Is Reefer pretty much always Appointment?

Yup. This is it. Appointments appointments appointments.

 

Yea lots of appointments. Usually very early in the morning before the rest of the world wakes up. Some receivers (walmart comes to mind) DON'T BE LATE. 1 minute late and they are likely to delay you all day if they don't require you to make a new appointment altogether.

 

That's pretty much the same everywhere if you're late, and if you raise a fuss about being "worked in," it's a guarantee that you'll be the last load worked that day. First come, first served and drop 'n hook freight (unless you work for a large carrier) is not the norm.

 

Just to add, that would be 1 minute late to the Wallyworld RECEIVING WINDOW. Being at the gate on time doesn't mean anything.

 

The really cool thing about it is; you get penalized for being late, but they have no qualms about taking all day to get you unloaded.

 

Breaking down and counting 3000 or 4000 items takes awhile.

 

Walmart actually has strict rules about this, and the dc managers are paid based on hitting certain measurements/goals. Rules there are that your appointment is for when you are backed in to a door, so you should check in to the guard shack 1hr before andyou will be taken at your appointment time. If you check in late but within an hour of your appointment time you will be taken that day at end of day. For example if y.iur appointment is 7am, then you should hit the guard shack at 6am and you will be backed in by 7am. If you arrive at 745am, you will be worked in by end of day. If you arrive at 815am, you will have to return next day.

Conversely, they need to unload you, inspect you, clear you in 4 hours. (this is for produce).

Also, you can deliver up to 48hrs early, your dispatcher can change your appointment online or you can call appointment clerk and change it - if appointments are available. This was a rule change about 2 years ago, some people don't even seem to know about this .

 

The Walmart scheduling rules can be a pain, but at least they're predictable. You know pretty much what to expect, even if you haven't been to that particular one before. They'll pass you through at the gate one hour before your appointment and not a minute earlier, so just time your trip to arrive at -1hr and save yourself some stress. 99% of the time I'm done there 2-3 hours after bumping the dock, some are faster (Pageland, SC and Brundidge, AL come to mind).

Once you've been to a couple 0-dark-thirty appointments and get the hang of it, it's not that bad to deal with. I can't count the times I've been creeping down unfamiliar dark local streets half lost thinking how awesome it is that there's zero traffic to hassle with.

 

I got out of the reefer end of trucking because of the nit picking. But, the Wallyworld in Pageland,SC is the only one where the receiving clerk could be bribed. For $10.00 he would sign the bills without any counting or breakdown and you could leave right then. Guess he had some way to cover it. It wasn't the guy in the office, it was the guy who walked the docks. Don't know if he ever got caught or not; it's been a few years since I've been there. He took care of all the drivers at the reefer company where I worked. Not much stress at all with tanker or flatbed.