Nope. You are wrong Phil. I didn't misunderstand anything.
No, I am not wrong. I said PERHAPS you misunderstood, not that you DID misunderstand. The list of approved carriers changes. PERHAPS that is the reason we both got right answers from carriers. You are calling from outside, I am calling from inside. PERHAPS that explains different information. Policies change, lists change, inside peoples' understandings of how the program works change. PERHAPS any of those MIGHT explain the differences in information we share.
I knew you would probably light up when I put up a post about booking outside freight. For that reason, I chose my words very carefully and offered a factual report of how the program worked for me the one time it was tried. I was happy to see others offer positive reports on how the program worked for them too.
I know you take great pride in your ability to get outside freight. You also appear to be especially motivated to do it when FedEx'ers call you for assistance. Knock yourself out. You are not doing anything special or anything anyone else with the desire to do could not do. Most of us don't bother because the bother is not worth the effort.
two weeks ago I tried to book a load for a EO member and was told they couldn't haul it because the load was from a competitor. Two weeks ago Phil.
Be careful about generalizing from one experience to absolute truths. As I said above, lists change. Policies change. Inside peoples' understanding of how the program works also change. When a change occurs, whether it is in a two week period, or a day or in the person's mind you happen to be talking to, it is a change. Do not take something that used to happen as a carved-in-stone truth that it will always happen. [/quote]
Don't pull that fawn and bunny mess on me. I am simply stating my experience. RECENT experience.
Now there is a helpful statement to readers, "fawn and bunny mess." I have absolutely no idea what you mean by that and I doubt others know either. How about sticking to the topic?
Bottom line is there are restrictions in that program. I clearly stated that someone there could explain their restrictions. I am only commenting on ones I experienced as one trying to book a load for one of their drivers. That is confirmed already in this thread by someone with YOUR carrier that indicated I was 100 percent correct. The load from two weeks ago was a load for another EO member other than Bruno.
Of course there are restrictions in the program. I don't see anyone in this thread saying there are not. I talked about restrictions in my post, remember? Go back and read what I wrote. You will see.
Let's try to talk about this in a way that actually helps readers. I started this thread with the question, "How do you get home?" I did so in hopes of helping new people learn the answers different expediters from different carriers offered up. A few people offered good information, I thought.
Later, I shared my personal experience in using our carrier's Home Run program, including the downsides that I experienced (low paying load, inability to double up, not finding a load the first day I started looking, the fact that it takes time and effort to find outside freight, the fact that you have to talk to shippers and consignees yourself instead of relying on dispatch to do it for you.) On the positive side, the program worked exactly as designed. It helped us get home under load instead of deadheading empty the whole way.
That was my experience, as recently as a few days ago. And it was factually and objectively reported.
I don't have the ax to grind that you seem to have. Nor do I have the ability to get outside freight like you have developed. I learned this much from my one-time use of the program. If I wanted to develop outside freight getting ability, it would not take long to do so.
There is nothing special or unique about doing it. Thousands of truck drivers do it every day. It just takes a little time and effort to make it work.
Again, different strokes for different folks. If you feel the need to get outside freight, the smart thing to do is go somewhere where the policies and procedures make it easy to get outside freight. FedEx Custom Critical is no such place, and I know of no one in the Open Forum who has ever suggested it is.
I do know that if Diane and I found ourselves developing outside freight getting skills and using them on a regular basis, we would not consider that a sign of strength. We would consider it a sign of weakness. If our carrier cannot keep us loaded and profitable, such that we need to use outside freight to make things work, it would be a clear sign that we are in the wrong place using the wrong system.
Using the FedEx Custom Critical Home Run program as it was designed worked well for us, and according to reports, has worked well for others too. I trust readers will see that we did not try to make it into a square peg and force it into a round hole.
