Staff Spotlight on Landon Woodrow

A lot of people drive cars but very few people are equipped to drive professionally, especially when it comes to larger vehicles or trucks. Take Landon Woodrow for instance. When he started working at the Saskatoon branch of Two Small Men with Big Hearts a few years ago, he had never driven a vehicle larger than a sedan in his life. If you met him today, however, you'd swear that he was born on the road. One of the company's most valued team members, Landon has risen up the ranks to become an assistant dispatcher and long haul driver in Saskatoon and he handles everything with a calm attitude and great respect for clients and his coworkers.

Having previously worked for seven years as a shipper and receiver for Loblaws, he had definitely gained a lot of experience when it came to customer service and maintaining open lines of communication with clients. That job, however, had him working mostly at night, so after doing that for a while, he decided he needed a change. And that's when Saskaoon branch manager Erik Ross came into the picture.

“I was having a really bad week at my last job,” Landon recalls. “I went to talk to someone we both knew, and Erik overheard me. He walked into his house, came back five minutes later with a hiring package and said, ‘Fill this out. You work for me now.’”

Landon first needed minor hand surgery but as soon as he recovered from that, he joined the Two Small Men team where he got to work right away on residential moves in Saskatoon. Although the work was rewardin, Landon admits to being a little bit spooked by the trucks at first.

“I’d never driven anything bigger than a small sports car before this,” he says with a laugh. “It was a massive change.”

Eventually, Landon got the hang of driving the truck. He even rented a U-Haul for a day just to get extra practice.

“Like any mover, I struggled a bit in the beginning,” he admits. “But with time, patience, and support from my coworkers, I was able to improve and really enjoy what I do now.”

On top of everything else, the beginning of Landon'd employment with Two Small Men coincided with some of the worst days of the pandemic, which added extra challenges.

“Eric had COVID at the time, so Calvin and I had to figure everything out ourselves,” he says. “I ended up with the smallest truck and a crew that didn’t really mesh. One guy quit halfway through, and the other and I weren’t getting along. It turned into a two-day job.”

The experience was enough to make Landon question whether he wanted to stay on board, but Eric one again intervened.

“Eric and Calvin pulled me aside and said, ‘Hey man, this happens. It’s not your fault.’ That kept me going,” he says. “Three years later, I’m still here.”

Although it was difficult at first, Landon says that long-distance moving is actually his favourite part of the job now because of how much of the country it has introduced him to.

“I love traveling and seeing the country,” he says. “If there was an opportunity to do long hauls full time, I’d jump on it.”

His longest trek yet was a journey to Victoria and Duncan, B.C., over the course of ten days and which comprised several individual moves along the way.

“Time pressure becomes a big factor,” he explains. “We’re limited to 13 hours of driving a day and 70 hours a week, so you’ve got to manage your hours carefully and sometimes take a reset day between cities. You have to be very conscientious of time.”

When he's not on the road, Landon is back at the office helping out as a move coordinator.

“If there’s an issue with a truck, I’ll work with Jason from operations to figure it out,” he says. “We’re a team that helps each other whenever we can.”

It's ultimately this spirit of togetherness that Landon says is the best part of Working for Two Small Men.

“What I really love about the Saskatoon branch is how close-knit we are. It’s like a family,” he says. “Calvin trained me when I started, and now I’m the godfather of his son. The work can be hard, but when you’re doing it with people who have your back, there’s a level of accomplishment and satisfaction you just can’t find anywhere else.”

And whether he's on the road or behind a desk, Landon says his plan is just to keep giving it his all.

“I naturally go the extra mile to make sure everything’s okay and the customer’s happy,” he says. “That’s just part of who we are here, and that’s why I love being part of this team.”

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