Today we’d like to introduce you to Cameron Johnston.
Cameron, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Our company was started by Edwin & Mildred Johnston in 1936 with 3 Dodge Trucks driven out from Detroit, MI. Edwin discovered a service where businesses could control the timeliness and quality of its deliveries by renting trucks for short periods of time instead of using outside trucking companies to do it for them.
This was less expensive than paying someone else to make those deliveries because you could drive the truck yourself and bring it back when finished. This way companies didn’t need to buy the whole truck, instead, they just paid for part of the truck during the time they needed to use it which saved them money to invest in their core business.
Edwin quickly realized that customers also didn’t have the resources to maintain the trucks. This gave Suppose U Drive the opportunity to provide the maintenance and support to go along with the truck so the customer could focus on making deliveries instead of dealing with breakdowns.
In the early 1960’s Edwin’s son, Eddie Jr. became involved with the business doing everything from changing clutches in the shop to writing daily rental contracts. After several years of working in the business, Eddie moved up into an operations/management position. In 1981 when Edwin passed away, Eddie Jr. took over the position of President.
In the 1990 Eddie’s two sons, Justin & Cameron, went to work for the company every summer during high school. They started from the bottom just like their father and learned the value of earning a dollar by putting in hard work. After college, both sons started working full time in the business. They continued to learn and grow into management positions and eventually took the reins from their father. It was around this time that Mildred passed away. She was 87 years old when she retired from the company and left a legacy for all employees to live up to.
Today Suppose U Drive is a thriving company with 3 locations and 800 full-service lease & rental trucks along with maintenance services for customer-owned trucks throughout Southern California. We service every kind of industry including Studio & Entertainment, Food Distribution, Metals, Paper, Chemicals, Packaging, etc…
Customers rely on us to make sure the trucks they operate stay on the road making on-time deliveries. We pride ourselves on being the most “dependable & responsive” truck rental & leasing company in Southern California. This reputation in the industry has enabled us to survive for 82 years!
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The road has definitely not been smooth. Just in my 19 years full time with the company I’ve seen 2 recessions, several studio strikes, increased competition, 4 emission changes, more regulations, higher costs & lower profit margins.
Suppose U Drive Truck Rental & Leasing – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
We are a full-service truck rental & leasing company. We specialize in providing companies with reliable trucks and the maintenance to keep those trucks on the road making deliveries. Anybody can provide you with a truck.
What separates us from the rest is how we respond to when something goes wrong with that truck. We make sure our customers get back on the road making deliveries as quickly as possible while communicating with their people during the whole process. We make every customer feel like they are important because we care about the success of their business.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
The way I view success is how my employees are able to develop themselves to become more accomplished in their roles within the company. We promote from the ground up.
I’ve seen our Executive Management team start from entry-level positions and have risen to their current positions because of the dedication and hard work they’ve put into this company. I also view low turnover in employees as an important marker.
This means people enjoy coming to work every day because they feel part of the team culture we have developed. If you take care of your employees then they will, in turn, take care of your customers. Success will come from that.
Contact Info:
- Address: 3809 San Fernando Rd. Glendale, CA 91204
- Website: www.supposeudrive.com
- Phone: (800) 404-8800
- Email: [email protected]
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