Personal dispatch services

Sounds like some decent rates there, just might have to give you a call.

 

The time factor is the biggest problem. Being able to devote enough time to looking and calling is next to impossible when your about to deliver and unload then find a place to park which could take up to more then an hour if your in a congested city.

If your setup with a broker already it's a simple matter of saying, "I'll take it". I only deal with brokers that have an "A" rating. The days to pay means nothing unless everyone reports which they don't.

A lot of times the same load will be listed by many brokers. If you call each one you will see some that will be $300 to $500 less then the other brokers. Even though your setup with that cheaper broker you end up setting yourself up with the one that pays more.

And it really doesn't matter if a broker has an "A" rating. When these people are ready to get out of the business they just keep all the money owed to everyone and that's it. I get on the broker watch list and see who's out and I'm surprised at how many brokers with an "A" rating that I pulled for just 3 months ago are now listed as owing anywhere from $15,000 to $100,000 to drivers!

 

Interesting mix of views on this for sure. I am a dispatcher and I can honestly say that if I were an O/O I would absolutely hire a dispatcher at a reasonable rate. When I think about what I do to find a premium load, and then the not difficult but tedious, time consuming tasks involved to complete the process.... I know I am worth my weight in gold.
Consider this. An O/O who is on the road basically has access to what is on load boards during the time he/she has available to look. And if you are looking longer than sitting in a dock, or on your break, you are wasting time that you could be driving or on your way to pick up a load. If you are driving to, say, Binghamton, NY from Indy for example. You hit the dock. You fire up the PC. You look for a load out. what you see is what you get. (which is basically nothing from there). You don't have the advantage of inquiring about all of the loads that were posted during your drive time that came and went. And we all know the good ones, whether it be because of rate or destination, go very quickly.
Then consider the details. Is this a new broker? Okay, first we determine if this is a broker we want to work with. Then we do a packet exchange and get set up. Now we need the confirmation faxed or emailed and signed and sent back. Are drivers faxing 20 pages of packet information from a truck stop at 1.00 to 2.00 a page?
I would put my money on betting that any O/O who uses a fright board for loads and dispatches him or herself is losing more money than it would cost for that service.
Also, a good dispatcher has a good eye for the worthwhile freight and knows how to squeeze the most cash out of the load. An experienced dispatcher with good communication can tell whether the broker needs you to move this load more than you need to take it. And that costs more money than what he wants to pay. We recently ran into a situation where we were parked next to a truck in a dock and after talking to the O/O, found out that he was paid 1400.00 for the exact same load, from the exact same shipper that we got 1800.00 for. Same freight, different broker.
One last thing that I always do, because brokers lie a lot (newsflash) when there is a question.... I confirm the confirmation. Meaning, I call shippers and verify the load, weight etc. Also call the receiver and confirm that they will actually accept this delivery up to 10:00 Pm etc. Sometimes brokers will do anything to get their freight on your truck. After that, sorry for your luck.
If you are missing out on rest, and stressing for a good load on your down time... do yourself a favor and pay a dispatcher a reasonable fee to find your loads and do all of your paperwork. Some will even keep track of all of your miles and do your fuel tax!
~BridgettAnn

 

Good luck with that. We have tried three companies, from 3% to 12 %. They can not deliver what they promise. Yes, they will keep you running but it will be for low rates. What do they care, they get their percentage. They all seem to feel that brokers run the show and call all the shots. The worst was Loadedtruck.com. He sent us to one too many dead spots with no plan to get out. When we turned down his bad loads and let him go he kept our $300. 00 deposit for " all the work he did trying to find us a loads that we turned down". We will not pull a load for cost just so the dispatch company can get their 12%. Advice?.. only pay the dispatch when you get paid, do not give a deposit or sign a locked in contract or let them access your factoring company. I wish you the best but dispatch services are just one of the many businesses poised to screw the owner operator over.

 

A dispatch service is one of the best investments a O/O can make because it saves the driver time less time sitting and more time driving equals more revenue. If the driver knows what he/she needs as far revenue to the truck then it will go smooth because a Good dispatcher will ask in advance before he does business with the o/o what he/she needs to the truck to be successful. A smart o/o who knows what he's doing and how to do buisness will make money. The biggest problem I run into is most o/o dont know what they need to the truck and are not good buisness men.

 

Wow, I never knew so many of you guys gave away so much money. Instead of adding another truck next year, I think I may start up a dispatch service. 10% with no investment is better than reactivating my broker authority!!!
So, lets see

direct shipper100% =of 1,000
broker= 85% (you hope)
factor/quickpay takes 3% and dispatcher takes 10%=74% of direct

So, best case, your making what you'd make leased to a percentage carrier, yet paying 600+ a month for insurance, hoping the broker is only taking 15%, filing all the returns and staying compliant with drug testing, logs, CSA 2010, chasing your money/and or eating bad freight bills, no fuel discounts, tire discounts, real support. Work more, make less.

I seriously think I may start up a dispatch service!

 

Forty, I hear ya. Had one guy try to tell me that he had "direct" freight and I asked why he wasn't a broker? He said he was but made better money this way. Hmm, he charged 7%. Seems like a lot less work to broker those loads at 10% if they are paying well enough to make a dispatch service worth while.

 

I dispatch for a few guys the first thing I see is what there target rate is I have talk to alote of guy that think they should get $3+a mile just ant going to happen I try to find $2+ a mile freight for stepdecks (legal loads) but like now freight is slow and hard
I had a truck in Houston,Tx last week stepdeck I must had called on 40 loads and took 0 $1.65 with one pick and 5 drops on a 500 mile run won't work for me I even seen some local runs on there I was thinking hell he could do that until a good one comes up them loads paid $40 a load and they said "it's only going five miles down the road" what a joke
I have over 5 load boards that I have up all day some days I have to move cheaper freight than I would like too but it cost too be parked also
I use to drive book loads and invoice and the guys that do this now know it takes all day to drop the load first thing invoice that load put it in the mail find your next load get set up than go load within that 8 hour window is hard than drive all night just to do it all over again
Now I have a driver in my truck and I do all the BS but truck makes $2,000+ more a week than when I drove some weeks more so I make money driver makes money and I'm home with the kids

 

I currently run the transport division of the company I work for. We are looking to start our own dispatch service. I want the opinions of drivers. My company drivers have always been satisfied with their paychecks. Looking back on this past years loads my drivers averaged 2.25 per loaded mile and less than 100 miles dead head.After hearing horror stories from some drivers who have had their trucks worked on at our shop about layovers from large to small fleets it feels like a business to explore. We are looking to be driver friendly. We are planning on offering billing, collections, and fuel tax as well. I want the opinions of other drivers on what they would want out of a dispatching service.