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Have you ever had to tell a customer they are out of line?

MikeJ

MikeJ

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Today I got in trouble at one of my stops, yesterday I had a couple stupid delays and today my patience was a tad thin and I had a stop that I hit later in the day usually I hit them first, but they didn't appear to be there early today when I was there so I said forget this you get last and booked it. Any how I got there later in the day that in it's self wasn't a problem. However I couldn't get in through the back door and loaded up my wheeler and walked it through the front to get my self into the back. Technically that wasn't right and the owner of the bar said in a very ugly tone "Deliveries go through the back door please." At least he said please. I mean whatever they'll live. There wasn't anyone in the bar at the time anyhow. It wasn't the greatest thing of me to, do, but ehh what ever. This place is one of my regulars, but they have a dumb system for taking in deliveries though and while there one of my regulars they are always busy changing managers like people change socks, so everything is always up in the air.


Anyhow though today I saw something and it didn't happen to me, but it happened to someone else, but it really bothered me more or less. I was at one of my disorganized stupid stops and a man working for a seafood company rolled a delivery through the front of the restaurant. The place wasn't open nothing like that and he didn't even know where to go. One of the employees of the restaurant let him do it they let him in and said it was okay.

Any how the queen bee of the restaurant sees this guy and goes off on him like a machine gun, he himself didn't know any better he really didn't, she starts scream at him totally uncalled for and totally out of line. The employee who let him in piped up and said "I let him in it was my fault." She's way out of wack and way out of line.

Really that was one of the time and this poor guy took it like a trooper, but I tell you what if I was in the Union like the Budweiser drivers are in Cleveland and knew that I had 3 write ups in a year and had 3 to go with it being mid November, I would have chanced using one of those write ups, you get 3. I would have said to this woman very quietly and very sternly

"Look here, I'm sorry I did not know, better, however, nothing absolutely nothing gives you the right to talk to me like that. You don't know me from a hole in the wall and I would never scream and yell at you, but you asked for it so now you are going to get it. Do you understand me? You might be the boss here, but you are not my boss and I do not work for you got it? Go ahead call my supervisor when I leave it doesn't matter I get three write ups a year and I'm willing to waste one of them here. I'm not some child and I'm not one of your employees that you can just yell at like that, I'm a grown man your going to treat me like one do we have an understanding ?"

Further more, this place is owned by a bunch of Catholics like myself. Well I'll tell you one thing about me, I don't claim to be some great person far from it, I'm full of all kinds of sin and faults, but I try I really do all year round I try to do the right thing and treat everyone with respect, do I fall short of course I do, I always fall short, but I don't play the game of act like Attila the Hun all year round and then when lent comes pretend to give something up for 40 days, that's all bogus to me. The reason I bring this up because this woman going off like a machine gun at this poor guy is the same woman who will pray the rosary everyday during lent, but not even bother to look at you when your there standing right in front of her waiting to get paid. That behavior there drives the Budweiser driver crazy, me I'm of the belief look God already sees and knows, end of discussion. I mean your praying the rosary at work yet ignoring this poor guy flat out being rude like I said I don't know that doesn't seem right to me I mean pray the rosary all you want, but Gods already taken your inventory.

To me it's either, you trying to live it the best you can or you are not, but hey at least if you try that's better then not trying. I mean we all run out of patience now and then, everyone does and I did this week now what I did wasn't really an affront to anyone, but you know try to meet me half way and I'll try to meet you half way. Instead of you people doing nothing and me having to do everything (Welcome to trucking)

Further more this poor fish delivery guy I felt really bad for him, he handled it well, all the restaurant employees had to say was,
Hey man there's a door back there I'll show you and you can just bring it right up through the door back there. That's all they had to do. He would have said Okay thank you for letting me know that.

The guy delivering the fish wasn't some schlub I could tell, he had his shirt perfectly tucked in and had on a high visibility vest the fit prefect and was driving one of those little Isuzu Box trucks you know the small little ones with the litter refer unit that almost looks like a little fan.

This poor guy I felt bad for him he didn't deserve that.
 
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We have all had run ins with customers, I have told some of them I would dial their phone for them when they threatened to call the company. The worst confrontation, was with a mexican owner in Ft. Smith AR, I broke a vase, long story short he followed me downstairs and got in my face, I kept telling him to walk away, to be honest I almost hit him, I had 2 little kids that I thought about right before I swung, the salesman, his boss and his boss came and interviewed the owner and the employees by themselves evidently the employees liked me because they said I did nothing wrong, only defended myself against possible aggression. Funny thing is his employees were scared of him, I guess he thought he could intimidate me like he did his employees. I have had customers yell at me, I usually step toward them and ask them if they are ok. That will put them off guard, then I ask if there is anything I can do to make their experience with Sysco better, they usually calm down after that, if they don't I walk out, shut my doors and drive away and call a supervisor.

When I was with Daylight Donuts a customer did that to me, balled up his fists, I dumped his flour off the wheeler in the middle of the dining room, shut my side doors and drove away, I refused to go back, the owner back then sent him a letter letting him know that won't be tolerated and they would pull his license, she cc'd a copy to me, that was back in the day though, that don't happen anymore.
 
I think as a JB Hunt driver for Day Light Dounuts your pretty much screwed all the way around, no if's and or's or buts about it. JB wants to keep the account Day Light just wants cheap cheap cheap at that point in time everyone is expendable.
 
Yep, the present owner is a greedy fellow, in fact I could tell you about some real shady stuff, but this isn't the place to grind an axe, however, he ruined one of the best private trucking jobs around by letting JB take over, some of the guys stayed but not for long, my friend and mentor Charlie died with his son in an accident before that transaction took place, I still miss Charlie but I'm glad he didn't live to see that happen.
 
I honestly never really had a customer yell at me. I did get kicked out of a restaurant for calling the owner a ***** lol. But she didn't hear me, her cook heard me say it under my breath. She wanted me to take the canned goods down the stairs. I told her no there unsafe and I'm instructed not to. The cook called the owner I got my butt reamed for not doing it. I hung up said fing ***** and went took the canned goods down. I got back and got called into the office and I told my boss what happened and he said ok but you can't go back there again. I said sweet thanks.

When I worked at dawn foods I was filling in on the south dakota route. I was coming into the back door with a loaded wheeler of flour. The door caught the top bag of flour and ripped it open. Flour got all over the floor. I got my butt reamed for making a mess in his bakery then he told me I had to clean it up. He handed me the broom and said start cleaning. I was pissed. But I wasn't the only driver to have problems there.

Thanks for bringing back nightmares. ..
 
Every problem I ever had revolved around the customer owing the company money, And the company thinking a driver makes for a good bill collector,...

I was always polite, But sometimes the customers were well out of line,....Of course this was booze delivery and most of the problems stemmed from small taverns where the owners would drink all day,..

Now company policy said if a delivery was COD it could not be left without collecting, A driver could be fired for leaving without collecting,....

It was also against company policy to call the office even if there were real extenuating circumstances, like the customer had a death in the family and forgot to leave a check etc,.......The office said they didn't have time to deal with stuff like that,..

And company policy said all customer complaints went into a drivers file to build up to termination,......

So now you don't deliver per company policy and the customer calls to complain, A driver still gets dinged for the complaint,.....

Dear gawd I don't miss that at all!!!!
 
Yeah somehow same here they thing the drivers make good bill collectors. I said my next job will not be COD never again.
 
Anymore I figure if someone is so miserable that they feel the need to pick a fight with someone providing them a service they must have bigger problems than I do or just a crappy life to begin with. I just shrug it off now.

I really don't get it though. I've never ordered a pizza knowing I couldn't pay for it then swung the door open and cussed the driver out because he wanted money, and expected him to call his boss to get permission to leave it anyway...I've never called the UPS guy a stupid pos and refused to sign his thingamajig because I felt like I was too busy at the moment...I've never chased down the mail lady and yelled at her because I feel like I should get my mail before the dude across the street does. Some people just don't know how to act.
 
MikeJ said:
Yeah somehow same here they thing the drivers make good bill collectors. I said my next job will not be COD never again.
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Find your way into ltl,...........

It's rare that I ever need to collect money,...........

And when I do need to the office calls the customer to make sure a check will be ready or they don't send me,..........
 
I just applied this afternoon for a job working for the city where I live in the sewer department of all things. Set hours with over time, lower pay but 1.5 mile drive to work not a 40 mile drive to work. shouldn't be any CODs at all, I'd have to hear about the health and retirement plan, but generally those are the kind of jobs you stay at for the long haul. The place I work now isn't a long term gig. Most guys after a few years move on to something else. There's quite a few guys at Lipari Foods who used to work where I work. I'll tell you this much where I work isn't the worst it isn't. They have been very forgiving of my rookie mistakes.

Now that being said I've paid for those mistakes sometimes well in advance of when they happened, I wouldn't leave where I work now to go to another beer company I wouldn't do that. However I would leave them to go to work for the government.

A man said the post office was looking for tractor trailer drivers, well I didn't see where they were hiring and I looked, now that being said everyone on this forum said if the post office is hiring you go there park your two wheeler and you put your name in the hat right now to work for the post office with Mr. Air Breaks.

Like when Air Breaks said he had an interview to work for YRC and everyone said "Hold the phone, you don't go from the Post Office to YRC Freight. The Post Office is the sure thing YRC there anything but the sure thing."
 
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Walleye said:
Find your way into ltl,...........

It's rare that I ever need to collect money,...........

And when I do need to the office calls the customer to make sure a check will be ready or they don't send me,..........
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I told myself I would never go back into LTL, that cut throat high school crap, FXF ruined me for LTL, even if I did go back it would have to be union, here its YRC, ABF, and UPSF, starting at the bottom would be difficult, not working, sitting by the phone, I don't miss that, I think the guys that are in LTL and have some seniority should stay, I don't recommend anyone go into it unless they are young. Starting out is a hard deal for an older guy.
 
I'd go to OD if I went into the city. I've heard good things about Dayton to. I go back and forth if LTL is truly the way to go. I don't really know if it os
 
All the union shops are a hr or so from me. I will not drive that far to work. Plus having my son I need a schedule. Which is one reason why I looked into hauling fuel tankers if I quit my linehaul gig which I don't plan on it unless they keep cutting me
 
That was my one consideration line haul at Pitt-Ohio where Washboard works. One of the drivers from USF Holland tried to recruit me to work at there Akron terminal.
 
Moneyman01 said:
Mike working nights can be tough. There's times I wish I didn't work nights
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I lived that already once worked 3rd shift for a janitorial company in Cleveland. I can't really say I loved that either, that's why I put in an application at the city 7am-3:30pm M-F those are hours that I can agree with.
 
GT man I had a 14 hour day today literally 14 hours. I got back to the terminal and was talking to another driver and he said "Today was just stupid."
 
MikeJ said:
GT man I had a 14 hour day today literally 14 hours. I got back to the terminal and was talking to another driver and he said "Today was just stupid."
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I feel your pain Brother, we have our fair share of those around here, it never doesn't suck...LOL!!
 
I have to go and post on the Sysco forum a question about the warehouse, because anytime I have an abnormally long day it's because the warehouse was behind.
 
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