Independent Truck Dispatching

Help me help meeee

 

I have very recent experience with a private dispatcher. All was well for about a month, then when the first damaged freight occurred, he took everyones side except mine. He couldn't explain why, but I wish now I had listened to the experienced Owner Ops on here and not bothered using one at all. The stress it caused me was not worth it. I would much rather find my own loads on the boards than go through what these so called private dispatchers can put you through. They take your money and have no loyalty to you at all.

 

Like i said from the beginning , it is an opinion , what might work for some may not work for all .

 

You won't find a decent dispatch service who only charges $25-50 per load. It is usually not worth it at that rate. It can take a lot of time and effort to find better paying loads. You spend a lot of time on the telephone and computer. If you have never done it, you have no idea the time involved, especially when you have a driver who only wants to run certain areas of the country. When a dispatch service works on percentage, it is an incentive for him/her to work harder to find and negotiate the best rate possible. When you only want to pay a small fee for each load, there is little incentive to negotiate. After all, time is money for all of us. If you only want someone to find the first load they see, regardless of rate, then a flat fee might work for some services. If you want someone who is looking out for your best interests, knows what they are doing and keeping you rolling with good rates, then you will need to pay for that service. A dispatch service can work well for some people. It isn't for everyone. If you want to spend the time and effort, are a good negotiator and motivated, you can find and book your own loads without using a dispatch service. For some, it is more a matter of convenience and knowing your limitations.

 

Nothing to chuckle about Sam ..I'm sorry if you have had a bad experience with an independent dispatch , there are good ones out there . Just like there are a few bad apples too , but if we all judged drivers by the ones that were not worth it , then no one would trust another driver and then where would we all be ?? Out of luck that's where ...

 

Never needed to have someone not in my employ to determine mine or my company's profitability. As I have stated before, these so called "dispatchers for rent" are nothing more than failed O/O's or wannabe brokers....

 

For some people it might be a good arrangement, but when I hear a dispatch service start by pitching me "keep the truck moving, it doesn't make money sitting" I'm turned off immediately. Here's why, I'm gonna drive my truck plenty of miles in a week and I can easily do that for slightly above average rates anytime I want. However, with my expenses running around $1.20/mile it is better for me to focus on booking the best loads and going for $2.50+ loads and maybe moving the truck a little LESS ! Here's how it breaks down 3000 miles @ $1.80 (that's all miles mind you, not just loaded) I net $1800. 2500 miles @ $2.20 I net $2000. 1500 miles @ $2.50 I net $1950. Now which of these three scenario's do you think I prefer ? So if I can do 1500 miles and keep my $/mile at $2.50 plus I really don't mind making all the phone calls, dealing with brokers, etc... it pays to do it. Plus I have the benefit of not having to communicate my hours available, ETA's, etc... to a dispatcher. if and when i may have to be some where for an appointment. If you think you're just going to run me an extra 500 miles/week and that justifies me paying you, sorry, doesn't add up to me.

 

It's funny how he is talking about cutting out the middle man and then wanting to re-insert himself as the middle man. For a small fee of course.... LOL

 

LOL ... cutting out the middle man is simply getting the drivers what the shipper is ACTUALLY paying for the load..not taking a % off the top.... Not being the middle man is simply you are paying for a SERVICE , that saves you time and money in the long run. Everyone has an opinion and it may work for some maybe not for all .

 

A Broker is NOT what I want to be or my company to be . I can broker all day long and not give a care about the driver ,and as it may be hard to grasp there are some of us out there that value what you guys do and believe that you should get paid better for doing it ...it is simply a service that you can choose to partake in or not .Just like you pay for service for your cell phone or your WI FI or your electric , etc. it's a service ....we work for the driver not the shipper or broker and I'm not here to pitch anything to anyone just wanted some feedback either positive or negative. So I Thank you and everyone who has posted their opinion, but I know that the trucking community is a strong community and because I do right by the driver that what we do will catch on . We have worked for brokers for over 15 years and we got tired of seeing them get rich off of our hard work and the drivers hard work and sacrifice . So we decided to pull together and hopefully make a change even if it is a small one or we just get to help a few drivers ... I wish you well in your endeavors . Thanks for your time