Sharp exchange with a planner today.....

I had a planner working El Paso offer me the same load 3 times in 12 hours. I turned it down every time for the same reason, poor use of my time and equipment (600 miles and 3 drops in 4 days). Never came to words, but it could have.

 

Yep, like last week, 5 times the same pplan, 5 times the same reason refused, before they finally got the message. Not even a company truck could have done it. Would have been out of hours, the 14, and still need to find a place to park. They just did not get it, plus it was a live unload.

 

Interesting...I didn't multi-quote....must have been a "hangover issue"!!!!

 

Yeah I've had em get short with me too, like "why don't you set your PTA out? I keep my PTA where it is so I can see all the load offers. Some aren't worth starting the truck up. I've done full 34 hour breaks waiting for a decent load to come through.

The planners can be very snippety. I do recall a load offer, 250 miles empty 500 loaded, all snow and ice all the way and the special comments said "No KW's". I turned it down, the guy calls me up and asks me to look at the preplan again and send mac 9 again, he really needs my help blah blah blah-- bear in mind I was in what I consider the best freight market in the United States-- Chicago--I turned it down again and the planner replied back that there was no freight in 250 mile radius lol. 10 minutes later got another preplan out of there from another planner.

There was one recently where I had emptied out near Cleveland OH, preplan came thru to go empty over into PA (strike 1, too many deadhead miles) to pick up a load going down near Hurricane Isaac (strike 2). In the special comments were written that drivers must strictly follow the customer's speed limit of 5 miles per hour on site otherwise the owner would be calling a special hotline direct to the CSR who would make sure to give said driver a service failure . OK strike 3 lol. Guy calls me up after I turned it down, first telling me how sweet the load was and how the destination is a sweet lane etc. I calmly explained the reasons I turned it down, not looking for a service failure and not looking to sit down in a hurricane or run excessive deadhead unnecessarily etc, he promptly announces "oh so you're exercising you 'right' as an owner operator to turn my load down?" Dude I gave you some good reasons lol then he gets almost in tears as he's trying the guilt trip on me that he now has to scramble to find someone to take this 'sweet' load for him lol. OK you just wasted valuable time and energy calling me up when I already said NO. I might have done the load but I don't want to go into a customer that already has it in for truck drivers.

I also remember recently sitting somewhere on a Sunday with only 900 miles on the week, getting nervous that Wednesday was quickly approaching, sent a message asking for any loads delivering before Wed because Mac30 and preplans showed all Thurs and Fri del... turned a couple of those down, then got a reply back "you say you need miles, not smart turning loads down"-- OH NO YOU DINT!

 

They just trried and send me one, dh 100 miles to Silsbee, paper load and take it back west to Dallas. That is not going home. Plus the load has no del appt and mentions something about a drop.

 

Has this been a messed up day for pplan trying to get home. Lets try this from the 1st to the last. Laport to IN then DH home. Baytown to Searcy for Sat. No back up. La Porte to Memphis and then a 3 day 500 mile run to Ohio. Finally the lancaster planner calls me and we talk very nicely, and he understands what I am trying to do. So he tells me about a baytown to Ottawa for Sunday and then KC to Cols for Weds. That is two days later than I asked, but said okay. Said PU was for no later than 0315. Asked if could change the pu to 0730. Said no problem, so did a MAC 9 with what he told me. Computer kicks it back, it will not work for the customer so removed. Hurried and did another MAC 9 and accepted. Nothing since then, and that was over 1 hour ago. The only problem, it showed a PTA for Sunday at 1430, which was fine with me. This tells me that I have until then to get it there. But we know how Plus 1 is. Pick up the load and all of sudden the computer is going to change the delivery on you, especially since the del appt for the drop shows that lovely "A". Then after sitting all day, will have to drive all night because just know that it will change the del for late Saturday.

Now I sit and wait again. I do know that there are loads comming out of Baytown in the morning going to Ottawa and can maybe still get that load going home. I doubt it.

Forgot one. Baytown to Opelousa, then dh 150 miles to pu Fruit of the Loom going to IN, Greencastle, 250 miles from the home.

 

I don't get it?? Dont L/O get paid empty mileage??

 

Yes, but at only $.81 a mile you'll go broke running too many MT miles.