Finally got my own truck

Lumper fees are just a way to move money around for tax purposes and benefits. IMO. I could explain my theory but it would be a small novel. But it's just a theory

 

Dude that's like saying the broker didn't pay me for fueling so I'm not getting out of the truck and putting fuel in it. You are signing a legally binding document that you recieved the product in good condition. If your position is its not my job to make sure my truck is loaded right, then for the sake of everyone else on the highway please never ever pull open deck.

Should some places train their forklift operators better? Absofreakinglutely. But before my name goes on that legally binding bill of lading, I'm making sure it's in the same condition and count as listed on the bills.

In the case of places that refuse to allow me on the dock to inspect and count, the bills will be marked as such, and the truck won't be loaded till i recieve a signed release form from my customer.

It's called doing your job. My job is not to drive a truck from point a to point b. My job is to protect my customer.

 

It's really quite simple. It goes back to the days when transporting goods was more than mindlessly holding a steering wheel. Be grateful they have onsite lumpers. A couple decades ago that service didn't exist. If you was lucky there would be a couple guys out of work standing on the sidewalk you could hire with cash.

 

Obviously I think drivers should get paid for dock time. Everyone who has real interaction with loading docks (including most shipping managers I know) would prefer it if it was just another cost. The good shippers that load people fast already pay detention, but the bad shippers (like produce lol) don't. They think they are getting something for nothing... They most certainly aren't.

There's a reason why rates for the whole market shoot up when produce season starts. Produce pays better than equivalent loads because of the long wait times associated with it and the claims. If I were a driver making .40-.50 cents a mile and I was spending a lot of time sitting at produce sheds I'd quit. Produce haulers should get a % because it's the only equitable way to pay them. A lot of the rate is built in waiting time so excluding the trucker from what is basically money for labor he's performing is ####ed up.

 

"Dude that's like saying the broker didn't pay me for fueling so I'm not getting out of the truck and pullout fuel in it. You are signing a legally binding document that you reciever the product in good condition. If your position is is not my job to make sure my truck is loaded right, then fir the sake of everyone else on the highway please never ever pull open deck.

Should some places train their forklift operators better? Absofreakinglutely. But before my make goes on that legally binding bill of lading, I'm making sure it's in the same condition and count as listed on the bills.

In the case of places that refuse to allow me on the dock to inspect and count, the bills will be marked as such, and the truck won't be loaded till i recieve a signed release form from my customer.

It's called doing your job. My job is not to drive a truck from point a to point b. My job is to protect my customer."

QFT

 

Guys getting paid piece meal don't really get it. That's what they signed up for and then going to whine about it. There are a couple of solutions. Charge more money or pass on the load. Whatever goes in that truck is on you regardless what grumbling and complaining about poor pay.

 

I mean does anyone see the comic absurdity of the person who is liable for the loss on a load you hauled being the broker? He's just some guy on a phone. His total gross profit (not net... his net is is a % of his gross) is 8-20% on the vast majority of freight. If something goes wrong the only thing he's REALLY responsible for is sourcing you.

But he's the liver of the whole system. He has to take the punch if a customer lays a ######## claim on you (because it was his customer) and he has to take the hit if you screw his customer (because you were his truck). If you have a claim happen because you did your job incorrectly and you make him pay ONE DOLLAR of the damages you're who his customers pay him to protect them from- a thief. Period and end of story.

 

I agree. The truck is responsible. But that didn't change the fact that if you short the freight bill, you as the broker are in violation of transportation law. The fmcsa lays out the rules of the game in black and white. Freight claims and freight bills are two separate things and if not treated separately you can find your bond being filed against. Because of this, if i was in your shoes i would only do business with well established carriers and avoid any company based out of Chicago, miami, and laredo.

 

Our carrier agreement, that every truck I use signs, gives us the right to deduct freight claims from the total accounts payable to the carrier. People have filed against our bond... And failed to get anything for their trouble but an incredibly negative write up everywhere we can put it.

I use good trucks nearly always. I couldn't have done as well as I did in 2016 claims wise without great truckers. I'm not just blowing smoke when I say I really appreciate the truckers who make my whole operation possible. I will say that they don't do it for charity though lol. I like my carriers profitable. Profitable usually means competent in this business.

 

You'd never get me cause i wouldn't sign that. The reason is simple, i am not being held responsible for someone elses screw up. Gotta understand, no matter how good a broker you think you are, or how good you think your fright pays, there is many just as good with just add good of paying freight. Just like the same is true for good carriers. No matter how good i think i am, I'm not getting anyone to pay 5 bucks a mile on long miles for legal sized general freight, too many good carriers will run it at a profitable 3 bucks a mile so no need to use some dude that thinks he is worth 2 bucks more.