So I took a broker load today and tryed this .

A good rate is all I'm concerned about, charging a tracking fee never even crossed my mind. But I hear ya

 

So I guess we all agree that there's many ways to skin a cat...but a dull knife makes it painful to the cat and you end up with scratches all over yourself.

 

Generally true... unless the cat's been declawed.

 

Micromanaging trucks is the worst. Removes all the thinking from us and puts it on a screen for a desk jockey to do all the thinking for us.

And yeah, then they wonder why we were stupid enough to flip a rig while nibbling on a taco.

 

And then there's those guys who put temperature recorders in the reefer. Definitely would charge for that service if I pulled reefer.

 

They don't tell you about them. They just hide them in the freight a lot of the time. And let's be VERY clear about those... they aren't optional. The customer won't ask your permission, and they have the right to put them in. If you want the load you'll live with it.

Those temp recorders exist for very important legal reasons. When a load of strawberries ripens faster than it was supposed to there is a scientific reason why, and there is enough money on the line that they are going to track that reason down. Those temp recorders protect you as much as they protect the customer as long as your reefer did what it was supposed to do.

You're talking about equipment that is very nearly legally required by the USDA for the load being an upcharge. If this isn't included then you should be charging them for tire wear, engine maintenance, transmission maintenance, trailer maintenance, driver time, power unit fuel, and reefer unit fuel all separately.

This is why I have such a problem with this mode of thinking. I ####ing hate it when people do it to me, and I don't do it to others. I don't even believe in fuel surcharges except for contract freight. The whole concept is just stupid. Quote a job including everything and get paid for it. You're the one running the business, so you're responsible for what the costs look like. If your costs go up raise your prices.... But this whole 'low up front and then do 50 surcharges after the sucker has started doing business' model that so many companies use these days are ########. I want to know what something will cost before I buy it. That isn't an unreasonable expectation. The person doing the work should be able to estimate what the costs will be. If it's hard to determine charge me a fixed price to get to the place where we will know how to proceed AND tell me what the two option are in advance.

I don't like falling for a bait-and-switch any more than the next person I guess. I don't think it should be illegal, but I don't think it should be socially acceptable either.

 

Him saying "if I pulled reefer" explains it all. Temp recorders are non-debatable.

 

I've never had an issue with the LOAD being tracked. Want to slip a GPS transponder in with the freight? Have at it. I don't care to be PERSONALLY tracked, though, because where I am is not necessarily where the LOAD is. Granted, my situation is a little different being a home-every-night and off-every-weekend driver with transportation readily available to me that ISN'T hooked to the load...there is absolutely no reason I need the broker following MY movements out and about while I'm off-duty and away from the truck, which I will be for a majority of the time I have the load. Very rarely do I pick up and deliver a load same-day...usually 150-300 mile hauls passing through the house.

 

But you see how silly it is when he says it. It's the same thing with adding a smartphone app that removes the need for the brokerages to bother drivers.

LET ME SAY THAT AGAIN. IT REMOVES THE NEED FOR BROKERS TO CALL YOU AT ALL. I have two threads I'm active in at the moment on this subject. One thread is about how we should stop calling drivers. This thread is about how truckers feel like they should be compensated for not being called anymore.

This is like the airline charging you to check a bag. Except there are more than 7 trucking companies, and last time I checked you don't get to book 2 loads every day and take the best one that doesn't blow up on you and tell the other one that you were 'overbooked'. I'm actually really happy that trucking isn't subject to this kind of ########.

This itemized charges thing is the worst part about dealing with any large entity with monopolistic power. Surely I'm not the only person who has dealt with Long Beach billing problems that made them kinda-sorta understand how being trapped in a Soviet mental hospital must have been.