SandyLong
Active Expediter
I have been given an assignment to do an article on expediter loads from hell. Any of you have a good story about a load from hell you have done? Please email it me at [email protected]. Thanks.
Loads from hell
- Thread starter SandyLong
- Start date
In our years of Expediting we have had a couple of these at least but as soon as they are over we forget them.
The most recent was this year with a load going a little over 500 miles that took over 30 hours to deliver.
First we had snow that slowed us down
Second was the ice in Arkansas and the interstate was at a stand still
Third was having to idle as we would creep forward a inch every few minutes
Fourth was the truck then decided it needed a regen and we had never done a parked regen
Fifth after going through several warning lights about the regen and the traffic moving about ten miles an hour finally got off of interstate to perform regen and had several trucks follow us as they thought we knew what we were doing
Sixth truck stops in the middle of the road and says perform the regen now....
Seventh upset drivers behind us as they waited for regen to complete which took about 13 minutes
Eighth finally get to delivery and they refuse load till next day
That is the short version of what all happened on that load.... more details will not be furnished.
The most recent was this year with a load going a little over 500 miles that took over 30 hours to deliver.
First we had snow that slowed us down
Second was the ice in Arkansas and the interstate was at a stand still
Third was having to idle as we would creep forward a inch every few minutes
Fourth was the truck then decided it needed a regen and we had never done a parked regen
Fifth after going through several warning lights about the regen and the traffic moving about ten miles an hour finally got off of interstate to perform regen and had several trucks follow us as they thought we knew what we were doing
Sixth truck stops in the middle of the road and says perform the regen now....
Seventh upset drivers behind us as they waited for regen to complete which took about 13 minutes
Eighth finally get to delivery and they refuse load till next day
That is the short version of what all happened on that load.... more details will not be furnished.
Wow! I never thought I would read something like this happening to you guys of all people.
It seems funny that you would think that... We do not lead a charmed life and we get our fair share of bad loads, bad roads, bad customers, bad weather, and bad days. The key is how do you handle bad situations that are beyond your control.
CharlesD
Expert Expediter
What kind of freight exactly comes out of hell? I've always heard of people going there but I've yet to encounter any of them shipping anything out. I wonder if their shipping department is a union shop. I'd sure as hell hate to be detained there because of some forklift driver taking lunch.
But, but, but . . . You guys are always so calm, collected, and seamingly always have everything under control. Also always have GREAT information in your blogs (which I always read).
P.S. Just having some fun with you.
Edit: And even have a truck stop named for you -
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CharlesD
Expert Expediter
Hamilton, OH to Cahokia, IL a few years ago. Light freight, some wooden panels going to Midcoast Aviation there, should have been an easy 350 mile run. It picked up at 4:00 pm and had to deliver the next morning at 10:00 am. I picked it up and a huge midwest wide snowstorm hit, must have dumped a couple feet of snow fast and nobody was clearing the roads either. It took me 12 1/2 hours to get there. Once I got to Indy, it was a solid blanket of snow on the highways and I went across I-70 plodding along at around 20-25 mph. I still made the delivery early. I had another similar one going from Salt Lake to Laredo once. Huge snow storm that I didn't get out of until somewhere in New Mexico.
Many expediters have load-from-hell stories to tell. The interesting thing about these stories is that the expediters don't give themselves enough credit.
It would not be a load from hell if the expediter was willing to abandon the load, stop caring about customer service, forget about doing a good job to preserve the value of the motor carrier brand, etc. With a driver who is not conscientious, the load-from-hell issues would go away if the driver thought only about him or her self.
But when things go bad on a load, most expediters stick with it. The loads become loads from hell because the expediters don't quit. They focus on doing the right thing for their customer and carrier.
If it's a load from hell, it's partly because the driver is a saint.
It would not be a load from hell if the expediter was willing to abandon the load, stop caring about customer service, forget about doing a good job to preserve the value of the motor carrier brand, etc. With a driver who is not conscientious, the load-from-hell issues would go away if the driver thought only about him or her self.
But when things go bad on a load, most expediters stick with it. The loads become loads from hell because the expediters don't quit. They focus on doing the right thing for their customer and carrier.
If it's a load from hell, it's partly because the driver is a saint.
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pearlpro
Expert Expediter
I had one of these last summer, dispatched to a Detroit Diesel dealer in Birmingham AL to pickup "Engine Parts" when I arrive first thing in the morning as instructed I find NO ONE is there, and no one knows why Im there, Calls are made for a couple hours, all trying to find out what Im to be loaded with, and Where its going....Hours go by, Finally the ENTIRE DIESEL ENGINE comes rolling out of the engine shop, They were stalling for time because the engine wasnt reassembled or ready to ship, But someone had called to be sure the truck would be there 7 AM.....When I arrived at 7 am the place was closed...
They bring out this engine on a forklift thats HUGE, its a BIG engine it probably weighed 10,000 lbs...and its on a metal stand that looks like some kid built for a tree house...Its rusty and dirty and Im really worried its not good enough for a road trip...They proceed to weld some extra supports onto the stand, and SHOVE the engine into the back of my Straight truck, a few shoves and tugs and we get the Center of Balance good, and I proceed to Bolt it to the floor, strap it to the walls, put double Load Bars in front and in back and thats a good as its getting....
Then they cant find the paperwork, now its about 2 pm and there calling and faxing and calling and faxing and soon a very small Bill Of Lading is handed to me, something that rembles a packing slip. They cant reach the Consignee but Im to go ahead and head that way, theyll meet me there.
I arrive on the Premesise of a Very Large Steel Mill in the Memphis TN area, down along the river, Im looking for the name on the Packing slip/BOL....I drive back and forth looking at the number on the address, but nothing matching the delivery name or street etc...So I call, and I call, and dispatch calls, and the engine dealer calls, and we all call together.....FINALLY its the steel mill but the Consignee is a Construction Company, Slash Engine repair company.....
Onto the lot I go, Now I keep my truck spotless, I believe in the Image of my truck is the image people have of me, its clean, and chrome and CLEAN......Im following a guy on a Tractor who takes me down the most filthy, muddy, wet and dirty road Ive ever seen, three inches of slop as I traverse the mills lots towards the drop...Ive finally arrived and NO ONE IS THERE....
I call, and they call, and we call, and dispatch calls, and finally three guys in a pickup truck arrive to tell me Im supposed to be there TOMMORROW.....Ok well Im here now lets get it unloaded...and they proceed to attempt to get the HUGE BEHEMOTH of an engine out with a too small lift that nearly topples the engine, luckily it fell back into my truck to the delight of my airbags ...
A phone call is made and another larger lift is moved over, Now the ground is pure slop, and as soon as this Lift trys to move with the engines weight on it, hes stuck, so another tractor is attached and they pull together and out it comes....as it clears the rear of my truck the engine nearly falls over, and the operator trys to lower the Engine and Stand to the ground and boom the whole thing comes crashing to the ground behind my truck....
They liftd and pulled and used chains and trucks and lifts and barely got the engine over to a shed....by the time they were done it looked like Mud Wrasslin Sat nite Memphis style had come to town....They copied my BOL, gave me a faxed copy of delivery and Out I tried to go, eventually being dragged by the tractor that took me in.....
By the time I got to the truck wash in Memphis my rig looked like I had plowed the river bottom, I had black soot and dirt all over......All In a days work Right.....
They bring out this engine on a forklift thats HUGE, its a BIG engine it probably weighed 10,000 lbs...and its on a metal stand that looks like some kid built for a tree house...Its rusty and dirty and Im really worried its not good enough for a road trip...They proceed to weld some extra supports onto the stand, and SHOVE the engine into the back of my Straight truck, a few shoves and tugs and we get the Center of Balance good, and I proceed to Bolt it to the floor, strap it to the walls, put double Load Bars in front and in back and thats a good as its getting....
Then they cant find the paperwork, now its about 2 pm and there calling and faxing and calling and faxing and soon a very small Bill Of Lading is handed to me, something that rembles a packing slip. They cant reach the Consignee but Im to go ahead and head that way, theyll meet me there.
I arrive on the Premesise of a Very Large Steel Mill in the Memphis TN area, down along the river, Im looking for the name on the Packing slip/BOL....I drive back and forth looking at the number on the address, but nothing matching the delivery name or street etc...So I call, and I call, and dispatch calls, and the engine dealer calls, and we all call together.....FINALLY its the steel mill but the Consignee is a Construction Company, Slash Engine repair company.....
Onto the lot I go, Now I keep my truck spotless, I believe in the Image of my truck is the image people have of me, its clean, and chrome and CLEAN......Im following a guy on a Tractor who takes me down the most filthy, muddy, wet and dirty road Ive ever seen, three inches of slop as I traverse the mills lots towards the drop...Ive finally arrived and NO ONE IS THERE....
I call, and they call, and we call, and dispatch calls, and finally three guys in a pickup truck arrive to tell me Im supposed to be there TOMMORROW.....Ok well Im here now lets get it unloaded...and they proceed to attempt to get the HUGE BEHEMOTH of an engine out with a too small lift that nearly topples the engine, luckily it fell back into my truck to the delight of my airbags ...
A phone call is made and another larger lift is moved over, Now the ground is pure slop, and as soon as this Lift trys to move with the engines weight on it, hes stuck, so another tractor is attached and they pull together and out it comes....as it clears the rear of my truck the engine nearly falls over, and the operator trys to lower the Engine and Stand to the ground and boom the whole thing comes crashing to the ground behind my truck....
They liftd and pulled and used chains and trucks and lifts and barely got the engine over to a shed....by the time they were done it looked like Mud Wrasslin Sat nite Memphis style had come to town....They copied my BOL, gave me a faxed copy of delivery and Out I tried to go, eventually being dragged by the tractor that took me in.....
By the time I got to the truck wash in Memphis my rig looked like I had plowed the river bottom, I had black soot and dirt all over......All In a days work Right.....
rjthetightway
Seasoned Expediter
I'm on my load from hell as we speak. Arrived here at huntsman international to pick up find out it's hazardous which is fine as long as it's under a #1000 which it was so I get loaded and called it in and my company tells me I can't take it because it has a un #. So I go to the office to tell them and the place is locked up everyone is gone already now I'm stuck here in a locked hate that I can't get out of until 8 in the morning. Mind you I have nothing to drink or eat with me and I'm down to 3 cigs...