Do You Get Treated With Respect By The Dock Workers (when Making Or Picking Up A Delivery)?

NOTE: I’m posting this post (below) for a friend (who is interested in becoming a truck driver) who setup a new TT member account in September, but all of his questions keep going into a “waiting for moderator approval status” and are never being approved/posted to this forum for some reason. So I am only posting his questions after they have stayed in the “waiting for moderator approval status” for 2+ weeks.

Seeing the big demand for truck drivers over the past two years (if those national news stories are true about the truck driver shortage), I was curious, do you truck drivers get treated good and with respect by the dock workers/the people you interface with at the companies when making or picking up a delivery? I used to work at Target for 10 years as an outside vendor. Yet I would have to go to their dock on occasion and talk with their Receivers or other dock workers, to locate shipments of merchandise in order to restock my section of the store. I really hated how moody, mean, nasty, disrespectful many of their Recievers and dock workers were (as I worked in over 10 different Target stores, during my career there). Yet it seemed like some dock workers had their favorite truck drivers and treated them nice and with respect, yet the other truck drivers  they would treat as bitter enemies. I never understood this nasty Reciver and dock worker mentality happening at so many different Target stores. So I was just curious as to your experiences of how you have been treated by dock workers in general at various companies when making or picking up a delivery. Maybe it could be an isolated issue happening only at some Target stores with their Recievers and dock workers.

When I’m delivering, they are the customer. I try to treat them as a valued contributor to my paycheck. How they choose to act is on them.

If I based my career choices on how I was gonna be treated by the other side, man I’d probably have never worked any job.

100% agree with Steve on this.

When I’m delivering, they are the customer. I try to treat them as a valued contributor to my paycheck. How they choose to act is on them.

If I based my career choices on how I was gonna be treated by the other side, man I’d probably have never worked any job.

I agree with Steve and G. I’m always proffessional. In 9 years I can count on less than 1 hand the number of customers that weren’t.

I have witnesed drivers being a butt and the interaction they rec’d back from the customer.

I've found that respectable people are rarely the ones you hear complaining they're being disrespected.

People often treat others based on how they are treated. I am often one of the "favorites" driver. Because I smile and am pleasant. There may be 2 in the past I remember as miserable.

NOTE to Nick.. There is no way your friend's posts are sitting in approval status for 2 weeks. 1 day maximum. I, as well as the other moderators see them. No legitimate question gets rejected. I have rejected a ton of spam lately.... But no way are his legitimate questions being rejected or being held

Sorry.

I concur with Kearsey, no way anything sits in the moderation queue for more than a few hours.

Nick, what screen name (profile) does your friend use on Trucking Truth? I’m monitoring for another hour, have him send us something.

I have only been trucking just shy of a year at this point so my opinion is limited by the other experience presented here.

But I can honestly say that the overwhelming number of dock/receivers I meet are great. They are blue collars folks just like us who just want to make it through the day with minimal headache (also like us). Occasionally, I will bump into a moody receiving clerk or lumper representative. I just kill them with kindness or keep it one dimensional. Some of them have reasons to be upset, others are mad that the sun rose in the east and set in the west as per usual.

Personally, I find delivery day to be one of the better days on the job because I usually get to BS with employees of smaller DCs for a few minutes which breaks up the routine of driving for days.

I find that I have more issues with other truckers than I do anyone else in this line of work. Some are great and want to nothing more than to help (like folks on this forum), some others are rude, inconsiderate, and have grossly over inflated egos.

Regardless, if someone presents an issue, the best option is to not lean into it. You will only hurt yourself by taking the bait. But again, I can't stress enough how uncommon these unpleasantries have been for me. But everyone's mileage may vary.

There are some who entertain the stereotype that the trucking and supply chain industry is populated by ill tempered, surly people. My experience is just the opposite. 99% of those I have contact with are friendly and helpful. A smile and a courteous greeting will get most people to relax and enjoy the encounter. Just like on the road, if a driver is courteous, other drivers will react in kind.