mercer/landstar ?

Mercer is NOT doing lp. They have NEVER done lp. There was a time they allowed guys to sign on trucks that they got from the lp company quality. That time is over. How bad did it effect us? Well i had more than one customer tell me the last few guys that moved their stuff didn't have a freaking clue and were very happy to see a competent operator. So i suggested they jot down my name and number and if they felt i was worth a couple hundred more than don't have a clue tom dick and harry to specifically ask for me when passing the truck order. So that quality experiment may have been an abysmal failure for the fools that run operations in louisville, but it gained me a handful of very good paying customers that always request my truck. So for me it was a great benefit.

 

Thanks, I was a bit curious about that I am talking to Mercer about leasing there. Was just a bit worried about that as where I am leased now has company trucks and they always get the loads when things get tight.

 

Oh and what percentage of there freight is tarped loads? Reason I ask is I do about 50% od loads and 45% or so of loads that don't require tarping. Mainly because no matter how many times I tarp it's the 1 thing I have always sucked at. Being in dfw area of Texas is Mercer better to have a sd or fb ? Thanks

 

To be perfectly frank: mercer, landstar, bennett, admiral merchant. They are all good companies and all basically operate the same way. If you can succeed at one, you will do good at another. For the most part we all got the same customers and the freight rates are within a few pennies of each other. Some of their stuff might pay 2 cpm more and some of ours pays 2 cpm more. It really comes down to the little things that's slightly different between them. and the people. For me, id rather be with Mercer where when i stop in louisville and I'm walking through the office to see my coordinator and the president sees me walk by his office he shouts out "hey how you been? How's the baby? Is the little guy talking yet? Oh hey, i was just looking at morgan stanleys projected freight index for next quarter what's your truck number again so i can forward it to you. Are you gonna be here Sunday? Great. See you at church." The president knows my name, knows my kids names, but has to ask for my truck number. and provides me with tools to make better business decisions. I like that. I like that a lot. For another guy maybe that's not so important and they would prefer the way things are done at landstar or bennett. It doesnt mean mercer is better, it just means mercer is better for me.

 

I don't have those specific numbers. I don't do a lot of Texas so can't tell ya if flat or step is better there. But i do know that step is more specialized so takes a greater amount of knowledge of freight lanes to do it well. So if you gotta ask, id say you should stick with a flat, at least for now until you learn that knowledge.

A for tarping, no one makes you take tarp loads so you could go all year and never tarp. I don't mind tattooing so will take a tarp load of its substantially better than the no tarp load. That being said.. maybe 20% of my loads tarp.

 

Thanks for the replies. Researching different companies right now. The company I am leased to now only allows you to haul for 1 agent and I have recently caught them trying to go back in and "adjust" the rate after we agreed on price.

 

Which company is that?

 

Lonestar Transportation

 

While i have no personal experience with them so won't say for certain, you are not the first person to tell me they like to readjust rates after you have agreed to pull a load.
To be fair, things like that can happen in this industry. I've been dispatched on a load and the agent call me and say "the customer wants to move it for xxx amount, they say they have another carrier at that rate, but we can match them and keep the load, want to come off it or want to match the rate? Your call." So i understand that it isn't always the carrier or agent, but i have to be kept in the loop. Changing thing's without informing me so i can reevaluate if i still want to pull it is not ok. That's a deal breaker in my mind.

 

Yeah what you said happens. But in this case after I received rate con loaded and delivered load1 week later when get paid for load a 3200 od load was readjusted to 1500 with a note from agent saying they made a mistake so rate con was nullified. Had to get corporate and my lawyer to get paid off original rate con. To quote corporate office good agents are hard to find but o/o are done a dozen.