RE: RE%3A US Customs Raises Rates
Having crossed the Canada/U.S. border several times, laden and unladen both ways, and at various crossing locations, we have never once had a problem with a U.S. or Canadian officer. We believe that is due to our professionalism and preparation as we approch the border. In other words, we are cooperative and act in ways that put the officers at ease. Such practices include:
1. Both co-drivers in the front seats when you approach the check booths.
2. If it is night time, turn on the cab interior lights so the officer can see you both.
3. Keep your hands where the officer can see them.
4. Do not offer any information the officer is not asking for.
5. If the officer does not speak when you arrive at his or her window, say, "What can I do for you?"
6. If you are wearing sunglasses, remove them before the officer may ask you to.
7. Have the required paperwork handy, on the dash or in your co-driver's hands.
8. Make sure the paperwork is in good order well before you reach the border.
9. If the officer makes off the cuff comments or gives you attitude, do not respond in kind. Answer the questions you are asked. Stay professional. Speak only about the business at hand.
10. Present passports as your ID, not a CDL. While a CDL will work, the officers seem to trust passports more. Some of them have scanners for passports.
11. Maintain a clean appearance and cab interior.
12. When you stop at the booth, turn off your engine and do not set your air brakes. Air brakes irritate the officers because they hurt their ears. Keep your foot on the brake instead.
In other words, give 'em what they want, and nothing more. Or don't and enjoy your stay at the border and visit with the nice people inside. I do not dispute that some of the U.S. officers are jerks of the first order. So what? Our purpose is to get across the border, not to prove a point while we are there.
We have had problems with paperwork and brokers when crossing the border. When they unfold, those problems and delays (sometimes overnight) lead us to us question our willingness to haul freight in and out of Canada.
With domestic freight, we are pretty much in charge of the load and paperwork. With international freight, third parties are involved and the shippers and brokers do not always know what they are doing; or they do it poorly. No matter how careful we try to be to preempt them, other people's mistakes happen and they have a funny way of bringing our truck to a halt.
We HATE it when we are parked at a border crossing overnight and either staying awake the whole night waiting for a broker to get a clue, or waking up every few hours to a phone call from dispatch or a broker wondering what is going on. Fortunately, that does not happen often enough for us to rule Canada out alltogether, but we have come close a couple of times.
Now, for the really good news.
Our carrier, FedEx Custom Critical, recently changed its border crossing procedures. Calls to brokers are no longer made by drivers. Dispatch is taking the responsibility for such calls, and to review all documents ahead of time.
That really is good news. Before, we would have to wait for a paperwork problem to deveolp at the border and then notify dispatch. Dispatch would then get to work to fix it. Now, dispatch will have everything they need ahead of time to prevent problems from happening in the first place. No more broker calls! No more getting transferred from one office to another because the first one we talked to is now closed. That is all on dispatch now.
In our case, we cross the U.S./Canada border a few times a year. Procedures change, and it is a challenge to stay on top of them. Dispatch deals with numerous border crossings every day. They know the procedures much better than us. I am very pleased that FedEx Custom Critical dispatch is doing more to improve driver border crossing experiences.
Now, if they would send us to Los Angeles, that would be just right.
) I am rarely asked for the Customs fee. When empty, a cargo van isn't even a commercial vehicle, though I've never argued that point with a Customs Booth officer. Figured the five bucks was well worth the hassle that they could have put me through. 
