Got My First Service Failure Yesterday

I forgot to open the trailer doors at the store when I dropped it so the store couldn't unload it. Everything I've had up to this point was roll doors so I didn't even think to check if this trailer was a roll door too. So mad at myself!

A pretrip of every trailer you hook to would have prevented this. Live and learn.

Try not to beat yourself up too much...you'll never do it again.

I did something similar last year during blitz week when I was under a rent-a-wreck XTRA trailer. All WM trailers are roll-up so I am accustom to opening the trailer door from inside the dock. It was a drop so I never went inside,...fortunately they were able to flag me down before I left. Embarrassed to say the least...took a lot of good hearted ridicule over it. Funny thing I had pulled my lock before I bumped the dock and it never dawned on me to open the swing doors.

You're new to the Target account, they hopefully will give you a Mulligan.

Try not to beat yourself up too much...you'll never do it again.

I did something similar last year during blitz week when I was under a rent-a-wreck XTRA trailer. All WM trailers are roll-up so I am accustom to opening the trailer door from inside the dock. It was a drop so I never went inside,...fortunately they were able to flag me down before I left. Embarrassed to say the least...took a lot of good hearted ridicule over it. Funny thing I had pulled my lock before I bumped the dock and it never dawned on me to open the swing doors.

You're new to the Target account, they hopefully will give you a Mulligan.

Yep, same thing here. I don't know if all the Target trailers are roll ups -- I think they are. But this one was an XTRA lease. Same thing, I pulled my lock and stuck the bills in the door.

A pretrip of every trailer you hook to would have prevented this. Live and learn.

That's funny...because I thoroughly pretrip every trailer I hook to. In fact, I'm the guy who actually climbs under every trailer after hooking up to check the brakes and connections. But I forgot, you like to assume things.

You're the same person who said in a discussion about lane control a while back:

Ive never noticed any particular companys drivers having poor lane control but see it more often with newer drivers and rarely experienced fcktards who swing at female drivers in general.

You assume drivers are new because of the way they drive, even though you really have no way of knowing without at least talking to them, and you assume that some drivers swerve at you because you're a woman--again, do you follow these drivers around and keep track of who they swerve at and who they don't?

And you assume I didn't pretrip my trailer because I forgot that it wasn't a roll door, several hours after I picked up the trailer in the first place.

Thanks for your input.

Sue wrote:

A pretrip of every trailer you hook to would have prevented this. Live and learn.

How so Sue? It was a drop...he obviously forgot he was under a swing door trailer and doesn't indicate a lack of a pretrip. Just a lapse in memory.

A suggestion: use a dry erase marker and make a reminder note in a corner of the windshield. (A note on the side window will disappear if you do the window down.)

I'm surprised that nobody has mentioned a post trip inspection of the trailer, even if it's a drop. The post trip is just as important so that you don't leave a potential problem for the next person who picks up that trailer and covers your butt of there's a problem. I also notice that Paul mentions removing his lock, one would think that standing right there and removing the lock would alert you to whether it's a roll up or barn door.

I also notice that Paul mentions removing his lock, one would think that standing right there and removing the lock would alert you to whether it's a roll up or barn door.

Good point about the post trip--definitely an important step when dropping any trailer.

Yes, one would think... That's why I was so mad at myself. I went around the back multiple times and still missed it. It just wasn't something I was looking for or specifically thinking about.

Definitely a facepalm moment.

It happens to all of us. The more important lesson is that routine can cause complacency, even if unintentional. One thing we can't afford is to get too comfortable, this industry can be unforgiving. Sometimes it's a simple mistake but sometimes it's not.