The unspoken etiquette of warehouse pickups
Seven things our drivers wish every shipping clerk knew. None of them are in any training manual, all of them save twenty minutes a stop.
We do about 38 routed pickups in a typical week. Across two years of running those routes I've watched our drivers learn the same seven lessons over and over again, and I figured I'd write them down so the next shipping clerk who reads this might save themselves some friction.
1. The forklift driver wants to know which side
When you call us for a pickup, mention whether your forklift comes at the gaylords from the 48 side or the 40 side. We can pre-orient our trailer if we know. If we have to flip every stack at the dock, we're costing you twenty minutes you don't owe us.
2. Pre-stage when you can
If you know the truck is coming Tuesday at 9, having the gaylords pulled to a staging area by 8:45 will shave fifteen minutes off the visit. Almost no one does this, and the ones who do get faster turnaround on future pickups because dispatch starts to know them.
3. Tell us if a liner is staying or going
Some sellers keep their liners. Some leave them in. We don't care which — we just want to know before we start loading. Half the email exchanges we have about price adjustments after a pickup come from this one ambiguity.
4. Don't pre-bale anything we're buying
If you bale used gaylords before we arrive, we have to buy them as bales (recycle pricing) instead of as boxes (reuse pricing). The price difference is roughly 4x. Wait for us. We'll bring our own bander if your dock is short on space.
5. Tell us about anything weird
Outdoor storage, water damage, paint overspray, chemical residue — none of these are dealbreakers, but they affect grading and pricing. Telling us up front lets us bring the right gear. Surprising us at the dock costs everyone money.
6. The bill of lading is sacred
Every box we load goes on a BOL. We need a signature from someone authorized at your dock. "The guys upstairs handle that" is not authorization. If we have to come back, we will, but we'd really rather not.
7. Coffee is appreciated
This one is petty and I'm only half-joking. Drivers have favorite stops, and the dock that puts out a coffee pot for the haulers gets remembered. Donna gets a lot more flexibility on schedule from places her drivers like.
None of this is in any training manual. None of it is enforced. But the docks that get all seven right get our fastest turnaround, and the docks that fight five of the seven get scheduled around our routes instead of inside them.
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