TRAVESTY AT RICH FOODS/PERRYMAN, MD
"Let me say that the credit belongs to the boys in the back rooms. It isn't the man who sits in the limelight like me who should have the praise. It is not the men who sit in prominent places. It is the men in the back rooms."
Lord Beaverbrook (Maxwell Aiken: 1879-1964) From the song "The Boys in the Back Room," sung by Marlene Dietrich in Destry Rides Again.
The following is a letter I wrote last winter to Mr. Marshall Carpenter, Director of Warehousing and Transportation at Richfood, Inc., Perryman, MD thanking him for the gift he presented to an owner-operator I hired to deliver a load of potatoes to his warehouse during a blinding snow storm.
Dear Mr. Carpenter,
On Wednesday, January 28, 2004 I hired an owner-operator to haul a load of loose ten-pound bags of potatoes from I. Rapasadi & Sons, Inc., Canastota, New York to your distribution center in Perryman, Maryland. The vendor was Cambridge Farms, Inc., Avon, Massachusetts. The appointment time for delivery: 7:00 am, January 29, 2004.
From Canastota, New York to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania this owner-operator fought snow, blowing snow, whiteouts, and slippery roads to deliver your product. He did not break down, oversleep, or waste time at a truck stop. He did not have a cell phone, and chose not to stop to call because of the terrible road conditions and the urgency of getting to his destination. He arrived at your distribution center at 8:36 am, one hour and thirty-six minutes late for his appointment. His "reward" for fighting these acts of God was a $273.00 fine, calculated at $7.00 per pallet. (How this figure was determined is, in my opinion, also an act of God. Why not $6.00 per pallet? Why not $10.00 per pallet? Why not just take the whole damn freight check?) And because the potatoes were double-stacked (one pallet of potatoes on top of another), there was, in effect, a double charge because two pallets occupied the space of what is usually one spot. That's 39 pallets of potatoes at $7.00 per pallet--$273.00 on a load that paid $612.00 to the truck. That's a $273.00 reward for driving through atrocious weather conditions to make his delivery.
Mr. Carpenter, I am sure your company has determined the legitimacy of this policy before implementing it. So I am requesting a copy of this policy for three reasons. First, if I am ever stupid enough to send another truck to your distribution center, I would like to let the truck know what the real deal is. I knew nothing of this policy before the fine. Second, I would like to examine this policy myself, especially the part about compensating a truck for detention. It does happen, Mr. Carpenter. But I am sure this policy has made provisions for equitable compensation. (I'll bet it's $7.00 a pallet.) I would like to know, especially in light of the new hours of service rules. And third, a copy of this letter, a copy of the $273.00 assessment for late delivery, and a copy of the unloading policy (I just know you're going to send me one.) will be sent to Cambridge Farms, Inc., the Department of Transportation, Heavy Duty Trucking, Commercial Carrier Journal (CCJ), Refrigerated Transporter, and the Owner Operator Independent Driver Association requesting an objective opinion of the legitimacy of this unloading policy. I will also request the above magazines print a copy of this policy so owner-operators and trucking companies will know what Richfood, Inc., Perryman, MD is all about before visiting you. A copy of this letter is also being sent to Mike Kamphaus, Regional Vice President, Supervalu, East Coast.
I will hold this letter for two weeks from the day I mail it to you, waiting for a copy of the policy. If I do not receive a copy I will assume you are not going to send me one, and I will inform the above parties of your decision. Better yet, Mr. Carpenter, fax a copy to the above number. Let's expedite this thing.
Mr. Carpenter never did send me a copy of the Richfood/Perryman, MD unloading policy. And I never did send this letter to the Department of Transportation, Owner Operator Independent Driver Association, or any of the trade magazines mentioned above. Hey, I need the work.
The Highway Reporter
Lord Beaverbrook (Maxwell Aiken: 1879-1964) From the song "The Boys in the Back Room," sung by Marlene Dietrich in Destry Rides Again.
The following is a letter I wrote last winter to Mr. Marshall Carpenter, Director of Warehousing and Transportation at Richfood, Inc., Perryman, MD thanking him for the gift he presented to an owner-operator I hired to deliver a load of potatoes to his warehouse during a blinding snow storm.
Dear Mr. Carpenter,
On Wednesday, January 28, 2004 I hired an owner-operator to haul a load of loose ten-pound bags of potatoes from I. Rapasadi & Sons, Inc., Canastota, New York to your distribution center in Perryman, Maryland. The vendor was Cambridge Farms, Inc., Avon, Massachusetts. The appointment time for delivery: 7:00 am, January 29, 2004.
From Canastota, New York to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania this owner-operator fought snow, blowing snow, whiteouts, and slippery roads to deliver your product. He did not break down, oversleep, or waste time at a truck stop. He did not have a cell phone, and chose not to stop to call because of the terrible road conditions and the urgency of getting to his destination. He arrived at your distribution center at 8:36 am, one hour and thirty-six minutes late for his appointment. His "reward" for fighting these acts of God was a $273.00 fine, calculated at $7.00 per pallet. (How this figure was determined is, in my opinion, also an act of God. Why not $6.00 per pallet? Why not $10.00 per pallet? Why not just take the whole damn freight check?) And because the potatoes were double-stacked (one pallet of potatoes on top of another), there was, in effect, a double charge because two pallets occupied the space of what is usually one spot. That's 39 pallets of potatoes at $7.00 per pallet--$273.00 on a load that paid $612.00 to the truck. That's a $273.00 reward for driving through atrocious weather conditions to make his delivery.
Mr. Carpenter, I am sure your company has determined the legitimacy of this policy before implementing it. So I am requesting a copy of this policy for three reasons. First, if I am ever stupid enough to send another truck to your distribution center, I would like to let the truck know what the real deal is. I knew nothing of this policy before the fine. Second, I would like to examine this policy myself, especially the part about compensating a truck for detention. It does happen, Mr. Carpenter. But I am sure this policy has made provisions for equitable compensation. (I'll bet it's $7.00 a pallet.) I would like to know, especially in light of the new hours of service rules. And third, a copy of this letter, a copy of the $273.00 assessment for late delivery, and a copy of the unloading policy (I just know you're going to send me one.) will be sent to Cambridge Farms, Inc., the Department of Transportation, Heavy Duty Trucking, Commercial Carrier Journal (CCJ), Refrigerated Transporter, and the Owner Operator Independent Driver Association requesting an objective opinion of the legitimacy of this unloading policy. I will also request the above magazines print a copy of this policy so owner-operators and trucking companies will know what Richfood, Inc., Perryman, MD is all about before visiting you. A copy of this letter is also being sent to Mike Kamphaus, Regional Vice President, Supervalu, East Coast.
I will hold this letter for two weeks from the day I mail it to you, waiting for a copy of the policy. If I do not receive a copy I will assume you are not going to send me one, and I will inform the above parties of your decision. Better yet, Mr. Carpenter, fax a copy to the above number. Let's expedite this thing.
Mr. Carpenter never did send me a copy of the Richfood/Perryman, MD unloading policy. And I never did send this letter to the Department of Transportation, Owner Operator Independent Driver Association, or any of the trade magazines mentioned above. Hey, I need the work.
The Highway Reporter
posted by The Highway Reporter at 3:55 PM
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