Super-sized order of blame pie: who gets the biggest slice?

Discussion in 'LTL and Local Delivery Trucking Forum' started by mathematrucker, Mar 2, 2018.

  1. mathematrucker

    mathematrucker Medium Load Member

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    This trailer had a roll-up door. The driver told me he closed it himself at the receiver. Another replier said the driver should also look inside when he drops it. I'm in the habit of always going through and picking up all the little pieces of debris in any empty trailer I drop (or using my cordless blower if it's really messy in there), so I agree. If this driver had done this, then he would have discovered the freight.
     
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  3. mathematrucker

    mathematrucker Medium Load Member

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    Turns out my boss had asked me to check if either of the two trailers in our yard that afternoon were loaded. So I was just following orders when I reported that one of them had a pallet of freight in the nose.

    So that day anyway, I did follow your advice: all I did was describe what was there in my reply back---didn't get hysterical about it, didn't ask him who had dropped the trailer there, etc. Just went about my business and hooked to the loaded trailer I was sent to the yard to pick up.

    But I didn't follow your advice 18 days later: when I noticed the pallet was still there, even though nobody had asked me to speak up, I did anyway. (When there really is a fire in a theater, I think it's probably correct to notify the patrons inside without being told to by someone else.)
     
  4. mathematrucker

    mathematrucker Medium Load Member

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    My initial reaction when I heard the story from the delivering driver was that it was totally the receiver's fault for leaving the pallet there. (There's no way they did it deliberately by the way...the pallet contained important freight that was destined for their dock.) One thing's pretty clear: they definitely deserved the 30-day delay that resulted from their incompetence.

    By leaving the pallet there and telling the driver the trailer was empty, they set a trap for the delivering driver to fall into if he wasn't careful. He did fall into it, and once that happened, our boss's incompetence got a chance to delay things even further, which it did.
     
  5. mathematrucker

    mathematrucker Medium Load Member

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    FM immediately wrote up the delivering driver for not finding the pallet at the receiver before he closed the door (I'm the driver who discovered it sitting at our yard). He doesn't have anyone else to bring into it except me, but my culpability (if any) is minimal. All I did was fail to follow up with the boss to make sure he did what he was supposed to. Since it's not my job to, there isn't much he can pin on me.
     
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  6. mathematrucker

    mathematrucker Medium Load Member

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    Glad to see these replies that put more blame on the receiver than the driver. It's how I initially felt about the story. My respect for the receiver's operation is checkered at best; I like and respect the driver; and I'm neutral on the boss (he's a good guy, if a little incompetent), so I naturally lean towards placing most of the blame on the receiver.

    What changed my thinking though, is it's so easy to check the trailer with a flashlight, the driver ultimately has to be held to account. But this only increases my dislike/disrespect for the receiver. Like I said above, they inadvertently set a trap for the driver---and that ticks me off.
     
  7. Grumppy

    Grumppy Trucker Forum STAFF Staff Member

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    I'm just saying.... who has the ultimate responsibility to make sure the customer gets his stuff? For me, its the customer.... he has the ULTIMATE responsibility, to make sure he gets everything on the BOL. If not, he shouldn't sign it & say he did. Ultimately, its his responsibility. The driver is somewhat at fault in part because he should have noticed it during inspection but that has nothing to do with whether or not the customer gets all his stuff while unloading. That's not the drivers responsibility in my opinion. The driver in this case delivered the product. If the customer doesn't take it off, that's on the customer. The driver is the one responsible for his daily inspection in this case. When doing his inspection, clean out etc, that's a DOT/driver/company task. IMHO, the driver isnt responsible for baby sitting the customer to make sure he gets all his stuff that the customer is responsible for checking off the BOL while unloading & make sure its accurate/overage /shortages etc. Its not the drivers responsibility. Its the customers responsibility to make sure he gets everything on that BOL. Once he signs it, the deal is done.
     
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  8. mathematrucker

    mathematrucker Medium Load Member

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    You hit the nail on the head. The trucking company is not shirking any obligation to the receiver when it leaves the premises with the pallet of freight (that the receiver signed off on) and doesn't return with it for another whole month. It doesn't rank as a service failure.

    Unfortunately there were other customers that were affected in this case, for it turns out the receiver is another transportation company. This is all the more reason to point the finger at them: with the consequences of leaving a pallet on and telling the driver it was empty being as severe as they were, they never should have allowed it to happen. It was an inexcusable, serious mistake.
     
  9. Colt6920

    Colt6920 Light Load Member

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    Most of the fault lies in the receiver, end of story. If you F*** sign something make sure it's right.
    The only blame that lies on the driver is that he didn't do a post trip. That's it.
     
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  10. mathematrucker

    mathematrucker Medium Load Member

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    Case closed.
     
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