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December 28, 1998 8:01 AM, EST

Folks used to say if you wanted to find a good place to eat on the road, you looked for a place with trucks parked in front of it.

You could count on truckers — those CB-talking, cowboy boot-wearing, hard-driving lone wolves of the open road — to stop at a place that offered cheap food, or extra-good coffee or even a friendly, attractive waitress. But nowadays, a lot of trucks at a particular stop might mean it offers superior shopping or a killer computer lounge or maybe a well-appointed fitness center.

The difference can be explained in two words: driver shortage.

Even though some don’t believe there is such a shortage — they say the industry merely is experiencing “driver churning,” when employees move from one company to another — the effect is the same.

The huge turnover among drivers means they are working in a seller’s market. They are courted by companies that want to keep them happy in order to keep them on the payroll, and they are wooed by truck stops that want to win their business in a competitive marketplace.

The truck stops of today bear little resemblance to those you might remember from a decade or so ago, with their big, dingy parking areas, diesel pumps, short-order restaurants and “notions” counters featuring caffeine pills, cigarettes and every brand of chewing tobacco.

Today, truck stops and travel plazas often look more like mini-malls, and there is a whole chain of truck stop gyms called “Rolling Strong.” Many plazas feature computer lounges where a trucker can go on-line to check e-mail messages, search special Web sites for new business or just surf the Net and play some games.

Some feature a parking area with hookups where a driver can attach his portable TV and enjoy some cable. Others may have laundry facilities, fax services, post offices, maintenance bays, bank machines and church facilities, along with more typical services like load boards and showers.

While truck stops are working hard to give drivers what they want, trucking companies may be working even harder. They’re striving to improve the environment their drivers work in to retain their experienced — and valuable — employees.

Schneider National, Green Bay, Wis., has been changing its equipment to please drivers, replacing old cabover tractors with Freightliner Century Class rigs that feature more room for the bunk and a smoother ride.

As is the case with many big companies, Schneider has made pay increases. It enhances them with something the company calls “Advantage Club.”

Through the club, drivers may win trips, tickets to Green Bay Packers games or tickets to NASCAR races (Schneider sponsors a racing team). They may even enter a drawing for a new pickup truck.

lub membership is also good for discounts on a variety of products at Schneider’s Operating Centers (truck stops) around the country.

“We are trying to deal with the human side” said Jeff Larson, the company’s director of marketing, “and this attitude comes from the top down.”

“People who come to work for us deserve respect,” he said. “We don’t view it as a job. It’s a career choice.”

For the full story, see the Dec. 28 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.