Tales from the Workplace, Trucking Edition, Part XXIII

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I am posting stories from my job, because I think they're funny.  I've done my best to disguise my company name, even the industry, and to keep the people I write about and even some details of the situation anonymous.  If you know me, and know where I work, please don't include details in your comments.  I'll have to delete your comment and reconsider posting these stories.

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Well, apparently the driver that arrived without bringing an empty trailer with him last week wasn't an anomaly.  Someone from the same company showed up over the weekend (as they were supposed to do), picked up the trailer we left here on the lot for them (as they were supposed to do), but didn't leave an empty in its place (as they WERE supposed to do, but didn't).  Then Monday, a THIRD driver showed up with just a tractor, no trailer.

What we can't figure out is what on earth the company is thinking.  Whether you live load or do as we do, and pre-load one trailer, and have them swap and empty for a loaded, I can only think of one circumstance in which a company wouldn't need an empty trailer to be brought in when the driver arrives--they're firing the trucking company and this is the last load to ever be picked up.  Otherwise, no matter the method, you've got to have an empty trailer, either to load while the driver waits, or to replace the full one being taken away so you have one to load later for the next guy.  I don't understand why the trucking company doesn't realize this.

So the one over the weekend we couldn't prevent, and had to just ask them to bring another one as soon as they could.  But once again, the boss wouldn't let the driver leave with our loaded trailer this week until they brought us a new one, which just makes our customer's load late.  I guess he's been burned before with letting the driver leave without replacing the trailer, but it sucks for our customer.  Not sure what the trucking company is smoking to not just send a trailer in the first place...so weird.