When Is It Ok?

When is is ok for a driver to contact the shipper or receiver himself? I've read where I see some of you more experienced drivers contact them directly to see if you can be seen early etc. As a rookie driver when is it ok to do this? I don't want to seem as if I'm stepping over my DM's toes or anything or over stepping my boundaries. Just asking because I had a situation where I had received my work assignment yesterday at about 10am. I had a full clock as I had stopped the day before at 6pm. My assignment says I'm loading at 20:00 & I am 10 miles away from the shipper. I was wondering if I could get an earlier appt since I'm so close. I call my DM & she says she will contact customer service to see if it could be changed. So after about 3 hours I call her back to see what happened & she says no one ever got back to her & that I should just call the shipper myself & see if they would take me early. Well I call them & they said no they have solid appt times, which is fine. But I just figured I should call her instead of calling myself so it wouldn't be a problem. So I figured I'll just chill a while then take a nap since I'll have to drive the night shift. I wake up about 1800 only to see my appt time has been changed to 7/21 @ 1400. Whooooaa. That would make for a day of sitting for me. So it's now 11am & I'm just waiting on about 13:00 before I roll out. Any advice for me? Whether I should have approached This differently or what I can do for next time if there is a next time? I'm open to all advice good or bad. Thanks!

When is is ok for a driver to contact the shipper or receiver himself? I've read where I see some of you more experienced drivers contact them directly to see if you can be seen early etc. As a rookie driver when is it ok to do this? I don't want to seem as if I'm stepping over my DM's toes or anything or over stepping my boundaries. Just asking because I had a situation where I had received my work assignment yesterday at about 10am. I had a full clock as I had stopped the day before at 6pm. My assignment says I'm loading at 20:00 & I am 10 miles away from the shipper. I was wondering if I could get an earlier appt since I'm so close. I call my DM & she says she will contact customer service to see if it could be changed. So after about 3 hours I call her back to see what happened & she says no one ever got back to her & that I should just call the shipper myself & see if they would take me early. Well I call them & they said no they have solid appt times, which is fine. But I just figured I should call her instead of calling myself so it wouldn't be a problem. So I figured I'll just chill a while then take a nap since I'll have to drive the night shift. I wake up about 1800 only to see my appt time has been changed to 7/21 @ 1400. Whooooaa. That would make for a day of sitting for me. So it's now 11am & I'm just waiting on about 13:00 before I roll out. Any advice for me? Whether I should have approached This differently or what I can do for next time if there is a next time? I'm open to all advice good or bad. Thanks!

I think I would have made the call and reported back to your DM and/or planner the result of that call. Assuming you have a good relationship with your DM, I seriously doubt they would mind if you took the bull by the horns. They too benefit by you continuing to move. In this case since you are soooo close, might not even be a bad idea to show-up and pull the old "in the neighborhood, I know I am early, but...is it possible to load me since I am here?" Worst case they say "no", and you park somewhere close for your break. Start to make a list of those companies that will allow this and those that repeatedly deny early access.

Luck of the drawl I have arrived hours early for many a backhaul and usually they will take me without a fuss. I don't think twice about it, just do it. Many shippers this time of year are happy to free up a little space.

If I end a day close to the receiver, I have time to burn, and my appointment is more than 12 hours away, I always just stop by and see if I can be taken early.

"Yes, I know I'm very early, but I was hoping there might have been some no-shows or reschedules. If there's no room for me, I'll just come back later."

Nobody has ever given me a hard time about this.

If I'm going to be sitting more than a few hours after my 10 hour break is up, I see if there is any way I can be repowered or drop a trailer in a drop yard.

For instance, I am on a 34 now. I have a load that's due in Oakland, CA on 25 JUL at 0600, 700 miles away. I can arrive there around 0300-0500 on 23 JUL. I called a planner, explained the situation, and they will have a repower for me tomorrow, and give my load to someone else who has a long run, but is short on hours.

Just curious, who changed your appointment time? And why did they change it to the next day when you already had an appointment scheduled for that night?

Just curious, who changed your appointment time? And why did they change it to the next day when you already had an appointment scheduled for that night?

That would be the million dollar question! & to show how much of a rookie I am I didn't even ask... I'm learning though.

When is is ok for a driver to contact the shipper or receiver himself? I've read where I see some of you more experienced drivers contact them directly to see if you can be seen early etc. As a rookie driver when is it ok to do this? I don't want to seem as if I'm stepping over my DM's toes or anything or over stepping my boundaries. Just asking because I had a situation where I had received my work assignment yesterday at about 10am. I had a full clock as I had stopped the day before at 6pm. My assignment says I'm loading at 20:00 & I am 10 miles away from the shipper. I was wondering if I could get an earlier appt since I'm so close. I call my DM & she says she will contact customer service to see if it could be changed. So after about 3 hours I call her back to see what happened & she says no one ever got back to her & that I should just call the shipper myself & see if they would take me early. Well I call them & they said no they have solid appt times, which is fine. But I just figured I should call her instead of calling myself so it wouldn't be a problem. So I figured I'll just chill a while then take a nap since I'll have to drive the night shift. I wake up about 1800 only to see my appt time has been changed to 7/21 @ 1400. Whooooaa. That would make for a day of sitting for me. So it's now 11am & I'm just waiting on about 13:00 before I roll out. Any advice for me? Whether I should have approached This differently or what I can do for next time if there is a next time? I'm open to all advice good or bad. Thanks!

I think I would have made the call and reported back to your DM and/or planner the result of that call. Assuming you have a good relationship with your DM, I seriously doubt they would mind if you took the bull by the horns. They too benefit by you continuing to move. In this case since you are soooo close, might not even be a bad idea to show-up and pull the old "in the neighborhood, I know I am early, but...is it possible to load me since I am here?" Worst case they say "no", and you park somewhere close for your break. Start to make a list of those companies that will allow this and those that repeatedly deny early access.

Luck of the drawl I have arrived hours early for many a backhaul and usually they will take me without a fuss. I don't think twice about it, just do it. Many shippers this time of year are happy to free up a little space.

Good advice! & they indeed took me early. In fact the guy was like we didn't have anyone scheduled all morning! I'm like whhhhaaaaattt!? I know next time to just make the call & report what I find out. I also think the making a list idea is a great one! That could save me much more time in the future. Thanks!

The only time I don't call is when the appointment they have for me is the same as my ETA, or if there's a note on the dispatch that says "no need to call." I've never had a dispatcher get upset because I made an appointment when there was only a date on the dispatch, or rescheduled it for earlier. That's one less thing for them to think about. I just update them with the new appointment and the name of the person I talked to.

Of course, you have to always be polite and professional with customers, even if they're not. I made one security guy mad at me over a year ago by being a little too pushy. As it happened, I didn't get a load out of there for almost a year since I was never back in the area. I went back a few months ago and was prepared with information, said yes sir and no sir, and did exactly what he told me to do when he told me to do it. I go there pretty often and have gotten on his good side. He's relaxed a lot with me, and even joked last time that the driver that went in before me wasn't too happy with him because he yelled at him.

Flatbed is a little different since most shippers and receivers have somewhat normal hours, very often 0700 to 1500 or 1600. There aren't that many that operate 24/7.

Some building materials retailers take deliveries in the middle of the night. If I can get there early (like the night before the appointment), I go in and ask when they usually unload. Sometimes I get empty right then before my 10 hour break. I snooze in their parking lot and am ready for a new load first thing in the morning. I'm also first in line for new loads since I was empty first. If I'm really lucky, I'll have a preplan and be on my way there before the dispatchers get into the office in the morning.

There have also been times when I've parked outside the gate and gotten in at 0600 or even earlier because someone shows up to unlock the gate and tells me to go on in.

It's the same at shippers. I try to be like Old School and park where no one can get in front of me. There are a couple of places where I'll park right in front of the scale since everyone has to scale before loading. It really seems to tick off the guys that show up 30 minutes before they open only to find me blocking the scale.