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advise regarding delayed shipment
- Thread starter Zeppelin
- Start date
Was keeping an eye on this topic and thought I would post my 2 cents (for what's it's worth). Being a wholesaler in Los Angeles and having my Father be in the wholesale end of this industry for going on 30 years I also have strong opinions regarding the airlines and how they handle live organisms. As posted Earlier, I completely agree that a consignee should ALWAYS pick up a shipment regardless of delays or any issues that slowed the arrival of their shipment. Unfortunately over the years I have had people refuse delayed shipments that only came in a few hours late or missed only one flight!. That only shows a complete disregard for the well being of the specimens and how little some people care about the animals we love so dearly. My company personally believes that those sort of customers do not belong in this industry and will not do business with them after a refused shipment. There seems to be a growing lack of concern for the live animals and more concern on personal agendas. There are many times when I am told that a consignee cannot pick up a shipment because it missed one flight and will not be in until 8pm and they have dinner with their friends or a date with their girlfriend so they will pick it up in the morning. If your main concern is not with the welfare of the animals rather than your personal agenda, you should find another business to get involved with. With the continuing downsizing of planes, and less frequent flights delays are rapidly becoming the rule rather than the exception.
1. All shipments must be packed to withstand a minimum 48 hours after they are pulled and until they reach their final destination. The main problem I run into is the consignee (LFS) is not willing to pay the extra money to get the shipments sent with higher priority service from the airlines. Every single airlines offers a better level of air freight that is also guaranteed, Southwest has NFG and rush, Delta has Dash, USair, United, etc all have available options to insure prompt delivery. By exploring these options and talking with your shipper who does have the ability to get lowered freight rates based on their volume, you can absolutely see a change in the way the airlines handle your freight. If there is a problem with missed flights, damaged boxes, incorrect routing, or any number of issues you can always file a claim or talk to a cargo rep outside of your local station. Between the consignee and the shipper you can make a difference, get things changed, and get your money reimbursed.. I always have my customers file a claim if there is any sort of issue, and you know what? they get paid back on them. It helps to let the cargo departments know you will not just sit by and let them mishandle or ignore your live shipments. If you have a shipment of live animals you are waiting to receive you need to make sure that it is all done correctly from the second you place your order. Get the airway bill number and check the routing of the shipment, all airlines require advanced booking except for a few (southwest, ATA, Continental, Frontier, and others are first come first serve but do have different levels of service) and check to make sure the times and flights are the best you can get. Once the shipment is dropped and waiting for the flights you can always call the airlines (not just the shipper) and make sure that your shipment is setup for the next available flight, I cannot tell you how many times I have been able to get a shipment connected under the 2-4 hour turnaround time in Atlanta, phoenix, Denver, just by talking to a rep at the station and making sure they load my cargo. A major pet peeve I have is the lack of communication between the consignee and the shipper, if your shipment has not arrived when it was scheduled call the shipper and let them know. Nothing is worse than when I get a call at 6pm saying” My fish were supposed to be here at noon and they are still not here” Well if you let me (the shipper) know there is a problem then it can be taken care of ASAP, not 6 hours later after you missed another two connecting flights. Remain in contact with your shipper because I would assume the people you deal with should care just as much about getting the fish there on time as you do. Be more active in this process and explore all the options that are provided to you, if you continue sending your shipments general freight and simply wait for the airlines to call and say your shipment is here you can be doing a lot more. Just my 2 cents after a week of shipping lots of outgoing orders and dealing with the airlines from the moment I wake up and until I go to sleep.
Erik Reynolds
Aqua Marines
1. All shipments must be packed to withstand a minimum 48 hours after they are pulled and until they reach their final destination. The main problem I run into is the consignee (LFS) is not willing to pay the extra money to get the shipments sent with higher priority service from the airlines. Every single airlines offers a better level of air freight that is also guaranteed, Southwest has NFG and rush, Delta has Dash, USair, United, etc all have available options to insure prompt delivery. By exploring these options and talking with your shipper who does have the ability to get lowered freight rates based on their volume, you can absolutely see a change in the way the airlines handle your freight. If there is a problem with missed flights, damaged boxes, incorrect routing, or any number of issues you can always file a claim or talk to a cargo rep outside of your local station. Between the consignee and the shipper you can make a difference, get things changed, and get your money reimbursed.. I always have my customers file a claim if there is any sort of issue, and you know what? they get paid back on them. It helps to let the cargo departments know you will not just sit by and let them mishandle or ignore your live shipments. If you have a shipment of live animals you are waiting to receive you need to make sure that it is all done correctly from the second you place your order. Get the airway bill number and check the routing of the shipment, all airlines require advanced booking except for a few (southwest, ATA, Continental, Frontier, and others are first come first serve but do have different levels of service) and check to make sure the times and flights are the best you can get. Once the shipment is dropped and waiting for the flights you can always call the airlines (not just the shipper) and make sure that your shipment is setup for the next available flight, I cannot tell you how many times I have been able to get a shipment connected under the 2-4 hour turnaround time in Atlanta, phoenix, Denver, just by talking to a rep at the station and making sure they load my cargo. A major pet peeve I have is the lack of communication between the consignee and the shipper, if your shipment has not arrived when it was scheduled call the shipper and let them know. Nothing is worse than when I get a call at 6pm saying” My fish were supposed to be here at noon and they are still not here” Well if you let me (the shipper) know there is a problem then it can be taken care of ASAP, not 6 hours later after you missed another two connecting flights. Remain in contact with your shipper because I would assume the people you deal with should care just as much about getting the fish there on time as you do. Be more active in this process and explore all the options that are provided to you, if you continue sending your shipments general freight and simply wait for the airlines to call and say your shipment is here you can be doing a lot more. Just my 2 cents after a week of shipping lots of outgoing orders and dealing with the airlines from the moment I wake up and until I go to sleep.
Erik Reynolds
Aqua Marines
Ditto to what JT said. Very eloquent post - and you make some excellent points.
I make a point to get my air waybill number as soon as my shipper can provide it, then I track the shipment from the office or from home, online. That way if the freight is bumped to another flight, or if it arrives early, I am aware of it and make sure I pick it up promptly. I've never had bad problems (knock on wood) with this type of thing, but yes I'd contact the sender immediately if I could see a problem happening - and by tracking it online I can be aware right away, and so could the shipper in that type of event.
Well said... and yes, WELCOME!
Jenn
I make a point to get my air waybill number as soon as my shipper can provide it, then I track the shipment from the office or from home, online. That way if the freight is bumped to another flight, or if it arrives early, I am aware of it and make sure I pick it up promptly. I've never had bad problems (knock on wood) with this type of thing, but yes I'd contact the sender immediately if I could see a problem happening - and by tracking it online I can be aware right away, and so could the shipper in that type of event.
Well said... and yes, WELCOME!
Jenn
Having seen both sides of the issue, airline cargo employee and wholesaler, I have seen it all. And can I tell a lot of airline stories, but would get myself in a lot of trouble.
Just to clarify, Erik, the shipments have to be packed to be able to be left unattended by the airlines for 48 hours from time of acceptance, not from time of packing. The shipper also has to ensure that the packaging meets IATA standards with respect to the nature of the packing (ie type of box, liners, labelling and such).
The airline actually doesn't really have a great deal of responsibility so to speak when it comes to live fish. Yes all live animal shipments are to be booked prior to acceptance. The airline is under no obligation to move the shipments on those flights. I don't have my reg book with me right now so I can't give you an exact quote. They are however, and I can quote since I just wrote a letter to an airline four days ago about this issue, "In case of extended delays, rerouting, or flight cancellations, the shipper or the consignee must be notified as soon as possible." Not done all that often in my experience.
One other item that is a major issue is the protection from ambient temperature variences. "Fish must be held in areas where the ambient air temperature reduces the heat transfer to the absolute minimum." How often is fish left out on the ramp for extended periods in the middle of winter or the summer. Quite a bit.
Most people want everything for nothing. They want all the service but don't want to pay. Erik hits the nail on the head. Upgrade your service level. Maybe use an airline that has direct flights rather than making six connections, but may cost a few cents per pound more. What about insurance that the airline offers. I did claims with Delta. Not many people purchased insurance...it would have made reimbursement a great deal easier.
Most of all, take a little initiative. Track your shipments. I don't know how many times I've had customers call me because they are at the airport and their shipment isn't there. Some don't even bother to check with the airline prior to going to the airport. When we send the shipping information to our customer it includes an ETA...estimated time....not actual.
Just to clarify, Erik, the shipments have to be packed to be able to be left unattended by the airlines for 48 hours from time of acceptance, not from time of packing. The shipper also has to ensure that the packaging meets IATA standards with respect to the nature of the packing (ie type of box, liners, labelling and such).
The airline actually doesn't really have a great deal of responsibility so to speak when it comes to live fish. Yes all live animal shipments are to be booked prior to acceptance. The airline is under no obligation to move the shipments on those flights. I don't have my reg book with me right now so I can't give you an exact quote. They are however, and I can quote since I just wrote a letter to an airline four days ago about this issue, "In case of extended delays, rerouting, or flight cancellations, the shipper or the consignee must be notified as soon as possible." Not done all that often in my experience.
One other item that is a major issue is the protection from ambient temperature variences. "Fish must be held in areas where the ambient air temperature reduces the heat transfer to the absolute minimum." How often is fish left out on the ramp for extended periods in the middle of winter or the summer. Quite a bit.
Most people want everything for nothing. They want all the service but don't want to pay. Erik hits the nail on the head. Upgrade your service level. Maybe use an airline that has direct flights rather than making six connections, but may cost a few cents per pound more. What about insurance that the airline offers. I did claims with Delta. Not many people purchased insurance...it would have made reimbursement a great deal easier.
Most of all, take a little initiative. Track your shipments. I don't know how many times I've had customers call me because they are at the airport and their shipment isn't there. Some don't even bother to check with the airline prior to going to the airport. When we send the shipping information to our customer it includes an ETA...estimated time....not actual.
mabey I been out the loop a little while to long..but to my knowledge Delta requires perishables to be packed to withstand 72 hrs before you could make a claim..and on 100 lbs it was $70 more almost $1 more per pound for dash..it may have changed since then
Speaking of Delta, this reminds me of one of their old ads that somone piped through an Ebonics translator awhile back:
Yall be goin on vacation? See the thing is, if you bout to be up out dis biatch. Check it. Beep Delta. We be flying all ova dis *****.
Let me ax you somin. You fian ta raise up and git yo travel on? From the interior to the exterior. You got to get your posterial in one dese big ass planes. Sheet dog!
You lay in da cut straight sittin on your ass an gitting yo drink on an snack on while we floss and fly dis mo fo all ova dis *****.
East coast, west coast, it don't matta. Nigga, we git'cha to yo ho an back lickety split, no sheet. Then you be back at yo crib chillin wit a flat splif thinkin we was some crazy ass angel.
Hell dese phat, round, thick ass vessels run up in da sky so deep it be cryin. Yeah, you thought it was rain. So bring a towel cause at Delta, it's layed out like dat.
Call one of dese fly ass Delta coochies an make all dem punk ass co-workers of yours catch da vapors as you be off an up out.
You goin? We fly you dere. You ben? We done already flew up in dere. We got'chu covad like a Jimmy hat. At Delta we loves us some flyin an it be showin like a motherfoker.
Yall be goin on vacation? See the thing is, if you bout to be up out dis biatch. Check it. Beep Delta. We be flying all ova dis *****.
Let me ax you somin. You fian ta raise up and git yo travel on? From the interior to the exterior. You got to get your posterial in one dese big ass planes. Sheet dog!
You lay in da cut straight sittin on your ass an gitting yo drink on an snack on while we floss and fly dis mo fo all ova dis *****.
East coast, west coast, it don't matta. Nigga, we git'cha to yo ho an back lickety split, no sheet. Then you be back at yo crib chillin wit a flat splif thinkin we was some crazy ass angel.
Hell dese phat, round, thick ass vessels run up in da sky so deep it be cryin. Yeah, you thought it was rain. So bring a towel cause at Delta, it's layed out like dat.
Call one of dese fly ass Delta coochies an make all dem punk ass co-workers of yours catch da vapors as you be off an up out.
You goin? We fly you dere. You ben? We done already flew up in dere. We got'chu covad like a Jimmy hat. At Delta we loves us some flyin an it be showin like a motherfoker.
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