Please Explain This To Me

I show up prepared to haul the load as described to me and in the rate confirmation. That's kind of like my job... Describing it correctly is kind of like your job...

Now if it's heavier, you failed. If it's lighter you sort of failed too, but no big deal. If there are additional stops, you failed. If there are less stops, again you failed but we let you off the hook.

You may have a point with detention and being late. I've seen late penalties in some contracts, if the shipper fines you I suppose you're entitled. If they didn't care when it got there then you should have had a two day window on the rate confirmation to begin with. There's nothing worse than when I run into trouble on the road and stay up all night with repairs or various troubles just to get to the reciever and be told they weren't expecting me til tomorrow. Or bust my balls to get to someplace by 3pm and it turns out they're open til 5.

No you're not getting money back after the rate confirmation is in hand, you're supposed to know what the load is it's your job.

 

I think what you're missing on the early delivery is that it rarely happens. Nearly every load I get has enough time to get from point A to B within HOS constraints, usually with a few hours of slack time. When the doors slam shut, I hit the ground running. If everything goes well I get to rest when I arrive. Or I can get my 10 in with the solar powered drivers, enjoy good parking and a shower at a truck stop, and run it in right on time the next day. I have flexibility. Flat tire, break down, traffic, whatever gets in the way and now I use up that slack time.

Shipper detention steals that slack time from me, so I ask for compensation. Starting with hours or days delay getting started, then onward if there are extended problems with delivery appointments and a reload I may already have booked. The way I see it, that slack time is my time in the first place. Therefore you will not get a discount for me making it less.

For your weekend example, it would be a remote maybe. It would only be meaningful to me if the load came off the truck early enough to have a chance at a reload, and it would need to be close to home. Otherwise, your asking me to buy back my time again. I actually have one customer where this comes up. They already know I'll accept their ok rate if the product comes off the truck Saturday morning on a Friday pickup. If the delivery is later, my price will likely be too high for them. I don't get mad about it and they can easily cover the load with someone else. Or they up their rate to get me in there. They're cool to work with so I still call every time I'm thru their area. Frankly it's no skin off my butt to run back MT if it doesn't work out. I'll burn around $200 fuel and not have to babysit the load and be tied up half a day on Monday for nothing. Possibly even pick up a big $$ spot load over the weekend since my equipment is available. Makes up for the refused load and then some.

 

T

This person has some "innovative" ideas alright. This reminds me of the HHG industry about the mid eighties. Discounting, guaranteed linehauls, penalties for missing windows for circumstances beyond control, all great ideas about trucking from the SALES department. They are always trying to reinvent the wheel in someone else's area of expertise. If brokers are losing money on loads then maybe they should raise rates to shippers maybe?

Here's a thought. Why do we let Fortune 500 companies off so easily? They are more profitable than they have ever been and we have people moaning on here about having to put a extra $500 on a load of produce. Charge it back to THEIR ##### when something goes wrong. They are the entity that is being let off the hook here.

 

Now I remember why quit running my own authority....

 

Because the carriers ask us to!! They wanted the earlier delivery, why wouldnt I? They are benefiting, why should I as well?

 

I get what your saying, it isnt a dock on the carrier for good service. The customer wants it by a certain date, we have to call and work around a schedule to get an appointment for the carrier to get there a day early and a lot of times customers dont want the product early. So it is a lot of work to get the carrier a new appointment, Why would I want to go do all that work for free?

I'm saying, why do we have to pay you layover for an extra day if it is the same amount of miles? You cant use the miles and the time argument at the same time, it is one or the other.

 

Most cutomers have their delivery dates because that is when they need the product for a sale or for inventory management. They typically do not want to change those dates. So why would I want to go irritate my customer for free? Especially if when as soon as a time issue arrises, you al ask for more money immediately. I typically dont have a problem getting a few bucks back when removing picks or drops, but it is when it removes major miles and the carriers dont want to negotiate a fair return for the removed miles that gets under my skin.

I will load those same carriers but it is a lot harder for them to get the rate they want, or to get as much detention the next time, or to get a shipper or receiver who is FCFS to make them a priority.

 

Because as a broker we make X amount regardless of what day it delivers. That ends our relationship with the truck for that load. We are not"partners"with the carrier. Once you book the truck you move on to another load.

 

My Job is to relay the information on the load that the shipper provides. If it weighs more, the shipper failed, if it weighs less, the shipper failed. Additional Stops, the sourcing team found sometihng to the load, I didnt fail. If they remove a stop, Customer didnt want or need the product, I didnt fail. LOL you let us off the hook by making your job on this load easier?

Most shippers are up our arse and around the corner if a shipment isnt on time, which means our account managers are up our arse if the load is late. But if it is on time, you guys are up our arse about detention, so we kind of get it from all angles unless it is on time and unloaded in a timely fashion. Yet it is all the brokre agents fault.

If you would honestly be unwilling to give any money back if removed miles and drops and days and work. You would just simply taken off of the load and we would find a carrier who would. Nothing personal, just how things work. We know what the load is, it is produce, it changes, it is unpredictable, drivers are supposed to be flexible, its your job.