Today is the perfect day to write this. Now, like all groups, not all brokers are bad. There are those, however, that want you to run illegal (sorry, we do not), want to berate you, switch & bait, and much more. As o/o's, I can give you stories of all of these. We will start in the order of which I've listed them.
There's a broker we're currently dealing with right now. We picked up the load in Miami, FL. It's going to Hot Springs, AR. This is, at shortest route, 1200 miles. With permits due to the fact that we are overwidth, it's 1400 miles. Like most brokers, she doesn't know about this nifty little app called TotalRecall (get it if you don't have it, it will CYA). Everything is recorded. So, she tries to pull away from email when she doesn't like what's being said, and wants to try to force things. Here's how I envision what really is going on (this is not the actual conversation):
J: It shows that you have exactly 900 from point to point. Yes, I know that this says you'd have to drive through the Gulf of Mexico, but you will be fine.
Me: We have traveling restrictions and permitted routes.
J: That means you will be there when I say you will.
Me: That would be possible if you didn't hold us up for 6.5 hours yesterday by making us wait, making us go to another town to pick up our load's customs paperwork (that's right, we had to get it) from DHL, making us wait on the Tarmac for 90 minutes before we could be escorted out, and waiting 30 more minutes for the state of Florida's permit system to get fixed from their crash so I could finally get my permit, 24 hours after it was approved, leaving only two hours of daylight available.
J: Well, I told the customer you'd be there by tomorrow, so you have to be there when I say, and that's all.
Me: We have three curfews, one lasting nine hours due to road construction in Arkansas. This didn't say JIT, it's not paying JIT, so more or less, deal with it and get over yourself.
J: I will now try to attempt to brainwash you into agreeing to be there when you know there's no chance you can legally be. Therefore, if there's a backcharge, it falls on you.
Me: Ha! You're a comedian.
Tomorrow, me and Jillian's manager will have a small heart to heart. I will not tolerate having a broker call me, screaming, because she doesn't understand oversized freight and restrictions of these loads. We will be on all back roads starting tomorrow. I explained to her that these roads are 45-55, with plenty of red lights, stop signs, school zones, speed zones, work zones, etc. That doesn't include bathroom and drink breaks. We will average 35 mph, under perfect circumstances. She's still trying to dispatch us at 60 mph. She doesn't understand concepts, and has no right booking oversized freight.
I called on a load in Cali one time, going to Virginia, LTL. The height was 9'. I explained to the broker that 9' tall, meant 14' tall on the trailer, and that wouldn't even be legal. "Well, that's not my problem. If it don't work for you, it just doesn't ****** work. I can get flatbedders to haul it." Gotta love the attitudes ladies and gentlemen.
On the flip side, we had an awesome broker, Chris, out of Ontario. We were lightweight, high winds, and a winter storm. I called him after the trailer let us know it was too dangerous to continue, and was informed we should take our time, and then told to have a good day.
Let's go to berating. the best one of these I can recall was a broker out of North Carolina. He double brokered a load from Schneider. Read here for the illegality, as written by a lawyer, concerning double brokering. The shipper was not aware that a non-Schneider truck would be showing up, and after loading, asked why Schneider had not contacted them concerning our arrival. I asked the broker, a Landstar agent, why the double brokering was not told to us and the customer beforehand. Apparently, the customer turned him in for it (Landstar has a strict double brokering policy), and he turned on us. The company we are leased to was told that we "held the load hostage." We never threatened to not make delivery, and we never asked for more money. So, how did we hold the load hostage? He also claimed we were the ones who marked Landstar off the customer's BOL, when it clearly was the customer's handwriting. End result? He threatened to have Landstar pull us, Lou threatened to quit, the company refused to contact Landstar until this point. Needless to say, we still haul Landstar, and he no longer books for them.
Switch and bait. The practice of offering a load, having the confirmation wrote different, and hoping no one will notice. This is a catch 22. If you notice and then cancel the load, you get a bad mark against you with this agency. If you don't cancel the load, it can cost you hundreds, if not thousands. Had my first switch and bait in the first month. A trusted source sent me to a Greatwide agent in Missoula, MT. She quoted an awesome rate of $3.50 a mile, but the confirmation, and actual payment was $2.90 a mile. We didn't catch it until we were paid. These happens all the time. KEEP A VIGILANT EYE ON YOUR CONFIRMATIONS!!
End of discussion. If they do the work to get the load secured, they deserve money. If they're working, they should be paid, but should never be paid more than the actual hauler. Read: if they do the work. If they aren't doing the work (i.e. double brokering), they deserve to lose their job. If they are berating and trying to force you to run illegal, they, once again, deserve to lose their job. Stand your ground, call them out, and go to corporate!
There's a broker we're currently dealing with right now. We picked up the load in Miami, FL. It's going to Hot Springs, AR. This is, at shortest route, 1200 miles. With permits due to the fact that we are overwidth, it's 1400 miles. Like most brokers, she doesn't know about this nifty little app called TotalRecall (get it if you don't have it, it will CYA). Everything is recorded. So, she tries to pull away from email when she doesn't like what's being said, and wants to try to force things. Here's how I envision what really is going on (this is not the actual conversation):
J: It shows that you have exactly 900 from point to point. Yes, I know that this says you'd have to drive through the Gulf of Mexico, but you will be fine.
Me: We have traveling restrictions and permitted routes.
J: That means you will be there when I say you will.
Me: That would be possible if you didn't hold us up for 6.5 hours yesterday by making us wait, making us go to another town to pick up our load's customs paperwork (that's right, we had to get it) from DHL, making us wait on the Tarmac for 90 minutes before we could be escorted out, and waiting 30 more minutes for the state of Florida's permit system to get fixed from their crash so I could finally get my permit, 24 hours after it was approved, leaving only two hours of daylight available.
J: Well, I told the customer you'd be there by tomorrow, so you have to be there when I say, and that's all.
Me: We have three curfews, one lasting nine hours due to road construction in Arkansas. This didn't say JIT, it's not paying JIT, so more or less, deal with it and get over yourself.
J: I will now try to attempt to brainwash you into agreeing to be there when you know there's no chance you can legally be. Therefore, if there's a backcharge, it falls on you.
Me: Ha! You're a comedian.
Tomorrow, me and Jillian's manager will have a small heart to heart. I will not tolerate having a broker call me, screaming, because she doesn't understand oversized freight and restrictions of these loads. We will be on all back roads starting tomorrow. I explained to her that these roads are 45-55, with plenty of red lights, stop signs, school zones, speed zones, work zones, etc. That doesn't include bathroom and drink breaks. We will average 35 mph, under perfect circumstances. She's still trying to dispatch us at 60 mph. She doesn't understand concepts, and has no right booking oversized freight.
I called on a load in Cali one time, going to Virginia, LTL. The height was 9'. I explained to the broker that 9' tall, meant 14' tall on the trailer, and that wouldn't even be legal. "Well, that's not my problem. If it don't work for you, it just doesn't ****** work. I can get flatbedders to haul it." Gotta love the attitudes ladies and gentlemen.
On the flip side, we had an awesome broker, Chris, out of Ontario. We were lightweight, high winds, and a winter storm. I called him after the trailer let us know it was too dangerous to continue, and was informed we should take our time, and then told to have a good day.
Let's go to berating. the best one of these I can recall was a broker out of North Carolina. He double brokered a load from Schneider. Read here for the illegality, as written by a lawyer, concerning double brokering. The shipper was not aware that a non-Schneider truck would be showing up, and after loading, asked why Schneider had not contacted them concerning our arrival. I asked the broker, a Landstar agent, why the double brokering was not told to us and the customer beforehand. Apparently, the customer turned him in for it (Landstar has a strict double brokering policy), and he turned on us. The company we are leased to was told that we "held the load hostage." We never threatened to not make delivery, and we never asked for more money. So, how did we hold the load hostage? He also claimed we were the ones who marked Landstar off the customer's BOL, when it clearly was the customer's handwriting. End result? He threatened to have Landstar pull us, Lou threatened to quit, the company refused to contact Landstar until this point. Needless to say, we still haul Landstar, and he no longer books for them.
Switch and bait. The practice of offering a load, having the confirmation wrote different, and hoping no one will notice. This is a catch 22. If you notice and then cancel the load, you get a bad mark against you with this agency. If you don't cancel the load, it can cost you hundreds, if not thousands. Had my first switch and bait in the first month. A trusted source sent me to a Greatwide agent in Missoula, MT. She quoted an awesome rate of $3.50 a mile, but the confirmation, and actual payment was $2.90 a mile. We didn't catch it until we were paid. These happens all the time. KEEP A VIGILANT EYE ON YOUR CONFIRMATIONS!!
End of discussion. If they do the work to get the load secured, they deserve money. If they're working, they should be paid, but should never be paid more than the actual hauler. Read: if they do the work. If they aren't doing the work (i.e. double brokering), they deserve to lose their job. If they are berating and trying to force you to run illegal, they, once again, deserve to lose their job. Stand your ground, call them out, and go to corporate!
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