Trucking companies LTL rant

[jetboatperformance]

As we have grown over the years we have started to use LTL trucking more and more for pallet loads vs simple UPS fed Ex etc Often times when folks need a jet overhauled or an engine overhauled we simply ask they palletize the unit and we send "XYZ" Trucking to retrieve the Part or assembly sooooo as much as there has been decent success over the years the inevitable has happened These people have lost a Jet drive altogether .... when queried so far (three weeks now) their response is "were very sorry but were unable to locate your pallet" Im saying That's a completely unacceptable answer My customer needs his drive repaired and returned to them , today this is the latest response is below ... this Bullshit or what ? How long is one expected to be patient in a situation like this , Oh and the good news for those that don't know is that trucking companies by and large insure the "weight" of the shipment eg $5 per pound in this case 85 pounds ....

"Tom, good morning! sorry to say that we haven?t located your jet drive, we had all our Operations people and the partner carriers trying to locate this and we had no luck, Tom, believe me if and when we locate your jet drive we will contact you, were very sorry about this Alfredo"

 

[Riley1]

I've had good luck with Saia. They actually lost one of my pallets last year, they covered the whole sale price. Then found the order 4 months later, bought it back for 50%

 

[hallett21]

Not that this helps now but maybe member shipping guy can help in the future

 

[jetboatperformance]

I've had good luck with Saia. They actually lost one of my pallets last year, they covered the whole sale price. Then found the order 4 months later, bought it back for 50%

Will give them, a shot, left off this Carriers name for now, went and bought a "core" for this guy for now to take care of my customer THKs

 

[JDKRXW]

we simply ask they palletize the unit and we send "XYZ" Trucking to retrieve the Part or assembly"

I'm not sure why you'd do this. It seems to me that you are taking all of the liability for your customer's components when they are in the handsof the trucking company.
It's not if......it's when you will get screwed by the truckers.
Their sales guys talk a big game as far as pricing and service goes but;
- your customer will receive your price if they phone for a quote and refer to you when they ask (make sure the quote # is on the bill of lading).
- when they start referring to their 'partner carriers' when you have a problem like lost or damaged goods....... you're fucked.

 

[Cray Paper]

Being in the construction industry we deal with truck deliveries almost every day. Less than half of the truck drivers have a clue and are professional, the other larger percentage just don't care about anything other than dumping your shit off and getting on down the road. Delivering at specific hours doesn't compute with these people, it's like they expect flaggers, forklift or tower crane operators to be at their whim whenever they decide to show up. Providing specific directions or instructions to the dispatcher is just a waste of breathe.

Your best bet is to get the drivers cell phone number and just be a squeaky wheel if you want your product to show up anywhere close to where you expect it to land as well as in the time frame you want. They have excuses you would never have dreamed of using in a legitimate job.

 

[jones performance]

good luck trying to get a claim paid any ltl carrier. we use around 5-7 different ltl carriers at my work. they all lose pallets too often.

 

[jeffymurray1957]

get me their DOT or MC number and name and I will provide you with their insurance co info. text it to me at 909-285-7486

 

[rrrr]

As we have grown over the years we have started to use LTL trucking more and more for pallet loads vs simple UPS fed Ex etc Often times when folks need a jet overhauled or an engine overhauled we simply ask they palletize the unit and we send "XYZ" Trucking to retrieve the Part or assembly sooooo as much as there has been decent success over the years the inevitable has happened These people have lost a Jet drive altogether .... when queried so far (three weeks now) their response is "were very sorry but were unable to locate your pallet" Im saying That's a completely unacceptable answer My customer needs his drive repaired and returned to them , today this is the latest response is below ... this Bullshit or what ? How long is one expected to be patient in a situation like this , Oh and the good news for those that don't know is that trucking companies by and large insure the "weight" of the shipment eg $5 per pound in this case 85 pounds ....

"Tom, good morning! sorry to say that we haven?t located your jet drive, we had all our Operations people and the partner carriers trying to locate this and we had no luck, Tom, believe me if and when we locate your jet drive we will contact you, were very sorry about this Alfredo"

Good ol' LTL shipping.

Yer right, most people don't know about that $1-$8 per pound liability insurance, which is what you get unless you specify coverage through the freight company or your own insurer. Your post brought back memories of an incident I had around 1989.

Back then IBM mainframe computers like the IBM 3090-600J required 75 kVA three phase 208 volt 415 Hz motorgenerator for power. They were essentially a 115 HP three phase 208 volt 60 Hz electric motor spinning a 75 kVA three phase 208 volt 415 Hz generator on a common shaft. IBM built their own version, and the only other companies that made them were Westinghouse and Pillar, a German company. The 3090-600J required four of the power units.

The Pillar units were the best of the three. In the late 80's I used to search all over the country for data centers that had closed down and been vacated. The computer company had usually gone bust or moved to a facility with different power requirements. I would negotiate with the building owner to remove all of the data center equipment like UPS systems, air conditioners,raised floor, diesel generators, and these Pillar MGs from the building. They would usually do a straight swap, I'd take it out and clean up the building and the owner would convey title of all the equipment to me.

It was a money making deal. The Pillars cost around $40,000 new, and I could pick up the phone and sell them for $20-$25 K within days of acquiring them. I would ship them LTL to a company that was an authorized service center for a bearing change and load test, and then arrange for another LTL shipper to send them to the new owner. Every one I got my hands on I sold within 72 hours, and I cleared $18K each on them.

So in this particular deal I acquired two of the units, sent them for a bearing change, and had them sold the next day. They were to be shipped to me after the bearing change so I could clean them up.

When the truck arrived at my dock a week or so later, I opened the trailer and there laying on their sides in the front of the trailer were the two motorgenerators. They had pinballed around in the trailer for two days during their shipment from the east coast to my facility. Needless to say I was out almost $40K and had a very pissed of customer who wanted his equipment that day.

Fortunately I had insured them for replacement value, but it still took three weeks to get the money. The customer was in beast mode because he needed them now. I managed to make a swap with another guy in the trade to satisfy the client, and eventually everyone calmed down.

But it was an instructive episode. If you ship stuff LTL, make sure it's insured for replacement value.

Photo of a unit. Yeah, back in the day they were $40K new.

.

 

[lbhsbz]

I once had a shipper steal my fresh heads and put cracked ones back in the box before delivering them to me...I'm sure Tom remembers that.

 

[shippingguy]

Well I am joining this late, but give me a call and I bet I can help with all your issues! Been doing this for 16 years! Give me a call and I will help you out!!

 

[shippingguy]

As we have grown over the years we have started to use LTL trucking more and more for pallet loads vs simple UPS fed Ex etc Often times when folks need a jet overhauled or an engine overhauled we simply ask they palletize the unit and we send "XYZ" Trucking to retrieve the Part or assembly sooooo as much as there has been decent success over the years the inevitable has happened These people have lost a Jet drive altogether .... when queried so far (three weeks now) their response is "were very sorry but were unable to locate your pallet" Im saying That's a completely unacceptable answer My customer needs his drive repaired and returned to them , today this is the latest response is below ... this Bullshit or what ? How long is one expected to be patient in a situation like this , Oh and the good news for those that don't know is that trucking companies by and large insure the "weight" of the shipment eg $5 per pound in this case 85 pounds ....

"Tom, good morning! sorry to say that we haven?t located your jet drive, we had all our Operations people and the partner carriers trying to locate this and we had no luck, Tom, believe me if and when we locate your jet drive we will contact you, were very sorry about this Alfredo"

Not all carriers cover $5 per lbs. you need to know your Tariff and pricing! Give me a call and I bet I can save you money and provide you the service you need. You also have to know what carriers run what lanes and don't pass the freight off to agents! Are there mishaps, yes! But knowing the business and how it operates helps. Just like most don't know that a used or refurbished item is only covered for 5 cents per lbs. well I have insurance that for $10 covers you up to $10k! Again anybody interested call me. I have helped many on these boards and I handle ALL OF Whipple Superchargers and Outerlimits freight.

 

[shippingguy]

Will give them, a shot, left off this Carriers name for now, went and bought a "core" for this guy for now to take care of my customer THKs

Saia only covers certain lanes and they cover a standard $10 per lb.

 

[shippingguy]

good luck trying to get a claim paid any ltl carrier. we use around 5-7 different ltl carriers at my work. they all lose pallets too often.

Would love to help you! I have been doing this 16 years and I would say I have had NO MORE THAN 10 claims in that time! I have contracts will ALL THE LTL CARRIERS!

Claims are a pain in the ass and can take up to 45 days. However with the 3rd party
Insurance I can offer my claims if any have been paid in 7-10 days.

 

[Boat Bling]

If you haven't already done so, call Shippingguy. He's talked me down a couple times over the years when I was ready to drive down to the terminal and strangle a dispatcher lol. If there's an issue he'll handle it.

-Zack

 

[shippingguy]

If you haven't already done so, call Shippingguy. He's talked me down a couple times over the years when I was ready to drive down to the terminal and strangle a dispatcher lol. If there's an issue he'll handle it.

-Zack

Hahahaha....

 

[jones performance]

Would love to help you! I have been doing this 16 years and I would say I have had NO MORE THAN 10 claims in that time! I have contracts will ALL THE LTL CARRIERS!

Claims are a pain in the ass and can take up to 45 days. However with the 3rd party
Insurance I can offer my claims if any have been paid in 7-10 days.

we are self insured. for us the loss of product isnt the big problem.. the problem we have is our customers fine us when things aren't right, plus they are unhappy.

in actuality for the amount of product we send out on a daily basis the losses are very small. i think we have 8 or 9 truckloads of ltlt alone going out today. our main ltl carriers just drop 53 footers in our yard and we fill em up and call them to pick it up when they are cubed out.

 

[shippingguy]

we are self insured. for us the loss of product isnt the big problem.. the problem we have is our customers fine us when things aren't right, plus they are unhappy.

in actuality for the amount of product we send out on a daily basis the losses are very small. i think we have 8 or 9 truckloads of ltlt alone going out today. our main ltl carriers just drop 53 footers in our yard and we fill em up and call them to pick it up when they are cubed out.

Well if you want to look at other options to see if I can help you guys out and possibly save you some money let me know. I can do the same with dropping trailers as well. Not an issue.

 

[jetboatperformance]

UPDATE : received an Email from the trucking company last week and then the physical letter today both indicated a check attached for $2500 but ALAS the check was for $62.50 (50 cents on the pound of weight lost)

Attached is my note to Their CEO

Good Morning Doug, Hope you had a nice Holiday, Today I received a short letter regarding my claim #XXXXXXXX for the "lost" Jet Drive your company retrieved last month in Arizona, Ironically the letter (sent Us prior via email) and physically received today says "Enclosed is our check in the amount $2500.00 as final settlement of your claim" and yet the attached check is for $62.50 ? Surely this is a some sort of Joke ? , &**&^&* Trucking unabashedly loses my Pallet with no hope of recovery and then expects a small business who trusted your company with our freight and what is a valuable rare part to accept $62.50 as compensation ? How would you feel if you entrusted us to repair one of your vehicles or personal boat and it disappeared and we told you "tough sh*t" ?

 

[shippingguy]

Tom good talking with you. Look forward to hopefully working with you and helping you out.

 

[milkmoney]

Tom good talking with you. Look forward to hopefully working with you and helping you out.

Don't lose his shit. He will blast u on rdp. Lol
[emoji41][emoji202]

I will say this tom, we go back a few years and IMO if you don't use mikes service , u be dumb. Lol. [emoji106][emoji106][emoji202]

 

[pronstar]

You aren't even safe shipping/insured with UPS:

https://www.google.com.mx/amp/thega...r-youtube-car-guy-out-of-10-00-1738255686/amp

 

[shippingguy]

Don't lose his shit. He will blast u on rdp. Lol
[emoji41][emoji202]

I will say this tom, we go back a few years and IMO if you don't use mikes service , u be dumb. Lol. [emoji106][emoji106][emoji202]

Hahahaha. Thank you for the good words.

 

[JDKRXW]

UPDATE : received an Email from the trucking company last week and then the physical letter today both indicated a check attached for $2500 but ALAS the check was for $62.50 (50 cents on the pound of weight lost)

I bet that bait and switch tactic works shockingly well... especially well at the trucking company's bigger customers.
Tell the warehouse manager and the shipper/receiving manager a cheque for $2500 is on the way...... then send the actual cheque for $62.50 to the accounting dept.
Everyone's happy... warehouse people made the claim and accounting people got the claim paid.
AND the trucking company got to make the second shipment to fix their first screw up.