Shipper/Appointments

In my experience it's luck of the draw. Some appointments are merely suggestions and will totally screw up your 14 and others are right on the money. Just like anything else, there are well run warehouses and then there are "those guys". I try to avoid the bad ones but there are just certain industries that are bad for holding trucks up.

 

Murphy's law applies here. If you are in a hurry, and make your appointment on time, the shipper will not be ready. :smt021If you have plenty of time to kill and want to wait around, the load will be ready. You never know.
Appointments are for the convenience of the shipper / receiver. They can make them,:smt102 they can break them.They are the boss :smt079of your time scheduling.

Affecting your other commitments for loading / dropping ? Most shipper / receivers do not care very much about your schedule , just theirs.

Please note, this is a general statement. Some shippers / receivers have bent over backwards to accomodate me. But they are few and far between, and remember Murphy's Law is the Supreme Rule in trucking.:smt077

 

Any time I've had a problem with a bad appointment time it was because a broker tried to walk, talk to a shipping office, and chew bubble gum at the same time.

Calling into the shipper for an appointment yourself saves a lot of headaches since a broker can list "shipping appointment required" on a rate con, and when you call to set up that required appointment the shipper tells you they're FCFS 7am-3pm and will stay as late as 8pm for a case of beer.

 

If you are hauling groceries, you can pretty much count on your whole day being wasted. Same goes for big DC's such as Walmart, Target, etc..