Contractor comunication and how to make it better.

Recently, we’ve had some situations where a contractor will go to pick up a load, and once at the shipper the load changes, (i.e., consignee changes, piece count , etc) The driver will take the changes on the shipper’s word, but doesn’t communicate to the agent or dispatcher, regarding the changes made.  Here is what you should do.  If you are in a situation where you are at a customer to pick up 10 pieces and the shipper is telling you to pick up 8, contact your dispatcher before you have that load on your truck, so they are aware and can talk to their customer to verify it is ok to only take those 8 pieces.

If the proper people aren’t aware of what’s going on, it can cause a variety of issues such as loss of line haul $$$, loss of time and can create frustration for the customer paying for the shipment.  We want to make sure that you as a contractor are not put in a position where you lose on money, extra days that aren’t paid for, or lose access to future loads because of a lack of communication.  So, please communicate with your dispatcher or agent and let them sort out the changes.  Thank you for all you do!