Ya know...I just hate brokers

Long FLD · Apr 9, 2023

mwonch said: ↑

Exactly the questions I have, right there! I mean, get a contract or two, run those...use brokers for backhaul. There are so many shippers in odd places where that can be done. Drop a trailer or two for places who wish to preload, and there ya go. It would, however, require a full time sales team.

At this time, my company is still running as if it's one truck. One tractor with one trailer. 140 trucks, so it is time to start sprinkling trailers here and there.

What would they do without brokers? I might be clear here: without THIRD PARTY brokers. Well, I suppose they'd lease onto bigger companies, and/or use those same bigger companies' brokerages. TQL and the like get their freight from those places using algorithms to bid in batches. Without the 3rd party parasites, we'd go to the sources. Those parasites go away, they do not take the freight with them. Which kinda makes them a teeny bit unnecessary, doesn't it?
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Back in the old days the shippers used to have to staff a traffic department. Even if everyone “went to the source” as you say, that still wouldn’t cover 100% of the loads every week so now the shippers are back to staffing a traffic department because they’d need to check insurance and verify everything before a carrier could haul for them. And they’d also have to pay a whole bunch of different carriers for the loads they move. So the shippers deal with brokers instead of a thousand different carriers simply for convenience. The brokers deal with the trucks so the shipper doesn’t have to. The brokers verify insurance so the shipper doesn’t have to staff a traffic department anymore. The brokers pay the carriers so that the shipper cuts one check a week to the broker instead of paying 1000 different companies. You may see them as not needed, but from a shippers point of view it makes their life easy. Long term contract with a broker to move loads at a set rate and everything else is out of their hair.

How many carriers would be able to run if they were waiting 30 or 60 days to get paid from the shipper? How many currently take advantage of the quick pay option from the broker?

rbrtwbstr · Apr 9, 2023

So, you're working for a company that's 140 trucks, and totally relies on broker freight? Is that correct?

If so, why? Seems like a ####ty businesses plan to me but what do I know?

Do they have shiny trucks? And pay on a 1099? Asking for a friend

Long FLD · Apr 9, 2023

rbrtwbstr said: ↑

So, you're working for a company that's 140 trucks, and totally relies on broker freight? Is that correct?

If so, why? Seems like a ####ty businesses plan to me but what do I know?

Do they have shiny trucks? And pay on a 1099? Asking for a friend
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That’s more trucks than the company I’m leased to and I’ve hauled one broker load in the last 2 weeks.

Old_n_gray · Apr 9, 2023

Long FLD said: ↑

Back in the old days the shippers used to have to staff a traffic department. Even if everyone “went to the source” as you say, that still wouldn’t cover 100% of the loads every week so now the shippers are back to staffing a traffic department because they’d need to check insurance and verify everything before a carrier could haul for them. And they’d also have to pay a whole bunch of different carriers for the loads they move. So the shippers deal with brokers instead of a thousand different carriers simply for convenience. The brokers deal with the trucks so the shipper doesn’t have to. The brokers verify insurance so the shipper doesn’t have to staff a traffic department anymore. The brokers pay the carriers so that the shipper cuts one check a week to the broker instead of paying 1000 different companies. You may see them as not needed, but from a shippers point of view it makes their life easy. Long term contract with a broker to move loads at a set rate and everything else is out of their hair.

How many carriers would be able to run if they were waiting 30 or 60 days to get paid from the shipper? How many currently take advantage of the quick pay option from the broker?
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Spot on.

MacLean · Apr 9, 2023

Oor said: ↑

Most of your problems can be solved by shutting off the ringer and not answering. Been doing it for years.

Layover and detention should be paid by your company. Let them fight with the broker for reimbursement.

Tracking software on the phone, yah right, tell them it's a flip phone.

Only call the broker if you need something, everything else is dispatch's problem.
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Block the numbers. ##*k em.

mwonch · Apr 9, 2023

rbrtwbstr said: ↑

So, you're working for a company that's 140 trucks, and totally relies on broker freight? Is that correct?

If so, why? Seems like a ####ty businesses plan to me but what do I know?

Do they have shiny trucks? And pay on a 1099? Asking for a friend
Click to expand...

A little over a year ago with 10 trucks, this would all make sense. Dispatch wasn't 24/7 then. It is now and they've grown a lot. I don't know their biz plan, but I assume it's at least an okay plan.

And no, they don't pay 1099. As fro the shininess, I guess that all depends on the driver and whether or not he uses the Blue Beacon account. Everything's leased (by them not to us). We get a salary (as long as we're out Sun-Fri or Mon-Sat) plus 25% of revenue AFTER the truck makes 5K (paid weekly). High co-pay insurance, but okay otherwise paid by the company. Small company, so they take pains to be driver-centric. As long as it's not too far outta the way, we can take any routing we plan. They pay for premium parking if we wish (not reimburse, they actually call to pay). Not too bad of a company.

Perhaps you can see why I won't quit over this broker-fear stuff.

mwonch · Apr 9, 2023

Long FLD said: ↑

Back in the old days the shippers used to have to staff a traffic department. Even if everyone “went to the source” as you say, that still wouldn’t cover 100% of the loads every week so now the shippers are back to staffing a traffic department because they’d need to check insurance and verify everything before a carrier could haul for them. And they’d also have to pay a whole bunch of different carriers for the loads they move. So the shippers deal with brokers instead of a thousand different carriers simply for convenience. The brokers deal with the trucks so the shipper doesn’t have to. The brokers verify insurance so the shipper doesn’t have to staff a traffic department anymore. The brokers pay the carriers so that the shipper cuts one check a week to the broker instead of paying 1000 different companies. You may see them as not needed, but from a shippers point of view it makes their life easy. Long term contract with a broker to move loads at a set rate and everything else is out of their hair.

How many carriers would be able to run if they were waiting 30 or 60 days to get paid from the shipper? How many currently take advantage of the quick pay option from the broker?
Click to expand...

They still do this for contracted carriers. What's your point?

Long FLD · Apr 9, 2023

mwonch said: ↑

They still do this for contracted carriers. What's your point?
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Dealing with a single carrier or handful of carriers with contracts is a world away from dealing with 1000 different carriers every month.

Oor · Apr 9, 2023

mwonch said: ↑

Well... I do shut off the ringer when I sleep. Daytime? Why would I do that?

1. Ours is a relatively new company. Two years old. They're still afraid of the brokers, which the brokerages have picked up on. My current dispatcher used to be a broker-agent, so I think he still has some sympathy for his new enemy. Face it. Most companies (no matter what they SAY) never pay out such things without knowing the broker is doing so first.

2. Ya know, if I could be confident that my nice, polite, and totally honest dispatcher could pull off that lie, I'd ask him to tell them that.

3, Even if dispatch tells me to, I will never, ever perform such self harm as initiating a call to a broker.
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1. So what.

2. Lie to him too.

3. You might need a pickup number.

I told ya how to fix your problem.

You don't want to take the advice, good luck to you.

bad-luck · Apr 9, 2023

mwonch said: ↑

I try not to. I try to see "their side." I do my absolute best to be nice when they are stupid enough to call me rather than my dispatch. But, dang it! I fail at all those things.

WHY do they insist on calling the driver or reserving the right to do so? This is so unnecessary. I'm not the company. THEY can see where I am down to the exact coordinates. Me? When I hear, "Where are you?" I always answer with the state. When they ask for more, I add in the road number and mile marker (if possible). Most times, I have NO IDEA where I am exactly and I just do not have time to pull to the side of the road to find out. If I'm gonna have trouble making an appointment, my company will already know (because I told them or they noticed and already called)!

WHY do they insist on calling at all hours? I have lost count of the brokers who disturb me during my 10 hours break. Usually, they call when I'm sleeping. Sure, they have no idea it was a late night and I'm still asleep at 10 AM. Oh, wait. Had they called my company, they WOULD know. This honks me off every time. It usually ends with a snappy string of profanity.

WHY do they insist on lying? "Sure, you can pick up early! We do it all the time." Show up, rejected. Par for the course, right? Well, when it's a 5 hours wait until appointment and they're calling for an update BEFORE appointment when they already KNOW I cannot return until that time...usually ends up in blocked numbers. Leave a message. Maybe I'll listen to them before deletion, ya know? And, then they wonder why I'm not a nice guy. Really, do they not get it? How dumb are they?

WHY do they bully so much? Receiver closed on the date and at the time already set for delivery? Sorry, bud! We didn't know they were close this Friday. Guess we'll try again Monday. Then they argue about layover and/or detention. TONU? Forget it. Really?????? THEY set the appointment, so they say. Unless the place burned down, taken offline by a weather event, nuked by the Russians, or was raided by the law, how do they NOT know this? Total BS. Although I have had this happena few times, it did actually happen today. I was fortunate enough to be a few hours from home, so I got to go home for Easter weekend. HOWEVER, I was only 1 of 12 trucks told of this error. Almost ALL of them were too far from home just just turn around. So, they get to miss a weekend home over a holiday and do their reset in a dirt lot or nearby mom and pop closed-by-10PM craphole truck stop.

WHY are they so psychotic that any new OO or company is literally threatened with possible blacklisting if they even TRY to seriously negotiate rate? I mean, sheesh! If they're paying .72/mile for 1000 miles on a 40K+ lbs run, do they really expect NOT to be hated? I told my dispatch that if they're stuck with any load that heavy for that amount of mile for less than $2.40/mile, I'd rather sit for the night. Their response? "They won't deal with us anymore if we start doing that." Well, sounds like they already had that discussion! ##### brokers...

WHY do so many demand I install programs like Macropoint on MY PERSONAL devices when I am a COMPANY driver? I never do, but I am nagged through text and email to do it. My company tracks the load. Ya wanna know, call THEM!!

WHY are third party brokerages WITHOUT their own contracts even allowed to exist? Most of the biggest trucking companies have their own brokerages. Why would a brokerage without transportation capability of its own even be allowed to secure those loads only to offer them at reduced prices? With current technology, these fools can secure hundreds of loads of a certain pay range in seconds. If they do not have their own contracts, third party brokers should not even be in the business. BY LAW!

When TQL can pay so little YET enjoy one, possibly two, naming right to big stadiums, it pisses me off. When Uber can just jump into the biz by offering high rates to garner clients then suddenly drop to market levels, it pisses me off.

I get to see my ratecons. The actual ratecon. I drive as a base salary paid employee with 25% kicking in on anything over $5000/week revenue. Some of the things I read on these ratecons are horrific. For example, Landstar likes to set a rule that detention can only be paid if they are notified 30 minutes BEFORE the THREE hour mark. How the hell am I supposed to know the shipper or receiver isn't gonna be done by that time? When I was new at this, I would sometimes ask the dock for an estimate. I don't have to state for y'all that reactions to that, do I? Let's just say I learned NOT to ask (myself). I have also seen that detention will NOT be paid for that load under any circumstances. Actually is worded that way. WHY?

I hate brokers with a passion. They are a blight on this industry and in need of regulation every bit as heavy as ours. They really aren't necessary and should be removed from the equation.
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I turn my ringer off when I am sleeping, unless I need to leave my ringer on if I am waiting for a door or waiting for a call that I am empty.

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