Handling Difficult Customer

I ran into a situation yesterday. i want to share because it reenforces that attitude and proffessionalism can be the determining factor in how a difficult situation turns out.

I took a broker load from SC to central TX. Basically 1100 mi trip. I was told several times this is a very important customer for this broker. It is a large company. The rec’r was the customer. Customer had a strict appt. time.

I picked the load up. Drove to TX. All went very well. I called the rec’r the day before the scheduled delivery. I spoke with the guard shack and gave them my delivery number. The guard told me my appt time/date. I told her I was ahead of schedule and she said they cannot take me before 15 minutes prior to the scheduled time. She confirmed how to get into the facility. I thanked her for the information.

I arrived 14 minutes prior to my appt time at the gate. Guard took the paperwork, looked at the truck schedule and signed me in. She was the same guard that I spoke to the day before. She recognized the appt number. She thanked me for calling to confirm things and for not being rude when she told me I couldn’t get in earlier.

There are 3 different sections to this plant for various types of freight. She called the person and didn’t get a response. She made several calls and found out the entire section was not working. She got in touch with someone in a different section to help me. I thanked her for her efforts and how much I appreciated it.

Things got even worse.

The guard sent me in, a receiving clerk found me on the truck schedule and told me to contact the dispatcher to reschedule the delivery for mon/tue depending on when an appt is available. The section i was delivering to had taken the day off due to a production shutdown so the section took the day off. The clerk was not nearly as helpful or polite as the guard had been.

I asked to speak to a supervisor. She was irritated but contacted a supervisor. While waiting I of course notified the broker of the situation and I was waiting for the supervisor.

Supervisor met with me and I explained the problem and gave him 3 possible scenarios as I saw it from my perspective. He listened and explained the situation from his end. I listened and after discussing the additional costs to his company for each scenario he decided to make a few phone calls. After about 10 minutes he asked for the paperwork and looked at the load. He signed the paperwork and told me where to park to unload. I thanked him for his thoughtful help and how much I appreciated it.

While waiting for the forlift operator I notified the broker I had it handled and a clean signed BOL. My contact there was amazed I had worked the situation out.

Morale to the story: Remain calm when things go wrong, stay proffessional and offer solutions. It may not always work, but always worth a shot.

PJ wrote:

Morale to the story: Remain calm when things go wrong, stay proffessional and offer solutions. It may not always work, but always worth a shot.

Great advice! Keep in mind, the other person might be having a far worse day than yours. And unfortunately as a customer, they typically have all the power and authority over a driver. Our only powers are patience, professionalism and rational behavior.

I have learned that attitude in situations like this can determine everything. Getting mad and throwing a fit, while displaying no emotional maturity goes nowhere. It gets a driver sent off the property right at the start. Talking to people with respect and allowing constructive conversations to be had shows that we are there to do a job and want to figure out how the job can be completed.

I believe that this has overlap with BK's topic on work ethic. Showing that calm and in control of oneself professionalism is emblematic of good work ethic.

You handled it perfectly, good job.

I've spoken with several P&D drivers who deal with customers. They all say it amazing how fast they can suddenly fit you in, when you tell them how much it's going to cost or you can't redeliver for days.

You'd make a good P&D driver!

I treat our customers like you do as well. I'm a company driver but am always looking further down the road. I keep my customer service skills sharp that way. I have no plans for now of going oo, but I would think, just as any other business, it's an essential ingredient to success.

I deal with a lot of our sensitive customers, small farms, businesses and new customers, first time accounts for that reason.

Your post definitely reaffirms how we need to be.

Amazing how even the little things count. Two weeks ago I delivered to a customer and I had to fill out a form in the shipping and receiving office.

When I passed it to the clerk, she smiled and said: “Thank you for writing legibly”.

It really surprised me and impressed on me what irritations these clerks must have to deal with all day every day. (See G-Town’s comment for perspective on this).

Anyway, this brief encounter really made my day much brighter.