What makes a broker good?

I never said it was much harder for a broker to stay in business, I said it's just as easy for a person to start a trucking company as it is a brokerage outfit. I then said staying in business is much harder than starting one. that applies to any business.
and no I'm not a broker, I happen to be a business owner, driving the truck is the simpleton part of my business. have you ever held a brokerage mc number? if not then how do you know it's so easy?
and fyi, this is not a" trucker only" forum.

 

Really? It's just as easy to start a trucking company as it is a brokerage? Yeah I suppose it is difficult to buy some office supplies and install a phone and fax line. Much more difficult than getting a professional license, years of driving experience, commercial insurance, truck and trailer and on and on and on.

And what you said was,

"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."

Based on your comments it is obvious you look down your nose at us "simpleton" drivers. I do not beleive for a minute you are a driver. You are a broker trolling our forum. And lastly I did not say its a trucker's only forum. I said its a trucker's forum. And what I said before still holds. Perhaps you would be a better fit in another forum where you do not have to deal with us simpletons. Please go away!

 

man you are making some seriously wrong assumptions here. I never said anything about looking down on truckers, but let's get real, it's not rocket science. You do not need years of experience driving a truck to apply for an mc number as for the professional license, you need to pass a very simple written and driving test. I got my cdl at 18. a freaking week after graduating high school. read that again. a week out of high school I was a legal bonefide truck driver. that's how difficult it is to get a cdl. like the commercial says "so simple a cave man can do it".
note, I do not agree it should be so easy that a caveman can get a license, but the legal requirements are what they are. a simple an easy driving exam. that's a far cry from" professional licensing" that are in place for #### near every other profession out there. we are not curing cancer or performing brain surgery here. Jesus even barbers have stricter licensing procedures.

You are seriously misreading what I have said in my posts, at no time was any insult towards truck drivers intended, I have done nothing than state what the legal requirements are to opening a trucking business. which are very similar to opening a brokerage business.

 

Maybe not but how do the instraments that the brain sergon uses get to them? how do the supplies used for research get to a lab? The bed that the patient is lying in? the lights that light up the lab for the scientist and so on ? some people say the same about plummers, but do you know what would be piled up without them? How about garbage men, Could you imagine what the curb infront of your house would look like without someone picking it up? Just because it does not takes a masters degree to drive a truck does not mean that the dedicated truck drivers of America are not good, hard working, qualified contributers to the economy that deserve some credit for doing a dangerous job.

 

at no time did I say we aren't good hard working qualified contributors to the economy. but so is every hard working American( maybe not politicians lol) including brokers. and lumpers, and dispatchers, and even dot officers.

I'm probably communicating badly here. let me try another way of explaining the intent of my first and subsequent posts. the original post I replied to, had a lot of 'how easy it is to be a broker, they don't risk anything, no expenses, just evil selfish men trying to line their own pockets at the expense of truck drivers' my response was to point out how our job really isn't any harder than a brokers, nor is starting a motor carrier. furthermore, there is a lot of anti broker attitudes out here, painting them as evil, selfish beings keeping the hard-working honest truck driver down. that does nothing but create a hostile divisive atmosphere that is counter productive for all involved. working towards an atmosphere of mutual respect will do more good for us than any hate filled rant about the brokers.

 

It's more like what they don't do......

As in....

They don't try to bs you throughout the entire call.

 

There is a rare quality in what I would call a "good broker". It's a strange attitude/mindset that they will have...as if though they are actually working for us instead of the company that is paying them. Explain...97 percent of the time you will get the "Oh no, not on my watch" attitude such as
"That rate is ridiculous" "We've just moved three of these for 1/2 that" "I can't take a loss, sir" "I have to get approval from the customer...I'll call you right back".
The other 3% will actually be joyous about helping us out. Will actually be upbeat about getting a great rate for a load. They might say things like "It's got a crap rate on it. Tell me what you need and I will try to make it happen" "Yeah, it's a little high but let's do it" "You guys did a great job last time and I want you on this one. What do you need?"
It's kind of hard to explain. Just last week one of my regular brokers gave us a great rate on a light weight short load that was moving the next day. It was moving for a large customer. I gave him the rate and he didn't blink. The confirmation was in my email before we got off the phone. At the end of the day he called and said that the load had been pushed back a full day. "That sucks", I thought, but I knew he would take care of us. He asked if we still wanted it and of course the layover fee came into play.
This is the key. The other 97 % would have said "yeah, our layover policy is $150 (which is a complete joke) and they wouldn't have budged and it would have ended negatively. This broker? While we were on the phone he was typing the email to the customer and he is a "talking typer" if you know what I mean. He was actually snickering about charging them $400 for a layover fee. As if though he worked for us.
Now, I know $400 isn't the best layover fee in the world but it's better than most I have encountered or been offered in the past. I have a history with this guy and gives us a lot of business. He sent the new confirmation with the $400 layover fee attached and we got down the road. What I''m trying to get across is that his actions imply that he gives a crap about us and that he will go to bat for us. He values the relationship just as we do and he actually takes enjoyment from getting us a killer rate or helping us out in a bind.
Extremely rare creature.

 

A good broker also provides ALL the pertinent information a driver needs, not just dabs and drops . . . pick up location and phone number, where the load is going (if they have that info), rate, extras, if the reefer needs to be pre-cooled and to what, and the list goes on.

 

A good broker doesn't ask, "why so expensive?" - I never waste a breath asking, "why so cheap?". The answer to both questions is a given.

 

You are one angry dude. This went from what makes a good broker, to you spilling your heart about how much you hate them all. Anyone (including brokers) can kill an entire family, all they have to do is drive, so you have the same occupational hazards as a 16 year old driving to his summer job. I understand there are plenty of expenses and stresses in being a truck driver, but it doesnt mean you are the end all be all of knowing the working man's troubles. I agree it isnt smart to insult drivers on a driving forum, but it is also a little absurd to post a rant about how horrible brokers are, when the original post was what makes a good broker.

Be honest, make sure your loads are up to date with correct shippers, appts, weights, pallet count, commodity, etc. And that you are doing your best to service the customer. If your customer is happy, you should be too. It means you are servicing the freight and making money.