Vent: watched a guy at the Phoenix terminal yank his own mirror off, and now I'm rethinking everything
Saw a transporter last month at the Phoenix yard climb in, adjust the mirror by hand, then reverse within 4 inches of a pole with no spotter, and the whole truck just sat crooked and nobody said a word. Made me wonder if walk arounds and photo sets before pickup are actually worth the 10 minutes, or if we're all just covering ourselves on paper. Half the shippers I know swear a 60 second cell video of the car beats 30 photos, the other half say pics are the only thing that holds up in a claim. So which is it, does the video actually save you when a customer claims a scratch that was already there, or do you still eat the $400? Tell me what has actually worked for you when someone tries to pin pre existing damage on the driver.
Video with a time stamp saved me on a $600 bumper claim in Tucson last year. I walked the car on camera, called out the scuff out loud, and the customer dropped it when I sent the clip. Photos are fine but showing the damage before you touch it is what actually ends the argument.