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Livingston-international-acquires-affiliated-customs-brokers
- Thread starter Shakey
- Start date
10
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Oh goodie another broker who's service will go for a shit.
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If you take the time to figure out how Livingston works, they're suddenly a pretty good broker.
1) Try not to deal with the driver call in center is if you can help it at all. They will lie to you all day long.
2) Get the phone numbers of as many teams as you can, and deal directly with the team for your crossing.
For most of the stuff we do, very rarely do it take more than an hour to get an entry number.
1) Try not to deal with the driver call in center is if you can help it at all. They will lie to you all day long.
2) Get the phone numbers of as many teams as you can, and deal directly with the team for your crossing.
For most of the stuff we do, very rarely do it take more than an hour to get an entry number.
30
Livingston is directly responsible for almost all male pattern baldness in this industry.
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I'm with Micheal on this one - once you understand their structure and figure out how to get around their driver contact center, they are one of the best inbound brokers out there. And thats a pretty high compliment from someone who is trying to grow up to be almost as cynical as @Rob
But, heading into the USA, Livingston brokerage is absolutely atrocious - their own Canadian employees can't get any help when they are making inquiries to help the carrier.
But, heading into the USA, Livingston brokerage is absolutely atrocious - their own Canadian employees can't get any help when they are making inquiries to help the carrier.
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Cynical? Me? and here I thought I was just a crusty old prick.. I do have to agree inbound Livingston is not to bad outbound I do believe they have a slide from the fax machine to the shredder as they never seem to get part of the paperwork and or they are real busy and running behind..
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I used to have a lot of problems on the US bound side as well, but now most clearances are done in 20 to 30 minutes. Had one done in 8 minutes this morning. Unfortunately, if you do have a problem, most times you do have to talk to the driver contact center (DCC), but here's what I found that works;
1) There is absolutely no doubt that the DCC is going to lie to you. So, know your sh*t before making the call. The time you faxed, and confirmation that it was received. Run your PAPS number on their tracking website to be certain they have the paperwork. Then when they tell you they don't have the paperwork, you can tell them you are looking at the website and can see they received the paperwork down to the hour, minute, and second.
2) Never take an aggressive attitude towards them. Don't swear at them. Don't be rude to them. Be so pleasant it's sickening ... keep a garbage can nearby because you are going to want to throw up after every sentence you are going be that pleasant.
3) When you are not getting satisfaction, ask for their name. Tell them you don't care if you have to wait all night for clearance because you get paid for waiting (even if you don't) and it's the easiest money you make, however, your customer gets pretty ugly about it and you need to report the delay to them before they come to you asking questions, and you want to give the customer their name to confirm your story.
4) Unless you can see on the tracking website that they have not received your paperwork, do not refax your paperwork. When you do that, it restarts the clock, and you're back at square one.
5) It takes about 20 minutes for the fax server to receive your paperwork and log it in. 30 minutes after you fax the paperwork, check the tracking website to make sure it's there.
6) Probably 7 out of 10 times errors are due to the clerk entering your SCN incorrectly. This requires a bill of lading change. A bill of lading change takes 90 seconds, tops. Don't let them bullsh*t you into saying it will take 45 minutes to an hour. If they are quoting you that much time, something else is wrong. Keep them talking and eventually they will give it up.
7) Most teams do not work 24/7. Typically they do 2 shifts a day Monday to Friday, and 1 shift a day Saturday and Sunday. If you are sending paperwork outside of your teams regular shifts, your paperwork is going to "the pool". "The pool" doesn't give a damn whether your paperwork gets cleared or not, and usually it does not until your regular team comes back in on shift.
8) As for your paperwork, do not send them anything they do not need as it typically only serves to confuse them. Usually all they need is the proforma invoice. Make sure the following information is clear and concise on your proforma ... Your SCN number, the border you are crossing, the date and time you are crossing, and contact information ... example ...
SCN: LWIGL12345
Crossing at Buffalo, NY
Sept 29, 2016 at 9:00 PM
(Disp Ph: 519-426-4870)
.... and for Pete's sake don't use some ridiculous fancy Lucida Handwriting font if you are completing it with a computer, or use your own usually illegible handwritten scrawl ... PRINT IT CLEARLY.
9) Oddly enough, fax is more reliable than email.
10) If you insist on using email, do not put any instructions in the email itself ... it doesn't get read by anyone. All they look at is the attachment.
Above all else, remember this, for the most part you are dealing with minimum wage clerks that really don't want to be there in the first place, so they are putting a less-than-zero effort into your clearance. You have to make it so easy for them they can't find an excuse not to do it. And, if you are trying to clear something on a weekend or US holiday, keep in mind that you are dealing with people not smart enough to figure out how to get out of working the weekend or the holiday.
Finally, do not hesitate to go to the Livingston website and report poor customer service. Describe the incident in as much detail as possible, and don't forget to include your SCN number so they can track it thru their system to find out who did what with it.
1) There is absolutely no doubt that the DCC is going to lie to you. So, know your sh*t before making the call. The time you faxed, and confirmation that it was received. Run your PAPS number on their tracking website to be certain they have the paperwork. Then when they tell you they don't have the paperwork, you can tell them you are looking at the website and can see they received the paperwork down to the hour, minute, and second.
2) Never take an aggressive attitude towards them. Don't swear at them. Don't be rude to them. Be so pleasant it's sickening ... keep a garbage can nearby because you are going to want to throw up after every sentence you are going be that pleasant.
3) When you are not getting satisfaction, ask for their name. Tell them you don't care if you have to wait all night for clearance because you get paid for waiting (even if you don't) and it's the easiest money you make, however, your customer gets pretty ugly about it and you need to report the delay to them before they come to you asking questions, and you want to give the customer their name to confirm your story.
4) Unless you can see on the tracking website that they have not received your paperwork, do not refax your paperwork. When you do that, it restarts the clock, and you're back at square one.
5) It takes about 20 minutes for the fax server to receive your paperwork and log it in. 30 minutes after you fax the paperwork, check the tracking website to make sure it's there.
6) Probably 7 out of 10 times errors are due to the clerk entering your SCN incorrectly. This requires a bill of lading change. A bill of lading change takes 90 seconds, tops. Don't let them bullsh*t you into saying it will take 45 minutes to an hour. If they are quoting you that much time, something else is wrong. Keep them talking and eventually they will give it up.
7) Most teams do not work 24/7. Typically they do 2 shifts a day Monday to Friday, and 1 shift a day Saturday and Sunday. If you are sending paperwork outside of your teams regular shifts, your paperwork is going to "the pool". "The pool" doesn't give a damn whether your paperwork gets cleared or not, and usually it does not until your regular team comes back in on shift.
8) As for your paperwork, do not send them anything they do not need as it typically only serves to confuse them. Usually all they need is the proforma invoice. Make sure the following information is clear and concise on your proforma ... Your SCN number, the border you are crossing, the date and time you are crossing, and contact information ... example ...
SCN: LWIGL12345
Crossing at Buffalo, NY
Sept 29, 2016 at 9:00 PM
(Disp Ph: 519-426-4870)
.... and for Pete's sake don't use some ridiculous fancy Lucida Handwriting font if you are completing it with a computer, or use your own usually illegible handwritten scrawl ... PRINT IT CLEARLY.
9) Oddly enough, fax is more reliable than email.
10) If you insist on using email, do not put any instructions in the email itself ... it doesn't get read by anyone. All they look at is the attachment.
Above all else, remember this, for the most part you are dealing with minimum wage clerks that really don't want to be there in the first place, so they are putting a less-than-zero effort into your clearance. You have to make it so easy for them they can't find an excuse not to do it. And, if you are trying to clear something on a weekend or US holiday, keep in mind that you are dealing with people not smart enough to figure out how to get out of working the weekend or the holiday.
Finally, do not hesitate to go to the Livingston website and report poor customer service. Describe the incident in as much detail as possible, and don't forget to include your SCN number so they can track it thru their system to find out who did what with it.
