Grocery Warehouses

[SwervynMervyn]

For those of you that pull reefers, what is the average wait to get unloaded at places like Krogers and other distribution centers?

Does your company pay you for all the waiting time or just after the appointment time?

I don't work for a reefer company, but we have a couple of reefer trailers and haul egg loads. The waiting time to get called to a dock is ridiculous, plus the time to get unloaded.

I thought if I'm gonna get stuck on these loads all the time I would just switch to a reefer company and get paid for more of my time.

Thanks in advance for any answers or info.

[zipy46]

I dropped at a Kroger once in Ohio...it was an all night affair that ran over into the morning.

Most of the other grocery whse's I have dropped at since then are pretty tight and they get

you in and out fast.

A lot of the food stuff my company hauls ...the customers are actually in need of it right then and they calling you to

see where their product is....and they have a dock waiting for you.

[Windwalker]

Most of the places I've been to aren't all that bad about the waiting time. A few seem to have caught on to the companies, though. With my company, if you are not in a dock within 2 hours after your appointment time, you start to get detention pay. However, if you're in a dock, they can keep you there for days without having to pay a dime. Most places, I can climb into the bunk and go to sleep till someone bangs on my sleeper. A few will simply let you sleep all day long, and it's best if you know who they are. But, if you're late for your appointment time, there is not detention. And, you could be there all day long... And then some.

[scythe08]

Grocery warehouse were always my worst experiences! Albertsons was on the top of the list, with anywhere from a 9hr to 13 hr wait and we never got paid detention because we were always told," well you've been there 10 hours, just say you were in the sleeper"
That and having to deal with worst lumpers anywhere! Most places I went to had an in-house lumper team who could care less about getting that truck emptied quickly. I had one place tell me that if I unloaded the trailer(Because they wanted $300) then I had to get it done in under 2 hours or they would kick me off the dock,,,yeah right,,a 45000 lbs case count grocery load in 2 hours by myself,,,so My company FINALLY agreed to pay them,,,,and then the truck sat for 2 hours before they even opened the dock door.

and don't even get me started on con-agra or americold,,, Bleah

[Joey Shabadoo]

Grocery warehouse were always my worst experiences! Albertsons was on the top of the list, with anywhere from a 9hr to 13 hr wait and we never got paid detention because we were always told," well you've been there 10 hours, just say you were in the sleeper"
That and having to deal with worst lumpers anywhere! Most places I went to had an in-house lumper team who could care less about getting that truck emptied quickly. I had one place tell me that if I unloaded the trailer(Because they wanted $300) then I had to get it done in under 2 hours or they would kick me off the dock,,,yeah right,,a 45000 lbs case count grocery load in 2 hours by myself,,,so My company FINALLY agreed to pay them,,,,and then the truck sat for 2 hours before they even opened the dock door.

and don't even get me started on con-agra or americold,,, Bleah

It's what you make of it.
Sunsets and rainbows.

[MNSuperTrucker]

Most bigger companies these days that go into the same grocery warehouses quite a bit have drop trailer appointments. I use to go to Kroger all the time, we had Drop trailers there provided their was an empty that was unloaded, typically there were 3-5. Wal-mart, same thing, Drop Appts for their dry side, if its produce or dairy/deli or frozen, live unloads typically 2-4hrs unless there is a Rejection on the receiving side, then who knows. You could sit there all day while they figure out where to have you take it.

Never been to Albertson's or Safeway, heard they are bad. Dominicks, Meijer, SuperValu, I was in and out fairly quickly. All depends on the case quantity and if it is a straight pull off and shelve it or if breaking it down is required (Sysco and US Food love this)

[TimberWolf]

Hey Joey,
I love the Avatar, It looks very similar to hmmmmm. CFM...
Welcome back....

By the way thanks for Josh Daniels.


Timberwolf

[Joey Shabadoo]

By the way thanks for Josh Daniels.

Hey Timba, you talking about Josh McDaniels?
Figured you for a Jax or Bucs fan.

[1catfish]

I dropped at a Kroger once in Ohio...it was an all night affair that ran over into the morning.

Most of the other grocery whse's I have dropped at since then are pretty tight and they get

you in and out fast.

A lot of the food stuff my company hauls ...the customers are actually in need of it right then and they calling you to

see where their product is....and they have a dock waiting for you.

[TimberWolf]

Hell No,
I love the Donkey's ah I mean the Broncos....
I was raised in The mountains of Colorado, Evergreen / Idaho Springs.

Josh started out good but as usual the team tends to fall apart mid season, but I like his style....

Timberwolf

[b00m]

Kroger and other huge grocery warehouses seem to be the worst.The bigger they are the worst they are it seems,with a lot of bureaucracy, especially on the east coast on places like CS WHOSALe,which i absolutely refuse to go to.

I pull a reefer ,delivering about 80% of freight to these warehouses and sometimes can get really frustrating.Depending on the broker that i work with,most of them compensate my waiting time.Sometimes i'm just happy it takes longer so i can get some good rest after a hard run.

[topset]

For those of you that pull reefers, what is the average wait to get unloaded at places like Krogers and other distribution centers?

Does your company pay you for all the waiting time or just after the appointment time?

I don't work for a reefer company, but we have a couple of reefer trailers and haul egg loads. The waiting time to get called to a dock is ridiculous, plus the time to get unloaded.

I thought if I'm gonna get stuck on these loads all the time I would just switch to a reefer company and get paid for more of my time.

Thanks in advance for any answers or info.

here is how it works at a groc whse.....you get there when their day starts, and as long as they have you unloaded in their 8.5 hr day its ok....with them! whses could give two chits about a driver. i worked at a groc distributor up here in new york and if you were more that 5 mins late for an appt the rec super would refused the load, dude was totally ignorant though. thats our worst enemy out here, ignorance. people just dont care

[Mallaien]

Fresh meat load pickups can really be a pain if your company doesn't have a pre arranged contract.

The meat has to be as fresh as it can be when its placed on your truck, so its not uncommon to wait a long time for it. Pork isn't as bad, they can process pork faster then beef.

I have been on both sides in the pork shipping area, one being a driver, and another time working for the shipper. Don't know how many times I had to explain to a driver about the wait time, most of the time they were really upset, but my past driving experience help me get them to be more understanding.

[Joey Shabadoo]

Why do you guys care about the long waits?
You're paid for all your time on the job, right?

[freebirdrfd]

Why do you guys care about the long waits?
You're paid for all your time on the job, right?

that was a good one joey