One of the primary items that have hindered our relationships with Class I’s is keeping up with the ever-changing staff. When there is a new business opportunity or a customer comes to us with a request, we expend quite a bit of time trying to determine who to contact within each organization. This makes a difference when there is an urgent need and we may spend hours, or in some cases days, trying to determine who the right contact is before being able to attack the problem.
Although we do know the proper channels with our connecting Class I carrier, the challenge is much more difficult with the other Class I’s. A database or directory of some sort, listing business development contacts industry-wide would be extremely helpful. We would like to see additional communication resources to collaborate more effectively with non-Class I contacts as well.