FEE-GREGIOUS

I saw a list the other day from a produce receiver naming 8 different ‘Receiving Violations’ and associated fines ranging from $200 to $500 per offence.  As they say on ESPN, “C’MON MAN.”  If you have that many problems getting product into your dock, your problems go way beyond fining someone for a multitude of violations.

I understand the need for timely arrivals with scheduled appointments and I get that the product needs to be on good pallets standing tall.  What I have a difficult time with is the concept of fining someone into compliance, whatever that is deemed to be.  I would start with clearly defining the transport expectations and criteria to the carrier and then following up with a scorecard of how well they performed.  Any failures would be met with constructive advice; continued underperformance would be remanded to a reduction of opportunities.  The fine system essentially says ‘if you are willing to pay me enough money, I will look the other way on your inability to follow directions’.

I see this system as merely another hidden source of revenue, similar to lumping fees and membership in electronic order transfer systems.  Maybe a high priced accountant can figure all of this out, but issue by issue we are losing a grasp on the true cost of doing business.  It becomes very difficult when you have to review an upcharge list to accurately quote the fully loaded price of a commodity to a customer.

While we all strive to be amenable to customer requests, there are some that border on extreme.  We complained about audit fatigue.  Now it looks like we can add Fee Fatigue to the list.