Little (or Big) Thank You's...

bellesotico

BOXstar
I'm sure this topic has already been done..and I should probably just search it..but then I thought why not just start fresh.

I'm sure we all bust youknowwhat to do a good job if not great job. I cant speak for anyone but myself, but I actually really care that my drivers have a great day and that their load is safe. I do my best to make sure labels are faced out or in a way they can be scanned easily. I avoid "loading up the middle" at all costs. I like the challenge of fitting it all in and leaving a clear walkway.
Anyways, they have been very thoughtful (or just feel sorry for me..lol) and will bring me in snacks or water/energy drinks. One of my drivers knows I only use sharpies to verify so he makes sure I have lots of sharpies and sticky notes. He also makes sure my radio has good batteries :happy2:
I really appreciate the effort they make for me, and I know that they appreciate the extra mile I go for them.

So I was wondering if any of you have a driver/loader/customer etc that you really look out for or vice versa?
 

cgrant55

Active Member
Ive been doing one of the harder pulls in our building for quite some time now and my drivers seem to appreciate the effort I put into my loads as well. Everything you mentioned is exactly the way I feel. Most people just throw the packages on the shelf in no order, but I always try and keep it as sequenced as possible. And only on extremely heavy days do I use all of the middle(Although quite often it is impossible for me not too in one of my trucks, with all the pottery barn I get and I have a Bike shop as well). Wanting to become a driver when I turn 21, I just load the way id want a truck of mine loaded you know.
 

bellesotico

BOXstar
Ive been doing one of the harder pulls in our building for quite some time now and my drivers seem to appreciate the effort I put into my loads as well. Everything you mentioned is exactly the way I feel. Most people just throw the packages on the shelf in no order, but I always try and keep it as sequenced as possible. And only on extremely heavy days do I use all of the middle(Although quite often it is impossible for me not too in one of my trucks, with all the pottery barn I get and I have a Bike shop as well). Wanting to become a driver when I turn 21, I just load the way id want a truck of mine loaded you know.

Ughhh... Pottery Barn. Yeah..those can be a tough fit.
 

PassYouBy

Unknown Acrobat
I just load the way id want a truck of mine loaded you know.

Yes, its crucial to me that I load ALL my drivers good. I even get to load my truck some days.

I have one driver that will bring me Sonic in the morning.(2-3 times a week) I can load his stop for stop because I have ran that route + he is the only one that has taken the time to show me what HE REALLY wants!
 

dilligaf

IN VINO VERITAS
You guys are great. I wish more of our preloaders cared more about their work. We have a few that do, but not enough.
As a driver I have quite a few customers that I take extra good care of. I don't have my own rte yet so I see them infrequently.
 

satellitedriver

Moderator
A pre-loader that cares is a godsend to a driver.
I have loaded my pkg car for 13yrs, and even today,I am amazed at the effort it must take a loader to load 3 to 4 cars and even come close to making it workable for a driver.
My hat is off to all of you that take the effort in trying to do your job in a professional manner.
 

Mike Hawk

Well-Known Member
A little bit of gratitude goes a long way, my drivers were always happy to see me loading and would leave Gatorade or Mountain Dew a few days a week. I always busted my butt to get their loads right, changed what they wanted changed, and their gratitude was what kept me going, because you know management didn't give me any.

When I first started I would have jumped at the chance to have an easy job like SPA. Now, it's different. One of our SPA people quit and I had the seniority to take the position, but I had to think about it, if I did that my drivers would have some new guy who can't load 1 truck right much less four. I took the SPA position because I want to have energy to do what I want later in the day, and not be so tired. But I still feel loyal to my drivers and when we wrap up before driver start time I will go down and sort their trucks for them.
 

dannyboy

From the promised LAND
Richie loaded mine for 15 years or so. If something was out of place because of bulk, he would let me know before he left. Breakfast on me pretty much every day.

Maybe one misload every two weeks or less. Usually streets that sounded the same.

Only problem is that he got 5 weeks vacation, and I suffered through that.

The preload makes the day for the driver. And the driver can cover for misloads many times, so it is a wash. But many drivers wount go out of their way to do so.

d
 

cgrant55

Active Member
I definitely agree with Mike. The drivers that show some satisfaction makes me want to load it good every day. One of my drivers is known to be a real :censored2: and has cussed out many preloaders before me. He has yet to do that to me, so I take that as a compliment if you know what I mean.

Out of curiosity, how do you guys like to load the trucks. I like to look at my forecasts in the morning and take the biggest stops and put them on the floor in order. That way I am not killing all the shelf space and I can actually put things on the shelf in pretty good order. I know a lot of the preloaders dont even look at there sheets so I was just wondering everyones styles.
 

bellesotico

BOXstar
I definitely agree with Mike. The drivers that show some satisfaction makes me want to load it good every day. One of my drivers is known to be a real :censored2: and has cussed out many preloaders before me. He has yet to do that to me, so I take that as a compliment if you know what I mean.

Out of curiosity, how do you guys like to load the trucks. I like to look at my forecasts in the morning and take the biggest stops and put them on the floor in order. That way I am not killing all the shelf space and I can actually put things on the shelf in pretty good order. I know a lot of the preloaders dont even look at there sheets so I was just wondering everyones styles.

I don't even bother with forecasts. I request the driver manifests. It gives me a far better idea of what is coming and how I can load it efficiently. In our center, dispatch has a naughty habit of throwing everything into one or two sections. At the rate I get packages there is not much time to snake the loads when necessary, so having the manifest is a huge help. I can look and see basically how much of what is on which shelf and load accordingly.

My pull is mostly commercial..alot of heavy industrial stuff..lots of bulk, so I don't have alot of wiggle room. I have to commit to a location. I've worked with my drivers and we have decided where to put their bulk regardless of what PAS indicates. As much as possible I load all three stop for stop on the commercial. The resi I load by PAS and try to keep bags and small boxes to the back of the shelf so that they don't move to much out of place.

One of my drivers is my height (5'7") and he has a stop that always falls in the 5900s. It's comprised of lots of little boxes and a few big ones. For him I tote the small boxes with the labels up for easy scanning and load the tote next to the big boxes.
He has another stop that is always COD MO only. The guy NEVER has the money order so it's to the point where he just runs in and says "you got a check today?" For that stop I always load it on the floor labels out for easy scanning..that way my driver doesnt have to move anything. Just sheet it and make a nice service cross. :)

I also put boxes of paper up on the lower shelf. That way it's waist level. No need to bend and lift.

There are other things that I do but it would probably take forever to list them..lol..and honestly each day brings a new scenario. I just think of the truck as a giant puzzle and it's my job to make all of the pieces fit neatly. :)
 

dilligaf

IN VINO VERITAS
I also put boxes of paper up on the lower shelf. That way it's waist level. No need to bend and lift.

:)
God I wish our preloaders could get that through their heads. No over 40#'s on the top shelf doesn't mean that you can't put it on the second shelf.

If you were my preloader you would get a GREAT x-mas present.:bow:
 

Storm723

Preload Supervisor
I just think of the truck as a giant puzzle and it's my job to make all of the pieces fit neatly. :)

bellesotica, I took the same pride in my work as a loader, I was on the heaviest set on my belt, peak never ended for me. My drivers were so mad when I became a sup...lol.

They used to tip me out weekly....so breakfast was always on them!! LOL!
I just felt proud when they walked up...

Keep up the good work!
 

cgrant55

Active Member
bellesotico, I used to have a truck like that. All bulk stops towards the back of the truck. Each one had its own place regardless of the pal. They always seemed to switch it up, or like rotate the places of each. Sometimes one would be FL3, then the next 6990, vice versa. RDL and RDR stayed the same, but I also had some FL4 that would switch with 6000 and whatnot. Once the driver lets you know what he wants, I pretty much disregard the pal, except for his residential, which there was very few of. A lot of it has to do with the type of area your driver is in.
 

bellesotico

BOXstar
I definitely agree with Mike. The drivers that show some satisfaction makes me want to load it good every day. One of my drivers is known to be a real :censored2: and has cussed out many preloaders before me. He has yet to do that to me, so I take that as a compliment if you know what I mean.


One of my drivers has that same reputation. He's really not a very personable guy and has had customer service complaints. He's just kind of prickly.
When I first started loading for him he wouldn't say much. Just kind of grumbled, but never complained. He would just let me know if he needed a certain customization and I would smile and say not a problem :) I noticed that he used alot of totes because of pick-ups..so I would go out of my way to make sure he had plenty of totes. And when he came in, I always would greet him and let him know what was up with his load.
Eventually he started warming up, and then he told me that he had a candy stash in his box and I was more than welcome to help myself.
Now he actually smiles!! :) Which no one can hardly believe!! LOL

A little kindness goes a long way :)
 

WhatPCM

Insubordinator
My one truck is an outlet mall. Gets like 400-500 pieces. I load it in store number order everyday. Any real heavy stops go in a trailer which goes in a different order depending on what stores go in there. I get my own forecast list that i number all the stores that are on there then post on the wall next to my truck for quick referance. My driver gets very angry if he doesnt see me down there right away when he comes in.
 

Storm723

Preload Supervisor
My one truck is an outlet mall. Gets like 400-500 pieces. I load it in store number order everyday. Any real heavy stops go in a trailer which goes in a different order depending on what stores go in there. I get my own forecast list that i number all the stores that are on there then post on the wall next to my truck for quick referance. My driver gets very angry if he doesnt see me down there right away when he comes in.

I had a loader like you on my belt. He was/is a great loader... he also loads the a mall set. He made his own print-outs and everything. I work a different belt now.. but I will tell you what he was a hard guy for me to replace when he was out...lol. Not only were his drivers mad (dissapointed) but so was I when he didn't come in...lol!

Props to ya!
 

helenofcalifornia

Well-Known Member
I hope all you preloaders that care are getting outragous money tips at Christmas and not some cheezy regifted presents from your drivers. I had a driver once give me a $5. gift certificate that he got from one of his customers. You now the kind, the appetizer kind. Junk! A good preloader is a gem.
 

WhatPCM

Insubordinator
My first peak of loading i didnt get a single tip or even a thank you from drivers. Honestly with the way i loaded back then i wouldnt have given me a tip either. But then last year my one driver gave me a gift certificate to a very fancy place downtown. It was very nice of him, I definetly took extra care of his loads since then. I am amazed at the posts about drivers bringing in drinks and food for their loaders. I have never seen that at my center. I will remember those things for when I become a driver.
 
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