More Freight then booked for

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"What we do know, is that because there was no phone call made to his dispatch, the matter of the additional footage was dealt with after the fact which usually creates problems, as it seems to have done in this case."

this is the main point for our guys, happened again yesterday/today.

it was supposed to be stacked into 7 spots, driver left without making sure they had it stacked, and never called. dispatch called this morning, almost 24hrs after the fact. This makes it incredibly hard to negotiate with our client.
 
Due Dilligence...

Lets think about this one for a second... I see and understand everyones point of view, and I get that the driver is the last line of defence, BUT... did anyone from the broker contact the shippers to ensure the freight was going to be stacked if sold that way to the carrier, or that it is definitly going to be 24 feet not 32 feet. Earning your percentage as a broker is not simply to be a 3rd party for payment between customer and carrier. All of this information should be verified before a truck is booked, if you have had issies before you better be letting the truck dispatcher know to keep an eye on the loading and the footage, or if your skids are sold as stackable how about we make sure the shipper knows this is the case as well BEFORE the truck arrives. I find that the blame gets put on the carrier for EVERYTHING, yet there are many things that could be done to avoid situations like this well before the truck and the driver even gets to the pick up. I have said it before and I will say it again to brokers, "Carrier service", which includes proper freight info, address, and contacts, accurate weights when selling freight. Sometimes carriers make the best freight brokers simply because the questions they ask the customer are relevant to moving the freight. Had the broker in many of these examples listed on here could have quite easily been avoided had the broker relayed specific info to the shipper ahead of time, or given the carrier a heads up that the shipper has a tendancy of adding footage so the dispatcher can keep an eye on that for you... but then you might lose the truck right (Sarcastic). Honestly goes a long way in this business, not just from a carrier to a broker, but also a broker to a carrier (There are many different postings on this site about how carriers not communicating properly...). Food for thought from a dispatcher that is just about fed up with the state of what this indsutry has become... If moving freight was easy then brokers would have thier own trucks (That is not a knock on brokers, simply a reminder that what we do is not easy or everyone would be doing, and doing it well). We need to change the mentality that everything comes down to the truck or drivers fault, and work together to improve communication and information flow to the carrier from the broker end as well. if you take anything from this thread that has gone back and forth for too long already, let it be that if there is something you can do to help the trucker or dispatcher out ahead of time, then do it! Plain and simple, it makes everyones job easier in the long run, but then what will we have to b*itch about right?.... Wait, fuel prices... that should be our next rant on here!! :)
 
What's next......blame the trailer company for not providing extendable vans? Guys, no one wants this driver drawn and quartered, no one is saying the carrier was to blame, for goodness sake, the driver just didn't call in to report a fairly minor discrepancy. It doesn't deserve the death penalty nor should the blame rest with the broker for a situation that regardless of any advance phone call to the shipper, can and still does happen. Think about it, right now some shipper is going to load an extra skid on someone's trailer, or maybe one less skid. Wait.... I think I hear my phone ringing, got to go.
 
G Roch said:
"What we do know, is that because there was no phone call made to his dispatch, the matter of the additional footage was dealt with after the fact which usually creates problems, as it seems to have done in this case."

this is the main point for our guys, happened again yesterday/today.

it was supposed to be stacked into 7 spots, driver left without making sure they had it stacked, and never called. dispatch called this morning, almost 24hrs after the fact. This makes it incredibly hard to negotiate with our client.
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G Roch still can't learn a lesson and continues to let customers take advantage while blaming a driver. Did your shipper forget they sold you the freight double stacked? Lets blame the forklift guy for not calling dispatch and asking if he should stack.
 
Okay, I am going to add one more point here that no one has mentioned.

Quite often, the shipper is not the customer. The consignee orders "X" amount of product, which is normally packaged on "X" ampount of pallets.

The consignee calls the broker \ carrier and books "X" amount of space on the truck. Some freight is ready days before pick up, while other freight is ready just prior to pick up (hopefully).

Unfortunately, when producing and packaging orders for transport, there can be significant changes to the required space needed for loading.

A shipper will rarely call the consignee to let them know that they will need more or less space on the truck if the ordered QTY hasn't changed.

It is, for these reasons, that the expected load may not match the intended load that was originally booked.

The best way to avoid this problem is to contact the shipper prior to pick-up. Unfortunately, that is not always possible.

There are many surprises, in this business, and you have to be ready to roll with the punches.

Communication is the key.
 
Sevana Ex

We all agree on your point here.

What is in question is the clients refusal to pay for the extra space because the driver did not tell them about it.
 
alx said:
We all agree on your point here.

What is in question is the clients refusal to pay for the extra space because the driver did not tell them about it.
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I know it is wrong, but I have seen it happen many times, because, most companies do not want to pay for extra charges that they did not authorize ahead of time.

That really goes for anyone in this business.

I do not believe that anyone can assume that it's okay to take extra freight or less freight, without talking to the company that is paying the bill and if it doesn't get straightened out, before you release the freight, then you may end up eating the cost.
 
Sevana Ex

Freight description changes continuously, sometimes it is more and sometimes less.

Common carriers run across this situation daily, The driver takes what he is given and relays the information to the office when the bills are handed in.

3 skids may have turned out to be 2 skids or vice-versa. The skid did not weigh 200lbs , it is 2000lbs etc..

The rate is simply adjusted, or the driver would never get the run completed.

There is no difference here, the driver left with the freight as loaded by the shipper, The shipper now pays for the space it took.

The truck driver is not a baby sitter!! He is not there to supervise what the shippers or receivers are doing.
If the receiver did not want the freight that took the extra 7 feet then have him ship it back at his cost, end of story!

If the receiver accepted the freight and it is described as such on the B/L than pay!
 
Couldn't agree more with you Alex. The probem I have with this is that the shipper has done this before. They know the game and are playing the you didn't call me card. It's bull.
 
Alx,

You are 100% right, I don't see what the issue is here. More freight than intended. Simple pay the new rate every foot is money on a trailer. To expect the carrier to charge a 25ft rate on a 32ft order is plain stupidity.
Being G ROCH it was probably double brokered so they couldn't go to the customer for more money.

I mean co-brokered
 
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I really do not understand how anyone can book freight on their truck if they don't know how much space they have available?

I understand that the driver has little or no control of how much freight is loaded, but he must be aware of how much freight he has on board?

What happens if he gets to the next pick up and he doesn't have room?

I agree that shipper or reciver should pay for the extra freight costs, but it can be difficult to prove after the fact.

Let's say that this happened to you. Your customer ordered 12 skids to pick up in the US and you booked it with another carrier.

The skids happened to be oversized and 30 feet of space is used.
You do not find out the rate has changed until the freight is delivered and you receive your POD, with the adjusted invoice.

This situation, that would have been easy to correct, had you known about it earler, suddenly becomes much more complicated.

Most customers will understand, but many will not and it can be difficult to sort it out, after the fact.

I really do not want to keep flogging a dead horse here. I guess we just do things a little differently?
 
Sevana Ex said:
I really do not understand how anyone can book freight on their truck if they don't know how much space they have available?

I understand that the driver has little or no control of how much freight is loaded, but he must be aware of how much freight he has on board?

What happens if he gets to the next pick up and he doesn't have room?

I agree that shipper or reciver should pay for the extra freight costs, but it can be difficult to prove after the fact.

Let's say that this happened to you. Your customer ordered 12 skids to pick up in the US and you booked it with another carrier.

The skids happened to be oversized and 30 feet of space is used.
You do not find out the rate has changed until the freight is delivered and you receive your POD, with the adjusted invoice.

This situation, that would have been easy to correct, had you known about it earler, suddenly becomes much more complicated.

Most customers will understand, but many will not and it can be difficult to sort it out, after the fact.

I really do not want to keep flogging a dead horse here. I guess we just do things a little differently?
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yep, wether you do the load yourself or hand it off, if the customer isn't advised ASAP or as it is being loaded, then it is hard to negotiate.

negotiating once delivered is a real b*tch too!

everyone deals their own way, if we get billed extra without a heads up we sort of try to use other capacity the next time. We love the guys that call us from the dock to advise us, we get that fixed every time!
 
Sevana Ex & G Roch

This really is like beating a dead horse.

Be it another carrier or a freight broker that gives out the freight, the information given to the carrier at the inset should be correct. If the freight description changed , the original carrier/ broker should have been made aware of the change and forwarded the information to the carrier carrying out the pick up. That is what they are getting paid to do!

As with any properly run business it pays to be thorough and pre- emptive, as opposed to relying on another party to do the work.

Why do you expect the opposite?

The carriers dispatch will know how much freight can be put on the trailer seeing his driver has communicated to him how much space is used up. He will then know how much freight he can still put on that trailer or other trailers in the same area.

Leave it to a good dispatcher and you will see 30 skids loaded on a trailer. Rarely will any freight be left behind for the competition.

As for negotiating a revised rate for the extra freight , that should be a given.

Other than extraenuating circumstances , no reputable carrier / broker will deal recurringly with a customer that does not seem to know how much freight they are shipping, and add to that the unwillingness to pay for the difference.

There are sometimes bad customers and this one does not seem to be worth the trouble.
 
Alx

Honestly,

Some of your recent statements are misleading and contradictory to your previous statements and I really do not wish to turn this into any kind of heated argument.

With that being said, and with no disrespect to you, I guess I can agree to disagree with you, on this subject.
 
Pay the rates said:
Alx,

You are 100% right, I don't see what the issue is here. More freight than intended. Simple pay the new rate every foot is money on a trailer. To expect the carrier to charge a 25ft rate on a 32ft order is plain stupidity.
Being G ROCH it was probably double brokered so they couldn't go to the customer for more money.

I mean co-brokered
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Nawk is right...let's kill this....on a different note, G Roch is always getting put down for double brokering on every thread they are in and it seems that he is always posting and putting his input everywhere. I am just wondering, does G Roch care what they do in reality? Are you embarrassed? You must be oblivious to this site somehow.
 
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