A few hours after receiving confirmation that the driver had arrived at the pickup location, you learn that the pickup was missed. You don’t know why, so you’re urgently attempting to get in touch with both the shipper and the carrier at the same time to find out what’s happening.
If you’ve shipped before, you’ve probably encountered this once or twice at the very least. If you’re a novice shipper planning to start shipping LTL, you should read the information below to prevent this from happening to you.
Poor communication with the shipper is typically to blame when anything like this occurs. Typically, either the shipper is unaware that a pickup from their location has been arranged or the pickup reference number is missing.
We’ll go over a few actions you might want to take below to ensure that your pickups run as easily as possible.
- Prior to scheduling your pickup, be sure to at least attempt to contact your shipper. This one might seem apparent, but after doing this for as long and as frequently as we have, you encounter circumstances that seem unlikely. It is a recipe for disaster to schedule a pickup without first getting in touch with the shipping location. Make sure you speak with the shipper at least once every shipment. In this manner, you can guarantee that the emergency phone number is operational. Additionally, knowing that there is a specific contact person on hand in case of emergency, provides you piece of mind.
- Make sure your shipper is informed that the pickup will occur on the scheduled day. Another basic point, but one that is really lot more common than you may think. Make cautious to check with your shipper before scheduling a pickup for anything you believe is already scheduled. Giving them a call before scheduling your pickup will help you avoid spending money, time, and hassle. In case of missed pickups, carriers charge. A chance of additional fees is there if the pickup place is far away. Making sure that everyone is in agreement is the greatest approach to keep your money safe. A quick and efficient approach to save time and money is to double-check with the shipper that everything is prepared.
- Make careful to find out if the driver needs any more instructions. You should now inquire about any details. Is the building difficult to get to or only accessible via certain roads? Does the driver require any additional documents or a reference number? The carrier must be informed 24 hours prior to pickup if the driver has to carry the BOL or other papers themself. Once more, if the route to the pickup place is very difficult, make sure that there is someone in contact who can answer the driver’s phone and direct them.
Sometimes things seem obvious, but it’s always wise to verify.
Do you believe your shipper is prepared to deliver the cargo to the carrier and aware of this? Double-check. Do you believe your shipper is well equipped? Double-check. Do you anticipate that your shipper will be on-site and available when you request your pickup? Double-check.
Communication greatly simplifies the process of sending freight.