Wrong load numbers again

So, here i am, arrived 30 min early for a live load and i need to sit and wait until dispatch can get me the right load #. Going to miss my arrival window now. Is this normal in trucking?

 

yes and no... depends on your company and dispatch.

Next time,,, call the shipper beforehand and verify the load number and pickup date/time...

less headaches that way.

 

It happens once in a while. Definitely shouldn't be a regular occurrence

 

OK good to know it at least CAN be normal. Just a bit scared that they will try to blame me for being late.

 

Yes. And no. Happens far more often than it SHOULD, but we're all human. Shipper has to give the p/u# to the broker. Broker gives it to the dispatcher. Dispatcher gives it to you. You give it back to the company. Anyone along the way can have a typo, mis-hear, mis-read, or just look at the wrong number on the page when passing along the information.

 

The shipper knows you're there, and that you're trying to figure out what the correct #'s are so they can load you properly. They SHOULDN'T hold it against you if you're "late" by the time you get the correct info as long as you had arrived at what would have been "on time".

 

Unless it's WalMart...then you're pretty much screwed

 

That all depends on your attitude and timing. Back in my door-slamming days many many moons ago, I had a load to a WM DC somewhere in SC, and I had more than enough time to get there. So much, in fact, that I arrived 3 days early. I approached the guard shack, and politely asked if there was any way I could possibly get unloaded early or if I should go back to the truck stop and sit there for 3 days until my appointment. He made a phone call, and 5 minutes later I was on my way back to get unloaded. Maybe somebody else missed their appointment, or perhaps they just had an open dock, or maybe they were just in a charitable mood and I seemed nice enough...whatever it was, I got to get unloaded so I could get back to making money instead of laying over for 3 days waiting.

 

I get the wrong number 90% of the time.
Quick call to dispatch and I get a number that they like. Still annoying tho

 

Or delivering Satellite antenna's to the Atlanta DC... road is only big enough for one truck .... wrong load number, cannot move off, back up, or go forward... so those behind you have to sit...