Trans-west logistiques (QC) & Trans-west Intermodal (CA) ***DNU***

[fld1shm2me]

I highly recommend not using this company EVER! We contracted them to pick up in CA coming back to Toronto with a full load that contained meat products. They were told many times that this order would need to be inspected by CFIA and that the original certificate MUST be present for the inspection happen. Not only was the inspection appointment rescheduled twice due to bad updates that they blamed on their satellites not working and claiming that they do not have cell phone numbers for the drivers. They also would not take responsibility for the wrong updates and proceeded to curse and ask why we needed updates and to calm down, they do not respect their customers at all! Needless to say wrong updates were given and they showed up without the original certificate and claimed first that they never got it but we caught that lie because they tried to resubmit the customs paperwork and the certificate was included, secondly that customs kept it when they crossed but they had told us previously that customs didn’t ask for the paperwork. (lie #2 within 10mins). When they finally arrived at the inspection it was their trailer in the door but it was not their truck that was hauling it, they claim that this is their “city” driver but it was subcontracted to another company without approval. They were very rude the whole time and you can never get a straight answer from anyone. If you like your customers at all I would not suggest using this company!!!

 

[martinetav]

Just so you know fld1shm2me, trans-west uses Owner Operators who own tractors only. the company owns the trailer

 

[fld1shm2me]

to be honest that is the least of the problems with this load, was just a minor detail. Maybe something that should have been disclosed so we had an answer for the customer when they asked who the company was....

 

[youngtea]

I used to be on afterhours tracking for one of the large brokers in Toronto about 7 years ago. The only method to track meat loads is with a drivers number. There is too much hassle and headache for everyone involved otherwise.

 

[fld1shm2me]

oh i know - we asked for the drivers number numerous times because of the bad updates but were told the drivers don't have phones.

 

[Igor Galanter]

oh i know - we asked for the drivers number numerous times because of the bad updates but were told the drivers don't have phones.

Off topic.. By NOT having a driver's cellphone # you are saving your butt from being involved in something more serious and may be more costly.
That's why carriers have offices and staff so you can interact with them and leave driving to the driver.

If company doesn't do the work you expect them to do, so be it. Make your move..

Please, people, leave those poor souls behind the wheel alone, for your sake...

Kinda my Wednesday rant..

 

[theman]

Agreed. The drivers all have cell phones (who doesn't) but their orders come from the people they report in to. I've very rarely given a driver's cell # out when involved in that side and I don't expect it now. If you have a trust issue with whom you are working, just don't work with them.

 

[martinetav]

We do not give our driver's number. Their job is to DRIVE. There are laws that prevent them from talking on the phone while driving. Blue Tooth you say. NO, that is still distracting. Our drivers don't even answer us while driving. It's company policy. They stop and call us back. It's all part of safe driving.

 

[TransAction]

I am just curious as to our experiences with Canadian carriers and US carriers regarding the cell phones. Most of the US based carriers actually give us the driver's cell phone #'s, without us even asking. Many times the driver calls us when at the pick up location and the delivery location. I understand that the drivers don't want to be driven crazy with calls while they are driving and I do get this if they have LTL as they would be dealing with too many people but wouldn't doing things this way relieve the check calls to dispatch?

 

[theman]

I remember way back when I was on the ops side, if I would take freight from US brokers for our trucks they would ask. But we didn't give it then either.

Bluetooth is great in newer passenger cars, but most trucks aren't equipped with an integrated Bluetooth. And trucks are still too noisy for the system to work as well as it does in our cars ... drivers would get annoyed with it and use their handsets. Distracted driving is a killer, and a rig weighing 80000# including payload is like comparing an Uzi to a BB Gun. The best thing is to let the drivers do their jobs ... they'll normally call in to dispatch and talk their ears off when they have pulled off the road. Believe me, I know.

If you're dealing with someone who is reputable and you have a relationship with, you'll get the straight goods. Most of us out there are working with integrity. The only time you'll hear something of a lie from me is as a 'white lie' ... when the truth is so ugly it's better you don't hear.

 

[Igor Galanter]

I am just curious as to our experiences with Canadian carriers and US carriers regarding the cell phones. Most of the US based carriers actually give us the driver's cell phone #'s, without us even asking. Many times the driver calls us when at the pick up location and the delivery location. I understand that the drivers don't want to be driven crazy with calls while they are driving and I do get this if they have LTL as they would be dealing with too many people but wouldn't doing things this way relieve the check calls to dispatch?

Because they putting YOU in the line of fire in case something will go wrong, especially deadly wrong..
Just be careful...

 

[lowmiler88]

We have satellite and our drivers pay for their own phones so we do not give them out, pretty simple if dispatch cannot give you an answer then you probably should not be dealing with them.

 

[martinetav]

sometimes dispatch just cannot get in touch with them. The northwest US can be spotty at times. ID, WY, MT and the Dakotas don't have the best cell service. We are not always lying...
Also, they don't do things quite the same in the US. Brokers are usually paid by commission in the US. That changes the dynamic quite a bit

 

[martinetav]

to be honest that is the least of the problems with this load, was just a minor detail. Maybe something that should have been disclosed so we had an answer for the customer when they asked who the company was....

If you hire us you may get a truck that is not lettered with our company name. You might get a numbered company. We have O/Os and they are numbered companies. This is a total deterrent for theft too. If they are looking for a truck with the company name on it in order to steal the freight, they won't find us... a theft prevention technique since we all know that thieves usually have a contact in one of the companies involved.
I think it's a shame that so many operate from the angle that all truckers and trucking companies are just a bunch of lying thieves...

 

[loaders]

While I doubt that there is anyone on this site who refers to all trucking companies as "lying thieves", surely we can all agree that there are times, very few of them, that a drivers cell phone number can and should be provided to a shipper/customer. If it is an after hours pick-up or delivery requiring a precise ETA, why not empower the driver and have him deal directly with the party that he has to meet? I am not talking about a regular status update on a regular shipment, those can and should be directed through the carrier's dispatch office. If I have a shipment delivering to an unmanned warehouse at 3:00AM, and the driver has to contact the receivers an hour before he arrives, isn't it just logical that the receiver also be able to contact him in case of a foul-up like incorrect directions, or wrong loading door number? In the right circumstances, it can save everyone a whole lot of time and trouble, to say nothing of lost sleep!

 

[Freight Broker]

I am just curious as to our experiences with Canadian carriers and US carriers regarding the cell phones. Most of the US based carriers actually give us the driver's cell phone #'s, without us even asking. Many times the driver calls us when at the pick up location and the delivery location. I understand that the drivers don't want to be driven crazy with calls while they are driving and I do get this if they have LTL as they would be dealing with too many people but wouldn't doing things this way relieve the check calls to dispatch?

I deal 90% with American carriers and drivers. More often than not dispatchers will give me the driver's cell or have the driver call me direct. The reason is that I will be dispatching the driver and providing the driver his pickup and load information instead of the carrier's dispatch. Its one way of offloading the dispatchers work onto the customer I guess. It is what it is. Canadians are more likely to work via the normal chain of command.. i.e. I call dispatch and dispatch handles the communication with the driver. Both systems have their pros and cons..

 

[Rob]

I deal 90% with American carriers and drivers. More often than not dispatchers will give me the driver's cell or have the driver call me direct. The reason is that I will be dispatching the driver and providing the driver his pickup and load information instead of the carrier's dispatch. Its one way of offloading the dispatchers work onto the customer I guess. It is what it is. Canadians are more likely to work via the normal chain of command.. i.e. I call dispatch and dispatch handles the communication with the driver. Both systems have their pros and cons..

Watch yourself. If you are dispatching the driver and there is a wreck YOU are opening yourself up to lawsuits etc. I cannot remember all of the details but I do believe it was CH Robinson that had to pay a pile of dough out in a lawsuit for dispatching a truck that did not have the hours or something along that line to do a job and buddy got in a wreck and killed someone. The broker had to pay a bunch of cash.

 

[Freight Broker]

That's true, Rob. I try to minimize that exposure to risk by simply telling the driver what I've already conveyed to his/her employer via the load confirmation. I'm also very careful to avoid any instructions that are not on the confirmation. So far so good, but you're right, there's a risk in communicating directly with someone else's employee.

 

[theman]

That doesn't work. Your responsibility ends when you send instructions to your carrier partner on any given load. It is their responsibility to handle the shipment effectively, safely, and lawfully.

My guess is that you are brokering mostly produce loads ... the only kind of freight that I know of that still does this is with produce. If I'm wrong, tell me. I won't be offended.

 

[Freight Broker]

No produce.. metals. I've handled only one produce load in my career, a load of watermelons to a Walmart in New Orleans, and that experience scared me away from produce forever. I too would prefer to deal only with the carrier's dispatch, but sometimes one has to adjust to what others want and how they want to go about it. Sometimes my ONLY contact is the driver as the carrier has given their driver authority to book loads. What do you do.. you adjust, you dot all your I's and cross your T's.