Here at Dock411, we hear a truck load of dock stories. Some good, some bad. Situations such as locations its near impossible to get a truck into, several in which the driver isn’t allowed to use the restroom. We’ve even heard about bears spotted in the yard and digging in nearby dumpsters. Yikes! Definitely going to let the shipper get the trailer doors on THAT one.
Another instance we’ve heard of more than once is naked person sightings! Yep, naked people. Drivers have spotted pantless patrons at night in the shippers yard and near the docks. We’ll let you use your imagination on what was going on. On the flip side, we recently heard that Tyson Chicken was providing free showers, free washers and dryers, and if you have to wait longer than 12 hours, they buy you a pizza! We’d sure like to hear more stories like that.
Walmart recently announced that they will be issuing fines to trucking companies and their suppliers for being late and even early! This could result in a fine of 3% of the invoice value of the load! The new policy is called “On-Time, In-Full”, and could be a billion dollar money maker for the retail giant. “Read more here →
In many cases, a dock is nowhere near their bill of lading address. Some BOL addresses take you to the front door of the corporate office and the docks are around back. Dock411 co-founder, Daniel, delivered for a steel company and would notice delivery locations that would have a box of papers with a map to show drivers where the actual dock doors were since they were a few miles away. In more extreme instances, we’ve even heard of docks being 25 miles away from the BOL address!
Here at Dock411, we’re always interested in these kinds of stories. They really illustrate the common setbacks truck drivers encounter on a daily basis. An idea we are kicking around at Dock411 HQ is developing a program that rewards the best shippers in North America. We’d be acknowledging shippers/receivers that go that extra mile for drivers as well as the most improved shipper that Dock411 has worked with, who makes efforts to better situations for drivers. We would love your feedback on this idea. What do you think? Let us know!
