Customs legislation impacts on sales staff too The new customs legislation which places much more responsibility on the agent is definitely also filtering through to sales and marketing. I have first hand experience of this. Should you obtain business from a first-time importer then beware, especially if his goods are coming from Thailand. My suggestion would be that you investigate the prospective client and ensure that he has an allocated customs code number and a track record before you accept his business. I notice that these ‘so-called’ new importers often bring in counterfeit branded goods and when caught out by customs the freight agent has to run around and often does not get paid if he’s not careful. My advice to all the marketing people out there is to rather stay away from this type of business - I know it also it affects your sales commission but at the end of the day it is for the better. John Roodt, Intersped. ‘Why open Spoornet terminal for one or two containers?’ I refer to the article headlined ‘Spoornet should work 24 hours a day’ (FTW June 6, 2003). Funnily enough the same customers are not bringing any containers after 18h00. If they do it’s one or two containers so why open the terminal for 24 hours and resource the operations. Some do not do deliveries on weekends and the terminal opens on Saturday and Sunday. Norman Myesa, Transnet.
