soberups
Pees in the brown Koolaid
Before I worked at UPS I was an OTR driver. Every time going to a Walmart distribution center was hell. There were times I was sitting for hours waiting to be unloaded. Once in a while, I was stuck there for an entire day. The rules they have are insane. I'd have to drop the trailer in a certain spot, bobtail to receiving to sign in for the 2nd time, then sit and wait until they were ready for me. Then hook up the trailer again, bump the dock, drop the trailer again, go to the designated parking spot and wait some more. I was at one near Dallas once for 2 days. At least there were several "migrant workers" with taco trucks. Unfortunately, there would only be one bathroom for maybe 20 drivers who recently consumed said tacos.
What would be nice is if the various trucking companies all banded together and collectively refused to comply with WalMart's ridiculous shipping/receiving policies. If every trucking company just quit taking WalMart loads then they would be forced to extend their receiving hours, open up more dock space, and pretty much stop being obnoxious pains in the ass. As it stands right now, WalMart pretty much goes out of its way to make things as difficult and time-consuming as possible for the poor schmuck who is just trying to do his job and deliver their merchandise.
I deliver to a Fred Meyer (AKA Kroger's) which is almost as big as a WalMart, but the difference in the receiving departments between the two stores is night and day. Fred Meyer receiving is open from 7:30 to 4:30, they almost always have at least one dock available, and if they dont then I can either handtruck the packages up a ramp and thru the man door or else leave them on a pallet in the parking lot and an employee will come out with a forklift and haul the pile in for me. There are several people in the receiving department who are authorized to sign, and they are always helpful and cooperative. Which is just one of the many reasons I do all of my shopping there.