H & M Bay, Federalsburg, MD....AVOID AT ALL COSTS

I have had a few unpleasant experiences with some of this broker's representatives, years ago. I parted ways with H & M Bay for several years. H&M called several times, and eventually convinced me to begin hauling for them again, recently. They are a LTL broker. That"s why you have multiple stops. LTL has always been known as a "better paying" source of freight. With it, obviously comes more physically demanding work, usually. In order to benefit from hauling for H & M, I found the following to work to my advantage:

1. When booking the load, get more delivery information. Run the miles to get a closer estimate. They will usually "short mile" you, typical of many brokers.
2. You will be asked to sign a delivery manifest sheet, stating that you will provide pallets & that your agreed upon rate includes lumper fees. Clarify this beforehand & mark through these statements on all of the forms that you sign for them
3.At all stops, show up early, be persistant & stay in touch w/ the H&M reps. Call them & tell them the amount at every stop. Get it approved, as they ask for you to do! I usually pay cash for the unloading fee(s). It's faster. At the end of the day, they've always reimbursed me for what I've paid out, via Comchek. Tip the dock worker or foreman, whenever possible. Just a small amount sometimes gets fantastic results & gets you on your way quicker!
4. Be on time! Understand that unexpected problems or
delays occur. Use good judgment & solve the problem as best as you can.
5. Always count your freight! Seafood is expensive.

Communication is critical. Misunderstandings are costly. So are mistakes. After being in business for myself for 23 years, I've learned several ways to handle problems in this industry. Use your head. If the loads are easy, they usually don't pay as good. Everybody would be hauling them, right? If you lose a little on one load, try to make it up on the next one. Very few businesses make massive profits without any cost or "sacrifice" involved! I was born into a family of owner-operator truckers (i'm number 11). I started my business without any college or training, only with hard work & dedication, have I made it this far. H&M has many young brokers, and yes several are rude, but we're not in this business to hold hands or build friendships. We do this to make a living. Cover your bases appropriately and you can make money hauling for them. If you slip, you'll most likely lose. Make copies of your bills, send them in to H&M, via overnight service. You'll have a signature receipt, that way. They'll pay according to agreement. No mistakes, then no problem getting paid.

 

Why would you book a load that should pay you $7,800, (minimum), for $5,300?? The gross on that load should be at 10k, (I understand, it's the east coast, but anything less than 10k on 3,000 plus miles and 15 stops....c'mon) and with you're trailer, and giving them 20%, you're @ 8k.... and you rode around and did free local work on top of that?

Wow.

 

Nobody likes to work for nothing. We all want top pay. Wanting & Getting, are two different things, though. In any business (construction, for example) contractors bid on work. The best price usually wins. If you overspend in business, than you struggle the most, eventually. If you manage your money properly, than you can afford to cut your price a little in order to get the job. I run my business debt-free, paying cash for everything that I NEED to operate it. I don't rely on financing from any other source.. It's been that way for over ten years or more. If you live within your means, you'll be comfortable. It all amounts to profit, regardless of the rate. I don't like working cheaper than anyone else, but no work, or not enough work, can put you out of business, too. Many people think that when they run their own business, they DESERVE the finer things of life ( new motorcycle, new vehicles, new equipment every year, etc, ) but they don't want to break a sweat to achieve it. Those people usually aren't around very long. I've seen many "come & go" throughout the years. When you join the military, or go to school to learn a trade, you're taught differently than one who has to survive with only what he can earn through his accomplishments. Hard work pays off, sometimes slowly, though. If you're too proud to haul for a little less, than you sit still losing money while bills keep coming in. Don't be confused. If you haul for less than what it takes to do the job too often, you'll go broke. If you can still make a profit, you'll be around longer. This is what I've learned from an entire family of self-employed. We have been in the farming, grocery store & trucking business for many, many years. All of us get up every day and work hard. I have over three dozen employees that depend on me to feed their families and we have made it this far. I must be doing something right.

 

Too many people worry about what the other person is making off of the job. It's unimportant. If you feel that you are entitled to that amount, than you should be doing their job instead of yours . Make sense? If you're an indepedent owner operator, you don't pay 20 percent to anyone to find your loads and do your "filings". You don't rent your trailer or pull someone else's, either. An owner operator has his name on the door, with no one else's; his name is on the title for the tractor & trailer. He finds his own loads. He buys his own tires & fuel (wherever & whenever he wants). He's not "leased to" ANYONE. He also hauls for what he wants, making a profit that he keeps to himself.

 

I agree with you Whitey4. Those stories sounded horrible. The one thing that seemed consistent is that the responsibility to check on the paper work and the terms of the contract were not solidly confirmed. I guess the lesson to be learned here is check and double check and then ask then ask again.

 

You're exactly right, my friend. I have too often been a "little too comfortable" or just lazy & let some things slip by me, only to have them bite me in the end. When dealing with brokers in general, ALWAYS take whatever time necessary, no matter how busy you are, to read the "fine print" & CYA.! I've hauled for some pretty shady characters and managed to get paid, as agreed. I've also hauled for some large brokers ( w/ "excellent") credit scores and been cheated.

 

If you know what you're getting into on the front end, and how much work is involved, you won't agree to a cheap rate that looks good on a per mile basis. Yes, you must do a pickup, and yes, there are multiple stops. This is refrigerated LTL. As a carrier, its your responsibility to ask questions, and know the job you are bidding on thoroughly. You MUST physically count the freight onto your trailer at the dock. Then you know if a stop is missing on the front end. I don't pull these amy more unless the rate is very good. They love unsuspecting carriers who don't do their due diligence on the front end. If they can find someone to haul team freight with 15 drops to the nw via denver for $5300 then they'd be fools NOT to book it. Its YOUR responsibility as a carrier not to take this difficult a load for such a ridiculous rate. H&M are a sharp operation all the way around. Do your job and they'll do theirs. Pay no attention to the freight on your truck, and you can expect a claim. Common sense. Lets start charging fair value for our hard work. Letting a salesman take advantage of you is no way to be profitable.

 

The two are directly related.

Tell me your profit margin on that above load. ($5,300 on what, 3300 miles, 15 stops, and local pick ups and delivery to the shipper?)

I've read the op twice now, $5300 was the lowball initial rate that was hung on the load and posted on the board.....that was the starting point....I'm guessing that what we're seeing is what I call "the American consumer retail mentality"....the tendency to look at the price tag and accept the price offered as absolute and final, like the price of a can of corn at the supermarket.....

That $5,300 initial offer amounted to something like 50% of the actual gross rate on that load.

Now, you can run around like a blind man in the dark, and bid loads based solely on your cost of operation....and you will struggle to make it, I guarantee that. Three letters, ROI.... return on investment. Here's another one, salary.... did you become a business owner, with all of the financial risks, just so that you could independently eke out a living?

I know I didn't.

I get $7,800 on that load, or I don't haul it.

It really is just that simple.

 

And that's without the local pick up and delivery nonsense, before loading the commodity that I'll actually be hauling....

 

And I'd really want to be somewhere in the vicinity of $8500....that would be my initial counter offer to the 53 number they tossed out there.

Now 3k is a pretty good sized difference, and maybe we don't come to terms.....

That's fine, I'll walk.

The real leverage in any negotiation is the ability to walk away from the deal.

The weak party in a negotiation is the one in "need".