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Respect

Jun 06, 2024 at 11:53 AM CST
+ 12 - 1
So who out here knows where to find loads that don't have disrespectful shippers and unload policies? Or am I the only one out here watching my trucks sit in a parking lot for days cause someone doesn't know how much materials their facility needs?
Replied on Thu, Jun 06, 2024 at 04:23 PM CST
+ 2

Hopefully you are getting paid to sit in someone's lot! Your trailer, my trailer and anyone else's trailer is not a receiver's personal storage unit! Put you foot down and tell them that they either get the trailer empty or after 2 hours it will cost so much per hour, no cap! We do 75/hour on our detention. I know it should be more, but you make a decent days wages at 75/hour and won't break the company. Do not be afraid to stick up for yourself of your drivers! If the wheels aren't turning, the money is not coming in.

Replied on Fri, Jun 07, 2024 at 07:34 AM CST
+ 1

Would you have the nerve to return the load to the shipper and tell them their customer refused the load?

Replied on Fri, Jun 07, 2024 at 07:34 AM CST
+ 2 - 1
Remember back in 2017 when all of the idiots supporting the ELD said that it would force shippers to toll the line and respect your time? They said everyone would be paid detention time? Insurance costs would go down, etc. Where are they hiding now?
Replied on Fri, Jun 07, 2024 at 08:31 AM CST
Quote: "Remember back in 2017 when all of the idiots supporting the ELD said that it would force shippers to toll the line and respect your time? They said everyone would be paid detention time? Insurance costs would go down, etc. Where are they hiding now?"

The American people have short memories and have been provided with rose colored glasses. Smoke and mirrors. Whichever. If you don't know history you are bound to...

Replied on Fri, Jun 07, 2024 at 04:30 PM CST
+ 1
Quote: "Hopefully you are getting paid to sit in someone's lot! Your trailer, my trailer and anyone else's trailer is not a receiver's personal storage unit! Put you foot down and tell them that they either get the trailer empty or after 2 hours it will cost so much per hour, no cap! We do 75/hour on our detention. I know it should be more, but you make a decent days wages at 75/hour and won't break the company. Do not be afraid to stick up for yourself of your drivers! If the wheels aren't turning, the money is not coming in."

Ok this brings up a question I have had for quite a while. (The only thing I disagree with you on is that I think it should be 150 an hr for detention. Why is it that $500k companies can often load/unload you in an hour but multimillion/billion dollar companies almost always keep trucks for hours or even days sometimes? I think it needs to become excruciatingly expensive for those companies to keep a truck. Don’t have room in the bin? Plan better next time and don’t order the load. Better yet, defund your Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion department and allocate that money to more storage.) Anyways, back to my question. I’ll use an example. I sat at Nestle Purina for 27 hours one time. The broker grudgingly asked for a little detention money and got a precious 500 bucks. How can I as a one man, one truck, owner operator have any sort of sway with a company like that? How do I enforce a detention policy? If I tell them that when I get there, they are gonna look at me and say, Sucks to be you. If I tell the broker before I book the load, it’s very doubtful that it will make any difference to them and might just result in you losing the load anyways. I understand if a guy has 10 trucks and enough clout with brokers and shippers to throw your weight around but me? I’m nobody to them. And im saying that for all the one and two truck owner ops out there. Again, totally agreed with your policy but how realistic is it for the little guy? I want it to be but it hasn’t been in my experience.
Replied on Mon, Jun 10, 2024 at 02:24 PM CST
- 2
Quote: "Ok this brings up a question I have had for quite a while. (The only thing I disagree with you on is that I think it should be 150 an hr for detention. Why is it that $500k companies can often load/unload you in an hour but multimillion/billion dollar companies almost always keep trucks for hours or even days sometimes? I think it needs to become excruciatingly expensive for those companies to keep a truck. Don’t have room in the bin? Plan better next time and don’t order the load. Better yet, defund your Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion department and allocate that money to more storage.) Anyways, back to my question. I’ll use an example. I sat at Nestle Purina for 27 hours one time. The broker grudgingly asked for a little detention money and got a precious 500 bucks. How can I as a one man, one truck, owner operator have any sort of sway with a company like that? How do I enforce a detention policy? If I tell them that when I get there, they are gonna look at me and say, Sucks to be you. If I tell the broker before I book the load, it’s very doubtful that it will make any difference to them and might just result in you losing the load anyways. I understand if a guy has 10 trucks and enough clout with brokers and shippers to throw your weight around but me? I’m nobody to them. And im saying that for all the one and two truck owner ops out there. Again, totally agreed with your policy but how realistic is it for the little guy? I want it to be but it hasn’t been in my experience."

Little guy, big guy, any guy, it's all the same. You know as well as I do that 27 hours i for 500 dollars is unacceptable! When I book a load, loads to Nestle, Mishawaka In, Richmond In or any other plant where I know my drivers will have a good chance of sitting, I make sure that it is written in the confirmation 50 or 75 dollars per hour after 2 hours, no cap. If the broker does not want to write it up that way, there is a strong chance he would not go to bat for you after either! If we can not get the confirmation written that way, then we move on to another load! With that said, I work with some AMAZING brokers and they make sure that we are taken care of.

Don't sell yourself short! If you are in a spot where a broker needs a load moved from, they will make sure to get you taken care of to cover their butts! Don't be afraid to ask for more money than what is offered! Don't be afraid to ask for what you need on the confirmation! You have a truck and trailer and are where someone needs to move a load, therefore you have as much power as someone with 10, 20 or even 30 trucks!

The only bad questions are the ones left unasked so don't be afraid to ne heard!

Replied on Wed, Jun 12, 2024 at 07:34 AM CST
Quote: "Little guy, big guy, any guy, it's all the same. You know as well as I do that 27 hours i for 500 dollars is unacceptable! When I book a load, loads to Nestle, Mishawaka In, Richmond In or any other plant where I know my drivers will have a good chance of sitting, I make sure that it is written in the confirmation 50 or 75 dollars per hour after 2 hours, no cap. If the broker does not want to write it up that way, there is a strong chance he would not go to bat for you after either! If we can not get the confirmation written that way, then we move on to another load! With that said, I work with some AMAZING brokers and they make sure that we are taken care of. Don't sell yourself short! If you are in a spot where a broker needs a load moved from, they will make sure to get you taken care of to cover their butts! Don't be afraid to ask for more money than what is offered! Don't be afraid to ask for what you need on the confirmation! You have a truck and trailer and are where someone needs to move a load, therefore you have as much power as someone with 10, 20 or even 30 trucks! The only bad questions are the ones left unasked so don't be afraid to ne heard!"

🤔🤔 I hadn’t thot of putting it to them that way. Good ideas. Thanks for the tips. I wonder to if part of my problem is/was the fact I was working with so many brokers when I started out. I didn’t use the same broker for more than a load or two and then I’d be out of there area and just keep on rolling with another broker. Never got to the point where I actually was able to build a working relationship with more than a couple of them. So much of my work now is dedicated loads so I don’t even deal with it at all hardly anymore but i suppose that jumping in and out when the dedicated loads get slow probably makes that part of it even worse…
Replied on Wed, Jun 12, 2024 at 09:09 AM CST
- 1
Quote: "🤔🤔 I hadn’t thot of putting it to them that way. Good ideas. Thanks for the tips. I wonder to if part of my problem is/was the fact I was working with so many brokers when I started out. I didn’t use the same broker for more than a load or two and then I’d be out of there area and just keep on rolling with another broker. Never got to the point where I actually was able to build a working relationship with more than a couple of them. So much of my work now is dedicated loads so I don’t even deal with it at all hardly anymore but i suppose that jumping in and out when the dedicated loads get slow probably makes that part of it even worse…"

Times are tough right now. Things will get better, they always do. I have seen many times where things got tough and it has always turned around. Even in the good times, don't be afraid to ask for more. You know what it costs to run your single truck and be profitable so stick to your rates and you will be fine. One thing I stress to everyone is to give good service! If you give good service, you will have work.

Good luck! Hope all goes well for you and your trucking endeavors!

Replied on Wed, Jun 12, 2024 at 10:32 AM CST
Thanks!
Replied on Wed, Jun 12, 2024 at 10:36 AM CST
Quote: "Ok this brings up a question I have had for quite a while. (The only thing I disagree with you on is that I think it should be 150 an hr for detention. Why is it that $500k companies can often load/unload you in an hour but multimillion/billion dollar companies almost always keep trucks for hours or even days sometimes? I think it needs to become excruciatingly expensive for those companies to keep a truck. Don’t have room in the bin? Plan better next time and don’t order the load. Better yet, defund your Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion department and allocate that money to more storage.) Anyways, back to my question. I’ll use an example. I sat at Nestle Purina for 27 hours one time. The broker grudgingly asked for a little detention money and got a precious 500 bucks. How can I as a one man, one truck, owner operator have any sort of sway with a company like that? How do I enforce a detention policy? If I tell them that when I get there, they are gonna look at me and say, Sucks to be you. If I tell the broker before I book the load, it’s very doubtful that it will make any difference to them and might just result in you losing the load anyways. I understand if a guy has 10 trucks and enough clout with brokers and shippers to throw your weight around but me? I’m nobody to them. And im saying that for all the one and two truck owner ops out there. Again, totally agreed with your policy but how realistic is it for the little guy? I want it to be but it hasn’t been in my experience."

Hope you are doing well? I would look at the broker, I deal with Nestle all the time and they have a Company detention policy and it is 2 hrs. free from the time you checked in then it is $80.00@hr. with a max of $880.00 for each 24 hr. period. If the broker paid you less then that they are keeping some of your money. Hope this info is of help to you.

Replied on Wed, Jun 12, 2024 at 12:10 PM CST
- 1
Quote: "Hope you are doing well? I would look at the broker, I deal with Nestle all the time and they have a Company detention policy and it is 2 hrs. free from the time you checked in then it is $80.00@hr. with a max of $880.00 for each 24 hr. period. If the broker paid you less then that they are keeping some of your money. Hope this info is of help to you. "

Huh! That’s news! Yea they must have cause I got 500 bucks out of the deal.
Replied on Tue, Jun 18, 2024 at 07:27 AM CST
Got to stick to the $3 a mile rate minimum otherwise go pull a van trailer for the $2 a mile you can get that over there all day you don't need to be under a hopper for that pay nor do you need to ruin this industry I'm running loads for that cheap
Replied on Tue, Jun 18, 2024 at 07:28 AM CST
Sending my company to a facility that runs out of product and expect me to accept a $250 for bouncing 200 miles and sitting for 4 hours to wait to load rfg will see me in court
Replied on Tue, Jun 18, 2024 at 07:28 AM CST
They know how much material they need if they ordered the truck they got to pay for it unfortunately a lot of you guys are not letting them pay you when you sit there you're not even asking for it that's why this industry is upside down but they got a lot of guys who don't know what to do and when to do it