What's New at Reddaway

Peak performance

Peak season is upon us, and for many, it's the make or break time of year. After a deep recession and sluggish recovery, shippers feel pressured to make sure their customer service also is at peak performance. Reddaway is ready to help!

We know your transportation service provider is an extension of your business when deliveries arrive at your customers' docks. We work hard to make sure that experience is a good one.

From the way we load trailers to our emphasis on safety, we build error prevention into our procedures. The result is a claim ratio that's lower than industry averages by a wide margin.

If you've been burned by past providers who profess on-time service but deliver something else, it's time to call Reddaway. Our overall on-time performance averages near 97 percent for the year, and even higher for our expedited and guaranteed services.

And never feel unprepared when your customer asks about shipment delivery. Online tracking information at reddawayregional.com helps you stay informed on the status of your shipment.

For transportation that's as customer-focused as you are, go to reddawayregional.com or call 1-888-420-8960.

World-class customer care

"A world-class customer service function requires more than taking and giving information. At Reddaway, we think it means service representatives who know our capabilities, know our region, and know how to get things done. Ultimately, our job is to make our customers feel confident that their business is in good hands," says Brian Thompson, manager of Customer Solutions at Reddaway.

Brian speaks from experience as a long-time manager of transportation customer service teams, first at sister company, YRC, and more recently at Reddaway. Brian also is a lifetime Oregon resident, who knows the West Coast like the back of his hand.

"At Reddaway, we try to make customer care a one-stop-shop for customers," says Brian. "Nothing is more frustrating for a customer than to provide information, then be transferred to someone else who asks for the same information, then transfers the call again."

Achieving this "one-stop-shop" begins with having the right people in place—peoplewho can think on their toes, empathize with customers, and resolve problems.

"Every situation is different," says Brian. "We have guidelines, but our Reddaway Customer Care reps are skilled at adapting to the individual caller's needs and personality."

Brian also thinks great Customer Care representatives are made, not born. "At Reddaway, we believe our Customer Care reps should thoroughly understand the business. This takes a continuous process of training, coaching, cross-training, and more coaching so that our Customer Care reps are prepared to offer the best, most-accurate information available every time."

Of course, a strong portfolio of services and the ability to execute those services with precision, flexibility and reliability add an extra dimension to customer service at Reddaway. "We also work as an extension of the sales force and interact closely with the local service centers. We want customers to be as comfortable talking with us as they are with their account manager."

"As managers and supervisors in Customer Care, we do side-by-side coaching, and listen in on calls, but the real measure of our team's success is with our customers. We want customers to feel good about their decision to use Reddaway and to ship with us again and again."

To talk with a Customer Care representative, call 1-888-420-8960.

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News & Other Services

Congratulations Team Oregon!

The 2010 National Truck Driving Championships wrapped up Aug. 7 in Columbus, Ohio, and we're proud to report that in state-by-state comparisons, the Oregon team had the highest state scores, thanks in part to the fine driving of Reddaway driver John Van Buren.

John, a Reddaway driver for 19 years, is domiciled in Medford, Ore., and is frequently recognized for his driving expertise. He is a three-time state truck driving champion in the straight truck class and a recipient of the Reddaway safety award for 16 years.

The other Reddaway drivers who competed in Columbus are Ryan (John) Harris (Montana), John Lopez (Colorado), and Jeff Payne and Mike Redd (Utah).

"Our Reddaway drivers held their own against the best of the best in commercial driving," says T.J. O'Connor, Reddaway president. "I'm very proud of the hard work they put into their preparations and their courage to compete. The truck driving championships are more than driving competitions. They instill a mindset for vehicle operation that translates into better customer service and safety for our drivers and the driving public."

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Industry News

U.S. consumer spending and incomes stall

Spending in June remained flat, following a 0.1 percent gain in May. For the first time since September, incomes did not go up, and the unemployment rate is close to a 26-year high. While the savings rate is at its highest level in a year, economists are mixed on what this means for consumer spending.

Cargo scanning rules challenged

The bipartisan Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations of Customs and Border Protection is urging the Department of Homeland Security to repeal the rules requiring 100-percent scanning of ocean and air cargo. The committee favors shifting the supply chain security efforts to air and land transportation security with risk-based measures that target high–risk shipments.

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Tips to Make Your Life Easier

Online VICS bill of lading complies with retail requirements

If retailers are your customers, you know first-hand of their desire to automate processes. Use of the VICS bill of lading (BOL) is just one example. Reddaway makes it simple to stay in compliance with this requirement; simply go to reddawayregional.com to complete the industry-standardized form.

The VICS bill of lading with its customer order number field differs from the standard BOL format, giving the retailer the information it needs to reconcile your shipment with its order system.

Because you're using an electronic bill of lading, your shipment information feeds automatically into our system and is used to populate the EDI 214 shipment status message we send to retailers. There's no re-keying of information, which means no re-keying mistakes. And no worries if you completed a standard BOL when you wanted to use the VICS BOL. You have the option to change the bill of lading format on the confirmation screen.

When you create a BOL online, you also have the option to simultaneously schedule a pickup, print a PDF of the bill of lading and print a shipping label. The electronic BOL data integrates into the Reddaway systems, which minimizes key-stroke billing errors and improves data integrity for detailed tracking information on the shipment.

Discover all the time-saving tools available to you on reddawayregional.com and remember, registered users of the site have access to even more capabilities. Not a registered user? Not a problem. Sign up today!

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A Place Reddaway Calls Home

Los Angeles

A visit to Los Angeles usually includes trips to Disneyland, Universal Studios and Grauman's Chinese Theatre. But don't stop there! The city is full of neighborhoods, parks and sites that are uniquely California, not to mention its 300 museums. From the La Brea Tar Pits to the 45-feet tall letters of the famed Hollywood sign, Los Angeles has it all.

If you want stars in your eyes, the first stop is the Griffith Observatory in Griffith Park, with its free access to telescopes, theater and exhibits. If you prefer your stars to be ambulatory, then join the walking tours, trolley tours, even Segway Personal Transporter tours of the city of glamour, Beverly Hills. And when the star's light dims, there's the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, final resting place for many motion picture industry greats, including its studio founders, writers, directors and performers.

Take in the Pacific Coast Highway, aka PCH, for views of beautiful beaches, beautiful people and beautiful homes. For an up-close look at the zany side of LA, stroll along the boardwalk of the Venice Ocean Front Walk with its street artists, fortunetellers, tattoo parlors, and bodybuilders. Or visit the Rock Store, previously a stagecoach stop, and now a favorite stop for motorcycle enthusiasts, including Jay Leno.

There's a cultural richness to Los Angeles, too. Abbot Kinney, who made his fortune in tobacco, brought the charm of Venice, Italy, to Venice, Calif., creating a community of canals, walking bridges and lovely landscaped footpaths. Notable landscape architect, Frederick Law Olmstead, famous for New York's Central Park, made his mark in L.A., designing Leimert Park. And Olvera Street, in the oldest section of Los Angeles, reminds visitors of the city's origin, when it was better known as El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora Reina de los Ángeles.

Los Angeles is more than amazing sites. It's also home to one of the world's busiest ports and many top industries, making it a leading city in terms of gross domestic product.

It's also a place Reddaway calls home. We have 5 service centers in the Los Angeles metropolitan area for easy access to more next-day lanes than any other service provider in the region, along with service to Hawaii.

For more information or to schedule a shipment, go online at reddawayregional.com or call us at 1-888-420-8960.

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