Landstar Questions

Dewey, when an agent cold calls you they are usually shopping a load.......looking for a truck that will do it for what the customer would "prefer" to pay, or cheaper.......not always but usually too cheap.......sometimes they are stuck and beginning to panic if it's a breakdown (repower) or a "must cover" situation, even better if it's a "must cover with BCO only" situation......this gives you some bargaining power......in a situation like this I go ahead and have them run through the basics of the load and then give them a price what I will do it for......sometimes you get it, sometimes you won't.......If I get what I ask for without any further static then I will do it, but like another fellow says, "cheap work is not good and good work is not cheap", so don't sell yourself too short.....I always ask for a minimum of 10% more depending on the original quote and my relationship with the agent......otherwise 20%-25% more and bargain from there.

The one thing about covering a repower for another BCO who has broken down is to remember that the BCO who broke down will get charged back for any extra fees it took to deliver that load....they will get paid to the point at which they broke down then say there was still 500 miles to go and you made a deal to finish that load off for $2000, which say is double what the regular rate woud have been then that BCO will be charged that extra money that you got paid, so at least for me, I try not to be greedy as I do believe in KARMA. I have been on both sides of this situation and it's nice to know somebody has your back sometimes when you really need it.

 

Tell Dewey the truth.You can catch Ranger Bob laying on his Landstar Towel with his Saftey Landstar Thongs on.He will be the guy on the beach with his binoculars around his neck and his 1979 Pittsburg Steelers wide stripe socks on over his knee caps with his flip flops on...

 

I thought it was strange for an agent to cold call me so that is why I was suspicious. My empty is in Dekalb and there is a good paying hazmat load going west that I like. When I call an agent about a hazmat load are there any must ask questions I should have for him or her?

 

Sounds like you are finally rolling.

 

Yes.Ask him what the ''break down'' is and make sure you are getting paid better for the haz mat.You want at least 50 cent fuel surcharge..Make sure you ''secure'' load very well..No biggie..Hopefully it is a light load too......If you want you can ask for more and you may get it.I always ask for more...

 

Dewey, make sure the load is Hazmat, not Haz Waste. We only haul two types of Haz Waste. One is very low level radioactive, the other is Military explosive (only handled by A&E teams). No other type of Haz Waste is allowed by LS. Ask for the UN number, if possible, so you can look it up. If you accept the load, when you get to the shipper, contact our Hazmat Department. They will lead you through the proper securement, forms and placarding. Do this on every hazmat load. Once cleared by our Hazmat Department, LS will accept responsibility for any discrepency on the load, if you follow their instructions. Even though I am a former A&E driver and am very familiar with Hazmat paperwork, procedures and placards, I do not roll out of the shipper's facility, until cleared by the LS Hazmat Department. The penalties are just too high for me.

 

Dammmmm straight!! And fyi....I don't care what anybody says, Franco made that catch!!

 

Man now some mgr at LS decided to override needing that emp verification and we c as n lease on. We just did everything to go back to Express1. Yall tell me whst u thnk... E1 pays $1.25 loaded, $1 mty, .41 cpm fsc. We have to make $1.20. Costs w//e1 r about $130 less per mth. This ld we just got for ex as mple 267 mty, 1519 loaded. W/fsc, pays $1.56 per mile. Yall think we can ave more with LS on vans?

 

What ave pay are vans with LS getting inc fuel surcharge? Thx

 

I am currently in Kansas City with my empty dry van trying to find something out west. The two loads I called on are already covered of course. Are there any good agents to call about getting a load west? Thanks!