mercer transportation

Just pulling your chain... But it does get cold down there, don't it? Now if you lived in Arizona like CJ, I could understand.

 

Hey, it snows in AZ more than it does in Alabama or Mississippi. That high elevation can be a #####. It gets coldish for a few days, usually less than 2 weeks below freezing.

 

I said I owned multiple trucks, not at the same time. I sold my last one with 1.8million on it. GoT a local job, didn't like it. Went broke and am trying to get back on my feet. But you already knew that, because you guys are super truckers. If you don't know my story, don't comment on it. I could run circles around more than half you people.

 

Sure dude, if you say so. . Enjoy the company you lease your quality truck to. Good luck to you.

 

I froze my rear off in San Diego yesterday. LOL.

This weekend I got a chance to talk with a few quality guys. One has my coordinator, has been here about 7 months and until a couple weeks ago was about to throw in the towel. Last few weeks he has been basicly following me around almost load for load. Now he has the system and is happy.

The next one had been with Mercer 10 days and was trying to get back to turn his truck and trailer in (Van). Seems he took his first load to the west coast and has been sitting for 4 days. Of course all Mercers fault, I asked why he was sitting and it was because he couldn't find a load east (all Mercers fault). I offered to buy him coffee and explain the board and he said something about how because Mercer did this to him they should be buying him dinner. I walked away. (I will say maybe Mercer could explain better to new folks how the different boards work).

Next was a FB guy. We sat and talked a couple hours. He was like a sponge. He called me today and is now booked through the week and 5x happier.

Last two are vans that loaded with me on the same load yesterday (they are getting about .20¢ pm more but that's common out here). We had about 8hrs of wait/load time (w/detention @ $125hr) so we had time to talk.

So a few issues with new people at Mercer and new quality trucks. Most people are way UNDER capitalized. Truck payments are weekly vise monthly. Insurance is super expensive. Due to lack of funds they also have equipment loans. All of this compounded with the steep learning curve and most jumping on that 3k load to the west coast, makes it very hard for a new person to get past the initial 3-6 months. It can be done (we have several on here doing it) but the cards are stacked against you.

I feel bad for those wanting to get on that can't. But until the system is tweaked a bit (no equipment loans? New insurance program? Better explanation of the load board in indoc?) it's probably best for all parties that Mercer has put a freeze on Quality trucks. Just my opinion.

 

Who's gone to Calgary ab? Thinking of going up ... Then drop to mt for a load. Would it be worth it under $3.00 a mile? See one for around 2.50ish. Won't give exact number.

 

Lol when I sat in Chicago couple weeks ago. For 12 hours is what I'm trying to get. They offered me $50 in total. My coordinator is asking agent for more lol.

 

I think by now everyone knows I'm happy and have a Quality truck, but this isn't about me. I'm better than everyone else, so it's just expected I would succeed. Lol.

Anyway, yeah, after having talked to a few people, it seems that a lot of the coordinators want their drivers going through them for everything. I don't know if this is to help with the learning curve or what, but I've been finding my own freight from the beginning. I also expressed that's what I wanted to the coordinator. Don't get me wrong, he will call me if something pops up I might be interested in and I may call him to find out if I'm making a good decision or not. It seems that because of this, they sit longer and get cheaper freight. My advice to them has been to sit down with your coordinator and express to them that you want to be able to book your own freight. Apparently, at least one of them can't even commit a load online at all, the links don't exist on his screen.

This will be my worst week since starting here, and I will still clear around $12-1500 this week. That being said, it's my fault. I'm on my first LTL load. It was a good set up, then I went too far chasing something to be planned for the weekend instead of staying in route and letting it play out. Then the new route had nothing else for me to grab the rest of the way. If I had stayed in route, could have grossed close to $7k, as it stands, this will be my first week under $4k. Lesson learned, but it was my decision not someone else's. I couldn't let someone else run my business, I want the freedom to be as successful or as much of a failure as I choose. Plus, if I do fail, I know where the fault lies.

 

Pffft. That would suck. This is a government load.

 

Lmao you just gave a number for a outside carrier to quote. Best to just ask what would one go to Calgary for