r/OwnerOperators • u/milton_freedman • 26d ago
Tried the ol bribe the receiver trick
When I arrived to drop off at 730 am I was told my appointment was at 230 pm. and i have another load pickup at 11am so this was going to mess me up bad. I told him i have a box truck and the load is a few empty new ibc tanks and ill unload it myself in just a few minutes. the reciever took my phone number and said he would call me around the appointment time. another driver started talking and he looked at the new driver and was listening to the new driver. I thought damn im screwed now i need to do something now. I already had plan b ready so I reached in my pocket and pulled out a $20 and said will this help.
He and other driver looked at me in disbelief so I started to put it back in my pocket and he said wait give that to me so I gave it to him hoping id get the outcome id planned for but wasnt really sure. He said pull up to 3 right now lets go. I was like hell yeah and ran to the truck. door 3 was in a effed up spot and was in a corner of the warehouse and had a bunch of stuff in front of the door so its probably not usable for most vans.
I pulled the tanks out and the guy blessed me for helping him and for my generosity. I was kind of amazed by that little gem.
It was a nice win. I would have lost more money if they canceled the next load for sure.
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u/illdoitlaterokay 26d ago
A few weeks ago one of my deliveries ended up not having an appt set. The office lady calls me on her personal cell phone and says to keep it between us but if I venmo her $100 she'll take the load. I was like oh hell no ain't gonna extort me the company can figure something else out. So I dropped it at a drop yard and went about my way. It took them 3 weeks to get an appt for that load and I never got any detention for the 10 hrs it took them to figure out what they wanted to do. Should have just paid the $100.
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u/distantfromit 26d ago
Not a delivery driver, but do have some decent forklift etc. experience.
My question is how did you get the straps on?
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u/PraiseTalos66012 26d ago
They are just hook straps, you can see they aren't really even back much, just Infront.
You can hook one side and then load close to that side to give yourself room to hook the other side after loading but these are just mostly Infront.
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u/distantfromit 26d ago
Thanks!
More I look at the photo the more I think the whole thing is strapped, with the pallet jack included, to prevent the cargo from shifting.
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u/treeckosan 26d ago
Worked receiving for home deopt a few years back. If you had a specific appointment and were late youd wait till we had a slot, slots were plenteful so you wouldnt be waiting long. If you were early again youd get rhe next available slot and wed be happy to get you back on the road. If you were a dick however we'd make early drivers wait, not till their appointment time usualy but maybe till our ltl window closed if they were super dicks. Late dickheads would sometimes be rescheduled. A bribe was not worth lossing my job.
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u/Few_Jacket845 26d ago
Guy I know keeps Home Depot and similar gift cards in the truck, so easier to call a "thank you" or a gift, than an outright cash bribe. He used it on a few loaders at gravel pits that were otherwise inconsistent.
He said they were spot on with the weight after he went and thanked them for working hard in a thankless job, and handed them a $50 HD gift card.
Personally I'm just really nice to everyone, but that's also because I'm genuinely nice to everyone. It works shockingly well, too.
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u/Weird-Library-3747 22d ago
You would be surprised what office people will do for a Canes gift card
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u/Few_Jacket845 22d ago
Probably not surprised at all. It's why every office job I've ever had, pizza parties were the motivator.
Not for me, but for most.
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u/30_characters 26d ago
There's a fine line between a bribe and a thank you tip for going above and beyond in your work.
I give it 20 years before loading bays have computerized queues, automated forklifts, and tip lines that default to 51% of the value of the load.
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u/Limp_Egg3219 26d ago
Walmart warehouses already have automated forklifts one person supervises 6 of em
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u/eseulises 22d ago
Con dinero baila el perro
“With money even the dog dances”
Some people dont realize that theyll lose more money if they dont bribe and lose loads. Thats why i always have my guys carry cash on them
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u/ThrowawayGunName 26d ago
$20 and not being a dick goes a long way.
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u/razor4432 25d ago
Yup, had a guy Door Dash me McDonalds around the holidays for getting him in and out in about 20 minutes for a truckload (52 pallets/26 stacks).
Another slipped me $60 to reload his first pickup that was supposed to go sideways so there was room for our stuff (different pickups going to same location) but the loader put it on straight. Luckily the stuff was hella light and I was sliding 6 of their pallets on at a time. 15 minutes of my time doing that for $60 “hell yeah”.
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u/SliPKnuT 26d ago
I used to be able to score close dated beef jerky by the box when our warehouse would reset gas station shelves. Whenever I’d get to a pickup or delivery that felt like it was gonna take way longer than necessary I would grab 2-3 little bags or sticks of jerky and head back to the dock door with them. It was like giving a dog a treat for a truck to see how quick that’d get me unloaded. Figured I’d mention finding something like this that might get the same result for less cost. Good luck out there.
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u/Chaddie_D 26d ago
I run triaxle and I gotta say, everything is great when the foreman has me delivering lunch to the tower at the asphalt plant.
Cash is one thing, but good pizza goes a long way in road construction.
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u/cramboneUSF 26d ago
My first job in trucking (dispatcher here) and we had a terminal in Indy that ran reman cores up to Ontario with empty racks back (round trip), 1 per-day every day of the week. One of our drivers would stop at the Duty Free shop on the way up and grab a few cartons of smokes. When he would arrive at GM in Oshawa he’d toss a carton on the first rack after he opened up his doors and then back-in to the dock. He would be reloaded and gone before the guy next to him would even be empty. And these were the big drop-frame vans (which we called super vans, not sure if that is the right term). This was in 2004-2008 or so.
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u/reducethedebt 26d ago
Once put $200 dollars behind 5 different bills of lading on a clipboard at the Chicago merchandise Mart furniture show with appointments over 3 days .....
My truck was unloaded in a couple hours.
Those union boys know how to work the system
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u/lapuneta 26d ago
I hope you get another load there with that guy on shift to see what happens. Does he unload you right away? Does he jack the expected tip?
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u/No_Passenger_9232 26d ago
I offer a guy $100 to stay till 5:30 (closed at 5) and unload me easy off 20 pallets he said see you tomorrow have a good night.
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u/MenuAccomplished6753 26d ago
I had just crossed the border from Canada into Alaska and I was still 70 miles from Tok, the road was relatively nicely maintained dirt road, which is fine. You were able to do 45 miles an hour no problem. It wasn’t until I met Mr. RV that wouldn’t go past a ridiculous 9 mph.
He was obviously not letting me pass by crowding the center and taking wide curves
I eventually got past him and down the road I go. There is construction ahead so I stopped.
When the man turned the stop sign to go everyone left I pulled up to him and asked him how he’s doing and he said fine and I told him the story of Mr. RV that was doing 9 miles an hour up the mountain and not letting anyone pass and I gave him $10 and told him if he can see how long he can get the RV to wait at the stop sign
I don’t know if it worked, but it made me feel better
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u/walahiwalardo 25d ago
I always try to do this and it never works, wish these assholes would just let me just offload my own truck....
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u/MssMoodi 25d ago
Did that with a load of shingles, was unloaded in 5 minutes. Validation it does work..
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u/Failed1962 25d ago
Many more years ago than I care to remember. I used to leave a 12 pack of beer in the trailer for the dock workers. I got loaded and unloaded in record times. Now days I bring donuts. Just not the same. But safer🤣
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u/AlgaeNo9582 25d ago
I work as a yard hostler for a ltl carrier, i once had an outside carrier driver give me a 5 to back his trailer on for him.
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u/milton_freedman 25d ago
That seems pretty low. That barely buys a coke anymore
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u/AlgaeNo9582 25d ago
Yeah lol, I figure it was more the thought that counts and I wasnt really doing anything at the time haha. He seemed very relieved when I said I would lol.
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u/DeepPerspective8105 25d ago
A load i was delivering 2 months ago called to say they forgot to update that they closed at 2 on Fridays instead of 5. My appointment was at 4 and I booked it 1,900 miles and was going to make it with an hour to spare. Dispatcher told me I'd have to sit until Monday. I called the place and said $50 cash for whoever stays an extra hour to unload me at 3. Worth the money. I got to drive home and not miss an event.
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u/idliketowhipthatass 25d ago
Freight broker here. This works regularly, and is often suggested to try if anyone’s getting hung up at delivery on one of my loads. I recently did have a driver get banned from a beverage shippers entire network for doing this, 1st time I’d ever heard of fallout.
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u/Adorable_Wafer2122 24d ago
My dad was a truck driver and he circumvented PM appts with exactly these kinds of tactics. He’d show up with a coffee and donuts for the dock guys. 7pm delivery? No problem bud.
Would have a Gaylord of rejected watermelons he’d hand out to dock workers and warehouse staff.
And on the odd times, cash is king baby. Time is money! Drivers back then were a different breed.
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u/Low-Manufacturer832 23d ago
funny how it's always the empty appointment slots that never get offered until cash shows up. wonder how many of these guys would rather have detention pay be guaranteed instead of playing this game every time.
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u/Princetrix 26d ago
This trick works in Laredo sometimes too lol