Thank you FedEx!!!

[layoutshooter]

This is a thanks to our carrier. Carriers take a lot of bashing in here, sometimes deserved and sometimes not. They should be thanked when they do right.

We picked up a load in L.A. on 10-19 heading for Toronto. The paperwork was messed up but we were told to roll and it would be fixed before we got to the border. WELL, of course it was not. It was a weekend and no one at the shipper would would answer the phone.

AS luck would have it we had to pass right by our house in route so we stopped there to wait for the load to clear. Good thing we did, we did not deliver until 10-25. This caused us to lose a nice pre-dispached load leaving Toronto.

FedEx kept us informed on what was going on the entire time. The problem was with the shipper/brokers etc. We were called every few hours, except at night, with updates. Glad they let us sleep. They understood the hardship for us being tied up on this load was and told us they would do what they could to make it right.

It cleared and they did compensate us for holding a load in our "very expensive storage shed" for so long. They apologized to us for the hassles and thanked us for not exploding on them. (I did feel like it at times.) They even found us a good load out the same day.

We all complain when we are wronged by our carriers. We should try to put ourself's in thier jobs sometimes. They have to satisfy customers, owner/operators and fleet drivers and still have to earn a profit for FedEx. They don't always get it right, but then, who does?

Thank you FedEx. You did well this time.
Layoutshooter

 

[nightcreacher]

Great post,if there were more praise here than bashing,I think we would all be better off.

 

[layoutshooter]

Thank you,

I think that all sides of this business should be reflected fairly. Carriers will mess up. That should be posted. Helps to keep them honest and others in here learn what to look out for. On the flip side, they should be recognized when they do well. We all like a little thanks when we go out of our way on the job. Layoutshooter

 

[TeamCaffee]

We also had a load go really bad coming out of Canada and the way it happened we knew the customer caused the problem. We were to the point of looking at getting our citizenship for awhile! FedEx Custom Critical was fantastic in this situation and kept us updated on what was happening and we where also compensated very fairly for what we went through and also thanking for having patience. We knew from the way the load happened it was a series of unfortunate things and it all just had to be worked through. We where just glad we had so many at FedEx Custom Critical on our side getting this mess fixed and we could just sit back and enjoy the detention time while watching a movie! Gosh we love our job!

We spent some time with a big truck company where you get zero respect from a dispatcher and you are less then a number. We where so shocked and to this day still stay amazed at how great we are treated by the dispatchers who you know deal with some pretty unmanageable drivers daily. The dispatchers have a really rough job and we sure have a lot of respect for them and their daily trials. We have the best job by driving the truck and seeing the country and not some cubicle!

So you are right Layoutshooter and a great big Thank You goes out to our dispatchers that put up with all of our little idiosyncrasies!

 

[ATeam]

Border crossings can be a major pain in the _ _ _ sometimes. I would not want to do them without the competency FedEx Custom Critical backs us up with. It's a pain to be stuck on one side of the border. It would be an even bigger pain if we did not have FedEx Custom Critical dispatch to call.

 

[layoutshooter]

I am soooo glad to see that we are not the only ones who enjoy the overall competence of our carrier. Any other great stories from other carriers? I bet that FedEx is not the only one with good people. Come one guys, let's hear it, no bashing. Let's give those good people thier due. Bashing ALWAYS gets lots of responses. Let's see if we can do the same for a little praise. Layoutshooter

 

[ATeam]

Be careful, layoutshooter. You are going to give some folks the bends.

 

[layoutshooter]

Yea, I guess I might. I need to do this slowly. Layoutshooter

 

[Paul56]

At the risk of someone suggesting I am being negative...

It sounds to me that those involved were just doing what they should have been doing by keeping you well informed and getting you a load out. This certainly deserves a word or two of appreciation directly to the folks involved.

What is the alternative? Letting you sit & stew until the last minute which is not a good plan. In this case would they being doing their jobs? ...a very definite NO. In fact, doing anything other than what you described would have been not doing their jobs in my opinion.

Crossing the border is just that, crossing the border and another part of the job. We approach the situation the same each time by having our "ducks" all lined up and have a no-nonsense professional attitude with all those we encounter during the process.

 

[witchywoman07]

We are new kids here in the sandbox. Picked up Saturday 10/27 in Minnesota with 10/28 7 a.m. appt. in Memphis. Got here around 2:30 am. After my husband bumped the dock he checked the door and found the receiving hours posted M-F 6 am to 1 am and Sat 7 am to 1pm with no Sunday hours. We called VRU, they told us that the appt. was confirmed and not to worry. Hubby got up for our 7 am delivery, I overheard part of the conversation and got up. Hubby said he saw someone arrive around 6:30 am Eastern and figured they were here to unload us. The man came to the truck and asked my husband to pull out from the dock and that we would be unloaded Monday morning. My husband told him that our appt. had been confirmed and they were expecting us. The man then stated he was the receiving supervisor and that he was only there to do paperwork from Saturday and that he wouldn't unload us. Hubby got the guy's name and number and we called dispatch and explained what was going on. Dispatch got right on it, they contacted the receiver's company who contacted this guy. The guy flat out refused to unload us. Dispatch advised them that there would be detention time charged because the company had assured FCC that we would be unloaded. They guy said basically "so what". The receiver's company rep that dispatch had been speaking with agreed to the detention time. So here we sit in Memphis, being paid 20 hours of detention while hubby is sleeping with Nascar on and I'm telling our tale online.

 

[mrgoodtude]

I have said it before and will say it again...
If not for the Fed I wouldn't do this anymore.
No I am not bashing anyone but I came from truckload and it blows hamsters..
I go places and see things I can tell my grandbuddies about and have pics to prove it.
Things and places I don't believe many get to experience and at the end of the day I am paid and paid well.
I don't make as much as some nor am I a favorite at the Greene unit but I enjoy all I do and that is enough for me.
I spent the weekend in San Francisco and am preparing for a run to Seattle without even blinking an eye cause I already made my weekly revenue...
Loved the Con but love the Fed even more,
Cause they are better?
Can't tell you for sure but they are a good fit for us..
Best advice for anyone getting in for the 1st time is to write down your expectations for your new endeavor (after of course doing thorough research) and give your carrier a report card after 2 mos.
If after 3 carriers you are not happy maybe expedite is not for you (took me 6 mos to adjust).
Either way I wish you success.
Mike

 

[layoutshooter]

They do what they can Witchy, *D* time is a help, would be nice if it were more but they must compete with other carriers. How new are you? Are you enjoying your time? Welcome to the club. Have any problems just bring them up in here. Most likely will be someone to help. Layoutshooter