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The Custom Communicator Dedicated to our Internal and External Customers, the future of our Company. Hello Readers, August / September 2008 We hope everyone is enjoying the VOL. II NO. 3 The Custom Companies, Inc. 317 W. Lake Street summer. Look inside this edition for tips on Northlake, IL 60164 conserving our planet, staying cool during the hot weather, refresh‐ www.customco.com ing recipes and much, much more! And most importantly, remem‐ ber to be safe. By the way, if any reader has any ideas for future newsletter articles Did you Know? or would like to submit an article to be published, please don’t hesi‐ The longest and strong‐ tate. est bone in your body is So with this being said, go outside and have some fun! the femur, or thigh bone. Sincerely, Recent research indi‐ NEWSLETTER COMMITTEE cates that cell phones can carry more germs Back to School than doorknobs, toilet seats or the soles of your It’s that time of year again, when children head back to shoes. school after a much needed summer break. Some will be heading to Rubber bands last longer school for the very first time, a nervous and exciting time, and some when refrigerated. will be entering a new phase of their life, be it high school or college, but one thing remains the same, extra precautions must be taken by Our eyes are always the motorists when travelling in school zones. same size from birth, but It is important to remember that children will be walking, our nose and ears never riding busses and bicycles during peak commute times, and some may stop growing. not be as keenly aware of the dangers of moving vehicles as we as drivers should be. Helpful tips include; slowing down and observing the reduced speed limit Babies are born without kneecaps. They don't in school zones. Many of these zones have designated signs or flashing lights during reserved appear until the child hours before and after school and should be obeyed at all times. Be especially careful in resi‐ reaches 2 to 6 years of dential areas in the early mornings, as fall comes children will be on the street before day‐ age. break and this is the most dangerous time when all drivers should be acutely aware of their surroundings. Always expect the unexpected. Be alert when backing out of your driveway as you leave as children may be passing on the sidewalk. Watch closely at every intersection, children may be crossing. ALWAYS stop for a school bus that has its flashing lights and stop Inside this issue: sign up whether approaching from either direction. Not only is it a moving violation to pass a stopped school bus that is loading or unloading children, it is also extraordinarily dangerous. Claims Article 2 If you have children heading off to school on foot for the first year or the twelfth, the Black, Gold & Green 3 following is advisable to ensure safety; always walk on the sidewalk, if they must walk in the Getting to know… 4-5 road, walk against the flow of traffic to increase the odds that they will see cars moving to‐ wards them, but also so that the cars have an increased chance of seeing them. Wear bright ISO Reviews 6 colors, especially at dawn and dusk. Cross the street only at corners and marked crosswalks. Safety Corner 7 Walk in groups, this is not only to increase safety in being seen by drivers, but also signifi‐ cantly decreases the odds of the unimaginable, an abduction. When crossing the street, make Proper Hydration 8 sure to look right and left at least twice before proceeding into the street. If they cannot Veggies 9 cross the street before a vehicle will reach them, it is not safe to cross half the street and Sports Corner 10-11 stand in the middle. All pedestrians should always wait until they see no cars coming. QMS 12 Aside from pedestrians, the volume of traffic also increases when school is in session. Make sure to give yourself extra time to get to and from work or school and do not rush, pa‐ Recipes 13 tience and attentiveness are keys to getting to your destination safely. Charities 14 Holidays 15 - Matt Foley Coupons 16 The Custom Communicator Page 2 Claims Department The length of time a customer has to file a claim is determined by the National Motor Freight Classifi- cation Guide or by our own Rules Tariff. A customer has up to 9 months to file a loss or damage claim per the NMFC. However, our Tariff states that a concealed damage claim must be reported by the ship- per within 48 hours. How a customer signed for the freight on the Bill of Lading or Delivery Receipt New Hires can have an immediate impact on how long they have to file their claim, and its resolution. Many times the customer is in contact with OS&D before a claim is submitted. The OS&D Department Ismael Bautista works closely with the customer in a Customer Service role, tracking down freight and determining the scope of the loss or damage. They also work to facilitate the delivery, return, or the reshipment of dis- Jose Bueno tressed freight per the customers’ needs. OS&D acts as an Internal Supplier or Vendor to the Claims Angel Centeno Department. Tina Cottingham Once the OS&D process is completed and the customer seeks compensation for the loss or damage, it Larry Fried moves into the Claims process. We may know the freight is lost or damaged but by law we cannot Paul Mathusek initiate the claims process on the behalf of the customer. Did you know the customer has a responsi- bility by law to assist in mitigating the claim if they can? We might request that an attempt be made Julio Otanez to repair an item, instead of routinely replacing it. You also may not know that shippers are not al- Jose Palacios lowed to profit on a claim, they are only allowed to claim for the value or cost of the merchandise to Robert Pierczyski them. Antonio Portillo When a shipper calls in to file a claim they are advised to complete a claim form which is accessible Jose Rodriguez from our website. If the Internet is not an option, we will fax or email them a blank form. Our claims Jeffrey Stewart personnel will then inform the customer of the back up documentation they need to submit with their claim form. An original Bill of Lading, a signed Delivery Receipt with exceptions noted, a Sales Invoice Andrew Tovell or other document showing their cost, possibly a repair invoice, are some commonly required docu- John Wojdyla ments. Erica Lopez As soon as the documents are filed, our personnel reply back to the customer acknowledging receipt and informing them of the claim number that was assigned. One Quality Objective for the Claims De- partment is to reply back to our customer within 5 days from the receipt of their paperwork. The actual response time is currently between 2 ½ to 3 days from receiving the customer’s packet. Another Quality Objective of our Claims Depart- ment is to resolve claims in less than 75 days; our actual resolution time is averag- ing less than 60 days. Federal regulations require resolution of claims in 120 days, so we are well below that standard, and we routinely exceed our Quality Goal! If a damage claim is valued over $1,000.00 we contact MTI Inspection Services to do an on-site inspection of the damaged goods to determine the extent of the damage, the value of the merchan- dise, adequacy of packaging materials, Pictured First Row (l to r): Irene Wodzinski, Kristen Teml, Janette Fernandez Second Row (l to r): Jeff Guthman, Adam Baltz etc. MTI is recognized as an impartial, independent service provider. They do not work for us or for the shipper, if their investigation determines we are at fault, we pay the claim. A primary function of this group is to analyze and determine the root cause of claims so that we can identify trends and pro-actively find solutions to problems. They help identify improvements to our processes, which reduce or eliminate damaged freight. In our Quality Management System they act as an Internal Supplier to multiple processes in this role. The Claims and Loss Prevention groups have jointly initiated Corrective Actions involving Customers, the Sales Group, and Dispatch / Dock Opera- tions to reduce specific claims issues effectively. A current project in progress would provide dock- workers and drivers with automatic alerts and instructions through our Dock Management System and Cheetah Dispatch software of special handling needs of freight that has been identified as fragile or prone to damage. Even with due care, freight in movement can become distressed. Resolving these issues will never be enjoyable, but our Claims Group has developed their Quality Objectives to speed up and facilitate the process of filing and resolving a claim as much as possible for our customers. - Bruce Lenau Aug/Sept 2008 Page 3 Stretch your Gasoline I now pay nearly $5 for a gallon of gas-and the pain at the pump is only going to get worse, according Black and Gold…& Green to Sean Brodrick, a commodities analyst at Weiss Research, Inc. He attributes this trend to escalat- Ah, the dog days of summer. Now that things have heated up for the season and the prices of ing demand, especially in China energy have heated up along with the thermometer, it is never too late to think about ways of and India...the decreasing value of the dollar...and declining world- saving energy.

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