Reefer O/O tells horror stories of brokers - how accurate is this?

Most brokers are honest and will find out info they don't know bc they don't want to pay a TONU.

Then there's TQL. They're more interested in finding out what you'll run a load for. Then if you agree to book it, prepare to wait a long time before getting a rate con bc they're going to fish for other carriers who will come in cheaper.

I will never book a TQL load, but I will give them my high dollar rates all day long.

Coyote is another crap brokerage. I know some here rely on them but nope. If you are going to trust teenagers to get you your load and then get you paid, you are flirting with disaster. Mickey Mouse Logistics is a better name for those twits.

Some smaller agents are hit or miss. I called a guy a few weeks ago about a load and asked about dimensions. He said, "I'm a GD broker! If you can haul the load, tell me! I can't bother my customers with stupid questions!"

And he said it just like that.

99/100 times, everyone is professional. Those 1%ers though... jeez

 

@doing flatbed, not my experience with dry van freight with TQL. TQL is like any other, there are good and bad people there. I have not been misled by them once and have gotten great rates. Do I like them? Hell no, they're like lawyers, a necessary evil in our society. If I could find the loads I would but I'm happy to deal with a broker and get the work as long as I feel good about what I'm making. I've had much worse luck with CHRobinson and am trying to work with neither but d*mn they have all the loads!

 

So what are the questions yall ask to ensure you're not gonna get the screws put to you by the broker? What are the deal breakers and the deal makers?

 

I think you can ask all the questions in the world and the one you forget is going to be the one that gets you that day. Good days, bad days in this business.

Here's what I ask nowadays: How heavy is it? This can be a lot different than what is on the listing. It may save you money/time at a scale. It also makes a difference depending on where you're running (hills, wind, etc.)

Is it food grade? This is my biggie. I try to avoid it. I run dry van. I hate lumpers and DC's.

How firm is the appointment? This is important because if you are really trying to make top dollar and running ELD losing 2 hours early in the week can screw you up for days. Just happened to me this week and now I'm barely going to get home for a 34 before I have to head out early Monday morning.

As for TONU, cancelled loads, detention and all that stuff some guys here are a lot pickier than me. I think most of that is the exception not the rule.

 

I watched the first 3 minutes and feel it's safe to say the remaining 18 min are him continuing to ramble on about the same thing.

IMO he's one of those guys that negotiates up from a low position. He'll take a low rate and try to grind more nickels into it. He's gonna hit that broker up with every little discovery that isn't exactly what he expected. Along the way he's invited the broker to second guess his business by getting into the weeds about extra charges for every little thing. Then get mad when he still only gets paid the original rate. Nothing wrong with that approach, if you like being a professional victim. Plenty of people driving trucks are suited for that.

If you see risk in an offer, bake it into your line haul rate and leave it at that. Accept that you are not going to shed every little cost of doing business as an accessorial line item on your invoice and get paid for it up front instead. And when a broker starts down that path, just say "we're too far apart, but thanks for the offer" and move on to the next one. The carrier sets the rate, not the broker.

Eventually you'll weed out the lowballers who will quit bothering with you, and have reasonable offers being tendered by people that are mostly honest.

If you plan for success, you'll suffer a setback once in a while. It comes with the territory. If you plan for failure, it becomes certain.

Edit to add: The reason the link requires you to view it on Youtube is he's trying to get paid on his videos.

 

In my capacity as fleet manager for a 30 truck operation, a good portion of my day is spent dealing with brokers. While it is possible to get good rates and have good experiences with blind calls on load board postings, I tend to prefer to work with the brokers with whom I've built a solid working relationship. I find the company that these individuals work for is largely irrelevant. I have great relationships with individuals at TQL, CH Robinson, JB Hunt and Schneider Logistics. These are people who I work with several times per week to book freight. They know that I'm honest and run a tight ship so when issues like break down delays, detention, or other unexpected issues arise they know that I'm not lying to them in order to extort money or buy extra time on a delivery (brokers have to deal with lots of scum bag carriers too). That means that I can count on them to fairly compensate me for detentions, TONUs, etc.

I also have relationships with several smaller mom and pop type brokerages too. Even with the smaller outfits, you can run into dishonest and opportunistic individuals so you have to be careful when doing business with anyone for the first time. The company name at the top of the rate confirmation is less import than the individual you are working with.

I also tend to prefer to spread out my business over several different brokerages in order to hedge against a huge loss if one of these brokerages happened to go out of business for whatever reason. The industry standard payment terms is net-30. That means one truck could potentially accrue $30-$40k in outstanding receivables in that 30 day period. That number grows exponentially with each additional truck you're running. There aren't many companies that could take a loss like that and continue operations. Yes the broker has a bond, but that's only $75k and you won't be the only one lining up to collect if they go under.

 

They can myriteload.com you work with the shipper

 

Welcome to trucking.

 

This post should be a mandatory read for new owner/operators and those in a position to find loads.