Customer Lock

davisterry1 · Jul 22, 2010

Can anybody tell me what a Customer Lock is? When I call to see where my unit is located and when I look at my CLink, they both show Customer Lock.

Would this cause me to not receive load offers? I've been sitting at home since 7/13 and there were no other units checked in. When I checked today, there are 2 units checked in and it shows 2 units have been dispatched, yet I've not received any call for offers.

Just wondering if this is something anybody else has experienced. Thank you for your time and help.

Mcarriers · Jul 22, 2010

This a lock that FDCC puts on a truck to make sure they have a truck for a regular customer in case they want to ship something some day. Most generally this is a customer that ususally has discounted freight. Yes you will get skipped over as long as you have the lock on and they have another unit close enough to cover other loads. If you want it removed just ask dispatch to remove the lock.

davisterry1 · Jul 22, 2010

Thank you for the explanation. This doesn't sound like such a good thing for me, considering there isn't a lot of freight coming out of this area.

dieseldiva · Jul 22, 2010

There have been times when we called dispatch to inquire about a customer lock and have been told it was a mistake. Always a good idea to call in when you see that on your status.

davisterry1 · Jul 22, 2010

Thank you dieseldiva, I will be contacting them. In the past month I've had to call them a couple times about my status being changed. Was under a load one weekend and they put me out of service. Weekend of the 4th I checked in at home on the 3rd and never left. Didn't get any load offers until Thursday, and they were all for the MI area. I checked to see what my status was and they had me deadheading to Oak Grove Village since Monday the 5th. They never did question that I was on the road for 5 days and had never bothered to check in to an express center. When I called them, they had no idea why/how my status was changed.

layoutshooter · Jul 22, 2010

davisterry1 said:
Thank you dieseldiva, I will be contacting them. In the past month I've had to call them a couple times about my status being changed. Was under a load one weekend and they put me out of service. Weekend of the 4th I checked in at home on the 3rd and never left. Didn't get any load offers until Thursday, and they were all for the MI area. I checked to see what my status was and they had me deadheading to Oak Grove Village since Monday the 5th. They never did question that I was on the road for 5 days and had never bothered to check in to an express center. When I called them, they had no idea why/how my status was changed.

You coming to Expo? That would be a GREAT place to talk with FedEx and a bunch of us FedEx drivers. You sound kinda new, you could learn a TON. Some of it would even be important!! Welcome to the forums!!

davisterry1 · Jul 22, 2010

I am pretty new. I've started in March. I won't be able to make it to the Expo, in part due to cost. From what I've read and heard about it, it would be interesting to attend. Maybe things will go better for me in the future and I can attend next time.

I really appreciate all the responses. It's nice to have a place to go that I can ask questions of other drivers. Thank you.

layoutshooter · Jul 22, 2010

Too bad, it could have helped. If you drive for an owner, a good owner, ask them about locks. ANY GOOD owner would go out of their way to explain this to you and how you should work them. It is in the owners best interest to to all they can to help you succeed. They make more that way. Good luck out here and anytime you are around other drivers don't be afraid to talk to them. A cup of coffee often "lubes" them up and the info flows better!!!

ATeam · Jul 22, 2010

dieseldiva said:
There have been times when we called dispatch to inquire about a customer lock and have been told it was a mistake. Always a good idea to call in when you see that on your status.

Mistakes with locks are common in our experience, which is why we frequently check our status when waiting for loads. Most often the mistake happens when a dispatcher locks our truck while talking to a customer but then, for whatever reason, the customer backs out. That's all fine and good until the dispatcher forgets to remove the lock, leaving our truck unavailable for offers the computer might otherwise send.

We have been locked under White Glove locks, TVAL locks, Flatbed locks (even though we are in a straight truck), a type of lock we are not at liberty to talk about, and my favorite...customer intimacy lock.

We generally view locks as a good thing as they keep a lot of crap load offers from being offered to us and often mean that someone is working a load and we are one of the few who are eligible to take it. Indeed, there have been times where we were so bombarded with crap offers that we called in and asked to be locked (request denied). But being eligible for so many types of locks has the downside of sometimes finding ourselves locked when we should not be or prefer not to be.

A call to dispatch or C-Link request is all it takes to have a lock removed. The main thing, check your status often.

MYGIA · Jul 25, 2010

ATeam said:
A call to dispatch or C-Link request is all it takes to have a lock removed. The main thing, check your status often.

I agree. I constantly monitor my status when not on a load. I always call in and ask that the lock be removed. Most times it is on the first request, but at times it may take 2 or 3 requests.

I have also sent a clink message saying: Please send me the load opportunity for consideration or remove the lock. Never have I received the load info, always the lock is removed.

jj214 · Jul 27, 2010

It is necessary to keep track of your status at all times. You may think you are available only to find they still have you deadheading, you might think you checked into Elk Grove Village and find you are checked into Gary. Most important is to check the DH mileage when offered a load when DH'ing. The offer might say 100 to the pick-up and you punch it into your GPS and find it is 130, nickles and dimes add up. Let them know you will take the run if the DH is corrected.

mypie · Jul 30, 2010

We view locks as both an asset and a deficit. It all depends on where you are, how many trucks are available, etc. We have been on a TVAL Lock and requested that it be changed to a WG Lock. But, you can also use a lock to weed through some of the crap. It is our business, and I refuse to give FECC all the control over how much I make and whether a load is acceptable or not. We have sat on locks where nothing was ever sent, while all the other trucks at that express center were shipped out on runs. If your wheels aint turning, you aint making money. Some of it you will just have to learn from experience.

DocRushing · Jul 30, 2010

Unfortunately, the misuse of those locks --
the ones applied inappropriately
and the ones left in place too long inappropriately --
is a consequence of the fact
that too many of the dispatchers at FedUp CC
are dipstick youngsters who pay --
in the kindest of words --
careless inattention to detail.
Whenever Marda and I discovered a lock on our truck,
we routinely asked that it be removed.
We also found it wise to watch again later --
because a number of times someone snuck one back on us.
Never (or almost never) did we find a lock to our advantage.
Quite to the contrary, we found them to be strongly to our disadvantage.
Fortunately, at our new carrier, Express-1,
we no longer need to put up with that silly crap --
along with many other forms of the silly crap
deeply imbedded in the corporate culture of FedUp CC.
No longer do we need to put up with bed cards, checkouts, wakeup calls, critical departure times, "are you moving?", "are you e.r.?", "have you stopped?", and so on ad nauseam.
E-1 gives us an assignment, then leaves us alone and stays out of our way,
assuming that we are well qualified professionals
and entrusting us to do our job right and well --
without micromanagement, needling, harassment, or other interference from dispatcherettes
who barely know which end of a truck is supposed to point forward.
At E-1, when we say something,
the people there listen to us, pay attention to us, take us seriously, and respond to our concerns.
They treat us extremely well.
Nobody there has spoken to us
in a scornful, derisive, disrespectful, or condescending way.
That stands in strong contrast with the behavior of a number of the workers at FedUp CC
who so often tried to talk down to us.
So far we feel immensely well pleased with our circumstances at E-1.
Best wishes to all,
Doc.