I have some questions for you guys!

Hey guys,

I'm currently working at a transportation startup and am hoping to speak with some drivers/carriers to get a better understanding of the industry.

• If you could just state if you're an independent, O/O, carrier company owner or other.

1) What are your thoughts on freight brokers? Do you feel that brokers do more good for the industry or worse?


2) How do you book your loads, through phone or email? Which do you prefer?


3) Do you use any websites/programs to search for loads/backhauls? If so which website do you use?


4) When you book a load, how long does it take for you to receive the payment from a shipper/broker?


5) What are your most common problems when dealing with shippers/brokers?


6) What are your biggest issues(inconveniences) with the industry today?


7) For O/O's are you allowed to book loads outside of the company you work for?


PM if you have any questions/concerns

Thank you in advance guys!

 

Problems with brokers , Hmmmm oh ya there taking too much money, and most lie thru there teeth.

 

I'm not sure about others,.. but I despise when you guys use the term 'backhaul'.

Backhaul to where? My next load?

For me there is no such thing. I hear the words 'Back Haul' and I immediately envision a broker trying to get a cheap load moved.

(Sigh)

Hurst

 

good point Hurst.
back haul, fuel money or hey it can get you home..... dont worry bout me or my home, or fuel money... Ill deadhead as many miles needed to be home if I have to.

often when i see rates , I wonder if the broker has any idea on how to quote this or he actually knows and is hoping that someone will do the run for 1/2 off

competition aint bad, but uneducated competition is horrible. they can kill and ruin a market real quick. Broker or carrier.

 

Hurst,

Didn't mean to offend anyone, I am not a broker or never have been. I'll stop using that term if you guys find it offensive.

 

Broker, Liar, Cheat, .................... all Synonomous.

 

The biggest gripe I have is broker greed.

I'm still fairly new in the O/O seat, but I'm learning quick. I''ll finish a load that paid well. When I call to let them know their load is delivered I get what I perceive as a practiced speech. "Hey do you have a back haul set up yet?". To which I immediately quip with,.. "This was my back haul,.. I'm good, thanks for asking". Or they try to pretend like they want to do me a favor and offer me a great rate for the area I'm in. Paying $1800 for 42k going 1100 mi. To me thats a slap in the face. I know better than to be disrespectful to these guys, because unfortunately I need them more then they need me. I respectfully decline and say I have something else already set up. Usually I do. Then they say they can bump it up to $2000 if I can pick it up that day. Again,.. I politely decline. I say for 42k to go 1100 mi I need at least $3k,.. no less. Then comes the "I was offering this to you above what we're moving this for here". Again I repeat, "I already have a load waiting for me". They ask what and where,.. then I just hang up. Then I talk to the phone and say NOYB MF'r!

Not all are that way. But the majority of the big money guys get pushy and demanding. Even with my limited reputation,.. I wont stand for it.

Hurst

 

Seems like you guys feel the same way about brokers. They kind of remind me of travel agents, and those guys are almost extinct. Why is it that the loadbroker industry is thriving even with all the technological innovation at our finger tips?

Also, would you guys be open to answering the other questions I posted?

 

I have common carrier operating authority.

1) What are your thoughts on freight brokers? Do you feel that brokers do more good for the industry or worse?

They help along the competitive race to the bottom...


2) How do you book your loads, through phone or email? Which do you prefer?

Both. I would never commit to a written contract, (email) with a first time customer without talking to a human being.

That, and WAY, to much information seems to be left out of emails, sort of like comparing Morse code and the telephone.


3) Do you use any websites/programs to search for loads/backhauls? If so which website do you use?

What Hurst said above about backhauls.....DAT and Internet Truckstop...


4) When you book a load, how long does it take for you to receive the payment from a shipper/broker?

My regular customers pay in 10 days or less. Most brokers pay within 30 days of when they decide to cut the check, let it sit on their desk for a day or two then put it in with the night mail, parcel post.


5) What are your most common problems when dealing with shippers/brokers?

Communication breakdowns..... WAY to many levels of management.

For instance, while I am standing on the factory floor talking to the man who is BUILDING the product and he, assuring me, that the product will not be ready to load for, AT LEAST, 2 hours.

Meanwhile, simultaneously , having the broker's agent on the phone assure me, that the gal in the factory office is assuring said agent, that the product is ready to ship...


6) What are your biggest issues(inconveniences) with the industry today?

The United States government's inherent bias and favoritism that it shows to meg-carriers.


7) For O/O's are you allowed to book loads outside of the company you work for?

Doesn't apply to me.

 

Yeah, I'm with you on this one. If a broker sets you up so that you must go through him to get home, then he knows you have no other options.