Who works for these brokers?

Except for Christmas where all the shippers work but none of the receivers work.

Had that problem every year with the last company.

 

Lol i got one this week like that:










I got that pic... i asked dims “8 foot by 8 foot with the roof off”



was 8’8” X 10’ with the roof off/

 

/ not a broker though

 

In 5 years flatbed I’ve probably only seen 3 TONU for $250 each. All load board stuff.
Direct shipper, maybe twice and didn’t charge them.

 

I'm "helping out" on a dedicated van account. Tuesday night we had 35 loads scheduled for Wednesday. By end of day Wednesday we had hauled 45 loads. Thursday had 40 loads scheduled, we hauled 30. Friday had 10 loads that "MUST BE DELIVERED" by 0800. 3 of those loads were ready by 0800. The customer paid my company $400 for me to stay south last night (I had hours to get home), just for me to walk in get told "nothing is ready", then bobtail home. Had I bob tailed home last night - $55. Bob tailing home this morning -$250.

You can blame "a lack of/inability to plan", but that's only the tip of the iceberg. Last summer the plant shut down for an entire shift because a maintenance guy used a 12 mm socket to take out a 1/2 inch bolt and stripped it. A 50 cent part at any hardware store, but finding it at 2300? Then there was the time the railroad "lost" 2 boxcars of roll stock. They got delivered 3 days late, but in time to keep a VERY large frozen pizza company from shutting down their line - barely. I talked to the production manager and the shipping manager at 1400. The roll stock had arrived and was slated to run at 2100, ready at 0400. Needs to be delivered by 0600 to prevent a line shut down. I rolled in a 0345 and the 3rd shift shipping lead told the load wasn't ready because the 3rd shift production lead had decided to run a different product. Running the different product meant that the 3rd shift production team would hit their bonus. If they ran the line shut down product, they wouldn't hit their bonus.

Or the time that they scheduled load 31213 to customer x for a specific appointment time. Between scheduling load 31213 and the pickup time, the customer order additional product. There was space for that product on load 31213, so the shipper consolidated the loads, but didn't update the tender correctly. Two drivers showed up to pick up the same load, going to the same place at the same time because the shipper inadvertently created a new load for the extra product.

A few years ago I rolled into a shipper for a 0700 live load. Customer told me they'd canceled the load. While my DM is trying to get the CSR to get out of bed, an IC rolls in and is told "we canceled that load". The IC responds - "BS, I booked this load at 0500". Shipping clerk tippy taps on her computer then turns the monitor and "proves" that the load had been canceled - at 0600. By 0800 we had at least 6 trucks stacked up ( I think it was more, but you can check my post history).

As to "pulling a flat is a totally different game than the van" - yeah, it is. Back in February I picked up a load of palatalized cardboard boxes. The bundles were 2/3's the size of the pallets, and the pallets were loaded in straight rows. A gap between the left sidewall, a bigger gap in the center, and a gap between the right sidewall. I took one look at that poop show and walked inside. Shipping manager said run it. I made him send an email to my DM saying "run it as loaded". There was no safety issue with the load shifting, but the customer rejected the load. Then there was the time I picked up a preloaded trailer of axles going to a Case plant - 45,000 lb load. Having hauled these loads previously, I set my tandems about the 42' mark, then scaled out at 46K and change on the drives. When I went back for the rework and popped the doors the axles were three stacked side by side instead of single stacked in a row. Flats are zebras and vans are horses - entirely different animals. Reefers are camels that will spit in your eye at any opportunity.

 

I run credit checks and look at reviews and read before I sign anything.

 

I don't think so.... They can't prove that you're liable for a factory loss. You can always say they should have stack more supply material and not depend on a last minute load from the spot market, which in its own nature can't guarantee on time deliveries.
It is a good question, if indeed, all these odd clauses have any bearing in reality. For instance, a lost seal, would it be enough for a load rejection and a claim, the same as if the product was contaminated or spoiled in a reefer? So you have a load of cookies and a-hole cuts your seal or a bird knocks it out - then WM DC does not want it...what then? I worry about such scenarios more often. But they never happened to me...so there is that.

 

That's why I don't do any new agreements. Last one was over 2 years ago...with Tall Grass but the load was cancelled a few days before the pick up.
All of them (contracts) have something odd that worries my paranoia prone mind.. as if they were designed to f. you up on something. I'd rather stick to the recognized brokers and make less money.
Perhaps being leased on and freed from all these potential contractual absurdities is not such a bad idea to have a peace in mind. Let them, in the office, worry about it....
Ignorance is a bliss too. A lot folks don't read agreements, sign, and hope for the best. "Why would they wanna screw me like that?" they ask and most of the time it looks that they are right.

 

Had this on the confirmation. Got $3500 from Chicago to Detroit, so took the risk, but definitely was paranoid the whole time until load was delivered