The FECC suggestion/complaint box

[interstategar]

If you want action on a suggestion or a complaint, I suggest writing directly to #2 Jason Fredricks. He responds back with either a letter or a phone call within 1 week of your issue in my experience. Just make sure its a worthwhile issue. I've never seen any negative consequences communication directly with management. Odds are they won't change what you want to change but there's no reason to fear them.

 

[TeamCaffee]

If you want action on a suggestion or a complaint, I suggest writing directly to #2 Jason Fredricks. He responds back with either a letter or a phone call within 1 week of your issue in my experience. Just make sure its a worthwhile issue. I've never seen any negative consequences communication directly with management. Odds are they won't change what you want to change but there's no reason to fear them.

What a great post! Take your problem or your suggestions to someone who can do something about it or who can explain what is going on. The more comments and suggestions management receive the better informed they are on what the fleet is having problems with or what the fleet likes.

Change happens slow in a corporation and none of these people drive a truck so we need to keep the doors of communication open.

 

[bubblehead]

What a great post! Take your problem or your suggestions to someone who can do something about it or who can explain what is going on. The more comments and suggestions management receive the better informed they are on what the fleet is having problems with or what the fleet likes.

Change happens slow in a corporation and none of these people drive a truck so we need to keep the doors of communication open.

Ditto! I have seen too many complaints about 'FEDEX' when its actually an employee acting out of the company's parameters or there is a 'glitch' in the system and management has no way of knowing unless you speak up/write up. Keep your complaints, comments and suggestions pointed and be able to support what you say. Keep it business and proffessional and state facts not feelings whenever possible. This adds credibility to your correspondence and helps all of us in the long run....Thanks TEAM for starting this forum.

 

[mcbride]

There are many issues when you accept an unconfirmed load that many don't realize a couple are listed below:

Your truck is not eligible for pre-dispatch because your truck is NOT confirmed for delivery.

You are not given detention pay if you get there at designated time and consignee is not open. This can be problematic if the company does not open until Monday and you are there on a Saturday.

In MY opinion, the issue of confirming a load is a discretionary tactic used by dispatch. If a truck is not confirmed, it will be overlooked for dispatch, therefore; other trucks enroute or in other areas can be dispatched for a load that would have been dispatched to your truck.

It is not without prior experience that I make such a statement....it should not take 48 hours to confirm a load. BUT, we have taken many loads running coast to coast that have NEVER been confirmed for delivery even though we have requested a confirmed delivery several times by calling or via the Quallcomm.

We have been dispatched on loads one or two days in advance when we have a confirmed delivery. We have called dispatch after refusing some loads informing them another truck we know of is going to be right on top of the pick up location and would love the load opportunity to come to them....but the load they were on was not confirmed....and they can't get it dispatched to them. (Per FedEx dispatch)

 

[interstategar]

As a B unit I have have gone out of service, and headed home but put in a note that I was available for any short enroute home. Right before I get back home that had a load and called me up and asked me what I considered to be a short load. Turns out they had a 300 mile load. Turns out I didn't specify I wanted a <75 mile load, but the fact that I was out of service and they called showed me that when they really needed my truck they called, so that proved to me they were willing to accomodate.

 

[Humble2drive]

My first suggestion of the new year!

Credit goes to Layoutshooter for this one

Dear FECC powers that be:

Please make a commitment to safety by implementing a program to identify important weather hazards involving road closings and other major delays then notify trucks in that region per c-link in a timely manner to allow drivers to seek safe haven or reroute.

This has been done by other Carriers (ex: CRST) so it can easily be modeled and it should pay for itself by fewer accidents and increased safe delivery of unharmed freight.

Thank you.

 

[layoutshooter]

My first suggestion of the new year!

Credit goes to Layoutshooter for this one

Dear FECC powers that be:

Please make a commitment to safety by implementing a program to identify important weather hazards involving road closings and other major delays then notify trucks in that region per c-link in a timely manner to allow drivers to seek safe haven or reroute.

This has been done by other Carriers (ex: CRST) so it can easily be modeled and it should pay for itself by fewer accidents and increased safe delivery of unharmed freight.

Thank you.

Thanks for the recognition and I agree with that suggestion. Maybe I would include pre-emptive re-routes if and when possbile.

 

[jjoerger]

It would be really nice if dispatch would stop sending out load opportunities at 0330 on a Saturday morning for a load that does not pick up until 1600 on Monday.
We stay in service and will gladly run a go now run at that time, but to be awakened for something like the above mentioned opportunity is ridiculous. It can also cause safety issues by interrupting a sleep period, especially with solo drivers.
Why not wait until say 0730 to send out that opp?

 

[jjoerger]

It would be really nice if dispatch would stop sending out load opportunities at 0330 on a Saturday morning for a load that does not pick up until 1600 on Monday.
We stay in service and will gladly run a go now run at that time, but to be awakened for something like the above mentioned opportunity is ridiculous. It can also cause safety issues by interrupting a sleep period, especially with solo drivers.
Why not wait until say 0730 to send out that opp?

About an hour after posting this I received a call from an employee of FedEx verifying that I was the poster and asking for additional information. (I had also left a message on the suggestion line) This employee agreed that this should not be happening and wanted to forward my post to someone higher up. We then proceeded to have a pleasant conversation about expediting in general and about EO in particular. We discussed how much great info is available on this site and ways to use it to continue to learn and share thoughts and ideas.
So, if you are ever wondering if anyone is paying attention to what we say in this thread the answer is yes.
EO works for me.

 

[TeamCaffee]

EO is read by many people who never post.

There are a lot of good ideas posted on EO and a lot of thought provoking ideas posted that are discussed behind the scenes. Some posts can cause changes to be made within the system, some posts show that clarification needs to be made to the fleet, and other posts show a common concern that needs to be addressed.

I know that when I read something that I did not know about or something that I want clarified I go to either my CC or CR and find out what is happening. This has greatly increased my understanding of how the system works or how the system is supposed to work. I find it much easier to be proactive instead of reactive.

 

[aileron]

It would be extremely nice for the dispatchers to know that solo cargo van drivers can only drive 700 miles and with a hazmat load only 550 miles, and don't offer these straight through loads to solos.

It happened to me on a few occasions and then I was being screamed at because I accepted a load that I couldn't do.

Not that I care about refusals, but I think we are dinged with one if we refuse a load that Mr. FedEx says we cannot do, even though a 711 miles is very doable.

 

[layoutshooter]

I would love to be able to "bank" less than 75's from time to time. I get a kick when a dispatcher gives us one as an added incentive to take a load when we are in an area where we are the only truck!! How funny!! Now, if we could put that in a "hold status" then, like when we go home or out of service or get into an area with 15 D and 11 C units we could pull that less than 75 out of the hold and use it where it may do some good.

 

[jjoerger]

Once again, we just finished two back to back loads and are laid over waiting to make a Monday delivery. Thinking that we will have the weekend to rest and get some non moving sleep we planned to sleep late on Saturday. Then at 0700, 0730, 0800dispatch is calling with a load opp that picks up on Monday at 1400. There goes our sleep. There needs to be someway we can do a do not disturb until a time we select. Going out of service was not an option as we are on a load.
Maybe the dispatcher that sends out these opps could give us there home phone number and times that they plan to sleep.

 

[Doggie Daddy]

Maybe the dispatcher that sends out these opps could give us there home phone number and times that they plan to sleep.

I like that idea !! But if it was SYS that sent it to ya, you would be calling a computer.

 

[ATeam]

Going out of service was not an option as we are on a load.

I think there is a way to be shown as out of service even though you are under load. I don't know exactly how it works or what it means but I know a dispatcher once threatened to put us out of service even though we were under load. In that case, we were turning down several good offers because we planned to go home after the delivery and the loads offered would have taken us the wrong direction.

Another time, when being inundated with sleep-interrupting offers we did not want to see, and while under load, we asked to be put out of service for that reason and we were. It was a long run and we put ourselves back back in service before the delivery so I don't know for sure how it affected us, if at all. The junk offers did stop but that may have been a coincidence.

Perhaps someone who knows more about this can explain it. I know you can be put out of service while under load but don't fully understand exactly what that means.

 

[layoutshooter]

I think there is a way to be shown as out of service even though you are under load. I don't know exactly how it works or what it means but I know a dispatcher once threatened to put us out of service even though we were under load. In that case, we were turning down several good offers because we planned to go home after the delivery and the loads offered would have taken us the wrong direction.

Another time, when being inundated with sleep-interrupting offers we did not want to see, and while under load, we asked to be put out of service for that reason and we were. It was a long run and we put ourselves back back in service before the delivery so I don't know for sure how it affected us, if at all. The junk offers did stop but that may have been a coincidence.

Perhaps someone who knows more about this can explain it. I know you can be put out of service while under load but don't fully understand exactly what that means.

We have gone out of service while under load, when we are headed for the house when it is done or when we have needed a repair. We just ask them to take us out. It has never been a problem.

 

[jjoerger]

We have gone out of service while under load, when we are headed for the house when it is done or when we have needed a repair. We just ask them to take us out. It has never been a problem.

Thanks. I didn't know you could do that. The next time we will go OOS.

 

[BigRed32771]

I've never gone OOS while under load, but I have been told by dispatchers and also Pat G (back when she was still here) that I could not go OOS while under dispatch, but before pickup, without giving up the load. I don't think the fact that I was asking the question in connection with my desire to have a beer with my TexMex dinner while waiting for a pickup the next day made the difference, but I suppose it could have been a factor.