I always arrive early to the shipper. I don't screw around. I go into the office like Turtle does and tell them that I am there and that I will be taking a nap in my van preparing for the direct delivery. I tell them to come get me when the parts are ready, or I give them my number so they can call me. I still set my alarm for the actual pick up time so that I can go in and make an inquiry as to whether or not the parts are ready. I do not bother them until the actual original pick up time. Then if the parts are still not ready I tell them to come get me once they are and I then inform my dispatcher and then leave the shipper alone until the parts are ready. I prefer to be there on site ready to rock and roll. Most of the time this is actually a comfort to the shipper knowing that I am on site and ready to spring into action. What irks me is when they are only giving me 24 hours to do 1100 miles and then make me wait six hours for the parts to get done. All of my alert daytime driving energy is wasted waiting 6 hours to be loaded. Then I only have 18 hours to do the 1100 miles and most of my sleep break cushion has been burned up. On that particular load I still delivered early despite them adding a few more hours to my delivery time. I don't disappoint.
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- Thread starter BIGTRAIN
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I'm not like Blizzard: I don't make a practice of arriving early, because too many places have no room, or won't even let me past the guard. If I have never been there, and have a phone number, I will call to ask if early is ok, otherwise, I arrive when expected.
Also, in the example given, I would not 'eat' the six hours waiting to get loaded - I would expect the delivery time to be adjusted to reflect the delay. It takes so many hours - losing a significant part of the transit time requires compromising safety. They know that, and so do you - why risk your life [and livelihood] over their unrealistic expectations?
Also, in the example given, I would not 'eat' the six hours waiting to get loaded - I would expect the delivery time to be adjusted to reflect the delay. It takes so many hours - losing a significant part of the transit time requires compromising safety. They know that, and so do you - why risk your life [and livelihood] over their unrealistic expectations?
How am I risking anyone's life when I'm not tired? If I needed the extra hours to sleep, I would have taken them. There are no rules in the van, so you have to rest when your body tells you to. I still arrive early to the shippers. I'm not talking about ten hours early. I am usually 2 to 3 hours early. I'm in a cargo van and I never have a problem finding a place to park. For the most part, I have not been held up at the shipper. Cargo vans don't usually have many parts to pick up. On the example I gave about the 1100 mile run, the receiver requested another pallet of parts to be sent with me. I had to sit there and wait six hours for them to be made.
Slo-Ride
Veteran Expediter
Another stick on the fire, Ready Now...Start heading that way and I will send ya the info when I get it.. Time is going to be tight, we need you to get there..
Well without the info how do you know its ready now? Don't roll until you have the load profile in your hands. Ready now has caused a lot of log pages to be lost/destroyed.
I've said it before,,Ready now needs to be taken out of their vocabulary.
Well without the info how do you know its ready now? Don't roll until you have the load profile in your hands. Ready now has caused a lot of log pages to be lost/destroyed.
I've said it before,,Ready now needs to be taken out of their vocabulary.
Been there done that, got halfway there and got the oh it must have canceled?? I don't start the truck now till it hits the macro point!
I'm trying to imagine arriving 2 hours early. That's asking to get free detention time at the least. 15 minutes early--- usually no problems.
Look---- I have a "Screaming Meanie" timer, and a seat that reclines. Give me a spot near but not on the shipper's property, and I'll put those things to good use. Problem: Once you're on the shipper's property, they tend to frown on you sleeping until it's "your turn". So---- scotch the idea of arriving 2 or 3 hours early. Arrive a little-- but not too much-- before your appointment time.
Look---- I have a "Screaming Meanie" timer, and a seat that reclines. Give me a spot near but not on the shipper's property, and I'll put those things to good use. Problem: Once you're on the shipper's property, they tend to frown on you sleeping until it's "your turn". So---- scotch the idea of arriving 2 or 3 hours early. Arrive a little-- but not too much-- before your appointment time.
Murraycroexp
Veteran Expediter
Opinions. We all have them.
My MO was to ask if there was an out of the way spot "out there" where I could nap until the load was ready. Never had one, after asking that way, tell me to back into a door unless the freight was ready. But probably at least 50-60% of them were ready anywhere from a little early to multiple hours early.
But always get clearance to leave from the broker.
Leaving early with a load removes the customer's ability to add ANYTHING to that order. Just a thought.
My MO was to ask if there was an out of the way spot "out there" where I could nap until the load was ready. Never had one, after asking that way, tell me to back into a door unless the freight was ready. But probably at least 50-60% of them were ready anywhere from a little early to multiple hours early.
But always get clearance to leave from the broker.
Leaving early with a load removes the customer's ability to add ANYTHING to that order. Just a thought.
Why not politely ask to be released to go get a meal or visit a nearby psychiatrist about your anger management issues.
Check your contract.
When I get a load offer I always ask: "Is it ready now?" If the answer is "yes" then I roll knowing that there is about a 30% chance the freight isn't ready. Some shippers are habitually late getting freight ready. They are keenly aware of carrier's detention policies and somehow manage to load a truck just before detention time kicks in.
Being in a cargo van I usually arrive at least 30 minutes prior to the scheduled pick up time. For the most part I don't have to be concerned with burning up valuable on duty time. Dealing with repeat shippers over the years helps one to know which have reliable pick up times and which don't. There is a shipper of automotive parts outside of Toledo. I don't recall the name of the company but when I get a load offer picking up in Oregon, OH I refuse it. Been there and done that. Twice! Never again.
One can also, with some reliability, glean info from the load offer as to whether or not a load is ready. If the load offer states the weight as 1600 pounds, I take that as a guess by the shipper that the order hadn't been completed and weighed when the carrier was contacted. If the load offer stated 1537 pounds then I take a chance that the order is complete, weighed and sitting on the dock for me.
Being in a cargo van I usually arrive at least 30 minutes prior to the scheduled pick up time. For the most part I don't have to be concerned with burning up valuable on duty time. Dealing with repeat shippers over the years helps one to know which have reliable pick up times and which don't. There is a shipper of automotive parts outside of Toledo. I don't recall the name of the company but when I get a load offer picking up in Oregon, OH I refuse it. Been there and done that. Twice! Never again.
One can also, with some reliability, glean info from the load offer as to whether or not a load is ready. If the load offer states the weight as 1600 pounds, I take that as a guess by the shipper that the order hadn't been completed and weighed when the carrier was contacted. If the load offer stated 1537 pounds then I take a chance that the order is complete, weighed and sitting on the dock for me.
tknight
Veteran Expediter
I learned the first year I did this that you don't leave till you get the job in as text or email I never drop what I'm doing to just drive and hope nothing changes , if it takes an hour to get paper trail then it's not my problem , brokers need to get their act together !
I come from rock and roll and where money talksand bull
walks
I come from rock and roll and where money talksand bull
walks
I also learned that if dispatch says start rolling, and I do, and then the load cancels, if my wheels have started rolling, even if I haven't made it out of the parking lot, I get dry run pay.
I don't routinely show up more than about 15-30 minutes early, sometimes as much as an hour. After a while you learn which shippers, and which types of shippers, are likely to have freight ready early, and which won't. I never show up early expecting to get loaded early. I'm just killing time until the schedule pickup time. I can kill it there, I can kill it at Walmart, I can kill it anywhere (said Disturbed Dr Seuss). There's nothing worse than killing 4 hours at a Walmart or truckstop, then showing up at the shipper, and hearing, "Oh, yeah, that freight's been sitting there for 4 hours waiting on you." I could have gotten there earlier, gotten loaded earlier, and made the shipper happy earlier. If I had gotten there earlier and it wasn't ready, I'm still just killing time, regardless.
There are also cases where you'll have a 6AM pickup some place, and you know they don't run a third shift. More often than not, that means if you show up at 9PM or a little after the night before, it's ready. That doesn't mean you won't still have to wait until 6AM, because there might not be anyone in shipping to do the paperwork on it.
The shippers that know they've got you for 2 free hours after the scheduled time, yeah, there are a few of those, but they'd still generally rather have the parts done and shipped out on time. In any case, you're still there for them, not the other way around, so might as well be pleasant about it. It's not like you aren't aware that you're potentially giving every shipper 2 free hours. If that's a problem, and it bothers you, then expediting might not be for you. For every shipper you have to wait and hour or two to get loaded, there are shippers that load you early, so there.
You're there for them. It might help to actually say that out loud to them once in a while. If you show up early, or even on time, and the freight's not ready, "That's OK. I'm here for you, so whenever it's ready, I'm good."
Cuz no matter what you say, you aint' gettin' loaded 'till it is. pa dum-pum.
There are more bobtails than cars at the Pontoon J. What's up with that? It's really annoying.
Most of the shippers I have encountered that hold you 1 hour, 59 minutes past the scheduled pick up time do so because they want a truck in the dock to load while they are still cranking out parts.
There's always a large number of bobtails there. Because its a weekend the ratio of bobtails to cars is greater. I believe commuters use the J as a park and ride lot. I have noticed more bobtails in the car lot at the J south of the Beloit recently. pa rum pum pum pum
It's not just about being tired, [although that's important], it's about having a cushion of time to absorb all the little micro delays that add up. Following someone on a two lane who can't or won't go the speed limit for 26 miles, school buses, a high percentage of small town stop & go, big hills that slow you down [well, in a truck they do, lol] - there's a million little things that can eat up a chunk of time, little here, little there. When it gets tight, you tend to speed up, and that's a bad idea. You also get impatient [at least, I do], and that's not good, either.
I feel if the receiver asked for something extra, they shouldn't expect the driver to just eat the cost - especially when it's significant.
Slo-Ride
Veteran Expediter
Well aware of the 2 hour window. Or use to be, now its turned into a 3 hour (plus) window and sometimes, Oh I'm sorry we don't charge this customer for waiting...
Properly because its all based on your second part above... Well I'm not there for them, I'm there for me and my benefit. Part of the proplem is the rules keep changing and none of it is to our benefit. Customers are not always right esp in the auto industry.. And yes I do understand if parts aren't ready they aren't ready..So what about the other end where it takes 2 plus hours to unload it.. No amount of demurrage makes up for the customer being right all the time. Nothing has come back to the trucks since 2007 when we gave some up..All in we are running for less today then the day I entered into this and its costing us more..So I have a hard time believing the customer is always right. (Well maybe ONE carrier is taking care of its people to the best of their ability.)
Oh, I know, but that's not really a "customer" problem, that's a "whoever booked it" problem. If the carrier doesn't want to charge a particular customer for detention, that's up to the carrier, and it's between the carrier and the customer, but if the carrier wants me to do the waiting past the two hour point, they'll have to pay me. I couldn't care less from where the money is obtained. The carrier can charge the customer, or the carrier can eat it, but I'm not gonna eat it (at least not without becoming a mind-numbingly squeaky wheel).
No, you really and truly are there for them. You're in the service business and you're performing a service. It's no different than a waiter or waitress in a restaurant, where they are there for you. They may be engaged in the service business for themselves and their benefit, but without you they got nothing. With freight customers, without them, you got the same.
Whether you show up early, right on time, or even late, the only reason you're there is to get loaded with their freight. It's not your freight, you're not the boss of them, it's their freight. If they can't get you loaded within the two hour time frame, then call dispatch and arrange for detention compensation. If dispatch doesn't want to pay it, then there's really no reason for you to hang around for free, so let dispatch know that in no uncertain terms.
Well, I never said the customer is always right. They're not. But keep in mind, unless you're booking your loads directly yourself, you aren't even dealing with the customer, who may or may not even be the shipper. You're contracted by your carrier to perform a service, and If there's a problem with a shipper, then it's not even your problem, it's a problem for the carrier that contracted you for the service. The way the carrier handles it with the customer might become a problem for you, of course, but that's between you and the carrier, not the customer.
They are. If there's detention or dry run pay coming, regardless of whether the collect it from the customer, I get paid what I'm supposed to be paid. That's my current carrier. That wasn't the case, on a regular basis, with my previous carrier, where I routinely had to become a PITA squeaky wheel in order to get paid. I usually did, but not always. And in some cases, as Moot noted, I would simply refuse certain loads based on past experience in not getting paid, or, I would get a guarantee in writing on the QC that I would get paid if certain problems like detention, hand unload, inside delivery or debris removal became an after-the-fact issue, and it would be stated that I'd get it regardless of whether they collected it from the customer.
I go early, I tell them I know moot, they ask me to leave and don't come back.
Gimme a break dude .........
pearlpro
Expert Expediter
More times then not I never want to be that early, If you do get there that early catch a nap, Ive learned this lesson the hard way myself, and the excuses just keep on coming, from its not finished to we dont have enough loaders to we ran out of fuel for the lift trucks etc etc etc...its a bummer when you think your doing someone a favor, your early, youll get out early everyones happy, but reality doesnt work that way, ya theyll screw you right out of three hours because your appt wasnt at 2, it was 5....its the facts....