Anyone else waiting for Crate Pickup?
 

Anyone else waiting for the truck to come and pickup their Crate?

They were supposed to be here at 11am. It is now 2:15pm.

So when does a person go into panic mode?

Wonder how many others are feeling that same ugly feeling in the pit of their stomach?

:mad: :( :mad: :(

Re: Anyone else waiting for Crate Pickup?
 

Whenever I left the school, some people stayed behind to wait.

Re: Anyone else waiting for Crate Pickup?
 

Ours is scheduled for 3pm and its 2:20. So we are not in worry mode yet. I'm pretty sure last year we waited a long time.

Re: Anyone else waiting for Crate Pickup?
 

We were about to call fedex but the truck pulled up right as we started dialing. If they don't come, you can always drive it there :D

Re: Anyone else waiting for Crate Pickup?
 

That's true...Haha
We only live like 20mins. from Pittsburgh.

Re: Anyone else waiting for Crate Pickup?
 

That's what we usually do, but this year our first regional is 700 miles away... can't really get it there in four hours.

Re: Anyone else waiting for Crate Pickup?
 

Honestly, we're glad our robot itsn't being picked up till 3pm or later. It gives us a little more time for final "tweaks."

Re: Anyone else waiting for Crate Pickup?
 

They won't pick ours up today since they are behind. Our coaches called FIRST and are working on documenting it all now to prove it's being shipped and all that.

Re: Anyone else waiting for Crate Pickup?
 

:ahh: :ahh: I am at Level 2 panic

Re: Anyone else waiting for Crate Pickup?
 

Team 47 gone at 2:35 pm 2/19/2008 and I have the proof!

It is always a panic until you see the truck.

BTW the Fed X truck was stuck at PCHS for 1/2 hour on the ice in the dock ramp - solid ice.

Kitty litter works along with smoking tires.......

Re: Anyone else waiting for Crate Pickup?
 

you guys are lucky.... our driver was early! nothing was ready and we had to make mad dash to build the crate around the people wiring in the last motors (swapped them to legal ones) and the people hammering in the boards that keep the robot in position in the crate....

:)

-Leav

Re: Anyone else waiting for Crate Pickup?
 

Our advisor and his wife(also an advisor) took our robot to the shipping company after the school day was over. So we werent in a dash. =)

Re: Anyone else waiting for Crate Pickup?
 

Okay, we're in the south so weather didn't figure in for us. We weren't given a time but called Fed Ex at 1:45 and they checked with the driver and came back saying he would be here in 10 minutes. Our bot was loaded and gone at 2:20...now we don't know what to do. It feels weird not having the bot to work on.

Re: Anyone else waiting for Crate Pickup?
 

FedEx was told it was ok to pick-up the shipments during a 3 day window by FIRST. I have been on the phone all day and got up to some upper management at FedEx. I have also been on the phone with FIRST. There was a breakdown in communication. FedEx Freight was overloaded with lift truck requests. Too bad the teams were not told -- maybe this was just another hurdle that FIRST through at us to see haw we would handle it.:eek: :eek: :eek:

Re: Anyone else waiting for Crate Pickup?
 

somehow I get the feeling that alot of people will be able to manage the "hurdles" that FIRST throws at us :) ;)

-Leav

Re: Anyone else waiting for Crate Pickup?
 

If we used the complmentary shipping to our first regional, it appears that we do NOT need to confirm this with FIRST with in 24 hours like we did previously. But this only applies to the FEDEX complimentary shiping methods... Is this correct?

Re: Anyone else waiting for Crate Pickup?
 

You are correct! FIRST already has the tracking #. They recorded it before they even sent you the free air/freight bill. If you notice, they hand wrote it on the other sheet of paper in the envelope.
I still called anyway, and they said it wasn't necessary.
Our's just left the building!:D

Re: Anyone else waiting for Crate Pickup?
 

I was in panic mode especially when they didnt show up till after 2 and it was supposed to be picked up by 2. Then when they showed at 2:10 they had the wrong truck. Just got picked up at 5:05.
Panic mode has ceased

Re: Anyone else waiting for Crate Pickup?
 

We live for this -
hurry up and ... wait
hurry up and ... wait
yes no yes no
oh wait, wait
drama, panic
level 2
oh never mind
*sigh*
it's all good
:eek:
We live for this -

Can you tell that I'm waiting to hear that our crate has gotten picked up?

Re: Anyone else waiting for Crate Pickup?
 

Here in Canada, there is no fed ex donated shipping.

So for the last 2 year we have used a private shipping company. Our cost is $56 + gas. for a 4' x 4' x 67" crate weighing 450lbs

We asked them to show up at 4pm today, we had the robot all done and crated by 2pm and waited around for 2 hours, they where right on time.

We where so happy we went and had a team dinner and called it a night. Its so nice to be home before 9pm.

Re: Anyone else waiting for Crate Pickup?
 

we aren't getting picked up until tomorrow. You should have seen my face when i got that phone call from the FedEx rep. I thought we were going to have to drive it over tonight to keep from getting disqualified. Anyway, the FIRST and FedEx rep were great in handling this so i can now relax.

Re: Anyone else waiting for Crate Pickup?
 

I think our team wins. We went into panic mode yesterday at 1 pm when a fedex driver walked into the warehouse and asked "yall the ones needing the freight pickup?" luckily they sent another driver today, albeit a little later then they said he would be. But hey, better than losing a build day.

Re: Anyone else waiting for Crate Pickup?
 

My follow up......

I try calling the company at 2:30. I'm put on hold. Totally understanding since I'm sure a lot of people are in a panic. Cell phone starts to die 15 minute later so I hang up.

3 o'clock and the company is calling me to say driver is on the way and should be there in 15 minutes. Things are looking up.

45 minutes later I'm calling the company and end up calling the driver to give directions. Still things seem okay.

Driver shows up and life seems to be okay again. That's until he discovers that his lift will not work. I spend the next 1 1/2 hours out in wind chills close to zero trying to help. Nothing seems to work.

My saintly custodian shows up and tries to brainstorm with us. He comes up with a great idea. He calls our central office and catches one of our truck drivers that has a lift. He shows up a 1/2 hour later and we load the crate to his lift, we pass it on to the semi and the robot is finally on its way to St. Louis.

You gotta love build season.

Re: Anyone else waiting for Crate Pickup?
 

Team 240 is in the same boat as Bedford, FedEx said maybe around 8:00, but maybe not today at all. All that after we went out last night in the freezing cold to pack the robot in its box.

I feel sorry for the poor cold robot.:(

Re: Anyone else waiting for Crate Pickup?
 

FedEx Freight was a bit overextended here in Maryland. Ship Day is turning into "Ship Daze" Lots of rescheduling going on.

Re: Anyone else waiting for Crate Pickup?
 

YEa as of 5 ok today our robot was still sitting in our shed Fedex is coming tomorrow has anyone heard from first as to what to do.

Re: Anyone else waiting for Crate Pickup?
 

What they told me was just have it ready to ship tomorrow. If you are using the donated FedEx Shipment FIRST has the tracking numbers. I would drop FIRST an email letting them know what is going on and the 'bot is in the box ready to go.

Re: Anyone else waiting for Crate Pickup?
 

when we called fedex to conform the pick up between 3-5 they told us we were good. about 6 rolled around and panic mode was set. Called fedex and they said we were rescheduled for tomorrow afternoon. well, few more calls and they picked us up at 9:00PM tonight. I guess they where crazy busy today:cool:

Re: Anyone else waiting for Crate Pickup?
 

Lol I'm at my dad's, so I have no way of going. Mr. Jimmy and Anthony kept trying to get me to come at the practice yesterday XD

Re: Anyone else waiting for Crate Pickup?
 

Our robot was shipped this morning. It was suppose to ship today between 7:00am and noon and it shipped, so no panic

Re: Anyone else waiting for Crate Pickup?
 

i would schedule early. Feb. 19 is the deadline. Teams should consider sending it earlier if they had a horrible shipment pickup today. I wouldn't chance a whole build season, only to be disqualified because of not making a deadline.
FIRST sends those same email warnings for the other awards. You could be ready to submit, but the Internet is down, or the firstawards.org site is not working properly, etc. etc.
Yes, yes, I know we need all the time we can get, but still.
I have heard of teams not finishing and not competing after signing up, but never really heard of a team shipping on the next day after deadline.

Re: Anyone else waiting for Crate Pickup?
 

well, i believe if its a situation out of the teams hands such as the truck not coming or fedex rescheduling, FIRST will not disqualify you, but will ask for a letter in writing verifying that the create was NOT reopened. So it will have to be a code of honor (or whatever the word is i cant think of for the life of me):yikes:

but im not sure, just what i think