When Broker's laugh at your rates.........

What lane and what kind of equipment?

 

It isn't always necessarily the broker although if a broker gives you an attitude then you have to find another one.

But it really depends on the load and how bad it has to go and there really is a certain amount that they have into it. Some loads there's more room than others.

I don't know what your conversation sounds like but my suggestion is to just know what number that you need and if they can't hit that thank you and we'll try again another time that's all. Or if anything changes you can contact me.

Then pick up the phone and call someone else.

 

What "mega broker?"

 

me: "where do you want to be with this load"
them: "where do you want to be"
me: "gives rate"
*silence
me: "what do you think?"
them: "I'm thinking about hanging the phone up"
Then the sausage sucker hung the phone up on me. Why ask me my rate and not be willing to negotiate makes no sense. Some sausage sucker at blue ox freight.

 

You should see the amount of drivers that do the same to a broker/agent. You have a "breakeven point," that is good. You'd be surprised to see how many drivers don't know their "breakeven point." Most drivers think a broker has a blank check, we do not. We have "breakeven points" as well. I get drivers calling me asking to pay them $800 more on a load than the posted rate. You're unwilling to work for free, so am I.

 

Off topic, sorry.

But, do many brokers frown upon that in general?

I mean, I might see a load posted for 3.50 a mile totalling maybe $4300. I'll say $5,000 but I'm not expecting that much with it already at 3.50 a mile. I'm doing it expecting the broker might counter with $4500 or so, which I would accept. Of course, I could have offered $4,500 from the start, but sometimes the broker will counter with a higher amount than that or possibly even accept the $5000.

 

That's because we watch the load boards. We see the original broker post it at $5,000. Then within two hours, five other brokers have gradually pushed the rate down to $2,000.

If that's really "all you have in it", then tell the shipper he needs to stop being such a tightwad, and he'd get his freight moved a lot faster.

Now this isn't directed at you in particular, but it is directed at 99% of them, and if you fall into that crowd, then I guess it's directed at you too.

 

Landstar kid that I work with occasionally knows I’m high, but knows why.

Called the other day with a Tulsa to Denver, and he was emailing his 3PL as we talked. I shot him $7k because of what it was and where - he emailed the guy and got the response -

“Tell that driver to go F himself “

We both laughed.

My guy is professional - we had breakfast once, but he doesn’t need me to break down the $ and time it takes to run my business to him , like I don’t need to know what his ‘customer’ is trying to move something for.

I’ve never been hung up on, I just stick with the standard -

“I’d be glad to offer capacity for ‘x’, and if you need me, feel free to call”.

 

Sometimes that’s done to generate calls. It’s bad protocol in my opinion.

You call on the 5k, then get given all the details, then told - “It actually only pays $3k- you ok with that?”

No, no I’m not.