Like Leonard’s Express, Wingo Transportation specializes in temperature-controlled shipping, ensuring the safe transport of perishable goods. Their niche is fresh fruit and a lot of their work originates from the Port of Wilmington, Delaware, a full service deepwater port and marine terminal complex that handles more than 400 vessels and six million tons of import/export cargo annually. The process  of moving produce from the port should be straightforward. Of course, things don’t always go as planned. Recently, when Wingo delivered a truckload of watermelons, the receiver rejected the entire load.

“Our job,” said Siniavin, “is to pick up the truckload and bring it to its destination. If we did this right, we’re entitled to get full pay for our service. But the receiver looked at the melons and said, ‘You know what? They’re not round enough for us. You’ll have to claim it on your insurance. We picked up the produce at the port and delivered it intact and on time. It’s not the carrier’s fault if the melons aren’t round enough.”

“At that point, you need to involve the broker,” Siniavin explained. “Sometimes a broker completely takes the side of the shipper because they want to please their customer. This can  create fear,  uncertainty and doubt over whether we’re going to get paid. But we were dealing with Leonard’s Express, so I knew I didn’t have to worry. They stepped in and resolved the issues between the shipper and the receiver. They defended us, the carrier, while also making sure the other parties were satisfied.”

Maintaining such a high degree of trust empowers Wingo Transportation to address challenging situations creatively. “We used to haul bananas from the Port of Wilmington to Indiana. At one point, I would say every third load of bananas was really green, and the customer wanted to reject the load,” Siniavin explained. “With some brokers I would be afraid of being held liable for the condition of the load. But Leonard’s Express guided us to donate the bananas. They actually found us a church that would accept the bananas. Leonard’s Express handled that situation well, and we were not hurt.”

Clear communication is key to any successful partnership. “In this business, when there’s a challenge, communication and collaboration has got to be top notch,” said O’Donnell. “Sometimes, a lot of people have to get involved very quickly. If a carrier is holding onto a load they’re losing revenue on the tractor, and nobody wants that. So, we want to quickly reach a decision that’s good for all parties.”