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ABF | New handhelds

Other than the fact that I get the message: "Unfortunately, city has stopped" at least three times a day......( and at least once when a customer goes to sign,..,.)

And,.........The format changes occasionally, and you've got to figure out how to work the changes out on the street.....

And.......The touch screen is extremely sensitive when you don't want it to be, and yet sometimes you are hammering away with that little stylus like a woodpecker, just trying to make anything happen.. .

And..Now I get calls on the company phone telling me I've won a valuable prize, just enter my credit card number for shipping/handling,....... or I've been selected for a free vacation at a timeshare......

Other than those things, I guess they're O.K.......
 
vongrimmenstein said:
Can you take pictures of damaged freight or equipment with the new handhelds?
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Yes, von. In fact, the camera (and resulting pictures) is about the only 'positive' that I can give on these new contraptions. canary is correct...they crash several times per day. For some reason, mine crashes more in the afternoon. And he's also correct about 'jackhammering' the stylus to get it to work sometimes.

To summarize, they're slick-looking, but I'm not sold on them.
 
You are not alone. XPO/Con-way is on our second generation of handhelds. They crash. Repeatedly.

Slick looking though. Whatever company that develops non-crashing , common sense software will DOMINATE this industry.
 
icuicp said:
You are not alone. XPO/Con-way is on our second generation of handhelds. They crash. Repeatedly.

Slick looking though. Whatever company that develops non-crashing , common sense software will DOMINATE this industry.
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I love OD's handheld system. The only time it caused problems was when they first installed the signature capture portion to eliminate DRs. Otherwise it's a very user-friendly platform. I could operate it first day with no problem.
 
Songremainsthesame said:
I love OD's handheld system. The only time it caused problems was when they first installed the signature capture portion to eliminate DRs. Otherwise it's a very user-friendly platform. I could operate it first day with no problem.
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God! Don't say something positive about handhelds!!! Everyone will hate you in a few weeks when the IT people get the bugs out, and they work fine....
 
What kills me is all of the money pissed away on them with the flaws that they have. AT&T just resurrected a ton of used phone numbers for these things because the calls I get from all over the country are insane. The City Driver app is pathetic... As mentioned, it crashes constantly and I too have had it happen when the customer is ready to sign.

Way to **** away thousands on unreliable technology but we can't add more drivers on and provide bad service because of it. I don't mind the 50-60 hour weeks... I am a driver, not a banker... But dammit, put enough drivers on to take care of your customers or another carrier will.
 
LS1GTO said:
What kills me is all of the money pissed away on them with the flaws that they have. AT&T just resurrected a ton of used phone numbers for these things because the calls I get from all over the country are insane. The City Driver app is pathetic... As mentioned, it crashes constantly and I too have had it happen when the customer is ready to sign.

Way to **** away thousands on unreliable technology but we can't add more drivers on and provide bad service because of it. I don't mind the 50-60 hour weeks... I am a driver, not a banker... But dammit, put enough drivers on to take care of your customers or another carrier will.
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You said it all, LS. We are so understaffed it's pitiful. And here we are, going into peak season, and we have nary a person coming on board. I personally don't give a crap if I miss deliveries OR pickups anymore. There's only so much I can do. Add to that the required 30-minute break (usually taken towards the end of my day) and, whaduya know...it's now 5 o'clock and everything is closed, and I even missed a few of those Amazon Threshold delivery windows. Damn (NOT!).
 
Trucker 206 said:
I personally don't give a crap if I miss deliveries OR pickups anymore.
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It is not our job to give a crap, it our job to show up on time and do our jobs to the full extent that they are paying us for, nothing more, nothing less. That attitude is good for our health. And I will not give any more than I feel they are paying for, I don't have to. I give a fair day's work for the pay I get and if they want more it could be available...well...not any more, they've ruined that for themselves.
 
ABFer said:
It is not our job to give a crap, it our job to show up on time and do our jobs to the full extent that they are paying us for, nothing more, nothing less. That attitude is good for our health. And I will not give any more than I feel they are paying for, I don't have to. I give a fair day's work for the pay I get and if they want more it could be available...well...not any more, they've ruined that for themselves.
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'The Skill & The Will'. I have the skill, not the will.
 
ABFer said:
It is not our job to give a crap, it our job to show up on time and do our jobs to the full extent that they are paying us for, nothing more, nothing less. That attitude is good for our health. And I will not give any more than I feel they are paying for, I don't have to. I give a fair day's work for the pay I get and if they want more it could be available...well...not any more, they've ruined that for themselves.
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Over at Holland I have the exact same attitude, I do my job but often I get to a point where I could do something or say something or change something or maybe just share an idea and when I get my full wages I will go that extra mile. But until that time if it ever comes I do my job and not even a little bit more....sometimes I even smile a little inside when I see something that is going to really screw up a shipment or something and I just walk away thinking for fifteen percent I would have fixed that problem.
 
Trucker 206 said:
You said it all, LS. We are so understaffed it's pitiful. And here we are, going into peak season, and we have nary a person coming on board. I personally don't give a crap if I miss deliveries OR pickups anymore. There's only so much I can do. Add to that the required 30-minute break (usually taken towards the end of my day) and, whaduya know...it's now 5 o'clock and everything is closed, and I even missed a few of those Amazon Threshold delivery windows. Damn (NOT!).
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I'm to that point too. I am the low man so I start at 10 and I usually have the Amazon appts/sort and seg/ whatever other ::shit:: deliveries there are. I also have to load outbound when I get back so if I get back late, out utility guys are leaving late. We have missed our share of pickups and brought back deliveries but hey, how much is really expected of us each day? Apparently everything if they won't hire casuals. Of course, who would want to do this job with the cut vacation time and "the hands on" freight we deliver. Feels like the same revolving door each year.
 
the5tolls said:
Over at Holland I have the exact same attitude, I do my job but often I get to a point where I could do something or say something or change something or maybe just share an idea and when I get my full wages I will go that extra mile. But until that time if it ever comes I do my job and not even a little bit more....sometimes I even smile a little inside when I see something that is going to really screw up a shipment or something and I just walk away thinking for fifteen percent I would have fixed that problem.
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Exactly what I did my last 8 years @ ABF. Our entire barn could have had a serious effect on the Operating Ratio, but a large majority chose not to say a thing. Not so much for the 15% give back but for the total disrespect for the rank & file doing the job that makes the company a viable company. Our idea's were not as good as the ones from management. The number of times a driver told dispatch that a delivery or pick up point had already closed for the day & dispatch said go check it anyway is in the thousands. Then when you get there they tell you to go back to what you were doing, but now you can't make the pick up window. Time after time we would see simple mistakes made over & over again costing ABF a lot of money. Corporate would come in for a week sometimes 2 help get things organized, change the way some things were being done, and 4 weeks later back to the same old same old. It doesn't matter what the name is on the side of the door. A lot of LTL companies don't listen to or disrespect us in the work place. The PRIME reason for not going the extra mile or speaking up. And it costs these companies a lot of lost profit by having the attitude of 'My way or the highway'. von.
 
vongrimmenstein said:
Exactly what I did my last 8 years @ ABF. Our entire barn could have had a serious effect on the Operating Ratio, but a large majority chose not to say a thing. Not so much for the 15% give back but for the total disrespect for the rank & file doing the job that makes the company a viable company. Our idea's were not as good as the ones from management. The number of times a driver told dispatch that a delivery or pick up point had already closed for the day & dispatch said go check it anyway is in the thousands. Then when you get there they tell you to go back to what you were doing, but now you can't make the pick up window. Time after time we would see simple mistakes made over & over again costing ABF a lot of money. Corporate would come in for a week sometimes 2 help get things organized, change the way some things were being done, and 4 weeks later back to the same old same old. It doesn't matter what the name is on the side of the door. A lot of LTL companies don't listen to or disrespect us in the work place. The PRIME reason for not going the extra mile or speaking up. And it costs these companies a lot of lost profit by having the attitude of 'My way or the highway'. von.
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Totally agree, von. This company works us to death! I've gone into 'low gear' over the last couple of years. I just do...not...care...anymore. Not the healthiest of attitudes to have, but like you say we keep suggesting things and offering ideas WITH SOLUTIONS but it's just business as usual. I'll be damned if I'm gonna drive 15 miles to a pickup knowing full well they're gonna be closed by the time I get there, so I use my cell phone to call ahead. If they say they'll wait, then I'll go. If not, see ya tomorrow...or Monday. 'En route, arrive, consignee closed, depart'. You know the drill.
 
Trucker 206 said:
Totally agree, von. This company works us to death! I've gone into 'low gear' over the last couple of years. I just do...not...care...anymore. Not the healthiest of attitudes to have, but like you say we keep suggesting things and offering ideas WITH SOLUTIONS but it's just business as usual. I'll be damned if I'm gonna drive 15 miles to a pickup knowing full well they're gonna be closed by the time I get there, so I use my cell phone to call ahead. If they say they'll wait, then I'll go. If not, see ya tomorrow...or Monday. 'En route, arrive, consignee closed, depart'. You know the drill.
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As a follow up, I started in OCT of 1998 & the TM & OM @ the time had been there for @ least 15 years & knew how the business worked & managed it accordingly. When they left & the NEW BREED came in none of them had ever done P & D in the city or ran the road. No practical experience = a higher OR. And then you add in the new breed telling the dock & drivers with 10 times the work experience in this field their way is the best way, you end up with the old breed's new attitude. Show up do the job & clock out. No extras for the company, they took away not the skill but the will to help the company profit. Does that make sense? von.
 
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