After 2 months in this business - or thereabouts...
 

I feel like I'm getting a real good view at the underbelly of this business.

I'm not complaining or asking for any help. I'm just saying, brokers lie. Lying is how they earn their living. Some are better at it than others, but lying seems to be what they do.

One guy screwed me by having me drive 80 miles into the sticks to pick up a load that was supposed to be 10 feet long and fit on my straight truck no problem. I get there and it's a huge contraption that's 22 feet long and 10' tall. When I call the broker to tell him we have a problem he says "straight truck?, you're driving a straight truck? well, that's the problem, I thought you had a semi." Not only was it 22' long instead of 10, it was too tall to fit it any van. It didn't matter if it was a straight truck or semi, it wouldn't fit. But he figured he found his out and sure enough Landstar backed him up on it.

The last week and a half I've had a steady gig running parts from northern Ohio to southern Ohio for Ch Robinson. I like their quick pay program. But now I've learned that when they send you a "confirmation" it means that you're locked into doing the run, but they have the right to cancel any time they want with no TONU fee. To get into the nitty gritty, what happened is I got a TONU fee from them one day last week on this run when the shipper cancelled and this week my guy at CHR asked me to check to get "dispatched" each day. Today when I called him, he checked with the customer rep and found out the run was cancelled, not only today, but the rest of the week. I didn't realize it, but in hindsight, I've really just been on call. If there's a load that day, fine - I'm rolling. If not, then I get to try and find a straight truck run later in the day.

Like I said, I'm not really complaining. I think I need to save for a big truck. That way they're be more options open when brokers show their true colors.

All sorts of surprises pop up when your the boss. I remember when I had my own auto body shop and so many guys thought if they had the biz then the phone would ring off the hook LOL! It's not easy M.D. (as you know) I don't envy you at all, Hang in there and good luck

Well, i know you are not looking for help, but checking with the customer on details, might be a good idea...always!

Words of wisdom to be sure. I didn't do a good job of that at first, but now that I've gotten stung a couple of times I'm making sure that the load fits my truck.

But let's talk about next week, shall we? :) I booked a load going to WV. I pick up Monday, just outside of Detroit and I was told I could drop off Monday afternoon. Well the receiver doesn't want me there until Tuesday. Not a big deal. The load pays pretty well (for a straight truck load), and even though I figured I'd probably have to deadhead for the next one I ran the numbers and I'm okay. And then I found a load outside of Cincinnati that goes to eastern PA. Again, not a good place to end up loadwise, but the load pays pretty well (for a straight truck). But the guy that had booked the load was at lunch, and the guy I talked to seemed pretty disinterested. I asked what the freight was and he said "9 regular pallets, nothing special". I asked him about height later in the conversation, explaining that I had a roll up (overhead) door and again he said "regular pallets man, it's fine". Ok, so I booked it and got the confirmation. Wtf? High-cube? Food grade? I don't know what high-cube means exactly, but I can guess my straight truck isn't. And I don't know for sure about food grade. I'd guess my truck is borderline. It doesn't smell bad or anything but it's shiny days are long past.

So I called and some guy said he'd put my concerns into the computer so the salesman would check it out and call me. So far of course no call. I printed out a copy of the original load posting for my protection, but there isn't much else I can do until Monday.

It sounds like you learned a valuable lesson about asking a lot of questions before taking a load. I make a point of asking what I am picking up, weight and diminsions. I don't like surprises.
I have a friend who used to own a high cube van. As I recall the trailer was 13' 8" tall instead of the normal 13' 6".

2 months...yeah that's going to happen. After a couple of years you will weed out the bad ones and will start to get more steady work from fewer and fewer brokers. One thing I can tell you is you won't ever forget the people that screw you. You will remember not only the name of the company, but the name of the person after they have moved on to a different brokerage. Daniel Nadeau from Dollard Steel who didn't pay for 9 months....Erik from Golden that dead headed me 300 miles in the wrong direction to shipper that wanted me to layover 2.5 days, my neighbor the LS agent that canceled a motor grader after I lost a day in VA due to a closed interstate.

Don't be so quick to think that a big truck means BIG bucks! Small trucks are very efficient and cost effective.

You need customers/shippers to see your way around brokers. Brokers are a necessary evil unless you run a regular route.

Well I'm an old hand as this now. 4 months in the business. :)

I am learning and it is getting easier. I've got a few brokers that call me with loads now. I'm learning to stick to a certain area too, that's a big help. Takes the fun out of driving to a large degree but failing to make a living is even less fun.

I'm about to pay my mortgage on time for the 2nd month in a row. Woohoo! :) Things are starting to look up.

Yep. You are more likely to get a call you if they know you're not to far away from their freight. Good job.

MichiganDriver
always check with the shipper about details of the load, regardless if the broker tells you or not. I'm not saying brokers lie, **** I am one. What i am saying is that NOT ALL brokers actually know the difference between what you had, and what the broker needed (flatbed).
A load confirmation does not lock you in. We are not that naive to think that if we make a contract then you are by-death bound to it (though theoretically it should). It locks in rate, the rest is trust and respect.
Is your straight truck refrigerated by chance?