What makes a broker good?

1. They dont talk to you like you are a 5 year old.
2. They dont act like they are smarter than you.
3. They dont tell you some crap about "thats more than I got in it".
4. They actually give you the detention their customer paid instead of keeping it for themselves.
5. They pay their bills and you do not have to sue them in court.
6. They dont give you the load and then keep shopping for a lower priced truck and then tell you the load was cancelled.
7. They tell you the truth about the weight, wait times, tarping, unload details etc.

There are a lot more too but they are subjective. Some things are more important to people than other things. The main thing is that they do not lie to you. Brokers are professional liars like lawyers and used car salesman. I am sorry if I insulted any lawyers or used car salesman who may read this. The reason brokers have such a bad reputation is because any moron with a pulse can be a broker. There are no minimum standards aside from a bond which can be used up in a week. And then the scum bag can open up again the next week under a new name. The only good brokers are the ones you personally know and have done business with them and they do what they say they will do. Just consider every other broker a scum bag and protect yourself accordingly until you get to know them.

 

Texasmorrell has a good list going there. No. 6 is ALL TQL ever does, so don't work with them. Sargent plays similar games. Network FOB, too, if I recall correctly. But ultimately to me a good broker is somebody who is getting a good, quality price for a load and taking a modest commission instead of trying to copulate 40% of it into his bank account while giving you 60%. .... I work with one who gives me market rate minus his 10% commission, and he gives me whatever I want as quickly as he can, because he values my service, and I take it, and send him a copy of the bills and he has his accounts-payable people send a check almost immediately for no extra charge. THAT's a good broker too. Not trying to deduct 2 or 3% for paying fast.

 

Oh TQL aslo does not pay their bills. That is why I have a lawsuit pending against them right now. They will end up paying ten times what they owe me in legal fees alone, and I will be happy with just that.

 

um, nothing...

 

A good broker pays a decent rate, keeps his word, accurately represents the load, pays detention when warranted and pays as agreed.

 

Biggest things is not lying. You can have the greatest paying loads, but if you lie about pick/drop locations, weight, appointment times, etc I will be less inclined to ever book a load with you again. I get a load that tells me it's FCFS, and show up at the customer and it's an 8pm appointment and it's 2pm. I'm going to be ticked.

 

on the flip side, any moron with a pulse can be a truck driver. there are no minimum standards aside from taking a simpleton test that my teenager could pass. and the minimum requirements to own a truck and getting your operating authority? filling a few simple forms and having a bare minimum credit history. Jesus, there are even buy here pay here lots for big trucks.
staying in business, as a brokerage or a trucking firm, is much more difficult.
the hate brokers game that is so prevalent does nothing but create a divisive atmosphere that is counter productive for all involved.

 

Let me guess, your a broker? Let me ask you a question Mr. Broker. Do you think that truck drivers hate brokers just for the fun of it? Brokers have a reputation and it is well deserved. They lie they cheat and steal. They do whatever they have to do to make a profit for themselves regardless of who really pays for it. We hate brokers for good reason. And it's your own fault.

As for your other comments they're obviously absurd. Despite your comments it is not true that any moron can be a truck driver. Thousands of people apply for truck driving jobs every day and are turned down. They're turned down because they do not meet the minimum qualifications. Have you ever heard of someone being turned down to become a broker? The answer is no. The answer is no because there are no minimum qualifications to become a broker.

There are no professional licensing requirements. There is no formal training. Which do you think is more difficult? Driving an 80,000 pound truck around the streets of New York City without hurting anything or shuffling those brokerage papers around your kitchen table? Are brokers required to take drug and alcohol tests? As for the test that you say any simpleton can pass. If it is so simple why do people pay thousands of dollars for schools to teach them what they need to pass it and it still has a high failure rate? And even if it really is a simple test it's still more than is required to become a broker. Do brokers have to pass security and criminal background checks so that they can broker freight? Is it possible for a broker to kill an entire family because he's not paying attention to what he's doing? Is it possible for a truck driver to lose his license one week and then get a new license again the next week and pick right back up where he left off? No, but a broker can. Because there are no minimum standards for brokers. But there are lots and lots of minimum standards for drivers.

As for your other comment that it is much harder for brokers to stay in business than it is for trucking companies, you are full of crap. We have so many more expenses and overhead that brokers do not have that I am not even going to bother to list them all.

And finally I have one last question for you. How smart is it for a broker to go on a truck driver's forum and then commence to insulting truck drivers? When I made my comment about brokers I did it on a truck driver's forum. I was not stupid enough to go onto a broker's forum to make the comment.

Perhaps since we truck drivers are all morons as you put it, you would feel more comfortable moving to a broker's only forum and staying the hell out of ours. I know I for one am not interested in hearing the opinions or conjecture of someone who is only concerned with a lining his pockets at my expense as all brokers are.

 

A good broker is a broke broker they don't last long there are only average brokers for the most part.If a broker pays more than an average rate it only means that he/she run out of suckers available to haul that load. that is why you see most loads pay the same even though there are a million broker out there they all have about the same rate for that cheap freight as if they all worked in the same office.