Being Legal AND Profitable?

There is one unmistakable trait that all stupid people have...they BOAST and BRAG about their stupidity. This guy is bragging about customer loyalty because he's running overweight and dodging scales. I'm no angel, but the only way I would even consider going out of route, dodging scales and running like a bat out of hell is for obscenely S-T-U-P-I-D money. This dufus did it to keep his customers. He didn't make any money. Fool!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And hes actually bragging about it!

Remember "Smokey and the Bear"? $80000 to bootleg a load of Coors to Atlanta from Texarkana. That would be nearly $200k today. I can see bootlegging for $200grand. But if ol Bandit was doing it just to keep a customer happy, it would have been "Smokey and the hctiB"

You decided not to buy dufus' outfit. Smart move. It wasn't profitable. Not BOOTLEGGING profitable.

 

Nearby a private small motel went up for sale because the owners were retiring. When I called the number the owners directed me to a consultant who was "helping" them.

During the initial discussion which was over the phone the consultant many times referenced the amount of cash business which allowed them to keep things "off the books". I finally said to the guy, you should really find out who you are talking to before giving out that kind of information, what if I were an IRS agent?

 

If you have to do things illegally to keep customers happy then you need different clientele. People who are constantly skirting the rules are not only hurting themselves, but also the rest of us. It’s like hauling cheap freight. Everyone other than the trucker gets rich.

 

You should of talked to the 1-4 drivers who work for this 10yr company.

It would tell you everything you need to know.

 

Not so long ago (about a year) I talked with a flatbed outfit not too far from where I live. It was a 8 truck operation and they ran lumber for one single business that had 3 different warehouses in the area. When I showed up for the interview, the owner proceeded to let me know that it'd be a "cold day in hell before he ever let an e-log in his trucks, and that they were known for getting things delivered on time NO MATTER WHAT" which included skirting the law daily for various things which he detailed to me. I politely declined to say the least.

What they were offering pay wise was no where near worth the potential headaches and heart aches, as a COMPANY driver. I suspect either the the owner of the trucking company was raking in money hand over fist, and didn't feel the slightest need to pass the $$$ onto the drivers who were risking their license daily, OR he HAD to run that way just to stay afloat due to getting #### rates and didn't give a #### enough to seek out better options.

I couldn't care less either way as I figured it best to just dodge that bullet altogether. Funny thing is, about 2 months ago they contacted me again to try and persuade me to sign on with them. Oddly enough, in that 10 month time frame, they had lost all their drivers, gone through 2 truck pushers, 4 dispatchers, and never expanded their fleet to 21 trucks total, which was the original plan that would be done within a couple of months the FIRST time I talked with them. That was all I needed to know.

 

Pick one...

 

If he was making so much money, why sell?

There is running hard and running smart. Sometimes, you have to run hard to get the job done, but you can remain legal as much as possible during that time. Running smart is picking the right customers to deal with and having a good broker that doesn't set impossible goals.

Personally, I don't own (maybe some day) but if I did, I wouldn't bend over backwards to make customers happy. You can be a professional, make money and still remain within the confines of the law. Certain laws can be stretched, but purposefully breaking them, consistently, isn't a good way to do business.