How much do you pay for your dispatching services???

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. Most people who use dispatch services usually don't do it long term.

 

There would be no money left for the truck if he paid you what you are worth.

 

He'd have to take out a loan!

 

First, I do not dispatch dry vans. I dispatch flatbeds (mainly steps, low pro steps, and hot shots). Second, I do not know anybody who is getting the money you speak of, except maybe the brokers who then take a 40% commission. If you are coming close to that $3.50 then you need to start your own dispatch service and sit behind a desk all day. I say that with total appreciation for your abilities.
Here is the difference in a GOOD dispatch service and you. You drive 1500 or so miles per week. A GOOD dispatch service would be looking for you while you are driving and while you are unloading. Also they would be looking for you while you are eating, sitting, etc etc. Monday thru Fri for about 30 to 50 hours that week. At least one dispatcher (usually 2 or 3) would be looking for you the best possible freight. And they wouldn't just take the first good paying load they seen. The load would have to be pretty perfect or they would look and look until the final moment of your truck is unloaded and you are finished with lunch, and then they would choose. They would be worlds ahead of you on the searching you could do in the 2 hours you had been unloaded. If you do a good job and stay loaded, I say keep doing it. But you do not have the ability driving 1500 plus miles per week to be as good as a GOOD dispatch service. Now there are bad ones that bring us all down. People are always talking about a certain guy out west who runs a dispatch service and lies to drivers and promises them the World. And there are wives of husband drivers who buy a computer and a phone. But then there are those of us who only know trucking. My whole family is in trucking. They drive trucks. They run medium sized trucking companies. They work in offices at trucking companies. Out of college I worked as a marketing manager and then went straight from there to trucking. I learned most of what I know from my dad who is the hardest worker I have ever known or will ever know. He is the reason why I could never tell you what a driver makes before deadhead. We would NEVER dream of leaving deadhead out or losing even a few miles on bidding. My dad doesn't like driving 100 plus miles for free, so we figured neither would any of the other drivers. We do not even know what loaded miles are, at least not on official records that help us keep up with stats. We only know what point A to point B to point C total miles are. I treat all drivers just as my dad likes to be treated. Where as most brokers do not have the slightest clue about what driving a truck is like. I called a broke agent of a huge brokerage 2 weeks ago (I won't mention the name because this is my favorite brokerage and I am not bad mouthing the whole company). It was a Monday morning and the guy said the load needed to drop by Wednesday (no time was mentioned so until further informed I assumed by close of business Wed). The run was about 1200 miles with our deadhead. I told them we were not a team but could be there some time on Wed. The guy started getting rude and telling me that there was no way my truck could do that in 2 days. I said sir I have been dispatching trucks for more years than I can count and every driver I have ever had could make that run legally without problem. He hung up on me. I called back and he got back on the phone and said you are shady and I just don't trust you. I said why. He responded "because you run your trucks illegally." Now most people I know would agree that you could easily do 500 miles on Monday, 500 miles on Tuesday, and then another 200 on Wednesday and still be dropped by 2 or sooner. This guy was just ignorant to trucking, so therefore he definitely will not make the best decisions for a truck driver. There are good brokers out there. Those good brokers typically work for a huge company that knows how to train and back an agent (altho there are many bad huge brokerages too...one starts with a T) or they have run trucks. Now days most brokers have never dealt with the driver/carrier side of things. For some it still might not make since to use a dispatch service even after dealing with this, but for many it is important to have a trusted individual dealing with the "crap" so you don't have too. My drivers never know the cussings I take, the countless hours of calling horrible paying freight from emails. The loads people call me with that are so bad I want to break the phone in half (but don't of course). BTW those same people get mad when I don't take them and go off on me about 1/3 of the time. They say things like "we can't pay for your deadhead" and "well good luck getting those rates out of here" (when we were in a good area to begin with). According to brokers about every darn area is horrible except for the southeast. And that is just an area they cannot lie about. I remember that "T" brokerage always talking about the Northeast rates and how did we expect better out of there. Sometimes the northeast is good. And we know that sooner than they do. By the time you get there, I have already loaded 20 trucks out of there.

 

Well last week he did get me a new 4g phone (had to pay full price) but worth every penny

 

Oh wow, what did you get a new I-phone? I hear from my little woman all the time how I-phones are so much better than droids.. Yeah mine does act crazy and freeze up sometimes but it's pretty cool, water resistant, shock proof, I need that - an I-phone would last about a week with my abuse. I actually destroyed my last commando and had to pay full price for a new one, they sure don't give them away..

 

No I -phone here. I got a Droid Razor maxx HD and so far its been great, to be able to run the miles while im stalling a broker lol and I have pretty much had 4g in most of the area's we run!

 

I have to disagree with you about the percentage. It works well if the percentage or pay is based on the rate per mile and not the gross. If you are going to get a percentage, then a dispatcher who doesn't care will book a $1.25 a mile going across the country because they would be getting a percentage of a big gross. I think it helps to at least know what the rates are so its better to have some experience looking at loads. Otherwise, you will never know if your dispatcher is getting you a good rate. And yes, there are good dispatchers that care and charge that little. They might be charging that little to develop a business. You never have to take a load that a dispatcher finds. So, you are only paying for loads that you think are good loads.

 

It really is a drug..... I can't get into details, cause I know brokers come here and read, and I do not want to educate them or reveal my tactics... but, what you said Rollin Coal is spot on.... learning "how to" in rate negotiations is paramount to success, and when you work your magic and get your rate it's fist pumping, adrenalin junkie stuff....lol....

Absolutely...

 

Yep, that's what makes it worth it. Psychology is a funny thing. I maintain my confidence whatever the markets may be out there. Get hung up on, yelled at, laughed at. The smug so sure of themselves agents, not hearing so many of those here lately, the only laughter now is of resignation in the frustrating search for capacity. When you're always the crazy driver demanding "outrageous" (truthfully they are simply profitable, not get rich quick like brokers wrongly think) rates all of a sudden money is coughed up for those rates. How can a driver ever learn their full potential if they give someone else the best part of the job? Not knocking any dispatch service here but I'm sure none would ever come close. I can pull rates like that at times booking 2 or 3 loads ahead, or even one at the end of the week. Or just go out and wing it. And I do have dispatchers who find freight for me 7-24 when I'm off on the weekend or out there driving. I get first rate excellent loads from them on occasion. It compliments my own extensive efforts of networking on my own. If any dispatch service could keep more than 2 dry vans consistently rolling up more than 1500 miles a week, at $3.50+ a mile loaded miles only, with a solid $2.10 or better all miles in avg. My hat would be off. I know what a tall order that would be though and it'd make 50 hour work weeks seem like a day at the beach.

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