Booking a load. Google reviews. Getting cold feet about it.

If I make a commitment I follow through on it, but I still believe my word means something, it does to me anyway. I will very rarely make a business decision based on google or any other online service.

 

Some places absolutely deserve every negative review they get and then some. Atlanta Marketplace in Union City, GA. Kroger in Shelbyville, IN. Food Lion in Salisbury, NC those are 3 of my personal favorites. I always ask who the customers are on any given load among other things. Joe if it's any of these 3 places above just trust me, give that load back right now and never look back lol.

I look at Google reviews and where there's smoke there's usually fire. You have to use your good judgement. Obviously some guy shows up late complaining about a half a day wait carries zero credibility but the ones who do what they were supposed to that sit there all day, that paints a picture of shipper/receiver mismanagement and "do not book this load". I would have no problem giving a load back on some unknown place that has terrible reviews. I have 100% on time pickup and delivery with every broker out here but bouncing off a load now and then, I'm not ashamed to say I have given loads back because of lousy reviews. I have never given one back to get a better rate though. Never. But lousy customers that treat drivers like garbage, **** them, I hope they struggle mightily to get their freight covered.

 

If I book a load I do it.

I may not book another if it goes bad?


I’ve only got about 5 places on my list.

I have completely eliminated anything that starts or ends with “scrap” anything.

Never once looked at google reviews.

 

So far only once that I cancel a load because of a better load.

That's not something I ever do and I felt terrible about it.

But the thing is the load I took paid really well but it was about an 80 mile deadhead and it did not take me home. But the Load paid well enough I was willing to find something else from there.

Then all of the sudden I found a load that came out of the actual same facility that I was in that paid an outrageous amount of money that took me directly back to my house.

I felt bad but in that case I just had to do what I had to do.

 

#4. I won't back out of load unless it's out of my control, getting held up 10+ hours to where it's not even remotely doable or a break down. I hate making that call to the broker feeling like an idiot

 

I won't bail. I think honoring your commitment is everything.
I've seen plenty of times a better load comes up.
Plus I don't want to be like the slimy bottom feeders that do me that way. I've tried to smell out the ones that book us as an insurance policy until they get the load covered cheaper or the loads that are just a pita.
When things get afu for whatever reason I let the agents know asap so they can move the load or just repost it. Don't like making those calls, but it goes with the business.
I look at it as a weeding out process. There's also a lot of eb and flow. Maybe a shipper or receiver is afu, but it pays, and you're out of hours anyway, etc.
It's live and learn.

 

I'm always skeptical of Google reviews. Some of my favorite places have nothing but terrible reviews on Google. And it's mostly from foreigners that can't read a rate-con and arrive at the wrong time, don't follow directions posted on the sites, have poor communication, etc. Or they just have no experience in the industry. Of course a floor loaded dry van that has to be piece counted is going to take hours to get loaded and unloaded. You should have put two and two together on that one before taking the load.