Livingston International

I have a gem for you guys:
Had two sets of paperwork on my desk - one needed a PAPS and the other a PARS. Livingston needed the PAPS and I mistakenly put the PARS and sent it in ... realized, corrected my mistake and resent - called the office to see how to cancel it ... they said don;t worry it will go in the SPAM folder.
PAPS doesn't get cleared - but the PARS got cleared by them - and matched to my ACI ... and customs also accepted it!!!!!!!!!!
Called Livinston to tell them to fix their error - they said just resend paperwork with new PARS to the other broker ... we don't know who did this ....... OH MY GOD!!!!!
PAPS still not cleared through all this .... then finally find someone to do it 28 hrs later UGH
 
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Shakey said:
LMGFAO,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,CDN
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NO WAY !!!
Just think of the possibility !!!
Every 25 or 30 years the CDN/USD exchange goes upside down. Why if a guy played cards right and worked a gig like that he'd be a millionaire !!!
(If he lived that long eating Kraft dinner and Spam, and living out of a cardboard box)
 
I can't take this shit anymore. How can we change this, as an industry? We are the ones who pay the price. I'm sick and tired of chasing them everyday for clearances.
Isn't it completely ironic that their automated waiting messages say "sick and tired of following up with your broker" ?
Something has to give. Livingston is singlehandedly responsible for the deterioration of my mental health
 
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Jane D said:
I can't take this shit anymore. How can we change this, as an industry? We are the ones who pay the price. I'm sick and tired of chasing them everyday for clearances.
Isn't it completely ironic that their automated waiting messages say "sick and tired of following up with your broker" ?
Something has to give. Livingston is singlehandedly responsible for the deterioration of my mental health
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You're not alone. Truck drivers are 3rd class citizens!
If this went on at an airport and passengers were stranded it would be national news.
They're JUST truck drivers! They have no reason to be anywhere. They don't have families or doctors appointments to get home to.
 
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Navigator said:
You're not alone. Truck drivers are 3rd class citizens!
If this went on at an airport and passengers were stranded it would be national news.
They're JUST truck drivers! They have no reason to be anywhere. They don't have families or doctors appointments to get home to.
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Believe me, I do all I can to make sure my drivers don't sit there all day. If it can't be bonded, I drop the trailer at the customs compound til its clear - but it's seriously taking its toll.
I can't understand why so many customers still use them. The extra fees and missed deliveries can't be worth their cheap rates?
 
The last time this happened we were stuck in the compound for 3 days. What was that like 5 weeks ago?
CFIA product so couldn't bond it, and the compound was so full they wouldn't let us drop. BUT....that is always the brokers first response "JUST PUT IT IN BOND". GRRR
 
I'm sure it's been mentioned a few times, but isn't the best solution a reminder to customers (brokers and direct clients) that shipments that take longer than 30 minutes (or 1 hour, whatever time you have agreed with your client) at the border to clear apply a $__ per hour waiting time charge? Driver and equipment's time isn't free just because people use a crappy customs broker. I would also suggest a different charge for LTL vs TL because if it's LTL, you will have a potential bunch of work explaining to your other clients the delay, rebooking delivery apt times, etc... Oh, and don't forget to add a layover if the driver runs out of hours.

Keep well,
Mike
 
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Jane D said:
I can't take this shit anymore. How can we change this, as an industry? We are the ones who pay the price. I'm sick and tired of chasing them everyday for clearances.
Isn't it completely ironic that their automated waiting messages say "sick and tired of following up with your broker" ?
Something has to give. Livingston is singlehandedly responsible for the deterioration of my mental health
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The only solution is to charge the customer who then passes it on to whomever chose Livingston. You are a trucking company and this is the service that is provided. If you wait then you charge. If you place in bond then you charge.
Remember you do not just pass on your costs in these cases - you are providing a service that should be charged. We charge $750.00 to place something in bond in the case like this. We pay fees to be bonded, keep the authorities up, train our drivers and staff on the process. On the other hand we charge way less if the customer requests it when booking the freight. They say its not right but I say its not right that I am stuck in this situation.

Placing freight in bond or dropping the freight at a location in the US while their broker figures out what needs to be done is an additional service. If they have no idea when the broker will get it done then provide this service. There is more than enough history with Livingston that it is warranted. Don't be afraid.
 
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Jim & I read from the chapter in the bible on this one.
You're being paid to move the goods from point A to point B. You customer's mistakes are not yours to own. They're mistakes are chargeable by you. If you work on the line in an auto plant, and the line breaks down, would you expect your wages to stop? Not hardly. Why would you think your trucks should stop getting paid?

I'm sure I'm not telling anyone here anything they don't already know, but I'll say it anyways ... You have to run your business like a business, not just hope to hell everyone treats you fair, and hope to hell you make a dollar at the end of the day. Profit is a cost to be accounted for, not a windfall.
 
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