Total Quality Logistics (TQL)

Discussion in 'Freight Broker Forum' started by jj94587, Aug 5, 2011.

  1. swaggerjacker

    swaggerjacker Medium Load Member

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    This is good to know. I'm in Albuquerque. TQL has a lot of loads going out of my area. I was considering hauling their loads when I get rolling. Not so much anymore. Last thing a start-up company needs is unsavory brokers. Forums are truly a necessity.
     
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  3. LandslideRich

    LandslideRich Light Load Member

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    I spoke to 2 different TQL brokers today that had loads posted for pickup in Charlotte, NC. One was in Lumber Hill, 101 miles away and the other was in Wallace which is 250 away. I did Book one with another TQL broker that had Charlotte posted for a load in Belmont, which boarders Charlotte. So I guess it just depends on the broker or how desperate they are to get the load covered. I've done a few loads for them and so far had no problems.
     
  4. iRookie

    iRookie Light Load Member

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  5. rasymacmac21

    rasymacmac21 Light Load Member

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    I was going to book a reefer load with TQL out of NJ to AL for $2,500. 100 miles out. Told them to note on the confirmation that $400 TONU will apply if the load cancels for ANY reason. They refused to honor it. I saw them earlier reposting it for $1,750. I wasn't going to fall for their shenanigans.
     
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  6. IBrokeIt

    IBrokeIt Bobtail Member

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    I work at TQL myself.

    I'm only posting this to start a brief dialogue with you guys about some issues I feel like posts like these never seem to address.

    I made 122 phone calls today. I talk to more carriers in a day than many of you guys talk to in an entire financial quarter. I can tell you exactly why SOME brokers treat carriers poorly. The simple answer is that for every good carrier out there, there's at least one or two ####ty ones that will pull one over on you very fast.

    For example, today I had a carrier scheduled to pick up today that showed up at the wrong receiver, went to the right receiver, driver fell asleep in the yard without checking in, was woke up by the immigrant lumper staff there, and hopped out of the truck to sling vulgarities and shove people on the dock. This entire time the dispatcher told me the driver was checked in and wtl. I had to hear about the yard story from the customer in an email because the shipper said they didn't want to load my customer's freight there anymore.

    Second, most of you don't understand that every broker is running their own account at a large brokerage and operates (within company policy) on their own accord. No one instructs brokers to lie, avoid detention when contracts state detention terms clearly, or post ghost loads. No one instructs brokers to shop for rates while drivers have a rate confirmation in their hands.

    All this stuff is against company policy and people get in trouble for it all the time. Further, I get cussed out multiple times a week by carriers who are unhappy for a slew of reasons, often having nothing to do with me. Carriers fall out on me, show up late, renegotiate rates after picking up a load, don't make check calls for a whole day, the list goes on. It's very difficult for some to simply shirk that off when there's goals and sales teams weighing down everyday and you can't even get a carrier to give an accurate location update for your customer that's your main source of income and conveniently on hold on the other line. Imagine telling your biggest customer that a carrier is checked in and on time at the shipper only to have them email back that they're actually starting a fight at their favorite shipper.

    We're people just like you guys. No one is evil, just good brokers and bad brokers. It's the same as any facet of industry. The best thing you can do is ask for carrier services if you're being treated unfairly. Plain and simple.
     
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  7. IBrokeIt

    IBrokeIt Bobtail Member

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    Last edited: Jan 24, 2017
  8. gokiddogo

    gokiddogo Road Train Member

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    I have had some decent experiences with TQL. However, the handful of decent brokers I worked with there seemingly always move on to "greener pastures". Why is that? I haven't hauled anything for TQL in probably 2 years. The shenanigans tend to congregate there. I can't seem to have a reasonable conversation on any load I talk to them about anymore; so I don't. Here are 2 examples.
    1. I book a load from near home to Brooklyn NY. $2000 on 600 or so miles. Decent. All setup. Day of pickup he calls says customer is now sending the load to Florida and he has lots of carriers want to go to Florida, so now he is paying $1600. .......on 1200 miles. He is "giving me first shot since I was already booked on it". In my mind saying "I have lots of carriers want to go to Florida" translates to "i am going to make a killing on this load". I declined.
    2. On a Saturday or Sunday, can't remember, but I was home for the weekend just farting around town. Get a call about a load picks up 100 miles from my home 20 going to Chicago. I say I could help if the money is right. He starts at 500 and I say he isn't even in the ballpark and at this point I don't even want to hear anything more. He tells me 550 is the best he can do and I should take it because $1/mi USD is worth much more in my inferior Canadian currency. F you dude. As if I don't understand currency conversion. I get about double that for less miles to run to Chicago and even that is still broker freight! And then berate me because I didn't agree to take the load at the low price!!! Can you see why I (many of us) often don't care to even answer TQL calls?
     
  9. IBrokeIt

    IBrokeIt Bobtail Member

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    Yeah I mean I get it for sure. The second one sounds nuts but the first one sounds like his customer called, made a change to the load, and the broker checked the market and changed his rate accordingly. It's not that weird for customers to call us and take a huge #### on our plans last minute. When it happens to me I just try to tell the carrier what happened and be honest but oftentimes I find my reputation precedes me and I get yelled at or hung up on. It sucks. It's just a highly fractured market right now and things are messy. I will tell you one thing. From my end, we really don't have trouble covering loads unless the market is absurdly tight or its last minute. The other commenters are correct that we know that when a carrier doesn't like a rate, his buddy might or the next guy with his truck posted, etc. The reality of it is that a lot of the scalped rates come from smart customers who know the market rate and barely leave us any room to make money. We get 25% of the margin between truck pay and customer pay and if there's only 75 dollars in the margin, I only get 18.75 for potentially hours worth of work unless I negotiate my ### off to take a little bit more off my truck pay. Sucks but that's how it works and a lot of us have kids.
     
  10. Dale thompson

    Dale thompson Road Train Member

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    HUNH TQL has carrier problems you would not believe how much that makes me chuckle - who woulda thunk
     
  11. DUNE-T

    DUNE-T Road Train Member

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    Detroit, MI
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    I honestly dont have not experienced any of those troubles what other people have had with TQL. The problem with TQL for me is cheap rates, like really cheap, so I dont even bother calling on posted loads anymore unless I am desperate and tried all other options.
    Another thing, when I post a truck lets say from IA to Northeast, why do TQL agents call and offer some cheap crap going to TX, FL or something like that? No other broker company does that. If I am in a busy area and get lots of brokers calls, I simply ignore TQL calls, because I dont want to hear about some 45k load going to New Mexico for $1.5 or something like that
     
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