There are a number of factors you should consider when seeking the best refrigerated trucking companies. While at a glance, each of them may appear to be nearly identical, there are actually many types of refrigerated trucking companies that specialize in a number of different industries. Each of them will ensure that the products being carried will remain at a constant temperature, but from there, the services offered can greatly vary from one company to the next. When seeking the best refrigerated trucking company, it is essential to negotiate terms like what services will be available, the flexibility within the delivery schedule, and the overall cost of conducting business. Another crucial aspect to consider is the refrigerated trucking companies overall track record with customer service and correcting problems when they occur.
Of course, price is always a major concern in any business, and many refrigerated trucking companies will go out of their way to introduce hidden costs and expenses that were not discussed beforehand. For example, many freight lines require the truck driver to unload the delivered cargo personally, and a hefty charge is added regardless of whether or not this actually takes place. If the cargo is being delivered to a fully staffed warehouse, then it is senseless to pay this additional cost. Other miscellaneous expenses that seem to pop up within refrigerated trucking companies are overnight waiting fees, hitch and unhitch costs, and multiple stop expenses. Each of these should be negotiated beforehand so there is no confusion after the products have actually been delivered.
Other refrigerated trucking companies do not like to deal with the cargo at all, and their drivers are instructed to simply drive to the destination and wait for the shipment to be unloaded. If there are multiple stops being made and the driver waits several hours at each of them, it can easily delay a routine schedule by several days. This may not be a major concern for an occasional delivery, but vendors that hire refrigerated trucking companies to constantly deliver products could experience serious problems in maintaining inventory.
Possibly the largest factor in choosing the best refrigerated trucking companies is to look at their overall customer satisfaction, because problems occur every day for small businesses. If a business were to run out of product due to a sudden increase in sales, for example, and the next delivery was not scheduled to arrive for several more days, not all refrigerated trucking companies would ensure that the problem is rectified. For this reason alone, it is vital to choose refrigerated trucking companies that have solid customer service records and the ability to handle emergency shipments when it is required.
