Geniuses in the Shipping Dept

[pearlpro]

Ok Ive had the best week last week, great miles, great loads, great pay and overall some of the best places...Pensacola FL, Houston TX, Lake Charles LA...North and South Carolina topped off by Augusta GA, Home of the MASTERS....Beautiful places all....

THEN THIS WEEK....

Picked up a load near my home, going to Michigan, Load on the other end waiting thats 1000 miles, halfway to the reciever a phone call, UH WE THINK WE PUT THE WRONG FREIGHT ON YOUR TRUCK....Now I asked them twice because the BOL wasnt right, had been scribbled all over, addresses changed, da da da...

Loaded onto truck....Call Broker, confirmed the BOL and freight, our dispatch did the same, everybodys Houston this is a go go go...

Hit the Michigan Border, Sorry but you have the wrong freight, return to shipper to be reloaded with Original load, 1000 Mile run UP IN SMOKE....return to shipper, Bad load off, Original load, CANCELLED DUE TO ITS LOADED ON ANOTHER TRUCK....

GENIUSES...

Dispatch finds another load, we arrive and they ask the length and width, all thats correct...Freight is on wrong size pallets, will not fit....LOAD CANCELLED...

Sitting at my house waiting for tommorrow, if the shipping Geniuses will PRAY and ask me nicely Ill try not and let them know how I really feel...

Truth be told this is the first time Ive had anything like this but both "customers" had less then SMART people working in the shipping dept....since when is it ok to scribble , draw, mark thru, retype and use a marker on a BOL that no one can interpret ANYWAY....

Then when you say its a standard pallet, and you use a LONG pallet and think you can just jam it on, WRONG....

Genius is all around us fellas....God help them if they try and change the oil on a car or Mow the lawn !!!

 

[BigCat]

Sound like my week except mine was a breakdown. Just gotta tell yourself it gets better.

 

[runrunner]

I was away from Expediting for awhile from 2001 until 2010 and two things I noticed that had changed was one the rates where not as good and two the departure calls got really sloppy.I'm not saying your situation was a result of this,just what I feel has changed in the business. Dispatch rarely ask for more than pieces and weight and BOL number. I remember having to verify part number many times on the actual freight. It just seems to me that they just rush you off the phone more times than not. I think doing a Departure on the Qualcom is a mistake as well.

 

[ATeam]

It is easy for brokers, dispatchers and shippers to forget or remain blind to the impact it has on a driver when a shipment goes bad. If they were made to drive even 100 miles out and back from the office every time they made a shipping mistake, they would be a lot more careful.

"Oops, Joe, sorry to say you blew it once again and a truck driver is paying the price. That means it's time for you to do a penalty run. Please go off the clock, get in your car and drive 100 miles down I-35 before turning around and coming back. You can punch in and catch up on your work after you return. The gasoline you burn will be at your expense."

But thinking about our experience with the wrong freight put on the truck, it has only happened once in well over 1,000 loads. That's a 99.9 percent success rate, which is pretty good by any standard. Considering how often it could happen, it is remarkable that it actually has happened just once to us. We do our part to check the address on the freight against the bills and double check with the shipper where the freight is going, but even with that, it has happened only once that the wrong freight was presented to us to load.

Canceled loads, double-booked loads and other such things are more common. But with only one exception, the right freight has always been put on our truck.

 

[OntarioVanMan]

Sound like my week except mine was a breakdown. Just gotta tell yourself it gets better.

I think we've all had at least one of them DOH weeks....takes the boredom away...LOL

 

[LDB]

There's an app for a phone called Zedge that lets you get free ringtones. You can download a ringtone with a voice saying "An idiot is calling you, an idiot is calling you.". If one were so inclined they could use it for a dispatcher, an in-law or whoever they choose.

 

[BobWolf]

So, did you get paid for the redo? or did you get hosed? I do like the idea of the 100 mile penalty run but I think everybody in the process form the shipper to the dispacher should as well.

Un readable paperwork is a pet peave of mine too. Anytime I get paperwork especialy a BOL that cant be read I request it be rewritten. Remember a BOL is a legal document and it proves the freight physicaly exists, peice count, you have legal custody and controll of the freight, proves delivery, and authorizes billing. When it comes to signatures I tell most shippers and recivers to sign and print thier name. Also, as a CYA measure always use peice/case count instead of skid count.

Bob Wolf.

 

[pearlpro]

I did get paid for the entire run out and back and then paid for the attemp to pickup, since Im still near the house I wasnt too peeved but more disgusted with the lack of respect for my loss, the run out to Nebraska was a premium rate....then the run down to NC was also.....ya if they had to do something like GRAB A LIVE WIRE or Place head in door jam and slam three times....

its just sloppy record keeping, and then a company who thought they could ship over dimension freight at the same price as standard....how many times these companies attempt to pull a fast one, Ive caught or busted more then a few with a tape measure, or my laser measure...

The BOL looked as if two or three different folks had made changes, sat coffee cups, got it wet...then used a magic sharpie to recopy, and circle...when I got it you could barely tell where or who yet the guy says its going to Michigan when it clearly was marked SC.....DOOOOOO