Broker Screaming

If I am set up with a broker, I usually give them 10 minutes to get the RC. If its a new broker, I do the packet in 10-15 minutes and usually within a half hour they get me a rate confirmation. I always try to book last minute loads, so everybody tries to be quick with paperwork.
If the load is getting booked for the next day, I wait an hour and call to remind about RC. If another 30 min pass by and RC still has not been received, I politely inform them that I will have to look for something else, if I dont get it within 30 min. So yes, max 2 hours.
That broker must be a some young unprofessional kid

 

Here's the other side of the coin we owner operators have to deal with occasionally.

I called about a load from Portland to Sumner last Tuesday afternoon. Guy was nice enough, we agreed on the rate and I told him to send me his packet and I will fill it out and send it back to him when I got stopped for my pick up. He was cool with that and sent me the attachment.

I filled everything out, sent it back to him expeditiously and the following morning he sent me the tender at 0700 as I was unloading there in Portland. I planned to pick up the load and deliver same day to Sumner. In the interim I booked a load to pick up in Sumner right after I delivered his load, a load that paid well and took me right to my hometown!

So, I go to the shipper in Portland to pick up his load. The shipper didn't know anyone was coming and they didn't even have the load prepared! Okay, so now the dominoes start falling.

See how that works? It's a two-way street, brokers/shippers...

I wasted all that time for what essentially turned out to be a $150 TONU. I was lucky to get that. I ended up just deadheading south home where I will reload tomorrow.

 

I run NC-Cali twice a month during produce season. This round I was having no luck with my usual westbound brokers so I took a shot with one I have never used before but is a pretty big name. Money was a little light but the load was only 9300lbs so I said ok. First they said my MC was less than a year old as required by the company but I sounded like I knew what I was doing so they overrode that. While I was filling out their packet the broker said someone else covered the load. About a half hour later the load hits the board again so I call back. He looked on the computer and said the other truck fell off and I can have the load. I barely had enough time to shower and go make the pickup. This was on Monday and its a -1 load. I get the rate con and the delivery is Saturday in Modesto but no appointment is booked. I'm teaming so I'm due to roll in Wednesday night so he says he'll try to get me an earlier appt. Tuesday morning I call him and he says it delivers Monday with no appointment set yet. I'm not happy and I let him know it. He doesn't confirm the appointment till Thursday morning and says "he'll take care of me" Now I'm really fuming. Saturday was bad enough but Monday was total BS. I want to go get a room but I'm afraid to leave a refrigerated load unattended so I'm pretty much stuck babysitting this load in a truck stop for 4 days.

 

"I'll take care you!"...

Famous last words from Brokers.

 

Just go show up at the receiver. Tell them you have another load booked. Either take it or never see it again. With perishables you have more pull then general junk freight.

 

Sounds like the broker took so long to send rate con cause they were waiting to see if someone would take less money to haul it. I would have handled it the same way you did.

 

Ding. Ding. Ding. We have a winner.

 

Who is the broker? This way we as Truckers will know who NOT to deal with and if dealing with them, we'll know what to expect.

 

More patience than I would have had. I've never seen it take more than a few mins.

My carrier has everything pre-made. The only time it ever gets sketchy is when some brokers do not like our TONU agreement,.. in which case we cancel and move on.

Hurst

 

Thats possible,.. or it was a load from a list that he and other brokers were bidding on. Kinda like a loadboard,.. except for brokers. Broker was waiting on rate agreement from the customer. That can slow things down. Usually the bottom feeder brokers have loads like these.

Again,. I dont have the patience for it. Cancel and move on.

Hurst