Another Loco broker...

TMC had a clause that states if they don't get paid from their customer than the carrier doesn't get paid. How's that for one-sided terms?! I love telling them to get bent when they call me.

 

You probably make more total revenue in the end too. I know I'm biting my nose to spite my face. No doubt it costs me in the long run but I can't help it. I simply cannot sleep at night knowing I'm giving it away for free. Can't do it.

 

I am not sure what is better. I mostly use mega brokers and avoid new set ups. With the dry van spot market there is not much room for relationshiping so going through loops and hoops of new set ups is too much trouble to get a load or two in the span of a year. I most likely lose substantially of potential revenue for not exercising more courage but I'll leave it to those with less risk aversion. Ironically, with new set ups, ignorance is bliss, I do know own authorities who don't bother reading a single paragraph of the agreements, they just sign whatever they're told to sign, happy to get the load, and frankly, seldom do I hear about them being burned by what they signed. I have too much wild imagination of what might happen, which is not nessecarly a good thing.

 

I will not set up with a new broker unless I am at home trying to work on loads. If on the road I am just going with the people I know so I dont have any worries on making a mistake that could cost me.

 

That's why it is not such a bad idea to be leased on to a carrier that let you pick the freight where you don't need to struggle with contract agreement dilemmas, or other things like claims, payment issues etc. e.g. Landstar. I sometimes feel that ours is a sapper's job, one mistake and the business is blown up.
However, I've managed through so far.

 

Agree with that for sure. But that is about the only reason I would want to lease on to someone. I personally run mainly on 3 brokers regardless and have not set up anything in months.

I am sure I have left money on the table doing it this way. But it is easier on me and since I am a one man company the happier I am the longer I stay out and work. Once I get frustrated, I will just start heading back to the house for a week. Ha ha

 

Oh, I read the rate cons for sure, and negotiate problems. I can't say I go through all the fine print of every carrier contract though. If most of us did that we wouldn't be in this business, at least for long. Pretty much any contract one person hands to another is designed by legal professionals to absolve them of all guilt should life happen, and life always happens, one way or the other. Not just trucking contracts either, but every one you borrow money from or do any significant business with in life. It's all a delicate balance.

 

We'd like to think or hope, at least, that they are not there to screw us on every occasion. Most of the time that's how it is; we book a load, pick it up, deliver, get paid. No distractions. One cannot forsee all the possible bad case scenarios either. Maybe one shipping guy was right when he told me, "just sign this BOL, we're not here to f...u over anything, just sign it, if you have a problem we'll deal with it then".
It was a place where they wanted me to sign the BOL before they even loaded the truck. Well, the guy convinced me and I signed it. It felt just easier that way. Irrational behavior on my part...but no problems later.

 

Ha Ha When I ran a Custom Cabinet shop I did this to truck drivers a lot. Dude I am just busy as hell and need to worry about my job at hand. You will not be the one that gets in trouble as I will be. Now that I am an Owner Op I see why I got looked at all crazy sometimes. It is hard not to think that everyone is gonna F you over every chance they get.