Be specific: How to tell your fleet’s story through the Best Fleets questionnaire
Published on October 22, 2025
When we first shared tips for tackling the Best Fleets to Drive For® questionnaire and interview, the advice was simple: start early, involve your team, and don’t be afraid of bullet points. Then we dug deeper into driver surveys and the importance of keeping communication flowing. The basics still hold true, but as more fleets join the program, one lesson has become even clearer: being specific wins.
The fleets that stand out aren’t the ones with the flashiest language or slickest marketing. They’re the ones who can explain, in plain detail, what life is really like for their drivers.
At a panel discussion during the 2025 Best Fleets to Drive For Conference, Tim Chrulski of Garner Trucking and CarriersEdge co-founder Mark Murrell discussed how clarity and detail separate the good from the great. The fleets that take time to describe their programs in concrete terms not only earns recognition but also uncover their own story. And when that story is told well, it becomes the foundation for recruiting, retention, and culture.
Why details win
From the scoring perspective: vague answers make scoring difficult. The CarriersEdge team has seen it time and again when companies submit 400 words of fluff. Murrell notes: “We’re not looking for fancy language. We want to see what actually happens for drivers.” Clear, factual descriptions make it easy for evaluators to see value quickly.
From the company’s perspective: the process forces fleets to articulate their culture in concrete terms. Every fleet moves freight, but what sets each one apart comes out in the detail.
From the driver’s perspective: specific details prove that values are real. If a fleet says it supports families, drivers want to know how, whether it’s daycare subsidies, family events, or recognition programs that include spouses. Those examples carry weight far beyond slogans.
Common pitfalls to avoid
Even seasoned fleets stumble when filling out the questionnaire. The most frequent mistakes include:
Marketing spin. Polished language might look good in a brochure, but it doesn’t score points here.
Clichés. “We’re a family,” “we have an open-door policy” and “we listen to drivers” sound identical to every other fleet. Only specific examples really show what that looks like from day to day.
Incomplete details. Saying “we provide uniforms” leaves the questions of frequency, scale, or eligibility unanswered. How many? How often? For whom?
Solo authorship. When only one admin fills out the questionnaire, entire sections get overlooked. No one person knows every detail.
Avoiding these pitfalls starts with two things: adding detail and widening the circle. Here’s how fleets can be more specific and why collaboration makes all the difference.
How to be more specific (examples)
It’s normal for the first draft of a questionnaire to sound vague or wordy. That’s part of the process. Start by getting everything down, then go back and refine it, asking yourself: Can I add more detail? Would an outsider understand exactly what this means?
Focus on what actually happens. For example:
Instead of “We provide uniforms”, give specifics like “Drivers receive two branded coats per year—one winter, one rain jacket—plus gloves every fall.”
Instead of “We’re a family”, explain how you implement that. For example, “We host quarterly family barbecues, provide daycare vouchers at HQ, and include spouses in recognition programs.”
Instead of “We provide mentoring”, explain what the mentoring program include. For instance, “Every new hire is paired with a senior driver for the first 90 days, with weekly ride-alongs and monthly feedback calls.”
Once fleets move past clichés, they start documenting real practices: “weekly drop-in hours with leadership, no appointment needed” or “weekly calls with leadership” or “bimonthly potlucks and a peer support fund for drivers in crisis.”
Think of this review as a checklist: frequency, scale, audience, measurable outcomes.
For returning fleets, the challenge is to show what’s evolved. Even if the core programs stay the same, highlight additions or improvements using “new this year” headers.
And don’t shy away from lessons learned. Interviewers don’t expect fleets to report only successes either. Showing how a program developed, especially as a result of driver feedback and early failures, demonstrates that the company is consciously working to improve things.
When in doubt, keep it concrete: name the program, include numbers, and show progress. As Chrulski says, “When you’re clear on something, you can articulate it in three bullet points.”
Make it a team sport
No one person can capture everything happening inside a fleet. Garner Trucking preps with a full cross-functional team: ownership, HR, safety, maintenance, sales, recruiting, and operations. Each leader brings the details from their area, ensuring nothing gets missed.
Murrell explains, “There can be an individual driving it internally, but it still needs to be a collaborative effort.”
The benefits of involving a cross-department group are clear:
- Each expert knows the small details
- Alignment grows across departments
- Everyone sees their role in driver experience
Beyond completeness, team involvement builds buy-in. When leaders hear how their program connects to the driver experience, they see their role in the larger context.
Borrow ideas without copying them
The Best Fleets Results Book and peer conversations are gold mines for ideas. But they are starting points.
Garner often starts with what other fleets are doing, then adapts. Chrulski elaborates, “You won’t ever be able to borrow it directly … but starting with a template you can see the things that you need to adapt. Ultimately, it saves time.”
For example, Garner resisted a pet policy for years. But as driver demand grew and peers found workable models, they researched and eventually rolled out a structured program with weight limits, cleaning fees, and clear responsibilities. The result: higher satisfaction and no surprise damage.
Play the long game
Over time, those details and refinements reveal the fleet’s own story. The more specific fleets become, the clearer their culture, and the easier it is for both drivers and leadership to describe it in the same way.
Most fleets don’t win in their first year in the program. Chrulsky explains how Garner Trucking sees it: “We don’t do this year after year to get a trophy … this program has made us a better organization.” The carriers that succeed treat Best Fleets as a cycle of continuous improvement rather than a one-time contest.
Garner Trucking keeps its results book annotated, flagged, and on Chrulski’s desktop year-round. The leadership team meets quarterly to review priorities, adapt projects, and track progress.
Sometimes it takes years. Their 401(k) with profit sharing only launched after repeated driver requests and years of exploration. But the persistence paid off.
Chrulski says, “It’s not about winning the award. This is a labor of love … the program helps us find areas to improve and grow.”
Closing thought
Being specific isn’t just about scoring points. Learning who you are as a fleet and proving it to your drivers is incredibly rewarding.
The Best Fleets program provides the frame. The details you share fill in the story. A trophy is nice, but the progress is what lasts. Drivers can nominate your fleet until October 31, 2025.
