Steve, I have a broker that has a new guy working for them and he calls all the time. I tell him, I will call you when I'm getting loaded or unloaded. Ask him if he is my mother and to stop calling or he can kiss off. Don't let a jackass broker push you around. If you need a rest, take one. Tell the broker he is lucky you will only take a break and not a 8 hour nap. If that doesn't do it, then they are not somebody to haul for anymore. Remember, you are your own boss. You call the shots.
Be careful. Nice pictures. Cool mascott. Did I spell that right?
Oh, Happy Easter. :D

I just read it and your right. If you don't do this and you don't do that you get fined.

I slept for a long time again last night. I ate like 5 meals here yesterday and couldn't stop drinking.

There is such a huge difference that I've found going to a truck stop in a congested city with one out in the boonies. The people are so much friendlier out here for sure. It's also weird that it can be 100 out and I don't sweat. I guess because there isn't any humidity or the sweat is sucked right off of me the second it comes out. I'm assuming it's the latter.

Phoenix is the biggest city I've ever seen. You can live in the city and work in the city and take the highway to work and it will still take you an hour to get to work!!! It just goes on and on and on. I'm guessing because there's so much land they can afford to spread it out.

I forgot to mention before. When I was trying to pull into the bay to get my truck worked on there was a guy before me trying to make a 90 degree turn into the bay. Even I knew it was impossible. He kept trying and trying. I even got on the CB and tried to tell him to just make a big circle in the parking lot which was like 1/2 mile big. I mean it's freaking huge!! I could see 3 mechanics out there trying to give him hand signals to make a big loop. He finally turned the other way. I mean he was pointed in one direction all set to just head straight out but made a 180 degree turn right on the spot. He crunched the fairing on the back against the trailer.

Later on I was inside and he was swearing at the service manager that he had been there 3 hours already. He had only been there for 1.

So, about 2 hours later I walk inside and he's asking everyone if they found his keys yet. His truck was moved and parked outside in a parking spot. I thought it strange. Later when he wasn't in the store the manager said he was drunk as a skunk. He had called the company and they told him to keep his keys and they were coming to get the truck.

I really can't imagine drinking and driving myself. I love to drink but I fall asleep pretty quick. I guess it's much different for some people.

Yup, I hear your. That was an eye opener for me one certain questions to ask before taking a load. Like, what time to pick up, how far to the pickup point. Can I drive any more today after loading? What time to deliver. Do the math and see if it's possible.

Yes, you spelled mascot correct. :D

I wasn't sure that I would pass this along, but since it came up, I will. I have hauled a couple of loads for Total Quality Logistics. I didn't sign their contract as it was sent to me. I don't sign any contract which has penalties or fines listed in the language. I marked through those provisions before signing. I picked up a load for them in St. Louis going to Winchester, VA. I agreed to take the load for $2,500, just over $3/mile. They needed to move the load, so they agreed to my price. We reached an agreement over the phone and because of some time constraints, I deadheaded 155 miles to pick up the load before receiving a written confirmation. They emailed me a confirmation which had the fines on it. I didn't read the entire confirmation before taking the load. That was a mistake. I ALWAYS read the confirmation order before taking ANY load. If it isn't as agreed, the confirmation is either changed or I don't take the load. The load was to have been ready when I arrived. It wasn't. I had to wait a couple of hours. On my way I began running into a snow storm. It started to snow in Ohio and got progressively worse through Pennsylvania. At one point I was driving at or less than 45 mph. I was in touch with the receiver and was told that no one would be there past 10 pm, especially with the snow storm. TQL informed me that they had made arrangements for someone to stay until midnight to unload me. The problem is that no one at the receiver knew anything about it. The other truck that loaded before me was a Prime lease operator. I was told that he was coming in the next morning and to not worry about trying to get there before midnight, as they were coming in on Saturday morning to unload him anyway. TQL kept calling me checking my progress. In the mean time, I read the confirmation order and asked them if this was going to be a problem, especially with the snow storm. I was assured it would not be a problem. I arrived at the receiver 12 minutes after midnight. Everything was pretty much closed down. There were only a few cars in the parking lot and it appeared that they may have been left due to the storm. I found out the next morning that the truck that left a few hours before me arrived about 1 hour after I arrived. The next morning we both unloaded and left.

Total Quality Logistics has a quick pay if you want to pay them a 5% discount. They also will write you a comcheck for $25. The alternative is to wait for 35 days. I over nighted their bills and expected a call with a check number. A few days later I received a call and was informed that they were going to fine me for not making the delivery on time and would settle for a $500 discount on the amount due if I agreed that day. He told me that they were waiting to hear from the receiver about how much damages they were going to charge back because it wasn't delivered by midnight. DAMAGES!!??? I told the guy that I had decided to wait for my money and would expect the entire $2,500 to be paid as agreed. He never told me who he spoke with at the receiver. I immediately got in touch with the head of logistics at the receiver and the head of production. I told them what TQL had told me and what they were trying to pull. The logistics manager is the guy I spoke with the evening I arrived. We spoke a couple of times on the phone. Neither of these men knew anything about any arrangements for someone staying late to receive a load. The logistics guy even told me that they certainly would not have stayed late with the storm. I tried several times to reach someone at TQL to no avail. A few days later, I had someone to call me about more loads. I told the guy who called that there was a problem with me getting my money from my last load with them and that they were on our "NO LOAD" list until it was cleared up and that we may not haul anything once it was. I told him that in this type of situation a company was either dishonest or in financial trouble. In either case, I didn't need to do business with a company who did not honor their obligations. He seemed amused that I thought that such a large broker would be in financial difficulty. I was not amused. I received a call from another broker in their company and I told him that unless I received the entire amount due within 35 days that I would be filing on their bond on day 36. He didn't know what a bond was. I told him that a bond is required for any broker to have authority. A carrier can file on a bond if the broker defaults on his obligations. A few days later, I was called by someone in billing and was told that I would be paid the entire amount without deductions. I asked if they could cut a comcheck without the $25 fee and she told me she would need to check on it. She did and said that they weren't going to charge for that either. About 2 or 3 days passed and I never heard from them, nor could I reach anyone by telephone, so I emailed them. Someone called about taking another load and I explained the situation to them and was transferred to the billing department. They said the comcheck had been cut 2 days previously and seemed shocked that no one had called me with the number. I finally got the number and my money, without any discounts. That was this past Friday. This entire process took about 2 weeks or so. I don't like playing games and won't sign any contract with any broker that includes terminology about fines. I will mark through that type of language. If they don't accept it, then I won't do business with them. TQL could have shorted me $500, had I agreed. Apparently they thought I was desperate for the money. I suppose they found out otherwise. I am not sure if I will ever do business with them again. At this point, it is doubtful.

The lesson here is to read the confirmation order very carefully. If there is something with which you don't agree, then have them change it or don't take the load. Even though I marked through the language in their original contract, they tried to get by that with their confirmation order. If you feel that you are in the right, stick to your guns. I keep my word and expect others to do the same. If I cannot rely on people to keep their word, I DON'T do business with them. There are very few people with whom I will do business without having something in writing. Those very few I have known for a number of years and they have always kept their word to me and not tried to play games. They know that they can rely on me to do what I say without having something in writing. I won't do business with 99% of brokers or shippers without first having something in writing before hand. It is just good business. When it is in writing, there is no room for misunderstandings.

Business should be a win-win for everyone. If a business relationship is lopsided, then it is not a good relationship.

Hey Mike,

Thanks for taking the time to write all that. Seems like they bugged you as much as me with he progress. I know they will call me on Monday for a load but I'm going to tell them I have another load to take. After I get paid for this previous load I plan to tell them never to call me again and I'll probably write a letter.

Still, all in all it was a good learning experience. You can read about all this or have someone tell you the ropes but it's a lot to digest and unless you actually experience the event it won't stick in your brain.

Like....

Stopping for a break and realizing you never put the cap back on the fuel tank on the passenger side and lost a lot of fuel and your flatbed is covered in goo.

Listening to the radio too loud going down a hill and realize your doing 20 mph over the speed limit, the jake is going nuts and your at 2300 rpm

Not planning the right way and ending up in a big city out of hours and it's going to take another 3 hours before you can get to some place to shut down.

Not reading the terms of a contract and having to drive illegal.

Eating left over steak in bed and dropping it on your chest. You also own a dog and get a rude awakening at night.

These are just a few of my mistakes so far. There were plenty more but like I say. Unless you actually live them you will probably make the same mistakes as me.

You are welcome, Steve. I have hauled some high dollar loads and never had a problem with most shippers or brokers calling so often. Some brokers and shippers I call daily to tell them of my progress, others don't need you to call until you get their load delivered. I usually call and let them know that I have picked up and when I delivered their load. I have a couple of shippers that don't even need me to call, but I usually do anyway. I just think it is good business to keep them informed. I have one broker with whom I deal and don't need to do anything but pick the load up and deliver it. Once delivered, I can either go on line to their website and tell them the date and time of delivery or call someone. Once the time and date are put in, I don't even need to bill them. The clock starts from the time and date of delivery. I like to keep things simple. I don't want someone to bug me about when their shipment is going to be delivered or picked up. If there is a problem, then I will call them.

There is nothing like learning first hand. However, it is much less costly to learn from other's mistakes than our own.

GMAN, excellent post. I would point out that bad contract language goes much further than fines that may be imposed. TQL's latest revision includes language allowing them to audit your past freight bills and makes no mention of limiting this audit to only loads hauled for them. While it would be nearly impossible for them to compel compliance, the very fact that it's in the contract is a red flag. Also, their clause dealing with dispute resolution. It takes the normal channels initially; meeting then arbitration. But, if arbitration is unsuccessful and the dispute goes to litigation, the contract states that, regardless of outcome, the carrier will be responsible for TQL's legal and court costs. Again, I'm not sure if this is entirely enforceable, but the very fact that a contract is written with such language should be a clue to how a company operates. This is a very large company, not a fly-by-night operation so a contract is a good clue as to the corporate culture that exists there. There have been several discussions recently about TQL's new contract and how they do business on the load boards. If anyone is interested in reading about other experiences I would recommend reading the thread on getloaded's message board. READ THOSE CONTRACTS!!!

Steve...did you deliver that Montana load, to the gold mine outside of Whitehall??

No_worries, it may be enforceable if you sign it. You are correct about some provisions in a contract. I feel that if a company doesn't want to deal fairly with me, I simply won't do business with them. I think it is a good idea to share information about brokers and shippers, good or bad. OOIDA has an area on their website which allows for posting experiences with carriers and brokers. I have seen some people sign what ever is presented to them without ever having read it. I have even had some tell me that it is just a basic contract and that I don't need to read it. I told one company that if they thought it important enough to put down on paper and need my signature, then I will spend the time to read it. There is no need for such long contracts. I have one shipper with whom I deal and we have never had a written contract. I have never had a problem with them. I have a broker with whom I deal whose contract is basically a few sentences. The gist of it is that I agree to keep acceptable levels of insurance (no amount is listed). It is basically just a confirmation order. It shows what the gross rate is and what I will be paid. I know what he makes and what I will receive. I have yet to have a problem with either of these shippers and their rates are much higher than most brokers with whom I deal. Both are COD or within a couple of days after delivery. If a contract is long it is usually not to the benefit of the carrier. The situation with TQL is unusual. I normally take the time to read every word of a confirmation order or contract before I leave to pick it up.

Unfortunately, I think this happens more often than not. Or, people read and sign without understanding.