Share what you know about dealing with brokers

Because its none of your business what I make or what I quote my customer. All you need to be concerned about is that I'm giving complete load information and a rate that pays your expenses and still leaves money in your pocket. Get your mind unwrapped around the mentality that you deserve every penny...greed will destroy you.

We keep a portion of the rate for doing all the paperwork, finding te freight, and doing the back end work. With that money, we pay our bills and hope to God there's some left over...just like you there super trucker.

 

OZR is right you never want to show all your cards I had a O/O I would print out all the loads he did and what I was charging well greed got to him the 80% he was getting was not enough so he went out on his own and the first place he went to was my biggest customer I was making $.80 a mile off this driver for just this one customer so he stoped by and told them what he would charge @ $.50 a mile cheaper than me well when your billing that customer for $20,k a month they looked at it as a way to save money so out with me and in with the new
Well 3 weeks later they are calling me wanting me to match that guys pricing sounds like to me he can't keep up some days they use 3 trucks of mine so how could one keep up
So I stood my ground at yesterday for the first time in 6 months they called with a over size load going 100 miles and couldn't find anyone with a permit well well all my trucks have them so when I showed up I got the inside scoop on my old driver some days he don't have fuel money to run he just ant use to waiting 30+days on his money

So I stoped showing the drivers what I'm charging I call them and tell them there part before the run if they don't want it I give it to someone else if they call me out yes I will show them what I'm charging but nobody does they are happy with what they get paid

 

If i'am not mistaken if an o/o or leased o/o ask to see the gross pay on a load you have to show it.

 

That's where a non-compete clause would be nice but the way I understand it, and this may be wrong,it doesn't necessarily have to be in writing. Or does it? That's a lowdown dirty way to do someone regardless.

 

I'd want it in writing. A broker I've hauled for has that in his contract that you have to sign. I guess it's not non-compete but you have to give them a percentage if you take loads away from them.

 

Some of my confirmations have them and some don't That leads me to believe, especially the way the trucking business is,that it's a given in the eyes of the law. And Bayou Hotshot could maybe cause Mr cutthroat trucker a legal world of hurt if he felt so inclined. I've hauled broker loads from places I'd like for the company to be doing direct,and there was no clause in the confirmation,so just on principle as a courtesy we will wait before calling that shipper 1 year. Now if I was a broker I'd put it in writing.... I dunno....

 

legally you or anyone cant do anything about it first thing i was told was i needed legally notarized paper work if nobody is a witness it wont hold up in court after what my lawyer told me paper work dont mean bull its just a way to scar from thinking about it

 

Laws are changing. Electronic signatures are holding up in the courts. Whether it can be held up in court or not, it is a matter of principle with me to keep my word. If I give someone my word, then I won't go back and change it later. If I don't agree with the wording in a contract then I will change it or walk away. I did just that a few days ago. I received a call from a new broker that I have not done business. They sent me a contract and I didn't like that it was so one sided. There were no provisions as to what would happen if the broker failed to pay me as agreed. So, I included that in the contract. I told the broker what I had done. The broker told me that they would not approve any contract that was changed. I told them that I don't sign one sided contracts. The broker wants to be protected and so do I. I expect to be paid as agreed. They would not accept my changes and I would not sign their contract without it. So, we parted company before the relationship started. It was a good paying load, but no load pays well if you don't get a check. This is not the first time that I have walked away from someone who wants me to sign their one sided contract.

Had I signed it then I would have adhered to the terms and I would have expected the broker to keep their side of the agreement. I don't need a written contract to keep my word. If I agree with a contract then I sign it. If not then I don't sign it and we go our separate ways. There are too many people who sign agreements with no intention of keeping their word. It is great if you are an attorney. Not so much if you are caught in the middle of a dispute. Contracts are only as good as those who sign them.

 

Amen to that!! I had a logger sign a contract that he would pay weekly. I found out quick contracts are really worthless. He didn't pay the first week. Had to kick him off the farm. He finally paid. But,if it would have gone to court. You can get a judgement for someone to pay. But it's not enforcible. The dishonest person can always just not pay.

 

I'm not going back on my personal view of what I think about this because I read that a lawyer says the words on a confirmation sheet means nothing. I think it's just courtesy. And of course in this business there's very little of that. It's just a principle. I don't even know that a year from hauling that particular load if I will even bother visiting with that shipper to see about some direct. No telling what could happen between now and then that would make me forget all about it. But a year does seem fair, or is it? I don't know. I guess my best bet would be to knock on doors, shake hands, exchange email or whatever in local industrial parks before I even haul anything into or out of them just so I've got my foot in the door so to speak in the event a broker load for one of them does come my way.