Eastern Railroad Discussion > CSX CEO Emphasized Teamwork at Town Hall

During his first week on the job, new CSX CEO Joseph Hinrichs held a town hall meeting at which he said the Class 1 carrier has no plans to end its precision scheduled railroading operating plan.
However, as reported by Trains magazine on its website, Hinrichs acknowledged that CSX needs to make improvements in its customer service and organizational culture.
The former Ford Motor Company executive said the latter two will be among his primary focuses at the helm of CSX.

“I was a customer for a couple decades. Our customers don’t really love us,” Hinrichs said. "We [Ford] did business with rail because we had to, not because we wanted to.”
Hinrichs said improving service will require having enough operating crew members to handle shipper demands and demonstrating to those shippers that CSX can deliver the service shippers demand.
The key to doing that will be teamwork, which means creating a culture where all employees feel appreciated and valued, work well together, support each other, and are proud to work at the railroad.
“Great teammates . . . don’t cuss at somebody, they don’t belittle somebody. And so hold yourself to that standard and hold your teammates to that standard and we can raise the level of our performance just by how we work together,” Hinrichs said.

He said he’ll be spending much of his first few weeks in the field meeting employees and learning about rail operations.
During the town hall meeting Hinrichs said he has no plans to make management changes. From the akronrrblog 

He didn't say anything about offering a better contract with time off provisions, work life balance, etc   though.

The proof is on the paper, not something he said...

Lackawanna484 Wrote:
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> He didn't say anything about offering a better
> contract with time off provisions, work life
> balance, etc   though.
>
> The proof is on the paper, not something he
> said...

True, but lets give the guy a fair break in....I think his heart is in the right place...just gotta see what happens when his boots hit the pavement. 

Lackawanna484 Wrote:
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> He didn't say anything about offering a better
> contract with time off provisions, work life
> balance, etc   though.
> The proof is on the paper, not something he
> said...

In the olden days of both the B&O and the Chessie System, sure some employees were never happy; however, I think the vast majority were especially happy if they were treated like human beings, not just a number with the "Bean Counters" trying to eliminate their jobs.  I remember when the Chessie System used to have a special Saturday in December, every year whereby the men and women who operated the trains along with all the other employees such as electricians, car repairmen, locomotive repairmen, office clerks, secretaries, etc. and their families in the Baltimore area were invited to a Christmas Train Excursion that operated a small round trip say from Baltimore out to Ellicott City, Maryland, which was the original first terminal on the B&O.  They gave out small toys and candy canes to all the children, Santa Claus and helpers were on board, and the railroad served fresh buns, coffee, fruit juice, soda, etc.  This really made those workers feel good about their jobs plus, and this is a big plus, these small trips gave the families of the workers a chance to see where their fathers, mothers, aunts, uncles, etc. worked as in many cases this was their only chance to see and understand trains.
Sure, it cost the company a little money, but the good will definitely helped with the employees morale, thus some money well spent.  Also, many of the trainmen, engineers, fireman, conductors, and others volunteered their time in the operation of these train trips.  Trust me, a little kindness goes a long way.  Too many companies, and their upper management, are only worried about the bottom line, how much more money can we make, now!  And how can we cut down on employees so that we get a larger bonus.  Very sad.
John in White Marsh, Maryland

Agreed.

Talk is cheap. I don't see or hear CSX telling its contract partners they need to reconsider the contract.
And offer a decent contract without HiViz, etc

Mr Hinrichs may be a decent guy, honest, and so on. But, unless he breaks with the industry pattern, he is just another suit...

Posted from Android

Lackawanna484 Wrote:
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> Agreed.
>
> Talk is cheap. I don't see or hear CSX telling its
> contract partners they need to reconsider the
> contract.
> And offer a decent contract without HiViz, etc
>
> Mr Hinrichs may be a decent guy, honest, and so
> on. But, unless he breaks with the industry
> pattern, he is just another suit...

You're correct. Talk IS cheap.

If he has any integrity or intelligence, he will resign as soon as he figures out what he's really up against.

On his first or second day as CEO I understand he possibly fly to Cleveland to meet with SMART & BLE top brass. I can’t officially confirm the meeting took place though.

Posted from iPhone

DevalDragon Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Lackawanna484 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Agreed.
> >
> > Talk is cheap. I don't see or hear CSX telling
> its
> > contract partners they need to reconsider the
> > contract.
> > And offer a decent contract without HiViz, etc
> >
> > Mr Hinrichs may be a decent guy, honest, and so
> > on. But, unless he breaks with the industry
> > pattern, he is just another suit...
>
> You're correct. Talk IS cheap.
>
> If he has any integrity or intelligence, he will
> resign as soon as he figures out what he's really
> up against.

Some people would run away pulling their hair out sure enough...but something tells me he knows how to manage a big multipart machine.....he might have some goofy ideas...but they might just work. Outsiders who are earnest will surprise you. That said he might just fail...but I going to give him a chance...work my job as usual...and keep putting stock in my portfolio....I'm taking dividends in cash these days...it's amazing what 34 years of buying will get you. 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/01/22 16:57 by engineerinvirginia.

As an outsider, his comment about better customer service, on the part of
the workers,  flies in the face of PSR and its definition.

You can't do BOTH PSR trains AND meet the customers' needs for individualized
shipper's attention and meaningful human contact.

You can do ONE, or the Other, But not both...at the same time.
His earlier experience, as a 'user', is telling: 'Not because we wanted to, but because we had to...'

Seems to me that, at CSX, PSR still takes priority over people-centered, respectful relationships.
Both to customer needs and to workers needs, and their real-life-challenges.

Warren Buffett always looks for profitable business models to invest-in.
Thats why, years ago, he bought the whole BNSF...and got it's Land-Grants, too.
He holds onto it for the land grant assets...

The PSR business model is a flop in practice, but it looks nice as a 'concept'
Increasing true business value, and meaningful customer service, builds customers
& increasing profitability,    PSR rearranges the deck-chairs on the Titanic..

In Wall Street terms: "Sell-it"....SHORT!

When, and if, this guy turns the current corporate focus around, then look to be a 'buyer'
of his stock....as business volume actually begins to rebuild, and begins coming back to the rails..
BECAUSE THEY WANT TO..

IMHO.

​W.


( see also: 'NS reorganizes Management', earlier post...PSR seems to be losing 
   ir's luster...)
 



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/02/22 01:46 by wcamp1472.

wcamp1472 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>
> You can't do BOTH PSR trains AND meet the
> customers' needs for individualized
> shipper's attention and meaningful human
> contact.
>
> You can do ONE, or the Other, But not both...at
> the same time.
>
 

This!!

While I agree that its important to be "efficient" as a business, RR, etc., "meeting customers' needs" and PSR do NOT belong in the same sentence....

Posted from Android

My experiences show that "Teamwork" in corporate-speak translates to "You employees do what we tell you to do without question or disagreement".

Throw in a couple of rown halls, som slogans and some expensive consultants.

Michael

Bnsf is not the same RR Mr. Buffet bought.  While they continue to claim they have not adopted PSR, the RR is in meltdown mode and losing customers and employees. It's not going to change anytime soon.  This is based on my own experience prior to retirement and regular contacts with colleagues since then.  The "Great Recession" was thought to be as bad as things can get, based on what's happening now, it almost seems pretty tame.  I hate to see what rock bottom is going to look like.

I've noticed that some end users already have Christmas decorations. Halloween and Thanksgiving stuff is going on markdowns.

Maybe the whole shipping cycle is in warp speed?

Posted from Android

Lackawanna484 Wrote:
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> I've noticed that some end users already have
> Christmas decorations. Halloween and Thanksgiving
> stuff is going on markdowns.
>
> Maybe the whole shipping cycle is in warp speed?
>
> Posted from Android

Yes the just in time mentality for shipping is still a thing...broken as it may yet be. But seasonal items while they do go on sale, the ones that don't sell get put in the back of the store and held to the next season where they are the first things put out....they may or may not get the new stuff when they want it (and they do want to upstage everyone else) but they at least have something to put out...and while it was on deep discount last year...it's full price this year....for a while. 

Lackawanna484 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I've noticed that some end users already have
> Christmas decorations. Halloween and Thanksgiving
> stuff is going on markdowns.
>
> Maybe the whole shipping cycle is in warp speed?
>
> Posted from Android


It was recently in the news that store chains are offering deep discounts on products because they now have overstock. Go figure....

It was also noted that the ports "maybe" slowing down. I'm skeptical....lots of containers are still moving.

The ongoing Covid lockdown in various Chinese cities has frustrated a lot of exports to the US.

Posted from Android