Quote:
I couldnt be a help but be a little jealous seeing your rates, but I couldnt help but wonder what the negative is.......ok I mean everythng has its up-n downs.
Was just wondering cuz I thnk I know it, how many whiny customers you get that refuse to pay their bill cuz they say you scratched something or some BS like that...people just can be really picky about their rat pack treasurers, what looks like a piece of crap they think is some valuable family heirloom? N God help you if you brake it or even scratch it.
So you guys get a lot of people wont pay I bet?
The scenario you present doesn't happen. All COD shipments are paid in full before the doors are opened. That is a government regulation, and must be adhered to. If the customer doesn't pay in full, the doors are never opened.Originally Posted by pepe4158
Say you guys hauling furniture...just wondering?I couldnt be a help but be a little jealous seeing your rates, but I couldnt help but wonder what the negative is.......ok I mean everythng has its up-n downs.
Was just wondering cuz I thnk I know it, how many whiny customers you get that refuse to pay their bill cuz they say you scratched something or some BS like that...people just can be really picky about their rat pack treasurers, what looks like a piece of crap they think is some valuable family heirloom? N God help you if you brake it or even scratch it.
So you guys get a lot of people wont pay I bet?
The downside of doing HHG is that there can be a lack of shipments. I've had full months where there were no available loads. I've had do deadhead over 1000 miles to pick up a load.
The other downside, which relates to what you were asking, is claims. In HHG, you have to cover your butt in the beginning with the inventory, or it can come back to haunt you in claims. There are some less than honest shippers, commonly people who move several times, who will file claims on items they knew were damaged before the move. I can't even count the times I've heard shippers say "Go ahead and drop that TV - I'd like to get a new one". What they don't realize is that the cost of that new TV would come directly out of my pocket.
Unlike regular freight hauling, every single piece needs to be handled with TLC to avoid a costly claim. It isn't just a matter of having a forklift put a skid of shrink wrapped freight in the right spot to make your axle weights correct - every piece needs to be inspected, inventoried, wrapped, and loaded so as to avoid damage in transit. Even with the most diligent care taken at origin, sometimes things do get damaged. Those claims can add up quickly if you're not careful.
On a full trailer shipment, I can have an inventory that is about 25-30 pages long. Usually about half of that is boxes. That's upwards of 400-500 items that were inspected, tagged, inventoried, wrapped, and placed in JUST the right spot in the trailer. Each of those steps takes a skill that can't really be taught. Sure - you can tell someone all the damage codes, but it isn't until you are in a real world scenario that you know how to treat those damage codes on an inventory form.