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ABF | ABF and Amazon

SAC75 said:
We are doing these thing. I put plenty of treadmills, ellipticals, hospital beds together. We do not do this for free. Just because Penske, JB Hunt, whoever else does this crap for pennies doesn’t mean we do. Don’t know how else to explain it to you. We price our services to make money.
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When was the last time you put some exercise equipment together? A couple of years ago They started shipping our treadmills and such to a moving company. Consigned to the moving company. Who would then reconsign them to the customer and carry them in.
 
Boilerpeddle said:
When was the last time you put some exercise equipment together? A couple of years ago They started shipping our treadmills and such to a moving company. Consigned to the moving company. Who would then reconsign them to the customer and carry them in.
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The city guys still do these in our area. We did the same thing GO40 did though. We filed grievances over subbing out freight and leaving guys sitting at home. I went to the road about four years ago but our city guys still complain about the ellipticals because they are so big and awkward.
 
Ted Decker trk said:
Trucker 206 & ltl1 says it's mostly subbed out?!?
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I only spoke on my, and my old terminals, behalf. WE, at my terminal, did no installation work whatsoever. We did put together the occasional piece of exercise equipment, put furniture in a ‘room of choice’ for the customers, etc. Our hourly rate stayed the same regardless. It was ABF Freight that pocketed any monies realized from accessorial charges.
 
Trucker 206 said:
I only spoke on my, and my old terminals, behalf. WE, at my terminal, did no installation work whatsoever. We did put together the occasional piece of exercise equipment, put furniture in a ‘room of choice’ for the customers, etc. Our hourly rate stayed the same regardless. It was ABF Freight that pocketed any monies realized from accessorial charges.
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Copy all above. I am just floored that the level is being performed by an LTL. As I said, our inside delivery is inside first door , first floor. And that's if it can only be done by one man. Any more than that, it goes back to the service center and alternative means must be found to execute delivery.
 
SAC75 said:
The city guys still do these in our area. We did the same thing GO40 did though. We filed grievances over subbing out freight and leaving guys sitting at home. I went to the road about four years ago but our city guys still complain about the ellipticals because they are so big and awkward.
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Oh our guys still complain about it and try to scare the new guys with it even though it hasn't been done it a couple years. We still have to get them inside. But we haven't put one together in quite a while. And since it now specifically allowed in the new contract,(article 32 section 5) they use a service that takes and puts them together or when they have to go upstairs etc.
 
Ted Decker trk said:
Copy all above. I am just floored that the level is being performed by an LTL. As I said, our inside delivery is inside first door , first floor. And that's if it can only be done by one man. Any more than that, it goes back to the service center and alternative means must be found to execute delivery.
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Most of these deliveries are threshold only very, very rarely you have to assemble anything. It's usually a 70lb TV that has to be taken out of the box followed by a picture. Threshold means NO steps involved....And if a second person is needed Amazon is notified of the additional charge....
 
And that’s how it should be. With the emergence of e-commerce, residential deliveries went through the roof! Not to mention the type of freight we began to deliver. I’ve given lists several times before of some of the crap we’ve delivered over the years, so there’s no point in repeating it. My ‘beef’ was this: We are DELIVERY personnel. NOT installers, NOT plumbers, NOT electricians, NOT furniture re-arrangers, etc. “Here’s your 2500-pound indoor portable sauna, Mr. Customer. Sign here and have a nice day! Oh...and have fun taking that up to your 18th-floor penthouse where you bring all of your hookers!”
 
I always explained to homeowners that we....(..the freight company.)...were exactly the same as UPS, or FedEx.....except we did the bigger things that UPS,DHL, and FedEx didn't handle. Most people could understand package and parcel delivery,...so it became an easy analogy for them to comprehend.
UPS was going to toss the package on your porch,....I was going to place it in your garage.......

That being said.....I was on many "kid-glove" service deliveries ABF had contracted. As steward, I felt that since each delivery of that type had it's own unique...."problems".....we, as Union people,....had the right to accept and determine the parameters of each delivery,...as far as safety of the employees went.....

Never had a problem with ABF questioning our judgement,....even when it meant a re-delivery with added costs.....(...or a refused delivery because of conditions..).....

We had a delivery one time,...in a fancy plan of homes, that required two men to hand-carry an elliptical into the home, assemble it, and place it at the customer's choice of spot.

Me and another guy showed up in two trucks,.....and were greeted at the door by the homeowner,..who said :"No Shoes! I just got new hardwood floors installed!"
We said: "No delivery!".....but there was a drapery installer on site who said we could use his floor tarps that were already on the floor. O.K. with the homeowner? Sure?.....

We carried in the various pieces of the elliptical......along with the detailed delivery and assembly instructions ABF had provided,...along with hand tools the TM had purchased the day before.....

........and us two "brain surgeon/engineers" started ......putting it together.........slowly............

Two hours,......and two polite,...but increasingly frantic calls from the TM on our progress,.......later,......we had the elliptical assembled.......
But the homeowner insisted we plug it in and turn it on.......Sure,...we can do that.......

BOOM!...........the circuit breaker for that side of the house in a new construction blew out..........TV, computer,......all dark......

Turns out that the amps being drawn by the elliptical motor pretty much required a dedicated line........

At that point,....the TM had to come to the site,.......and get on a conference call with the manufacturer, homeowner, and his boss.....

Later on,.....he told me that the charge for two of us to ....be there and assemble the elliptical,......was almost double the cost of the machine itself......But she wrote the check out......

We went on many...."assembly" deliveries........treadmills, chiropractic beds, sunglass displays.......and the cost was never an issue with the customers........The "professionalism" of the delivering crew was ....paramount....to the customers...Cost be damned.....

I'm sure there are many homeowners who only care about the....cheapest cost to get their "free shipping" item in the house......
....But after a delivery by Larry, Daryll, and Daryll,.......or worse,....Moe, Larry, and Curly.........I think many homeowners might want to pay a few dollars more.......for a more...."quality"....delivery team....

And.......Company reputation will be.....everything....
 
.............And one other thing.......
NEVER give away freight! NEVER!
We are Teamsters,...We won the "intelligence test" about getting hired........So,...ACT like we are the BEST at delivering.....anything.......

That's what we do.........If there was profit in driving truck only,.......we'd all be bob-tailing down the road...Who needs those nasty trailers?

We are supposed to be the top-of-the-line in our profession.......WE can deliver anything........

I fought tooth'n'nail with a few yobboes in our terminal, who grumbled continuously about Relo-Cubes......and how they were..."Freight drivers".....and should never have to chain or strap a load down......."It's Dangerous!".......

And right after I retired,.......the company yanked out our Relo-Cube flatbed..........We don't "do them" anymore........

And a guy sits at home now..........Of course, it's not one of the "complainers"......
 
canaryinthemine said:
.............And one other thing.......
NEVER give away freight! NEVER!
We are Teamsters,...We won the "intelligence test" about getting hired........So,...ACT like we are the BEST at delivering.....anything.......

That's what we do.........If there was profit in driving truck only,.......we'd all be bob-tailing down the road...Who needs those nasty trailers?

We are supposed to be the top-of-the-line in our profession.......WE can deliver anything........

I fought tooth'n'nail with a few yobboes in our terminal, who grumbled continuously about Relo-Cubes......and how they were..."Freight drivers".....and should never have to chain or strap a load down......."It's Dangerous!".......

And right after I retired,.......the company yanked out our Relo-Cube flatbed..........We don't "do them" anymore........

And a guy sits at home now..........Of course, it's not one of the "complainers"......
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I'll be sure to find the ABF terminal info in my area and give it to my service center manager. Maybe he'll get it so the next P I T A delivery I come across I can drop it at ABF dock so I can go home.
 
GO40 said:
I thought these warehouse type facilities were being purchased/built for the new freight sleds that ABF is going to start using? I don’t know anything about warehousing for Amazon....
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So what are the new warehouses von was talking about in Indiana? Trailer sleds or Amazon? Why would an LTL need warehouse space?
 
joes bar and grill said:
You do know that there are other companies that use warehouse space besides Amazon, right?
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You do know the subject of the original thread was Amazon freight, right?

You're shooting the messenger. The original thread talked about trailer sleds, pursuit of more Amazon business, and new warehouses in southern Indiana .
Nothing more nothing less
 
Ted Decker trk said:
Prior to Black Wednesday and the data loss, there was a thread about ABF building new facilities in southern Indiana and handling Amazon freight. First, I understand I'm a guest in the ABF forum and I'm not trolling or starting a fight, but I have questions. A few said ABF has been handling Amazon freight up to and including Final Mile/setup work and doing it profitably. I was postulating that big names like JB Hunt, Ryder Logistics, etc were doing this work with non CDL cargo straight trucks and guys being paid in the 10-16$ per hour range in my neck of the woods. I had made the comment that I was glad my company in essence had told Amazon to take that kind of work and shove it. I was pilloried for that remark. So I'm a little slow sometimes and had postulated the following situation and wanted to know if it accurately represented what ABF is doing.

We have a homeowner of a 5000 square foot McMansion in a gated community on a culdesac. Manicured lawn, topiary, and fine floor coverings throughout. Now said homeowner orders a new gas dryer, washer, and whizbang 96" flatscreen. Home is in service area of a small End of the Line terminal with 8 drivers all 20 plus year veterans of ABF and all 45 years old or older. Only access to laundry room and media room is long carry through the house or long carry around the house to rear slider . No two wheelers in house and path to back and back patio is flagstone, fine to walk on but not good for freight two wheeler. (I spent a short time as a bedbugger and most van operators do not use wheeled equipment in the house, especially a standard freight two wheeler). Now if I understand posts from before, two ABF guys (45 years old or better) are going to park two pups on the culdesac, perform the long carries and also do setup, which would include hooking up a gas dryer? Or does one guy show up and put the freight in the garage via pallet jack? And yes, setup of gas dryer does include hooking to supply line, Just got new washer/dryer four months ago and Lowes hooked both up, water gas drain, etc and carted away old ones.
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And then you have the delivery on a pup but the helper is driving a 53 to meet at the dead end street
 
canaryinthemine said:
I always explained to homeowners that we....(..the freight company.)...were exactly the same as UPS, or FedEx.....except we did the bigger things that UPS,DHL, and FedEx didn't handle. Most people could understand package and parcel delivery,...so it became an easy analogy for them to comprehend.
UPS was going to toss the package on your porch,....I was going to place it in your garage.......

That being said.....I was on many "kid-glove" service deliveries ABF had contracted. As steward, I felt that since each delivery of that type had it's own unique...."problems".....we, as Union people,....had the right to accept and determine the parameters of each delivery,...as far as safety of the employees went.....

Never had a problem with ABF questioning our judgement,....even when it meant a re-delivery with added costs.....(...or a refused delivery because of conditions..).....

We had a delivery one time,...in a fancy plan of homes, that required two men to hand-carry an elliptical into the home, assemble it, and place it at the customer's choice of spot.

Me and another guy showed up in two trucks,.....and were greeted at the door by the homeowner,..who said :"No Shoes! I just got new hardwood floors installed!"
We said: "No delivery!".....but there was a drapery installer on site who said we could use his floor tarps that were already on the floor. O.K. with the homeowner? Sure?.....

We carried in the various pieces of the elliptical......along with the detailed delivery and assembly instructions ABF had provided,...along with hand tools the TM had purchased the day before.....

........and us two "brain surgeon/engineers" started ......putting it together.........slowly............

Two hours,......and two polite,...but increasingly frantic calls from the TM on our progress,.......later,......we had the elliptical assembled.......
But the homeowner insisted we plug it in and turn it on.......Sure,...we can do that.......

BOOM!...........the circuit breaker for that side of the house in a new construction blew out..........TV, computer,......all dark......

Turns out that the amps being drawn by the elliptical motor pretty much required a dedicated line........

At that point,....the TM had to come to the site,.......and get on a conference call with the manufacturer, homeowner, and his boss.....

Later on,.....he told me that the charge for two of us to ....be there and assemble the elliptical,......was almost double the cost of the machine itself......But she wrote the check out......

We went on many...."assembly" deliveries........treadmills, chiropractic beds, sunglass displays.......and the cost was never an issue with the customers........The "professionalism" of the delivering crew was ....paramount....to the customers...Cost be damned.....

I'm sure there are many homeowners who only care about the....cheapest cost to get their "free shipping" item in the house......
....But after a delivery by Larry, Daryll, and Daryll,.......or worse,....Moe, Larry, and Curly.........I think many homeowners might want to pay a few dollars more.......for a more...."quality"....delivery team....

And.......Company reputation will be.....everything....
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Company reputation does mean a lot, but the 3plp providers are often doing these setups and deliveries with the retailers name highlighted on the truck box, the 3plp name is subdued many times
 
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