am not sure what my personal property has to do with any of his complaint or any of the other parties he’s referenced above, as they are totally unrelated.

When J came onboard with my company he was aware that my truck was a 2009. He also requested and I agreed to offer him employment via a 1099. After he helped me fix the trailer lights he repeatedly praised the equipment and said both were running great. I wouldn’t describe my equipment as Excellent or Great. But, I would consider it to be in good condition. I do my best to maintain  

my equipment and drivers in good conditions.

For me this rebuttal is not about painting a negative image of J. It is more about defending myself and providing facts to support having to let him go. I appreciate his time with my company. I appreciate his experience, knowledge, the time we spent talking together and I wish well him in all his future pursuits.

After reading his complaint and my rebuttal, all I ask, if you have any further doubts or questions. That you contact me directly, I can and will provide supporting documents to support all of the facts above. With the exception of the driver’s name or any personal information regarding him. I believe that under IDEAL circumstances, which are rare in this industry. J. Dawg could and would be a valuable asset to a company.

Thank you for taking the time to read my rebuttal.