The ugly truth about Landstar

always nice to not haul cheap loads.
I also figure if my wife and I chase the high $ loads we will also gain experience and exposure to that world instead of becoming experts at hauling cheap and heavy.

Another factor for us is, say you deliver in a big city and wait there for a day for another load, then you have to find parking there and sit in annoying locations. If you deadhead, like in your scenario, from Orlando to Memphis, you can choose much better locations to eat, shower, sleep.

 

This made me LOL good sir. Thanks for the laugh on a rainy Saturday.

Jeff, I hate you've come out of the gate having such a bad experience, but after reading the eight pages of this discussion, I'm in agreement with everyone else. I don't believe you truly gave it enough time to learn our system. As an agent, I take pride in our agency working to help BCO's become more successful. We answer questions here, network and talk with BCO's and prospective BCO's and do everything in our power to help you. Sure we benefit from it by moving freight for our customers, but it's not all about that. We're about relationships. There's BCO's I meet up with on a regular basis, some who I play golf with when they are in town and we're both free. When I have the great paying loads, I do call them first because we have a personal relationship outside of the business and I've come to know them and the great job the do. It has nothing to do with favorites, it has to do with the fact that I know their character and their work ethic and know that on my big loads that are worth $1,000,000 I don't have to worry about them pulling it, picking up or delivering on time, or any other host of issues. I know when I have questions, I can call them and not get treated with a rude attitude.

It's a two way friendship that is mutually beneficial to both of our businesses. There are many agents here who aren't worth their weight in salt, let alone gold, but if you network, get your name out there, and get to know people you'll find the agents worth their weight in gold. We post BCO's out to load boards when they are headed to a difficult spot or just don't have anything lined up and many times we've gotten them a good paying load from a broker/carrier we don't usually deal with. So long as they are happy with the rate and we can get that carrier/broker approved for credit, I'm more than happy to assist them in getting back to their preferred area. This year was my first year going to BCO days and the sole reason I went down was to network with more BCO's and say "thank you" for the job you guys do. We couldn't do our job with some of our customers without you guys. We want to work with you and want to get to know you. We want to put the freight on you when we can. What you have to understand is... not every load is going to pay $3-5 per mile. Doesn't mean it's not a good lane or a good customer who may come back with even better paying stuff that we'll then call you on. Again, I'm sorry you had such a bad experience and I wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors.

Great post. Glad to see you found your way over here. I couldn't agree more with the part about talking to upper management.

 

That says it all right there. Too many drivers chasing the same cheap freight.

No thanks.

 

No mystery if you know what a run costs you before taking a load. I find it funny that I can get anywhere from $2300-$2700 for loads from SO-CAL to Denver Metro yet....There are still brokers who insist that $1500 for that lane is a "Great Rate"....I tell them what I average on my "steady" loads and the low-ball brokers tell me I'm lying.... Oh well....A very wise member on this forum always said "Don't turn the key to the right unless the rate is right..."

 

Hey there LSAgentOZR, Iam a prospective BCO and you sound like someone i could get some good advice from, unlike some others on here i am not expecting to get the best loads right out of the gate, i fully expect to do alot of networking with folks such as yourself and i look forward to working with you in the near future, thanks for all the advice on these threads

 

You have been there for 10 weeks now....Is this your first shot at being an O/O ? I am thinking about leasing on with L/S but I am coming out of the cold as a company driver.....just always wanted to own my own and trying real hard to decide to do it or not.....

 

Thank you. I'm here anytime you have questions, and if I don't know it, I'll find out and get back to you. Just please be patient, I do run a decent sized company and work another job so I may not always be the fastest to get back to you.

It's not for everyone. If you don't have the mindset to run your own business, manage your money, and plan ahead well this isn't for you. You can't come on as an O/O somewhere, especially not a company as independent as you are here and plan to operate on a shoestring budget. You'll always be chasing loads to pay off your bill collectors if you do. I wish you the best of luck if you do decide to come here. Let us know how we can help.

 

Right! I've always wondered why a driver would say..."you expected too much too soon" Really? Why the #}%>}€|%%# would I be here if I didn't EXPECT to make $ from day one? Ummmm I'm working my arse off on DAY ONE,aren't I???!
Are the suits not making $ from day one? Oh I get it,they go and sit at their desks for 3month FOR FREE???
ughhh sometimes I wonder what these guys are thinking... That truck note comes in EVERY MONTH, regardless,so you BETTTER be making $ FROM DAY ONE!!!!

 

This is a business about networking, providing a service and developing relationships.

As a result, you are expected to prove yourself BEFORE you get the great loads.

Like Landstar has the corner on that market.

Every o/o on this forum and every company out there is your competition. Including every other o/o for Landstar.

YOU make it what it is. No one else. Don't like the results. Change you plan till you find something that works for you. Otherwise, get back into a company truck and whine about poor miles and crappy dispatchers like a company driver.

 

I'm coming in as a new BCO as well and I'm wondering once a deal has been made with say an agent, what's keeping that deal in gold and not fluctuating or changing to a lower dollar due to some "changes" or something you know? How do I know and keep from getting hustled on, or are our agents honest deal makers for the most part once the deal is made?