Having stumbled upon a new cache of work from a new broker where I operate my trucks, I have encountered a lot more “back of store” deliveries in comparison to a lot of the warehouse-to-warehouse loads we were hauling in the past. The good part is that most of them pay exceptionally well because they are multi-stop and fast on loading and unloading. On the bad side though is that we are delivering to a lot of places we are not familiar with and sometimes satellite mapping doesn’t do the best job of letting you know how a big truck should get in and out of a certain location. This is where calling ahead can be a great help!
The picture above is from the last stop of a four-stop delivery I did this week for a local discount grocery chain. I scoped it out as usual using Google Maps and I could see that it was going to be a tight squeeze to get in one of their two open docks. I also saw on the imagery that you had to back into an alley with very limited space for a full 53’ trailer and tractor, so I decided to make a call to the store and ask if they knew the best way to access their docks for delivery. I was so glad I made that call because as it turned out, I was going to try and access the alley from a direction that would have been impossible to back in from. The store manager informed me that there was only one direction in which to access the delivery docks and followed up by giving me detailed directions, complete with easy to identify local landmarks and street names.
When approaching the docks I saw it was a blind-side back-in around a block wall, so I made sure to properly line up and G.O.A.L. (Get Out And Look). I know that this acronym gets tossed around a bit and even poked fun at sometimes, but it is the only true way to make sure you are backing in somewhere safely. Of course there were a few four-wheelers who were growing impatient because they were blocked in the alley for all of about a two minutes, while I maneuvered into my dock safely, but I did not let that agitate me into rushing my backing maneuver. No matter who tries to rush you into getting backed in safely, do not let them make you feel pressured into going faster than you need to, especially in a new location. Take all the time you need to do the job of backing in safely at all times!
By adding these simple steps into the latter part of your trip planning, you can alleviate a lot of hassle, particularly when picking up or delivering for the first time somewhere. Preparation goes hand-in-hand with safety and preparing ahead of time is a great way to be safer in your daily job as a driver. The extra five minutes could save a lot of hassle later down the road. Be sure that with every new location you use some type of satellite mapping to scope out the location, call the location if it is not clear how to approach it in a big truck, then take your time when moving in to position yourself properly to load or unload!