YOU WANT ME TO DO WHAT?

Mile Marker #13

Internet shopping is easily accessible and is becoming a popular everyday convenience. I've seen the increase as early as 3-4 years ago. Currently, I am in the LTL ( less than a truck load ) business side of trucking. Internet retail and E-Bay sales are usually shipped by a LTL carrier if the weight of an item exceeds the package carrier limit. LTL freight differs from the traditional full trailer load. The drivers usually have multiple pick ups and deliveries versus one full load going to a destination. This fairly new business benefits the LTL companies. This is a good and a bad situation. The Internet sales increase the revenue for the companies, but it's an added unsafe responsibility for the drivers. Somehow in a safe manner, the drivers are required to make these residential deliveries with a semi in narrow, tree hugging neighborhoods. It's just one more disadvantage to a driver that could eventually result in some kind of disciplinary action. On top of that, there is always a resident or three, that doesn't hesitate to tell you, what they think, your job is. They obviously have me mixed up with the UPS guy or their Husband. This is just a case of the residential customers not knowing what to expect when they make a big Internet purchase. The public needs to get educated on this situation.

While dozing in and out from the over consumption of Thanksgiving sleepy meat, I heard a family member ( not blood related ) telling a story about a truck driver making a delivery at his house. After sitting there a couple of minutes listening to the situation, I finally had to respond to the absurd comments and what he thought the driver's responsibilities were. It wasn't his lack of knowledge that bothered me, it was his attitude, how he talked, and how he handled the situation with the driver. This is becoming a common problem in the LTL business. The public is unaware of what the truck drivers job requirements include. In most instances, the residents will bluntly tell you where they want it. These wishful thoughts include: up the stairs, down the stairs, in the back room, on the back porch, etc. A driver can usually tell in the first minute of arrival how a residential delivery will go. The person will either have an attitude right out of the gate, or he or she will be personable and reasonable to deal with. In most cases, they just don't know how these home deliveries work. I usually can work with the reasonable ones. The people with attitudes, I handle in a whole different light. In most cases, the resident is called upon before the freight is delivered. This approach works best and gives the resident an idea of what a driver is responsible for. Also, it commits a time frame so the resident or someone will be home. If they can't be available, other delivery options can be made.

In most of my experiences, the people are willing to work with you. Although, my job is to get the freight to the back of the trailer, I will normally help the customer the best I can, if it can be done in a safe manner. Sometimes, I go beyond the call of duty and perform tasks to help someone under certain circumstances. For example, if a person is elderly or alone, I will do all I can to make the delivery happen. In a lot of instances the freight is too heavy, or they don't have the the proper equipment or personnel to unload it. When this occurs, a future delivery date or different arrangements are made. The most common remarks from the public are: "I thought you were going to bring two guys", "How come you don't have a forklift or liftgate?", or "I can't be much of a help because my back is bad". I've heard them all. To eliminate a lot of the confusion with a residential delivery, the resident has an option to pay for extra company commitments such as an inside delivery or liftgate services. Most of them choose not to, due to the added extra costs of the shipping charges. When the proper shipping needs are payed for that particular item, it eliminates all the confrontational issues at delivery. The general public doesn't realize if their freight is over the 70 pound UPS weight limit, it is shipped by motor freight. Motor freight means that the freight is shipped on a big truck. Another common remark is, "They put my little 350 pound crate on this big of a truck?" Another slick move by people is to put a business name with their home address. I know some people work from home, but it is not a business business. It is a home business. When the paperwork is all said and done, they do not get charged with a residential delivery. Being a driver, this causes some serious problems. While following the directions to this particular business, you end up with your 53 foot trailer on a dead end Cul Da Sac with barely enough room to get a wheel barrow turned around.

About 3 years ago, I delivered to a house that didn't pay for the proper delivery services needed. It was a 280 pound box. It was too heavy for one person, but manageable for two. The resident opted not to purchase the the liftgate service, which again put me in a undesirable situation. Do I take the freight back to the terminal and make other arrangements, or help unload the box, so I could be on my way? I chose to help this guy. The weight wasn't an issue, it was 140 pounds per side with two people. We picked the box up and set it to the ground. Once it was on the ground, it felt like a sharp object pierced through the box and went straight into my arm! It wasn't that at all ..... It was only my main arm tendon snapping off my wrist bone like a slingshot, and my bicep muscle rolling up along with it! It was freak accident because of a weird extended arm angle I guess. Long story short, surgery was done and I ended up off of work for seven months. Not a Get Well card or a peep from that guy I helped! He didn't care I lost approximately $500.00 a month in wages for seven months, all he cared about was that his frigg'n box got off the trailer. My arm strength loss rating wasn't what it was supposed to be. The surgeon's rating was like it was set in stone, even though my Physical Therapist debated it. Whatever, life goes on. I ended up with a little check that didn't even cover my lost wages, let alone my bad wing.

This is why this problem needs to be addressed. Now that I am older and wiser, I make the decision whether the deliveries are a risk to myself or not. Nobody cares about you. In a lot of people's eyes, you are just a truck driver. As far as that family member at Thanksgiving is concerned, if I was delivering to his house and he talked to me that way, I would have said politely with a smile, " Sorry sir, you will have to make other arrangements." I would have shut my trailer door and drove into the horizon. Because personally, I could give a %!%# about a , I bought it on the Internet - It was on sale - I didn't pay for a liftgate - It was free shipping - snow blower! Nobody needs to be treated like that, I don't care who you think you are!

Other people's Internet savings are not going to be at my body's expense!