Back Office Support ???????

[davekc]

We have never had a problem using the Ferry. Usually paint loads going to AL.
I do like the idea and recommend the using of specific dispatchers for Canadian loads. That would include all shifts and weekends.










Davekc
owner
22 years
PantherII
EO moderator

[greg334]

Turtle qouted "we are experts at it, we have it down to a science."

Well when anyone ever ever says that, especialy about US customs - RUN

>>> there are no experts and no science to this <<<

Sorry Panther, this is the reason why I took the time to learn what customs is all about to the best of my ablility and I just know enough information so I don't have to depend on that person who has never been at the border in their life when problems arise.

I think a better idea is to have on staff either a licensed broker or former broker on call or staff 24/7 to help with problems.

[Teflon]

Having said that, if this post isn't followed up with the resolution or solution, so that other may benefit, then it's really nothing more than a driver complaining about a specific instance with his carrier.

Turtle.....you made good points in your post on this subject.

This is a business we are in and from my experience as a business owner I am concerned by the system we work in. The time lost by drivers not only harms the drivers but everyone associated with the company. Millions of dollars are lost every year by company inefficiencies. I would venture to say that most O/O and drivers are as efficient as they can be in order to maximize their profits. The companies contracted to should do the same.

The purpose of my post was not to complain but expose some of the problems we have in our daily operations. If I go to the expense and trouble to keep my truck ready for service is it asking too much to have my phone call answered and a timely response to a problem I am having. Time is money, especially in this business.

If a border load has not been cleared in a reasonable amount of time, then a red flag should go up at operations to begin working the problem, whether it be dispatcher, broker, shipper, or driver mistake.

Read Davck and Greg's post on this subject. They have the right idea. The dispatcher is there to cover loads, not solve complex problems when they appear. A small team of trained individuals accessible through a hot line would work much better. I know this is adding to the payroll, but the savings in time and money should more than offset the extra cost.

[slfisher45]

Experience is a great educator, unless you are never at fault. It doesn't matter what information I have, I always copy everything I send to Panther. Not that I don't trust them, too many people handle mail between me and the person who needs the paperwork.
I hope you learned you always need to copy receipts. If you don't have a copy machine available, one can be purchased at Walmart for the price of one (1) ferry ride. Paperwork should be cleared before you get to customs, unless you're so close it can't. If I pick up something in Toronto area and don't go through Buffalo I enter US through Port Huron most times. Personal choice. It usually doesn't add more than 20 miles (source: MS Streets and Trips)to my run. Greg has the right idea, know your (enemy). Investigate border crossings, it is a viable source of income and the more people that can't handle it and won't go there, the more loads for us that understand the nuances of Border Crossings.

[arkjarhead]

i just wish lawerence would clarify the "personal issue" statement he made. and pita load is right. i'll go to canada but i need at least 50 extra in my pocket for crossing the border.

[Turtle]

Teflon, I'm with ya. The inefficiencies can drive ya crazy. I can only winder how many additional loads the company could have hauled if they didn't have so many hours wasted by trucks deadheading and then sitting and doing nothing while waiting to pick up non-existent freight. :)

As for border crossings, a dedicated team in the office for that is a must. Panther, and probably other companies, often have a misplaced sense of urgency at times. You get a load from South Carolina to Chicago and the pester the pee out of you the whole way, god forbid you stop for fuel or something and they want to know if everything is alright cause you're ignition is showing as off.

But, get a load that crosses the border, a load that demands a great sense of urgency and attention, and they are remarkably casual, disinterested, detached, unresponsive.

That's because, at 47 miles an hour, you're not running late. And that's the problem with having normal dispatch handling a critical load like a border crossing, where a sense of urgency is crucial.

An awful lot of money is at stake with each and every border crossing. If, as a carrier (and for that matter, a driver) you can routinely cross the border in a timely fashion without any problems, then there is plenty of money to be made there. On the other hand, it's a place where a simple mistake can cost thousands in fines, not to mention lost customers. One would think that the utmost sense of urgency and an anal attention to detail would be the standard operating procedure on border crossings.

There should be a dedicated Border Crossing Team in dispatch to handle border crossings exclusively. And there should be at least one person on the team for each shift that knows the procedures cold. There should also be a single person on the team assigned to a given load, making sure everything is in order. When I accept a load offer that involves a border crossing, then any QC communications from me should be directed specifically to the computer screen of the person who is assigned my PRO, and any replies I get will always be from the same person, who is on the same page as me, and will see all of the messages between us in context. No more wasting time having conversations with 4 different people, 3 of whom are lost in Qualcomm translation.

The efficiencies of such a method cannot help but to increase revenue, both in more time available for trucks for loads, as well as more people wanting to take loads that cross the border due to the lack of hassles normally associated with it, or at the very least, a much reduced level of driver stress associated with crossing the border.

Driver Council - get to work on that right away. :)

[redhotxpress]

what just kills me is when you've waited at the shipper way past your p/u time but your delivery time isn't changed in hopes that you can still make original delivery...it would be nice if they'd send an ammended ETA so you're not stressing and dispatch doesn't send those showing delay msg. we have never been late for p/u or delivery but every so often we get that "showing delay msg" that is just plain annoying usually along with the "please respond" msg. so you either ignore it, pull off and answer it, use your cell phone minutes to answer it, wake your team member up to answer cause you can't type on qc and drive at same time.
once when driving solo w/plenty of time left to deliver load, i stopped to let dog out and when i got back in truck i had msg that i still had 1 hr left to drive before my 14 was up so i needed to wait to take a break after that....that didn't go over well with me!! obviously withh 100% on time, we have things planned out fairly well. but on the other side of the coin, i know dispatch has to deal with drivers that are chronically late and that's their job to keep up on the loads.

[Teflon]

Turtle...

You made some great points and I hope there are people reading these post who will listen to those like you who have experience and understanding of the problems and take some action. Sometimes there seems to be a disconnect between people with "boots on the ground" and operational support.

[Turtle]

I think somebody at Panther reads these boards. But I don't think they read my messages.

Otherwise, I'd have been in hot water long ago. :+

[Teflon]

Maybe the "squeaky wheel" doesn't get any grease. It just get released.

[slfisher45]

I have read several threads with turtle and teflon praising each other about their great points made and their good ideas.
I don't understand (yet) why so few have so many problems in this expediting business. Now the big problem is crossing the border. There is a procedure for picking up freight, checking paperwork, processing paperwork, proceding to the border and following the border guards directions. Everything is set for consistency to elimate too many variations. To expect the leasor to have a staff set up exclusively to guide contractors through border crossings would be counter productive and cost prohibitive. All a driver has to do is learn the business and know it will change and learn the changes. I was surprised with a little plastic barcoded tag I had to attach to the back of my truck. My paperwork had already been cleared through the broker, yet I had to stop at the Windsor warehouse to get barcoded. Oh well.........

[Turtle]

>I have read several threads with turtle and teflon praising
>each other about their great points made and their good
>ideas.

Really? Several? Threads? Really?

Okaaay.


>I don't understand (yet) why so few have so many problems in
>this expediting business. Now the big problem is crossing
>the border. There is a procedure for picking up freight,
>checking paperwork, processing paperwork, proceding to the
>border and following the border guards directions.
>Everything is set for consistency to elimate too many
>variations. To expect the leasor to have a staff set up
>exclusively to guide contractors through border crossings
>would be counter productive and cost prohibitive. All a
>driver has to do is learn the business and know it will
>change and learn the changes. I was surprised with a little
>plastic barcoded tag I had to attach to the back of my
>truck. My paperwork had already been cleared through the
>broker, yet I had to stop at the Windsor warehouse to get
>barcoded. Oh well.........

I'm really glad that you have never experienced any glitches or problems at the border, and I hope you never do.

I gotta ask ya about one thing, tho. OK, two things...

[/i]To expect the leasor to have a staff set up
>exclusively to guide contractors through border crossings
>would be counter productive and cost prohibitive. [/i]

Neat little catch phrases there. Sounds good. Like you know what you're talking about. So, please, explain, exactly, how setting up a dedicated Border Crossing Team would be counter productive. The reason I ask is, and pardon me if I sound ignorant on this point, the whole purpose of a dedicated team would be to double check things and to catch and resolve any problems before they become bigger problems, to reduce and/or eliminate any errors in paperwork, procedures and communications, follow up and communicate with the broker to ensure no unnecessary delays. It seems to me that reducing or eliminating unnecessary delays would be productive, not counter productive. And since a dedicated team would be doing border crossings full time, they would be more likely to catch any mistakes, large and small, quicker and more efficiently than a driver who crosses the border a few times a year would catch them.

As for being cost prohibitive, just how much cost would it take for it to be prohibitive? If you can reduce or eliminate unnecessary delays with border crossing runs, get more trucks across the border in less time, then you will have more trucks available for more loads sooner, and if you make it so that it's less of a hassle so that more drivers will choose to take border crossing runs, you will be able to take even more loads across the border. Unless I'm missing a whole lotta costs that I'm not thinking of, the added efficiency of smoother crossings and more trucks for more loads, even a couple of extra loads a day, should more than offset the prohibitive costs of paying a small team of dedicated dispatchers who specialize in border crossings.

Incidentally, I've seen just such a setup at more than one carrier. Didn't seem counter productive, nor cost prohibitive to me. That's why I'm asking.

[slfisher45]

Turtle responded,

"I'm really glad that you have never experienced any glitches or problems at the border, and I hope you never do. "

I have experienced problems and they were my fault. Learning curve.


"I gotta ask ya about one thing, tho. OK, two things..."

To expect the leasor to have a staff set up
>exclusively to guide contractors through border crossings
>would be counter productive and cost prohibitive.

"Neat little catch phrases there. Sounds good. Like you know what you're talking about. So, please, explain, exactly, how setting up a dedicated Border Crossing Team would be counter productive. The reason I ask is, and pardon me if I sound ignorant on this point, the whole purpose of a dedicated team would be to double check things and to catch and resolve any problems before they become bigger problems, to reduce and/or eliminate any errors in paperwork, procedures and communications, follow up and communicate with the broker to ensure no unnecessary delays. It seems to me that reducing or eliminating unnecessary delays would be productive, not counter productive. And since a dedicated team would be doing border crossings full time, they would be more likely to catch any mistakes, large and small, quicker and more efficiently than a driver who crosses the border a few times a year would catch them. "

Three shifts 24-7-365. How many in a team would one require to do the job drivers are suppose to do? Complete paperwork and contact the broker. Did they receive the paperwork and is everything ok? If not explain to me how a dedicated team will represent you at the border when the border guard says go to the warehouse or go to the broker. A third party is ( in my experience) necessary only when I can't do my job. But that only happens once. Each experience is a tool for learning.
AS stated earlier, Greg334 took resposibility to increase his knowledge in border crossings, and I am sure he is not the only one. There are other respondents in this thread that share the feeling that astaff is not the answer.
It is the resposibility of the driver to do the job and know the job.
I am not convinced a dedicated staff is the answer for bungled border crossings.
Turtle, you say you know of companies who have a dedicated staff for border crossings, name them.
I don't know why this has to be said, but I am not attacking you, I just don't understand some of these problems people have.

[Turtle]

"Three shifts 24-7-365. How many in a team would one require to do the job drivers are suppose to do?"

Kind of a trick question, since those on the team wouldn't really be doing the job that the drivers are supposed to do. They would be assisting the driver with any problems as they come up, in a timely and expedient manner. But you're the one who said is was cost prohibitive, and I can only assume from that that you know some or all of the costs involved, or have experienced such a team's failings. That's why I asked for you to explain it.

But, to sort of answer your question, depending on crossing volumes, somewhere between one and three on a given shift should be plenty. Most of the time they wouldn't be doing anything any differently than regular dispatch, merely monitoring the progress of the run. So a single person could handle many loads at the same time.

"Complete paperwork and contact the broker."

That's easier said than done. We're now using the ACE program and everything is going through Adminserve, and all communications other than the initial fax between the driver and Adminserve is to go through dispatch. WHen regular dispatch who knows nothing of border crossings is handling things, additional problems can, and have, cropped up.

"Did they receive the paperwork and is everything ok?"

Don't know. Dispatch only knows that.

"If not explain to me how a dedicated team will represent you at the border when the border guard says go to the warehouse or go to the broker."

Obviously, they can't represent a driver at the border, but if dispatch can catch any potential problems and difuse them before you get there, then the border experience is likely to be a lot more pleasant, and quicker.


"A third party is ( in my experience) necessary only when I can't do my job. But that only happens once. Each experience is a tool for learning."

If the customer were contacting me directly for the load, then you're right. But the carrier has access to the customer, whoever that may be, be it the shipper, the consignee, or a third party who is paying for the shipment, and access to information that I don't have. There may be times when I need access to that information in order to do my job, even if it's something as simple as a contact name. Experience is a valuable learning tool, as are mistakes, which is what gives one the experience. But a team that will double-check to help prevent mistakes, especially for drivers who don't cross the border frequently, drivers who are more likely to make a simple mistake, can be invaluable in preventing the types of costly mistakes that happen at the border, not to mention wasted time.

"AS stated earlier, Greg334 took resposibility to increase his knowledge in border crossings, and I am sure he is not the only one. There are other respondents in this thread that share the feeling that astaff is not the answer."

I've invested a great deal of time educating myself with border crossings, including many conversations with both US and Canadian border personnel. I'm well versed in the procedures, including the new ones at the bridges in eastern Ontario that were just instituted, and am quite comfortable crossing the border, and do so on a regular basis. But that doesn't preclude problems arising which are out of my control, particularly those which originate with the carrier and the fact that an inexperienced dispatcher has made a mistake or some miscommunication.


"It is the resposibility of the driver to do the job and know the job."

Can't disagree with that at all.

"I am not convinced a dedicated staff is the answer for bungled border crossings."

For any and all carriers, as a blanket statement, I'm not either. For Panther, however, I am.

"Turtle, you say you know of companies who have a dedicated staff for border crossings, name them."

No

If I wanted to name them I wold have already, and I'm certainly not going to name them because you wish it. I will say that Con-Way had one, and it worked flawlessly. Beyond that, for current carriers, that's up to them.

"I don't know why this has to be said, but I am not attacking you, I just don't understand some of these problems people have."

I'm not attacking you, nor do I feel attacked. You state that you don't understand some of the problems, yet at the same time state that the cost of such a team is prohibitive, and more so, counter productive. I'm really failing to see how a dedicated team would be counter-productive. Help me understand. Even if the team did nothing other than what regular dispatch did, or for that matter nothing at all, how could that be any more detrimental than what happens now?

[nightshift]

I had to reply to this thread. Since running with Panther we have hit every border crossing in and out of Ontario and a couple in and out of Quebec. Learning the system doesn't work. The procedure at the borders seems to change with each crossing location and with each shift. Not only that but the broker that is being used makes a difference also. Not all personnel at the brokers know what they are doing either, especially the ones that are working the late shift. We have had problems with brokers not processing paperwork but being told that we are cleared, we have had problems with broker codes being changed and the broker not being able to do anything about it until morning when someone else finally showed up to work, and we have had problems with different border crossings wanting different paperwork for MT crossings. We are told at orientation that we need to have an inward cargo manifest showing we are empty except for freight handling equipment when DH'ing back into the US. Well cross at Port Huron and they look at you like you have 3 heads, cross at Lake Champlaign and not have one and they threaten to fine you $5000, OK, which is it? We go through the expenses and time to get the FAST cards but get told by Panther that we need the transponder before we can use them and that they will order it for us, well still no transponder but that's OK, the border guards don't know either, cross at one point and they ask why you aren't showing your FAST card when MT, cross at another and they say they don't need it, cross loaded at another and they ask for it even when it's not a FAST load. Sorry but border crossing loads just aren't worth the extra few dollars they pay for the agravation, stress and time loss when trying to do it right. As for a driver learning the border crossing rules, how can we when they don't know them themselves. As for a company having experts on hand, I think it's a great idea, with the rules changing as often as they do it's hard for someone on the road to keep up with them. Sorry but I am one of the those that believes a driver should drive and be responsible for the freight when it's on his truck, the permit department should be responsible for required permits and guess what, that should include what is required for a driver to cross the border.
Yes I still will go to Canada, but I'd rather not, it's just a hassle.

Don't know where I'm going, but there's no sense being late.