Lanter...

[SilyPartsGuy]

So we have been swicthed to Lanter, I did a forum search and read up on what I found but it's all from last year. Anybody know if the service has gotten better? I don't know if my Director can handle much more after all this recall business going on.

[Richard]

it got better.....
now its back to not at all good.

[DMagenheimer]

GREAT!!!

That makes me feel all warm and fuzzy.

[SilyPartsGuy]

Yeah, i'm not at all that excited about it either.

[CTSVOWNER]

Don't worry your ign switch recall parts will still be thru Johnny Fed. And still get sent back thru UPS. We have Lanter and the driver is a nice guy. Michelle that handles any issues is always quick to anwser the phone or call you back.

Biggest thing to do is if you feel your delivery is running late check your email for notifications. They will not call you to let you know they are late. Also recycled parts you are waiting for is a hassle sometimes.

Question for those of you on Lanter what do you do for heavy core pick-ups? Their trucks dont have liftgates and sometimes manual lifting labor is not the easiest to get. We asked GM what we were supposed to do and they said you can buy a forklift. First we are a small dealership and don't want the OSHA requirements that go along with it as well as the space and maintinence it would require. I've been looking into a pallet stacker that will roll from our loading dock out to the truck thru our parking lot.

Dave

[SilyPartsGuy]

Heh, the guy from Lanter that came by a couple of weeks ago to map out the delivery area and drop off the new key box called me this afternoon to make sure the key box was installed and that the keys were put in it. It is, they are not and will not be until the day my Ryder guy makes his last run. Apparently they will be "making dry runs" all next week during the day so the driver can get familiar with the route.

As of right now I have a few concerns... I get a QPO truck that is about 3/4 of whatever size trailer Ryder uses, think my driver said 53', every Friday morning, so I asked the guy if they will be delivering in semi's, he did not have that information. I was told by my Ryder driver that the new Lanter dock is no where near the PDC were as Ryder's dock is across the back parking lot. And I'm supposed to expect the same delivery schedule, or earlier...

I send anywhere from 15 to 25 heavy cores back at the first of every month, I have two forklifts so not a problem getting them loaded, but I foresee a problem getting them to simply come back to pick up. I keep anywhere from 5 to 10 cages and 20 to 50 totes onsite at all times for MR's, monthly's and cores, I send light cores back every Tuesday, I foresee cages and totes piling up. And I hope to the Parts Gods they have a lift gate, my biggest pet peeve about my deliveries is small parts being in cages, not stacked up 10-20 boxes high in the middle of my delivery area, or worse blocking my dispatcher's access to her desk...

Ugh... This is going to be interesting....

[PARTSPHIL]

If their trucks dont have liftgates, how are they going to deliver engines and transmissions, or pick up heavy cores at dealerships that are unattended deliveries? (outside of dealership hours) I will be adressing that with them during the "dry run".

[Richard]

my delivery was late the other morning because the truck broke down. The driver told my counter guy that he was looking at buying a better truck, but didn't want to sink $12k into a truck.

They have delivered my parts from the trunk of their cars before. I think Lanter actually subs out the final delivery. When they do use a truck here, it's usually a box van, with no liftgate.

When we 1st moved in to the new building last year, their driver didn't raise the door high enough and hit it with our forklift (which he was not qualified to operate).

[CTSVOWNER]

No liftgate heavy part deliverys. LOL our driver literally brings a friend when he drops off a trans in the middle of the night. For engines he waits for us to open and then asks us to help him unload. Yes that means manually four guys from the deck of the truck to our floor. More than kind of sucks. It appears as though your dealership is much larger than ours.

[bigmac]

We get (or they get ours) parts or paperwork from our neighbor dealership (25 minutes away) regularly. Damage is high. If the truck breaks down or is late, we always have to call to find out. Sometimes it is a hassle to get returns picked up, and the percentage that gets lost is high. We wait months for credit and finally when GM writes it off, we can send in proof it was picked up and finally get credit. And in our area the driver changes often. If you see some of these people driving for lanter, you think you may have seen them on the post office wall.