Another Day Another Set

I delivered my load yesterday at Noon to grocery warehouse in Bethlehem, PA. Grocery warehouses are another sticking point to truck drivers. They have a lumper scam that has been in place probably over 50 years.

You arrive at a grocery warehouse and you have the option to unload the truck yourself or pay a lumper service which is conveniently set up in an office next to the receiving office. If you choose to do it, you do it by hand one piece at a time because you can't use their pallet jacks or other equipment to do it with. You hire the lumper service to do it for you, the prices to unload the truck can range from $50 to $350 depending on where you are. The $350 I paid in Salt Lake City once.

You take the price they give you and you have to get a Comchek from your company or pay them cash. The company turns around and gets the money usually from the shipper. Why the receiver can't just bill the shipper for the unloading is beyond me. The lumper service is not on the receiver's payroll so they have no responsibility if the lumpers hold you up for hours or tear up the product getting it off the truck. Very convenient. Kind of puts you at the mercy of the receiver, but that is always the case with driving a truck. Part of the job.

Had a lady tell me the other day she had trouble with a driver and he really copped an attitude, pulled a hand gun and wanted the stuff off his truck. He got a free room for the night, idiot. No wonder we have a bad name.

After getting the load off the truck, no freight. They were still working to find loads for drivers sitting over the weekend. Now it is Tuesday morning and hoping something will come up soon and get moving again.

Everyone have a good day. Down to 18 deg last night, but the sun is out.