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Dockworker

Dockworker

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Interesting YouTube Webcast video on trucking in general.
I think the OTR driver gets screwed the most in terms of customer service, meeting deadlines and wasting time. They almost go blindly from customer to customer through mis-communication.

In the LTL world do you guys get crapped on?
When you make a tailgate delivery, does your customer expect you bring the items in and pretty much stock them?
I know, I had some instances where a customer would say, "Bring it in and put this item over here and that item over there"
They're not informed that we do not stock their freight or add accessorial charges like inside delivery, lift gate etc. When you inform them they go ballistic. (miscommunication)

Sometimes they even confuse UPS Freight service with UPS Parcel.
Some of our customers pay for inside delivery charges or have front door to back room delivery in their contract so this service would not apply.

Let's hear your stories of miscommunication and how you provide customer service to educate a misinformed customer.

Like you....I still love my UPS Freight job. :thumbsup:

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Part 1
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Part 2
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Smile. You would be surprised how much of an immediate physical difference smiling has on your mood.
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Take the good with the bad. No one is happy all of the time. We cannot change the past, but we can enjoy the present, and look positively to the future. Obstacles will always be in our way, holding us back and knocking us down - it's a part of life.
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How to Be Happy
 
jeez dockworker....

customer service standards...

how to be happy....

you're officially the oprah of truckingboards! :biglaugh:

:roll1::roll1::roll1:
 
When I first started making deliveries I would do whatever possible to make the customer happy, sometimes even bringing the freight back becuase of a scheduling error miscommunication whatever where the customer was inconvienced, the more I thought about it I realized that our customer is the shipper not the consignee once I started thinking like that it was easier to do whatever I had to to get the freight delivered like pressure the consignee threaten to ship the freight back or whatever.

Remember the customer is the one paying you to do somthing and that is the shipper.
 
I have a very busy p&d run. Not to mention stem time to my core area. I am pleasant enough but do not spoil my customers with extras. If I started doing that, they'd expect it all the time and thats one thing I don't have much of.
 
Overnite said:
When I first started making deliveries I would do whatever possible to make the customer happy, sometimes even bringing the freight back becuase of a scheduling error miscommunication whatever where the customer was inconvienced, the more I thought about it I realized that our customer is the shipper not the consignee once I started thinking like that it was easier to do whatever I had to to get the freight delivered like pressure the consignee threaten to ship the freight back or whatever.

Remember the customer is the one paying you to do somthing and that is the shipper.
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WOW, that is a good point, unless of course it is a collect or prepaid by consignee. Then they are of course the customer and usually in that circumstance, they wanted to use UPS Freight. Not all the time though, I understand.

But your right, most of the time they didn't pick us, the shipper did.

So I do remember that when, as Dockworker said, they expect me to do there work. Like when I'm delivering say a car part for ABC Co. that does car repairs, and they get an attitude with me cuz I won't do there work, even after I explain to them charges for "Inside Delivery" and they get mad about that too.
"Well the other guy does it". and then you have to explain to them the differance between Parcel and Freight, and they still don't get it, they just see the shield on my left side of my chest.

As far as shippers go, on my route, I get along with just about everyone I pickup from, the only reason I won't like going to a certain place is cuz maybe there dock is a pain to get in to. I can't think of any one of them I don't like going to because of people.
Now on my old route I could think of 2 right off the top of my head, but there again I got along with most of them too.
And by get along with I mean, they either didn't talk to me much cuz that is the way they are or I really did get along them and I would sit a B.S. with them, like I do now.

Another thing to keep in mind, is alot of shippers, meaning 99% of them, only ship through a carrier becouse they are cheaper, and the only way to lose that customer is if you pee on there dock or damage everything you pick up from them.
I have one custoomer that I get along with VERY well. But they have a chart of what carrier to ship with for every order, eg. 0-500lbs going to NY. ship through R+L. 501lbs and above to NY. ship through UPS Freight.

So it's not always the dockworkers choice on what carrier to go with, no matter how well you get along with them, but then again, sometimes it is.

"Every dockworker makes me happy, some when I get there, and some when I leave".....:woohoo1:
 
Even though we are the front line men in Brown and (gray), we still find the need to educate our customers who can be both shipper and receiver.
I feel our sales staff need to let them know what these accessorial charges are during their sales calls.
I once saw a list of what we charge, it's astonishing at what we charge for what we do.

For me to go above and beyond the scope of my job description, will depend on how the shipping and receiving staff behave at initial contact.
  • If I see the forklift driver get pissy over a delivery than I shut down my customer service skills. (They ordered the stuff, it's their job security on our truck, receive the damn crap!)
  • If I see the forklift driver pull up, put his feet on the dash, stare at me and expect me to open their door and pop the plate, this will result in a long standoff.
  • If a customer starts crying at why we damage too much stuff, I play the blame game. I'll say, "I'm sorry this happened, I'll relay the message and see if we can minimize this issue" I'll kill them with kindness and almost always forget to let the TM know.
  • etc......

Quirky stuff I do.
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[*]On our dock, I usually watch the peddle freight get loaded and try to get the dock guys to recoupe it better if I see damage.

[*]If already loaded, I check out the load prior to leaving and try to brace wobbly stuff or have a dock worker rework the freight.

[*]I usually think ahead at deliveries and have the customer move freight to the tail end if I know the next customer has no dock or equipment or I'll move it myself if they are not allowed to touch others freight.

[*]If something is damaged beyond belief, I let the customer know up front prior to opening my door, that way they are prepared to see how an "impossible" could happen.
[/LIST]

There's a lot of tricks to our trade that all depend on good initial customer service contact on both sides. Most of the stuff we can control by being proactive rather than reactive when we know issues might crop up.

...and yes...we all need pallet jacks, two wheelers, load bars, straps, good trailer walls and trailer hooks.
 
I keep a list of all the acessioral charges on my clipboard so when the shipper complains I show here the charges and explain that I have no control over these things. Policy here is to have customer initial when we do extra charges so they cannot claim they did not get this service later.
 
sppollock said:
I keep a list of all the acessioral charges on my clipboard so when the shipper complains I show here the charges and explain that I have no control over these things. Policy here is to have customer initial when we do extra charges so they cannot claim they did not get this service later.
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i started having the consignee initial the DR on my own. ive asked my ASCM if it is required to have them initial and he said no, it wasnt neccessary. but i do it anyway. i write the service performed, i initial, and then i have the consignee initial, and i circle it and put a * next to it.
 
hugnlug said:
I have a very busy p&d run. Not to mention stem time to my core area. I am pleasant enough but do not spoil my customers with extras. If I started doing that, they'd expect it all the time and thats one thing I don't have much of.
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Same here, if you do not pay, you do not get!!!!!!!!
 
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