Tardy Drivers?!?!

98%, huh? Why don't you promise S/R's the moon?
Weather, Breakdowns, Illness, Shipper delays affecting Receiver schedules, Accidents, etc.

Your driver being 2hrs. late? You needed to ask him, not us. Maybe he wanted to make you happy and didn't tell you he still had 2 hrs. left before he could roll. Lots of factors that we can't judge based on 1 side of the story.

 

I think an important question has been missed. If you are going to be docking drivers for being late, are you also paying them detention pay?

I understand how much being late strains business relationships; this winter,I was late more than probably the last 4 years put together, and a couple shippers gave me grief about it. I wasnt about to outdrive the weather conditions though.

You have to remember though, once you start hurting people's livelihoods, you may end up with unintended consequences. Can you honestly say that a driver racing so he isn't docked is worth the accident he causes?

 

Your idea of seeking ways to improve efficiency is a noble goal, but I think many here are hoping that "efficiency" is not used to always lay blame at the feet of the driver. The way we o-o's make our money is by being efficient, mostly because anything we save goes in our pockets. What you have to find is a way to make your drivers stakeholders in that efficiency.

From the sounds of this situation, it seems like everyone involved needs to work together on trip planning and making sure their goals align. At the end of the day, I've found that their are always going to be loads out there; the question becomes are you able to have and keep your professional drivers who are the valuable teammates in your success.

 

How many loads would you say in recent time have been late?Did you ask your drivers why and what did they say?It's important that they communicate with you if they think they're going to be late and as soon as possible.Otherwise you could be losing these brokers and customers permanantly.Sometimes being late can't be helped due to weather and zero window time.But its also important to communicate with the broker if your driver is going to be late so they can call the customer.I can see the brokers point,a company commits to the load so that broker trust the company to deliver.If these loads are late due to driver error,I think you should start craking down.You're their boss and you pay them.If you don't do something drivers will take advantage of your kindness which is happening now and think they can do whatever they want.

 

I think that has to be the result of self-motivation. There's no need to motivate a "professional".

Chose more professional carriers and O/Os.

"Most of the time" = "not a great driver". A great driver isn't going to be late unless it's due to circumstances beyond their control.

 

Drivers that have a legit reason for being behind schedule either communicate to that effect, early and often, and/or they can be reached on the cell phone. Driver's want to think of themselves as captain of the ship, ok then figure out if you can do the trip before accepting the load, simple trip planning. Makings excuses about the woes of trucking is pretty lame. Can you do it or not? If things go south do you know how to use a phone or do you think everyone can read your mind, or "well they should know!" blah, blah? OP seems like a few folks suggested carrot/stick approach. That's what I'd use and for sure habitual offenders would face termination.

 

communication is always the key
multistop loads are always problematic
95 corridor is what it is
food sevice warehouses are just as problematic
only load i been late on last 2 years was because there was no radiator in the truck

 

You're setting your expectations too high. 4 hours to go 200 miles is way too close. It does not take into account anything could happen. You need to allow at least 1 to 1 1/2 hours over what you think a good driving time is.