Another Classic TQL comment

Not True At All.
I have my own fleet of trucks and I haul direct for shippers all the time without brokers.

Having authority simply means you carry enough insurance to cover a lost shipment. All shippers have to do is request the trucking company to be added as a certificate holder and send it to the shipper.
The shipper is not responsible for the transportation of the product so the shipper does not need an MC#

 

I tried to take a load from TQL the other day from chicago to new jersey on a reefer, got offered 1900 and when I asked if they could do 3000 they laughed and hung up.

They could say no we can't in a nice way, bunch of fruit loop dyngus's.

 

I hate to say it, but I am with you on this one... I would have been upset as well. What brokers fail to realize is, that sometimes rates are consistently changing. You might be an owner operator just trying to make an honest living, but there are a ton of Chicago carriers trying to get out east coast to pick up customer freight....

Though you were asking for $3k on an 840 mile run correct? You were not far off at all, and I know we would have been somewhere in the middle of 2900-3100. I would call back and file a complaint with the carrier relations. Obviously its a tough business, but I do not treat carriers with disrespect. I actually call them back when they hang up on me to find out what that was all about. They think that once I shoot you a rate, that will be the final rate you will hear out of my mouth, this is not the case.

I prefer the people who stay on the phone with me, and actually negotiate. We can't just lowball or Highball for some of the chicago carriers out there that like to shoot $6 per mile rates that are just simply unrealistic. Don't get me wrong, there are idiots at TQL and have no clue what they are doing, but sometimes calling back that broker and talking to them as to why they hung up, can really change the way business is being conducted. Call them out on it, say that wasn't professional at all. I know it doesn't sound like something people would do, but I had more success working out a rate with a carrier than them just hanging up on me. I call them out all the time.... All we want to do is sit here and complain about how the rates are all jacked up and how TQL is, but you have to admit NOT ALL TQL EMPLOYEES are bad, just find one you like to work with, and keep up with them. make a relationship with them, do something. I promise you they will go the extra mile and put notes in about how great a carrier you are when you make your check calls and stay on top of the load. I had to tell drivers to not call me so much because I knew they were a great carrier. I am not saying that you aren't or anybody here isn't. The carriers are not the only ones who are keeping tabs on extensions and names within TQL.

 

You have got to be kidding me?

A broker did that to you?

Don't mind if I ask, but where were you loading out of or trying to get a load out of?




You ha

 

I see what you're doing here, so don't get me wrong. Maybe you're one of the few bright spots in the mountain of poop. Yay you! Here's the view from the other end of the phone.

I'm not going to call back in to find out why a broker laughed and hung up on me. Carrier relations is a waste of time too. Been down that road before complaining about fake posts. Turns out I was supposed to like that since it puts loads into my search that I wasn't searching for. Look here - if that's the treatment I'm getting when taking or making the first call, it's a sign of how the rest of the load will be handled. If you think I'm gonna call back and beg to negotiate on a load that I already see TQL won't have my back on, you're out of your GD mind. There's thousands of actual professionals elsewhere in the market that are a better investment of my phone time.

I have yet to find loads that TQL is selling, that aren't available through another broker. Actually committing to a rate with a shipper before having a carrier on the hook just isn't in the TQL sales handbook. Rare exception being a dropped load that needs to be covered. Why bother with TQL when I can call 2-3 others with access to the same load? Who will also negotiate in good faith in a businesslike fashion. And probably have the load confirmed with no hinkey DI dispatch BS in less time than it would take me to reach anyone at TQL that would actually be able or even want to do anything about the first numbskull.

What you probably ought to do is quit TQL and go to Coyote. Their call center seems to follow a playbook more like what you are trying to do there. Stop trying to swim upstream. Their current of crap is too strong for just your good efforts to overcome.

 

Well, Dale, obviously you misinterpreted the entire point of the post. Shippers cannot get"authority" to be a shipper, because such authority does not exist!

Sorry I had to bring it down a few I.Q. points for you, I assumed (rather incorrectly) that I was dealing with people with more intelligence than a Rhesus monkey.

I hate that some people in here have to lower the entire conversation to personal attacks and insults. Although I hate it, I'll play along for you, Dale.

Have a great day.

 

Again, and this isn't for just you, but for everyone commenting and/or pm'ing me about this. READ THE FIRST SENTENCE. This is referencing shippers posting on load boards. Most load boards require MC# for registration. Shipper cannot get MC#. You can ALWAYS haul direct. My statement in no way references the legality, or the ability, to haul direct.

Having authority means you have authority, not insurance. Authority is the legal right to broker (in this case, or carry, in the case of a carrier) someone else's property for compensation. Interstate brokerage without authority is against the law, and can result in serious financial penalties. Also, the government typically has the judge issue an injunction in addition to levying fines. Violation of the injunction is a criminal offense and carries jail time.

However, you are correct in that the shipper does not need an MC#. There is no authority required to have someone else engage in interstate commerce on your behalf.

 

You are the only one with an intelligent response that seems to have actually read the post in its entirety, and for that, I thank you. Other people, please witness this intelligent dialogue as a testament to accurate reading comprehension (i.e., we are discussing shippers being able to obtain an MC# due to the loadboards requiring MC# during registration, as many do).

While you are correct in that shippers can have a wholly-owned subsidiary brokerage, the regulations prohibiting brokering freight in which you have a fiduciary interest.

What most subsidiary brokerages do to bypass this regulation is provide for a separate corporate structure, with a separate CEO, and most importantly, separate accounting, for the sub. corp. By doing this, the "shipper" (parent corp) is paying a third-party brokerage firm (sub. corp.) for the transportation of the goods. Since the broker is generally handling only the parent corp's shipments, it generates significantly less revenue, and realizes tax benefits. Also, since the shipper retained a broker with FMCSA authority, the due diligence clause is observed, and the liability is transferred to the corp with less assets and shareholders' equity.

Basically, it's legal money laundering, tax wise. However, since the sub. corp. has 100% of authorized outstanding shares held by one party (the parent corp), any fees paid for brokerage (which will be high, follow my line of thinking here) are a tax deduction to the parent corp (business expense), but profit is returned to the parent corp as capital gains (because the sub corp is most likely an S corp, with pass thru deductions and profit/loss). The reason I think the brokerage fees are high is because the parent corp will pay less taxes on the brokerages profit (as capital gains) than as C-corp profit from operating as a manufacturer.

Enough business law and tax law, though. Interesting conversation, and you are correct. Thank you!