The real truth about lumper fees.

Worst one i ever did, was Albertsons up there in Pennsylvania off of Route 222. I pulled in there with 22 skids on the truck. I kinda figured I was gonna need to hire a lumper but boy was I in a shock. They wanted $525.00, to unload the truck. Why???? because supposedly their shelves that the skids sit on were very narrow and they had to turn 22 skids into 64 skids. Some of the skids according to the breakdown list only had 2 boxes on em. It was just regoshdarndiculous. I am no longer allowed back there, but i didnt have to pay the lumper fee. I asked em how much to have them pull the freight off and I would break it down. they said 75 bucks. I gave em the money, they gave me a receipt, and signed my paperwork. I broke down a couple pallets until they got all the stuff off my truck, and told them i needed to go to the bathroom. Went to the bathroom, and then to the receiving desk. Gave em my paperwork with the signature on it from the docks, and they stamped my bills and i as quickly as i could got out of the dock. They stopped me about 30 feet from the gate, and told me i had to go back and finish breaking down the pallets. Nope, stuffs off my truck, it aint my problem anymore. and I left. Boss called me up a lil while later and told me that albertsons didnt want me back anymore. I told him what happened, he thought it was funny and we decided that we wouldnt do anymore business with em anyways.

Lumpers are some of the most evil people that I have ever met. But now, my wife and I are lookin into starting a lumper business ourselves. We figure, why should THEY be the only ones getting rich off of the suffering of others. (gas prices are high, gotta go do somethin to put gas in the tank and food on the table.) :smt074

 

lyion / here i use to get money for unloading years ago but started saying no to the grocery chains to un loading .if the company doesnt wont to pay you what a lumper would wont to unload why in the hell would you wont to do it for less .and if you drove 10 hours to rush to get there on time and your probably tired as hell .you really wont to get back in the truck and hall ### down the road and tired as hell and may be get in a accident ,not me bud . when i get to a place to deliver i give them the bills and tell them ill be in the sleeper. if they have some thing to say about it i just say i dont get payed to unload i get payed to drive . ill tell them i charge $300 up front to unload trailers .they just tell me then to get off the doc . i go to bed .i dont care if its 10 hours i no i need the sleep any way after driving a long haul.

 

Originally Posted by Fozzy in Oklahoma
All of this could have been avoided if the lazy truck drivers would unload their own freight, it would also cut down on the 450lb lard butts out there who are incapable of doing the job they signed on to do. This is just like the insurance and medical scams. These drivers stopped unloading and caring what it costs because they feel it does not matter how much the lumper fees are... Now the fees are just NUTS! I would always unload my own freight and collect the money ($40-$75 per load) myself and it kept me a lot healthier and wealthier and didn't hurt one bit. Was it always a lot of giggles? No. Did it mean that the company made more off of the load? Sure.

I tell you what, why dont you come down and unload my truck for me.
It is not the drivers freight, its the recievers, they ordered it, they can break it down to fit their racks. I dont do anyone wherehouse work. That is not the drivers job. If thry want me to break it down then they need to pay me. $ 50.oo/hr and I will do it. This is one reason why drivers are driving down tired as hell because they have to do someone dock work when they could be sleeping getting ready for the next run.

 

Peanut butter, he must have been an owner op. A company driver would have most likely got terminated. BUT, good for him! If more drivers could do that, lumpers would go the bottom of the pest chain where they belong!

 

WoAH!
Hold on!

Lumpers provide a necessary service, and many of them do. The problem doesn't so much reflect their need to earn a living, as it does WHO is required to pay for said services.

I'll admit and agree that there are less than motivated lumpers, -- but I've usually been satisfied with the job they did.

I liked the services in college towns -- because there were usually football type students needin' more exercise. I've been known to pay those guys and gals a tad more than they asked for --- just because they were payin' their own way through school.

Bigger cities sometimes have the worst element gittin' 'er done, and gittin' another fix.
Depending on which substance they're using/abusing, that could be before y'all would believe it, or sometime today, pretty sure.

All time BEST lumpers I EVER had, were all volunteer -- Amish.
Formed a fire brigade --- and got 'er done in record time.
HaiL!
Even my DISPATCHER thought I was jokin' when I called in empty.
And THEY thanked ME for bringing the load of hospital furniture to an old folks assisted care facility.
Imagine that.

Now imagine that little wave, and sweet smile of that bed-ridden lady -- as I passed by her window -- me in my Big truck -- leavin'.
And leavin' her some new furniture.

I learned a LOT about the Amish that day.

But I digress.

Let's not put a whup on ALL the lumpers.

 

Aftershock, come on partner, it's not the lumpers themselves all the time! You should know that it's the CONCEPT

 

Aftershock, It's not necessarily the lumpers themselves all of the time thats bad. Think now...it's the CONCEPT of the receivers not unloading their freight! why should anyone have to pay to get the truck unloaded anyway? This almost always happens with grocery-type deliveries, and very little in other sectors of the trucking industry. Sorry 'bout the abbreviated post above, i hit the wrong button. Just thought I'd give ya my 2 cents worth, and I think that other truckers may agree with me.

 

Did you read the third and fourth sentence in my post in question?

Because very few people will work for free. Whenever a trailer is loaded or unloaded, SOMEbody pays for it. Do I think it should be the Big truck truck driver?
No!

Too true!
And a BIG reason why I sought a truckin' company that doesn't deliver to very many grocery warehouses, once I'd put in my time (almost 5 years) with the first truckin' company I started with.

With the second truckin' company I drove for, I saw fewer grocery warehouses in the next 5 years than I did in one month at the first truckin' company.

No harm done.

Thanx!
I appreciate all the spare change I can find.

 

Aftershock, Yep, me too. I did the exact same thing. And now, I'm gonna branch out into another direction;flatbedding. No lumpers, lots of exercise for this 'ole bod of mine. Starting orientation on the 7th. If ya hear of an old dude collapsing in Tulsa, you know what happened!