Customs Clearance
- Thread starter Paul S
- Start date
5
Igor Galanter
Well-Known Member
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Smaller and midsize companies still have someone on call for after hours or weekend anyway.
It is a matter of budget and type of runs company does.
It is a matter of budget and type of runs company does.
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We have an outside service that does our clearances after hours and they do a good job. We also have someone on call 7/24 for any issues.
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We deal with a number of carriers and find that some will call us after hours if there is an issue (meaning they have someone actively working on it from the office, from home, or from the truck, we have our 24 hour dispatch number on our load sheets that allows us to help carriers get our shipments together set up.
That being said, sometimes our freight will sit on a dock or in a trailer over a weekend because they couldn't be bothered to pick up the phone and call us. We're here to help, we're here to reach out to an exporter/importer if new paperwork is required or if a customs broker has some issue with the clearance.
Bottom line: the sensitive freight, that which 'needs' to get there, freight where we NEED to be contacted with any delays go to carriers that have the ability to service us and our clients properly. Note - those shipments usually have a higher price tag, so really you pay for what you get!
Keep well,
Mike
That being said, sometimes our freight will sit on a dock or in a trailer over a weekend because they couldn't be bothered to pick up the phone and call us. We're here to help, we're here to reach out to an exporter/importer if new paperwork is required or if a customs broker has some issue with the clearance.
Bottom line: the sensitive freight, that which 'needs' to get there, freight where we NEED to be contacted with any delays go to carriers that have the ability to service us and our clients properly. Note - those shipments usually have a higher price tag, so really you pay for what you get!
Keep well,
Mike
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People are usually working from laptops versus desktops so that they can log in should something go off the rails. I know that here we have after hours staff for this.
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I just call all the brokers before I go home to make sure they have the paperwork and that all SHOULD be good,
Like lowmiler I have an outside service that can do afterhours if needed but we do not use it very often. If a driver is loading that late chances are he will not cross that night anyway so I just set it up in the morning.
I, like many others am on call 24/7 for emergencies..
Like lowmiler I have an outside service that can do afterhours if needed but we do not use it very often. If a driver is loading that late chances are he will not cross that night anyway so I just set it up in the morning.
I, like many others am on call 24/7 for emergencies..
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Big or small, I believe everyone should have some sort of after hours emergency response. I am literally shocked at the number of companies, even larger ones that do not. If I am a super small company and I can wake up at 3am to solve a problem my driver is having at the border but can't get either the freight broker or customs broker to answer, I will think twice about moving that freight again. Sorry to sound so negative...it's a little hot around here today..lol
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We just make sure that it gets done before we leave. We do, sometimes, have to solve things over the weekend. On a Friday, we will tell the custom broker that we are crossing before 5 p.m. (in other words we lie ALOT to custom brokers 
Extremely rare that we don't get through. And it's never our fault when we don't 
office is in owner's home so they are always available for problems and I work from home when need be
Extremely rare that we don't get through. And it's never our fault when we don't office is in owner's home so they are always available for problems and I work from home when need be
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We lie a lot to customs brokers too...lol. Like the driver is always crossing two hours from when we send the paperwork..hehe
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I think we all do that hoping they get it done before the driver makes it there from Timbuktoo.
we also all know how fast customs brokers are and how much customer service means to them!!
we also all know how fast customs brokers are and how much customer service means to them!!
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We're probably all on call 24/7. And when there's a personal event that we HAVE to attend to, that's usually when we get the call to duty. That or at 4:00 am. Had one the other day where I told the company that the load must be tarped and tarped carefully end to end. I put that on my load confirmation too.. in big bold letters. Dispatcher said yeah yeah.. got it taken care of. So on Saturday morning at 2:00 am I get a call from the driver.. "Hey man.. I'm picking up your Auburn, NY.. does this thing need to be tarped? " The veterans among us don't get mad or annoyed.. we almost expected that call to come in. Same with customs docs.. "Yup.. got it all taken care of" at 2:00 pm on a Friday afternoon can easily turn into.. "I'm here at the border and got no paperwork.. what do I do?" at 2:00 am on Saturday morning.
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I had some loads over the last weekend that I brokered . Customs broker tells me she's leaving in 15 minutes to get all paperwork in and she's in the West . She then tells me they can't clear these loads afterhours .I told her they were still loading in Laredo .Loads were going to Sudbury area and dispatchers were gone for the day . Drivers drive like mad to get to Sarnia on Sunday and I get calls all day about clearing loads . Told them I am not the Customs Broker out of my hands . Now they want layover for being held up at border . I'm all about helping someone out if they are having issues but kind of out of my hands . How can you legally do 1650 miles and be in Sarnia Sunday morning when you left Laredo Friday night .
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Teams or loose leaf logs that say they loaded Friday morning is my guess.. either that or they called the broker knew the loads where not clearing and just trying to make a little bit extra..?
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not all of us with loose leaf logs are dishonest but, if brokers would stop booking like every load they sell will be picked up by a fresh driver... well, do I really have to go on ... pickups at 4 p.m. that have to be delivered the next day at 8 a.m. 500 to 800 miles away. Have any of you done the calculations on that... More than just log book violations...
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martinetav that is honestly why I like being on ELD's as soon as we mention that the ridiculous time requests go away and as far as we can tell we have not loss a load yet because of it.
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you do know that they have already found way to hack the electronic logs, don't you?
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We went ELD about 11 months ago . We lost about 10 trucks as they didn't want to comply . Its easier planning now cause the dispatch/ planner can see if the driver can work within the customers time frame or move onto next truck or broker load to meet customers requirements . Nothing more frustrating than getting the ol driver had to do a reset when customer was expecting there product . I'd rather be ready if and when ELD becomes mandatory .