The WORST Shippers and Receivers - Truckers WILL NOT Buy Their Products!

Super Valu Mechanicsville VA. There s not a friendly person at that place. They all seem mad at the world. Receivers and Lumpers will take their sweet time getting to you while you stand at the window. Once you check in and go to your truck, have fun trying to get to your dock with about 50 trucks parked every which way

 

Kraft( Atlanta Marketplace) Union City, GA. This is the worst of the worst. I won t go into the details of the people at the guard shack. I don t want to be banned lol

 

SR Forwarding
Cannel St
Laredo, TX

Among one of the worst places I have had the displeasure of going to.
If you see the sign that says "SR Forwarding Cannel St, Laredo, TX" with a bunch of trailers there
don't bother going in there. Instead keep going straight until you see to your left another building that has the name of the receiver.
Appointments mean nothing here. We had it at 7:00 AM. Did not leave until 3:00 PM.
Very rude personnel there. You get treated worst than a prisoner there. This load came from


DRUMROLL PLEASE:

PILGRIMS PRIDE
RUSSELLVILLE, AL
This interesting place with its NARROW roads and NARROW STAGING AREA, stinking like death itself, the "witch lair" at the guard shack and shipping office, and waiting for the chicken to
literally be processed makes for one hell of a place to spend a birthday at-my dads b-day.

 

I second that SR Forwarding. took a weekend load to deliver Monday at 6:00 according to broker. I got there at 5am and they didn't open until 6:30. After I had to walk to the other building which is about a block away. Checked in went back to my truck and laid down, at 10 am they knock on my door to open the back and break the seal, I did and they said they would give me a door shortly. I started looking for a load back to Florida and found a load that was picking up at SR, Perfect (or so I thought). I started asking where I would be picking up and they said it was the same building I was delivering at. I explained to the lady working receiving that I was reloading and she said ok

They finally give me a door at 4 pm, im unloaded by 5pm and they send me to wash out my trailer. When I get back I tell the lady Im ready to reload and she tells me I have to wait because I was late for the pick up. I said LATE!?!? Ive been here since 5 am, you took all day to unload me.. She says Im sorry but your product is not ready and is being inspected by the FDA and I have to wait.. I said OK let me get this straight, your telling me im late and your product still isn't ready??

Bottom line they didn't load me until 12:30 am the next day.. That place is a joke

I will never, EVER go back there

 

Well, I'm starting to head that way tomorrow. At least I know what I'm in for. I just wish I knew whether or not they had overnight parking so I could just head straight over there instead of spending the night in a Houston truck stop and heading there in the morn.

 

Not to mention the fact that they make you stage in that dirt lot that is more like moon dust.

 

Rocktenn... I was taking a load from Rocktenn from AL and they put my load and unload 16 hours apart. They told me I could unload any time, but when I showed up... they threatened to have me arrested and had the cops follow me. I figured that the local home depot was probably one of our customers, so I drove up behind it with about 5 minutes to spare on my clock. Can you believe that the cop sat in front of me for hours until a truck came to take my load in to rocktenn?

The other times I had issues because they give you your load info as you are leaving, and so you have to drive off the property without sending a loaded call... or else you might get the cops called on you.

 

Another terrible one is IGLOO... the thermos and cooler company. Not only do they make products that break constantly... they make drivers wait all day, they often refuse to work if the driver is counting, they take away the stickers that allow the driver to count, they refuse to seal the trailer, they refuse to sign for seals... saying you are responsible for the load they refused to let you count... and the paperwork they took from you...

We had a serious problem with this... it happened well over a dozen times, interfered hugely with our dedicated operations.

 

I read some of your post Dave and see you are in the high stress phase of learning how to deal with customers properly. It's not a perfect world out there. You can get upset or take things with a grain of salt. The end results are usually better with a cool demeanor.

You showed up to deliver and was threatened to be arrested. You missed out telling the in between. Evidently you done something very wrong like blowing up. You don't do that in this job. Delayed unloading happens all the time. Getting mad at them doesn't cure it. It only makes matters worse. The customer looks at you and says this guy is a butt, make him wait or if you are polite and understanding they might come back and try to work you in. The bottom line is attitude makes a huge difference in this business.

Stuff like this you tell your dispatcher. It's their problem too. Customers of any size have customer service reps (CSR). If your company has any size they have a CSR. Problem solving is done between CSRs. No CSR? The dispatcher fills them shoes.

If you have a customer problem get word back to your company and let them hash it out. They will communicate with each other in a professional manner and usually come up with a solution. You the driver and the dock worker are pions. After the discussion the customer will communicate with receiving and say "hey, would you please work this guy in asap". Problem solved. In other words if there is an avenue to pawn your problem off on someone else go ahead and do it. Save the stress. If you have to try and solve it do it in a cool, calm, professional manner.

Trust me, getting mad has not fixed any problem with a customer. This is one stage in becoming an experienced driver. I've dealt with RockTenn in Chattanooga many times. They have always treated me good and I've never had a delay.


Customers signing for company seals... That's a company's hopeful practice to release liability of damage. Most customers don't agree with that practice if they don't have their own seal practice. You can't push it on them. It's really no big deal unless you make it one.

You don't need stickers to count. Pallets are usually like pallets. Count them in groups and the odd balls individually.

That's all besides the point. Let's say the customer doesn't let you on the dock to count. They refuse to sign for your company seal. You still write your seal number on the bill and write "SLC" (shipper load and count) on the bill. It's nothing but a game.

As long as you seal and hopefully lock your load your company will not hold you responsible for a shortage if a customer refuses to sign for a company seal. You've done your job so don't sweat it. Your company will work the problem in the background if there is an OS&D.
My last company had a form for the customer to sign. Most of them wouldn't sign it. After a couple weeks I gave up even using the form. I never heard a word about it. Just a useless wasteful step. It makes no difference on load integrity.

You do your loaded call when you got your bills and before you pull away from the dock. If a driver is waiting for your spot then you pull off to the side. If you get your load info as you say after the fact like from the guard shack then you pull over asap and do it. I don't see a big deal there.

Don't let the little stuff eat at you or you'll drive yourself crazy in this business. Delays, differences, dealing with ugly people are all part of the job. For every problem there are more than one solution. Pick the right one.

 

Hey Hammer u got the#4 that Marshall you use up n Bklyn? Think this kids gonna need it
I put him in touch w/mine--but he's kinda cranky&might just shoot everybody--urs seems more levelheaded