C-Link rant

[JimF51]

Anyone else having problems with the new c-link and msgs not getting to Fed?

Quite often, i send in a 8, and cpl hours later, i get msg, or call if unit powered down, asking if i'm stopped for the day, please send msg 8. Several times, the call comes after I'm asleep.

Or i send in a Arrived At Del msg, only to have a msg a little later, asking if I'm running late. Even got one of those this past Wed., after i had sent in my Proof Of Del.

And twice now, unit has not powered up when truck was started. 1st time, id did about 20 min later. This time, this past Thursday AM, it never came on.

This time, it possibly cost me money. I called in, was given name, addy and # of local dealer in Charlotte. Was put out of service, since couldn't get any load info, and not sure how long repair would take.

Was all fixed at 14:30, sent in my Back In Service msg, and Avail. On C-link msg

Later, sent in a 8, and a cpl more that eve and next AM
Have been sitting hoping for a load, but nothing. Last niht, about 21:00, owner calls to check that I'm ok. Says I show out of service!
I'm like wtf??

Call in, they tell me I'm on Safety Hold! Woman who put me out of service, put in wrong code, so only safety can release me! So even the auto back in service setting for Friday at 8 AM didn't reset me. Yet, all the msgs i sent in, bever got a msg back sayin the msg u sent is in error, like I get lots of times.

So their screw up may have cost me a good obver the weekend load.

And yes, I have had c-link checked out in the past, and know I should have called in. But we should not have to! If I have to start callin inafter sending every msg, to ensure they got it, why bother with the c-link?

Think now I'm lookin forward to the owner's plan to move to LS. I know there, the c-link is only used to send you the load info, and for u to send in a P/U and a del. msg

Think they have smarter ppl working at McDonalds nowadays.

Sorry, had to rany=t somewhere, cuz they don't listen, or care.

 

[leezaback]

once in a while it will act up and have to have it rebooted.sometimes messages have a way of dissapearing.
for 11 years I have been asking the question-why does the oos message never seem to get to fedex ? I send- then they send crummy offer-I call-they say never got message-even though it show's it went over, I have asked so many times where did it go-must of got lost in translation-like the answer. hmmm

 

[layoutshooter]

Clink is an unreliable system and it relies far too much on human input on the FDCC side. Far too often they are either too busy or far too undermanned to keep up with things that are coming in.

It is not worth the money we are paying for it. The software is poorly written. Far to many "holes" in it. I appears, at least from my perspective, that FDCC bought an "off the shelve" software package as opposed to a complete "specked out" system. It would not surprise me if most carriers do this. If they did "spec out" a system it was likely done from the "top down" rather than from the "bottom up" as software should be written.

 

[LDB]

It is rare for mine not to send although I believe it has happened a time or two. The problems with the clink include but are not limited to:

Cost, at $35 a week is well above actual cost and should be lowered to $25 a week to be more in line with actual cost and not a profit center on the owner's back.

Implementation, or more accurately lack thereof. There should be a macro for departures. It is ridiculous to have to waste so much time calling in and then either waiting on hold for an agent or pushing numbers and pound signs. Ridiculous. There is no reason at all it can't be done by macro. It works perfectly well at other carriers, even with hazmat loads.

Implementation, again, from the lacking side. Checkin, checkout, checkin, checkout, checkin, checkout, checkin, checkout...... The never ending needless cycle. Again, other carriers are able to pinpoint their units without resorting to a throwback to the days of no satellites, no cellular, just a pocket full of quarters and pay phones. By default set every unit to available for a load at their current ping location unless they use their clink to go oos. By default, leave them alone when loaded unless they are late. On a run from Dallas to Detroit, Fri to Mon, why should you have to checkin/checkout in Memphis one night and Cincinnati one night just to avoid being annoyed by being told to checkin? As long as you are not running late what difference does it make?

Fedex is an excellent company but they do have warts just like all the other companies. The clink policies and shortcomings are one of their few warts and perhaps their worst.

 

[layoutshooter]

They often have NO idea in the world where we are. The worst example of this took place a little over a month ago.

We had to make a stop prior to the pick up that was not on our dispatch. Nothing new, happens a lot. Had to go to a marshalling yard for paper work.

Since it was not in the instructions we called in when we arrived and departed. We used the clink for the pick up arrival and made a departure call. This all took place in Orlando, FL.

I got a clink msg when we were about 50 miles south of the South Carolina line, after 4 or 5 running late notices, asking when we were departing the marshalling yard.

Great system for $35 per week. I was happy it was NOT a weapons or explosives load.

Things like this don't happen often but there is no excuse for it ever too.

 

[dieseldiva]

Implementation, or more accurately lack thereof. There should be a macro for departures. It is ridiculous to have to waste so much time calling in and then either waiting on hold for an agent or pushing numbers and pound signs. Ridiculous. There is no reason at all it can't be done by macro. It works perfectly well at other carriers, even with hazmat loads.

The above problem caused us to go over our minutes last month on our cell plan and we were on track to repeat that this month so I had to change our plan to one with more minutes and, of course, additional costs.

 

[TeamCaffee]

This is issue has been brought up often as it appears to us to be a waste of our cell phone minutes as well. We were told only 35% of the calls are automated which is not nearly as many as I thought there were.

Keep talking to your CC's and anyone that will listen that this is a hardship on the contractor.

 

[dieseldiva]

This is issue has been brought up often as it appears to us to be a waste of our cell phone minutes as well. We were told only 35% of the calls are automated which is not nearly as many as I thought there were.

Keep talking to your CC's and anyone that will listen that this is a hardship on the contractor.

I have a hard time thinking that the 35% would be correct also as you know that your own experience is higher than that. A lot of this could be eliminated if they would slow down and finish one thing before they start another as many of our calls are trying to straighten out a mistake that has been made in dispatch or by the agent that booked the load.

 

[redytrk]

How about when they waste cell minutes by telling you to hold a "second" while they call the customer. 10 minutes later they come back on the line. I quick say "call me back". Don`t these people have cell phones of there own? And don't they hate to be put on hold?

 

[TeamCaffee]

I just tell them to call me back or use QC which I prefer.

We have changed both of our phones to unlimited to keep from go over on minutes.

 

[LDB]

Waiting on a clink message may be ok for a team since it can be read while moving but not for a solo. That wastes time and fuel having to stop to read it.

 

[layoutshooter]

We have Verison service. We made FDCC one our "Friends and Family" people. Talking with them does not come off our minutes.

 

[dieseldiva]

We have Verison service. We made FDCC one our "Friends and Family" people. Talking with them does not come off our minutes.

The problem with the friends and family thing is that you have to have the 1400 min. plan to do that. We were plugging along just fine with 700 min. but now had to raise our min., therefore raising our cost, to get the extra minutes and take advantage of the f&f thing......6 one, half doz. other.

 

[layoutshooter]

The problem with the friends and family thing is that you have to have the 1400 min. plan to do that. We were plugging along just fine with 700 min. but now had to raise our min., therefore raising our cost, to get the extra minutes and take advantage of the f&f thing......6 one, half doz. other.

Yeah, but we had the 1400 minute plan already, so it helped us.

 

[MYGIA]

I just tell them to call me back or use QC which I prefer.

We have changed both of our phones to unlimited to keep from go over on minutes.

I made the FDCC number one of Friends and Family to solve the problem of maxing out minutes.