Service Sells Itself
I first began driving Cartage level trucks after serving in the Military. I was assigned to a detail building temporary airstrips in the desert. I had to move trailers of steel tracs of airstrip on flatbed trailers. It was called a logistics detail but that's what it became after a short time. I came home from the Marine Corp. and drove a straight truck in Iowa. I worked for a few months at Estes Freight prior to leaving for Iowa. I learned Interstate and Intrastate hauling. That was in the late 1980's, and I began driving again in the mid-1990's where I made my first sale (Deutsche Bank) while delivering freight for TEAM AIR EXPRESS. The truck was a company truck, so it was not a cartage company. The company was a Cartage Agent with a contract as an agent of Team Air Express. I worked as a Mortgage Broker for a few years then I was asked to be an Account Manager at Service By Air which became SBA Global Logistics Services. It was
while I was at the Deutsche Bank Warehouse Dock that a strange thing happened. I was unloading the truck when a UPS Driver backed in and open the door on his truck. He looked at Mr. Rutherford and said, "You can refuse it." He looked and said "Ok." "We have a guy that writes checks all day long. We will just throw this one way." Where's the Magic? I said "we have a 95 percent delivery ratio we got rid of the guy that wrote checks. Maybe he works for you." Mr. Rutherford asked if we could do better. "No less than 95 percent of time."
I brought that mentality to Service By Air when I became the Account Manager. At Service By Air I sold service, and service sells itself. The Office was a non-asset-based office. That means no equipment we used Cartage Agents. Service By Air is a Freight Forwarder. I sold a level that offered services. That means the service offered was above and beyond the competitor. I the 1990's and into the early 2000's 24-Hour freight service was the Cash Cow of how we sold freight services. I explained that we used cartage agents to provide the services sold. Service By Air had a network of agents and offices that could handle the services sold. Each city had five to ten agents in the data base. In St. Louis City I used three agents, and one dedicated van service Mr. B was great and offered unparalleled service. The three agents are A Plus Express Inc (Land Air Express) I first met William (Keith) Auzat and then Thomas B (Tom) Auzat back in the mid 1990's when I was a truck driver at Team Air Express. Land Air Express was the first place I had to get freight from when I began local pick-up and delivery driving. I will reference them from time to time during my explanation. Red Arrow which later became Complete Express then Towne Air Freight was a cartage agent. The Office Manager Mac was great to work with and very easy to do business with when our company needed something. Transport Express was always available for overflow work and route service. Then Transport Express Inc performed dock to dock services for our office. I would dispatch based on my knowledge of the three companies' services. These business relationships and partnership allowed Service By Air to offer close to 3PL Service Level services.
We know "Service Sells Itself" however, the question is what in the Service Level that sells if "Service Sells Itself?" I have worked in the freight industry to have seen a vast number of services performed and I have overseen the operations of the services for a 1.5-million-dollar office. The service level was to answer the phone in less than five rings. Give the customer three choices if possible. Return the customers quote in 15 minutes or less if possible or call them back and give them an update with a t least one choice. I brought that level with me from Missouri Mortgage Savings. At the Service By Air office, I told customers quotes in 15 minutes or less. That is a selling point. Friendly and informative is the demeanor on the phone and in person. Customer service is first and foremost. When the Service Level is established its time to sell the services. When "Selling Service" the price isn't the selling point. The services provided is the selling point. When quoting I offer the best price available to the customer and a price for the best service that is possible within the perimeters. Next-Day has three choices Dedicated Vehicle/Exclusive Use, Next Day AM, and Next-Day PM. In every city the Cartage Agent will be able to assist with the services quoted. When signing a Cartage Agent service provided to the Freight Broker/Freight Forwarder, 3PL, and 4PL are discussed and negotiated. Dock to Dock services are the normal services. Often the service levels discussed are Dedicated Vehicle, Residentials, White Glove, Final Mile, Turnkey Set-Up (Specialty Services), Split Load Services, Two Man, Set in Place, Four Man Delivery quotes, and Liftgate. Full-Service Cartage Agents are able to give a basic price list with quotes for special services. A Cartage Agent may handle services as simple as a Cross-Dock. Freight is dropped by a Carrier for delivery of as a transfer point. When another truck carrier is consigned to deliver the freight. A Cartage Agent picks-up freight and delivers freight with 150 miles of the terminal. Most Cartage Agents have at least one or two drivers that handle special service levels.
In 2005 or 2006 I went to England to learn White-Glove Service the Queen of England had a White-Glove Service company. White Glove is soft cotton gloves with silk touch service. The service I was a part of was Very Personal and Very High Maintenance. Every person has a specific part of the service to perform. Five or more people to a team with large jobs utilizing two or more teams. We set up a few offices with White-Glove Service that were Turnkey Set-Up. Prince William oversaw one or two of my assignments. In Cartage delivering no one expects to see the Tech of the Team set up and test the computer. "I have to upload four Apps." "We need this working by 3:30 pm so I can call the customer and tell them to pick up the keys." "That plant goes in the corner over there." However, that was 20 years ago. In the United States that is usually a moving company or specialty service subcontractor. I worked as a dedicated vehicle driver for Special Pick-Up and Delivery Service and handle Enhanced Medical Services (EMS) doing Set in Place and White Glove installs cable connects only. The job sometime required overnight stays in different cities or weekend drivers for Monday morning installs or item pick-ups. When your reputation for good service is known in the industry your companies' services sell themselves. Know the services you plan to sell and strive to be the best at the Level of Service your company plans to sell.
By Darren Dwayne Frazier
By Highland Productions LLC