Hey FedEx Drivers - CLink vs. VRU

greg334 · Sep 18, 2006

OK this is not a FedEx Bashing thread.

Has anyone else had problems with the VRU and the CLink giving out inaccurate info?

I am in the great state of Arkensaw, Little Rock to be precise. I paid homage to Clinton and tried to book an appoinment with his massage parlor but they were booked till wednesday.

Well when I checked in, the CLink showed 1 B unit, and 1 D unit. I thought that maybe the B unit was myself seeing I just checked out to deliver the load.

So checked in, I check my status and now there are two b units? ok must have updated or something. After 20 minutes or so I check the VRU. Now there is 1 B unit, OK?

I see a E unit pull in, and check again. but nothing has changed, VRU - 1 b unit, CLink 2 b, 1 D 1E. AND accroding to the VRU I am the only one here.

Take a nap, wake up and check my status, 1 b unit, 1 b unit dispatched, 1 D and 1 E. What? I guess?

I called and talk to someone and they said the VRU is the most accurate of the two.

Any one else have this situation come up?

And dont tell me to talk to my CC, I left a message.

RichM · Sep 18, 2006

What you described is not unusual. The VRU is suppossed to give real time data while the C Link up dates every 3 hours. Many time there are descrepancies between the 2 systems. Used to drive me
crazy too.

Is that massage parlor called Monica's House of delight?

LDB · Sep 18, 2006

For those of us who haven't been with FX is either a Clink or VRU what we call the QC in our trucks? Presuming one of them is a QC what is the other? By that I mean is it another similarly large and intrusive device? Anyone have digital photos in their truck that shows these magical devices?

Leo Bricker, 73's K5LDB, OOIDA 677319
Owner, Panther trucks 5507, 5508, 5509
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C5BILL · Sep 18, 2006

Clink same as QC.

VRU is Voice Response Unit, ie. telephone call.

greg334 · Sep 18, 2006

>What you described is not unusual. The VRU is suppossed to
>give real time data while the C Link up dates every 3 hours.
>Many time there are descrepancies between the 2 systems.
>Used to drive me
>crazy too.
>
>Is that massage parlor called Monica's House of delight?

Thanks Rich, I guess I will be here for a few weeks.. ah days. well you know what I mean, lol.

knowing how Qualcomm works, there is a lot of info that we could see on both systems.

Nope it is not called Monica's House of Delight. What I am surprised about when I went through Hope (stopped there for a break)was I could not find the museum that they had this big sign on the freeway for. But that will appear on my travel blog or something like that.

targuard86 · Sep 18, 2006

I would love to see all the VRU info put on the extranet. I can see why it wasn't a priority in the past bus as more trucks get wireless internet it would be a real help. Not to mention I'm sure it would cut down on their phone bill to the 800 #.

jackdixon_2000 · Sep 19, 2006

I'm with you Targuard. Being an information junkie I would also love to see more info on the extranet. It seems like one person could monitor the activity and enter info as trucks are dispatched and other trucks check into express centers. We could see the whole nationwide picture of truck movement and like you say, the money saved on 800 calls would pay the individuals salary.

Maybe its not as simple as it sounds and I know Fedex likes to guard their privacy, but Landstar has no problem posting all their loads on the internet for their drivers, so it seems feasable to me?

targuard86 · Sep 19, 2006

Isn't their a canned message for suggestions?

Lets start a campaign...............

Coco · Sep 19, 2006

RE: Hey FedEx Drivers - CLink vs. VRUFDCC,

I have to agree with Jack on the privacy issue with FDCC but, I disagree that it would save on the 800# charges. If we knew the whole story they would be paying 3 or 4 more weekly salaries to handle the questions.

As far as the accuracy of either, bear in mind that some units DHing from one express center to another may check in and out of the express centers they go through along the way.

Best bet? Call your CC.

layoutshooter · Sep 19, 2006

RE: Hey FedEx Drivers - CLink vs. VRUFDCC,

I have been with FedEx for over a year and have never been able to connect to the extranet. I was told that it was for owners only, not just us drivers. True or false? Layoutshooter

targuard86 · Sep 19, 2006

RE: Hey FedEx Drivers - CLink vs. VRUFDCC,

thats correct.. Owners only unless they give your their security # and PIN.

layoutshooter · Sep 19, 2006

RE: Hey FedEx Drivers - CLink vs. VRUFDCC,

Guess us drivers are just second class citisens. Seems to me there should be limited access for things we need to know/learn or could use. Layoutshooter

pelicn · Sep 20, 2006

RE: Hey FedEx Drivers - CLink vs. VRUFDCC,

I agree!
We are just "DRIVERS" and it's irritating as heck to have to ask the "owner" for simple things like order us shirts!

EagerBeaver · Sep 20, 2006

I wonder why FedEx does not allow drivers (only owners)to hear their acceptance rate over the vru, if we are suppose to maintain a certain level of acceptance then why keep it a secret. This is why i do not worry about my acceptance rate.
And yes I have noticed the clink and vru never jive, even after the clink updates on the 3rd hour it still may not match the vru, even when there has been no more activity. You would think that it would catch up, but dont count on it.

RichM · Sep 20, 2006

YOu have to understand that the Owner has the contract with Fedex and his/her drivers are his Employees or Sub Contractors. The driver relationship is with the owner not with the company that the owner is leased to. If Fedex decides your acceptance rate is not acceptable to them they will contact the owner and not you.
There is nothing personal about this policy but a lot has to do with IRS rules as too Independent Contractor vs Employee.

Lets say you were employed by a plumbing company.This company received a contract to install plumbing in a new building. Now the owner of the plumbing company is off site trying to get you additional work when this project is finished. So should you approach the overall builder and ask him about the quality of your work? The answer is no as he doesn't know you exist. If you do a good job or a bad job the builder tells the plumbing owner about it and if he feels like it he passes the comments on.

EagerBeaver · Sep 20, 2006

But then why allow us to see availability perentage, they want us to know when to come in to service but would rather keep us blind to acceptance percentage (unless you keep track). I figure its so we play it safe and accept more of what they offer. I may be a subcontractor but i am qualified through the carrier and not the truck owner.

terryandrene · Sep 21, 2006

EB:

Your beef should be with your truck owner, not FedEx Custom Critical.

You were hired by the owner. You are paid by the owner. You drive the owners truck. Your only relationship with the carrier is that they agreed to allow you to be the agent of the truck owner for the purpose of accepting run offers and delivering freight for the carrier's customers. You have access to the Voice Response Unit, VRU, in a limited capacity so you can communicate with dispatch and obtain info on express centers about which you might be interested. Anything else you need can be obtained from your owner, if the owner wants you to have it.

layoutshooter · Sep 21, 2006

The more information that a driver has the better that driver will be. There is information on the extranet that a driver has no need to know but there are things there that we do need. There should be a driver only section on it. A place where FedEx could pass on info..
We could order shirts etc. It would have nothing to do with employee/employer things. The more you use information technology the better things are. Fewer rumors, less bi...ching. As a former manager I know the importance of giving my people as much information as I can. it just makes sense. I have a great relationship with my owner but because this is a coast to coast thing I cna't always call him to check on every little thing that we hear about. It has been proven time in and time out that the mushroom mode of management always fails. Layoutshooter

Coco · Sep 22, 2006

Back to the VRU/Clink issue. The VRU is loads dispatched and the CLink is trucks dispatched. If a D Unit takes a C load, the CLink will show a D unit dispatched and the VRU will show a C unit dispatched. At one time the VRU used to tell loads dispatched and units dispatched but that was changed because they felt like it caused more confusion. Personally, I liked the old way.

But what does it really matter? Closest truck gets the load.