WTF is our Options with Shipping & Recieving Mgrs

hehe.. i always had a bag full of cookies an cakes...or when I picked up day old baggles..I would hand them out.. you would be surprised.. how far a lil kindness will get ya but really never have had a problem with ship/rec... Even when I was 15mins late with load an the dock was closing as I got there.. I asked the guy if I could drop trailer at dock.. and come back in the morning.. He said.. np.. they would unload it first thing in the morning.. bob tailed to daytona.. "it was bike week" bought about 10 tshirts.. an gave them out the next morning.. after that they would leave a dock open for me..if i called them an let them know I had a load for them..

 

You've got some pretty good advice here. Stuff is always gonna happen, weather your at a shipper or receiver or out on the road and you have to just deal with it the best you can. Everyone has bad days, drivers included and it's usually best and more productive if you leave yours in the truck.

 

That is a job for logistics.... Let's say that you are delivering material for the stinkin' teddybear Co. and it is supposed to be delivered at 10 am....you show up and 8:30 am ready to unload. If they didn't need it, they wouldn't have ordered it. So you unload on one side of the teddybear Co. building and go around the building and back up to the shipping door to load up for the Wallgreens warehouse in Waxahachie Texas. What a sweet load! And being nice and HELPFUL might get you that turnaround on a permanent basis.

When you leave the dock, the shipping manager thanks you because two of his idiot warehousemen called in sick/hung over and he was way behind. You just saved him a step or two. These things happen! I have had dock leads tell me that there was no way I was getting unloaded until the following morning. So I say ok and go to sleep. About 10:30 pm the same guy is pounding on my door telling me to back up to dock 16 and he will get me unloaded in a half an hour.

If I had been rude, I would still be sitting there today making me late for my next load. You get more out of people by being helpful. That is after all what we do is get things done. The better you are at it, the more you are taken for granted. But there is an advantage to being invisible until you need unloaded. It takes being a bit of a con man to get the best loads......

Did I say that out loud?!

 

There is nothing you can do.
In truckload, they know you can't take the load back to a terminal and they know there's a bunch of starving O/O who will be happy to haul the freight in your wagon for peanuts.
They also know that they have 2 free hours to jerk you around before detention kicks in...even more if you're early for your scheduled appointment.
You have ZERO leverage in this situation.
If you piss them off, they can really screw you over.

That's why I'm in LTL.
If a customer gives me grief or makes me wait, I just leave.
I bring their freight back to the terminal, where it gets unloaded and put into a trap trailer.
If they want it, they can either come pick it up themselves or pay a re-delivery fee (around $80.00) for me to return and deliver it again.

That's why you'll see places with docks that say "LTL only" or "Express Door" or something to that effect.

 

Since you are a noobie, you will be starting with one of the mega companies...in these mega companies they have "customer service reps", any problems on the docks, it is best for you the driver to step back, politely excuse yourself, and call your dispatcher/driver manager, inform him/her of the situation, who in turn will call the CSR who will get on the phone with the customer and try to straighten the whole mess out.

While you patiently wait in your truck and out of sight...you will either get a message on your on board device (Quallcomm) or your cell phone, or a knock on your door telling you what dock to back into...

Actually a simple, but time consuming, issue and solution.

 

LTL ?[/QUOTE]

Less Than Load...as in Fed EX, Yellow, ABF, UPS...the list goes on...SAIA also.

 

The days of Billy ###### or Super Trucker are over! Open mouth and insert foot will get you off a dock and even in jail!

These are YOUR customers and your companies also not to mention a hard earned load to haul. You loose a load because your feelings are hurt, tough. You get fired and have your DAC hit because you THINK a big mouth will get something done, though! You're in the wrong business.

You have a dispatcher for a reason. Let them handle the problem. About the only thing you do is yes sir or no mama the receiver WITH A FREAKING SMILE then get on the cell or whatever you use to get in touch with YOUR BOSS and let them handle the problem! You are ONLY a truck driver in shippers and receivers eyes and that's ALL you will ever be especially when you bust that mouth open!

The best advice is to keep it closed no matter what and let the next person up the food chain handle the problem. I learned that 20 years ago and haven't had a problem since. If you're an O/O let the broker handle it or learn how to be courteous to an A'hole! It totally freaks them out when they can't get your goat!

This goes for waiting for them to get you to the dock and loaded/unloaded. Let the dispatcher know whats going on.

Yes you might not be getting that detention pay but this isn't an hourly job. If you signed on the line with a bottom feeder that doesn't pay for detention , layover or breakdown that's your problem! But loosing an account or being banned from a shipper or receiver when your company doesn't have that many accounts will only hurt you in more ways than you'll ever expect!

The moral of this little story is:
BE NICE, BE NICE, BE NICE!!
No matter how bad you think you are! Jails in other states and counties aren't fun!And a bus ride home from BFE without half of your stuff is even worse especially after spending all your money on bail!

And 1 o9ther Little tip: You're going to hear a story around the dinner counter or CB that goes like this but it's a years old CB hoax: The US Marshall's Service!

If a DOT , shipper or receiver refuses to unload you or the DOT wants to break your seal do NOT call the US Marshall's! Well that is unless you want to get laughed at!

They have NOTHING to do with trucking at all! A DOT officer can break you seal at any time to inspect your cargo. He will sign the paper work and sign for a new seal if you have one. But the US Marshall's only main job is to provide security for the Federal Court Houses. They also arrest criminals, provide backup to other police agencies and they handle most of the impounded vehicles seized by agencies and have the auctions for their sale to the LEO community and civilians. Oh, They DO have their own Bus and air criminal transportation service and they also do the lease of bus service to O/O's who do that stuff. If it's a government load he knows what he's doing. You will NOT be hauling something that sensitive or valuable for Uncle Sam with out an escort!They do most of the real sensitive hauling with their own fleet of bullet proof and well armed 3 man teamed trucks. I've hauled explosives for the military with no problem. DOT isn't a dumb as most drivers make them out to be but don't argue with one as you WILL loose!

The other NEW hoax is to call the USDA to make a receiver to unload you! ROFLMAO! All the USDA does is inspect food and manufacturing plants and warehouses! They can no more tell someone to unload your truck than you can!