Asking for load/rate over qc before taking

RoadKing06 · Mar 14, 2011

ChefDennis,
It is hard for those who don't know to understand it. It is not anything an experienced expediter is used to at all. The idea of Trust is just a foreign concept and honestly in the business world it really is unheard of. Thank goodness that there is a company and an owner who knows how to business in a trust worthy way. It sure does make life less stressful.

You know this is also how I like doing my real estate business and it works. This is what you call a hand shake and know it will be what was promised. (Not to mean we don't use contracts in any way!)

Gotta love it, less miles more pay!
Dollas, as JP would say

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jjoerger · Mar 14, 2011

I once ate in a small restaurant that had no prices on the menu. The waitress said "pay what you think it was worth, we trust you".
I later read a story about the same restaurant that said 85% of the people over paid by about 50%.
Sometimes trust is a good thing.

DannyD · Mar 14, 2011

Dennis, you probably more than most could understand what my mom is going thru then. She's 78, but didn't retire until this past October. And that was only cuz of budget cuts they closed the library she worked at.

She's going bananas right about now. Check that, she's on a cruise right now, but once she gets home she'll be going bananas.

If you'd be open to it, & this is totally serious.. start another thread on "Vacation Expediting" or something along those lines. Any tips ya may have on this subject would be appreciated. I'm not sure how exactly it works. Not even sure what Q's to ask ya. But any input you'd have on doing expediting the way you do it would be appreciated.

By time she gets back, that thread will prolly have run it's course & I could print it out for her.

chefdennis said:
I have totally stopped working and lived off of investments and bank accounts 3 times..The 1st time at 50..but that didn't last long and none of the 3 times lasted more then 9 months...I got bored and started another business each time....i could stop working and go play golf, but i am no good at it...fishing was ok but I sold the boats, wife won't let me travel on a motorcycle and she won't quit working to travel (she is only 52 and owns her own business as well as works a 30 hour a week job in a hospital lab and goes to school).

Up until the purchase of the new van, i was debt free in this business and up until my wife decided to take a buyout from one of her jobs (she normally works 3 including her own) and go back to school, this business did not pay any of my household expenses...The only thing i ask of this business is that it pay its own bills and allow me to create another income stream that will puts cash in the bank.

Yea this is a career change, but I have done that soo many times i have lost count..(i have started and owned, made money and lost money and went out of business 11 different times, of that 11 I still own and run 3) and i still run 2 other businesses plus this business(well 1 business but 2 different aspects of it with 2 seperate income streams) and employ 4-6 people at any given time from the seat of the van...so yea it is a career change, but not something i need to do...I do it because it offers me enjoyment and the ability to do things i want to do....

LOL as for the hardest working retiree you ever met, believe me, I know people that make me look like i am lazy and they retired and started businesses that surpass me...

I doubt I will ever just walk away from working, my dad was the same way...you leave the work force, but sooner or later return to it in one way or another...

DannyD · Mar 14, 2011

You crack yourself up? We had thought that was a turtle shell, not an egg shell.

Turtle said:
He does enough inciting without needing encouragement. <snort>

Sometimes I crack myself up.

ok, that was lame, but I'm not erasing it. It was the first thing that came to mind, as feeble as it may have been. My only hope now is I'm not gonna get "snapped" at by Turtle.

Wild Child · Mar 14, 2011

TRUST! Small word with a powerful meaning. I have been here at L1 for just a few months and have 3 trucks leased to them. Best decision I ever made. As a rule I get my money information on the QC within 5 minutes or so of accepting the load. I NEVER worry about what it pays....I only worry about getting it there on time.

I have never been shafted here or talked bad to since I started. Everytime I go upstairs to dispatch I just want to grab someone and hug them for all their work and honesty. I came over from E1 after being screwed real good for a year and having my FSC stolen from me and given back to me at about 50% of what it actually was. Only pulled 3 Sprinter loads in a year that paid more than the CV rate of .70 cpm.

So, I too have complete trust in the team upstairs and they have not let me down yet. I dont need to question them about rates as I quite often pull those "shi**y little mini loads" for 5 or 6 dollars a mile.

nightcreacher · Mar 15, 2011

You guys hauling loads in the blind,I have a bridge going to Hawaii I would like you to invest in.Tell me,when you take your truck to the shop,do you get an estimate before you tell them to do the work,or just tell them to fix it.You may have all the trust in L1,but one of these days your going to do a load you wished you had turned down

RoadKing06 · Mar 15, 2011

1 load out of 1000 with regret, I'll take those odds and you'll wish you had taken the other 999.

Ye of little faith!

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OntarioVanMan · Mar 15, 2011

nightcreacher said:
You guys hauling loads in the blind,I have a bridge going to Hawaii I would like you to invest in.Tell me,when you take your truck to the shop,do you get an estimate before you tell them to do the work,or just tell them to fix it.You may have all the trust in L1,but one of these days your going to do a load you wished you had turned down

I did that at E1 ONCE...then the hammer dropped...
70 cent a mile and a whole 20 bucks to DH 150 miles...."We'll take care of you...trust us."

Steve from your prospective I can see what you are saying... the gamble and $$$ loss with an E unit could be really bad...

highway star · Mar 15, 2011

nightcreacher said:
You guys hauling loads in the blind,I have a bridge going to Hawaii I would like you to invest in.Tell me,when you take your truck to the shop,do you get an estimate before you tell them to do the work,or just tell them to fix it.You may have all the trust in L1,but one of these days your going to do a load you wished you had turned down

Knowing where you spent most of your time in this business, I understand why you have that view. But, there are companies where trust is real and not taken advantage of. I routinely roll on a load before my pay has been confirmed. It's just not an issue as my carrier rarely discounts, and if they do I would be informed before I accept. That's one of the big reasons I'd rather not be in a big pond.

jjoerger · Mar 15, 2011

nightcreacher said:
Tell me,when you take your truck to the shop,do you get an estimate before you tell them to do the work,or just tell them to fix it.

I trust my local shop, North Florida Truck Parts, here in Lake City
so much that I had an air bag changed out last week without asking for an estimate. They charged me $227. My truck has a non standard air bag. After reading your post I called the Freightliner dealer across the street and got a quote from them. They wanted $337. I have taken the truck in and asked them to fix everything they could find wrong. They found a bad brake chamber, bad ABS valve, leaking air clutch on the cooling fan, cracked alternator pulley, worn belts and a few things out of adjustment. Total cost around $800.
I trust until I have a reason not to. That's why I avoid Speedco now.

goslow · Mar 15, 2011

The problem I see is if you don't know what the rate is before hand you are probably leaving money on the table. As I mentioned before not all load destination's pay the same. Yes you get 50.00 if you sit up to 48 hours for DH. For 50.00 I can only move my truck about 75 miles before I am throwing money away. At 75 miles you usually are still not close enough to a good area if you took a load to BFE.

I am glad to see Load 1 is paying ya'll above the standard load rate and offering the 50.00. But really if you take a load to BFE without seeing the rate before accepting you are doing yourself and your business a disservice. As for the .50 DH that is good for a van if that includes "all" miles to pick-up and "all" relocation miles. I would still be losing money at that but that is because of what I am pulling. I know most companies make you eat the first 50 or 100 miles then start paying you. Or as in Fedex's case I guess for a van they just pay you the FS on the DH. Correct me if I am wrong on this, it has been a long time since I spoke to a CC van.

I only know 2 guys that drive Sprinter vans and they told my that there CPM is more than .50 a mile so they to would by losing money at the .50 DH. Both are leased to a large carrier and do not want to go independent, and they DH allot!! I just don't understand the mentality of some of these contractors out here. I know it took me about a year in a big truck and about 2 years in a van to figure it out. When I first got in the business in a van I saw vans as throw away vehicles, but eventually realized that there really is no difference in this than operating a big truck for profit.

Drive safe and profitable at all times!!

OntarioVanMan · Mar 15, 2011

goslow said:
The problem I see is if you don't know what the rate is before hand you are probably leaving money on the table. As I mentioned before not all load destination's pay the same. Yes you get 50.00 if you sit up to 48 hours for DH. For 50.00 I can only move my truck about 75 miles before I am throwing money away. At 75 miles you usually are still not close enough to a good area if you took a load to BFE.

I am glad to see Load 1 is paying ya'll above the standard load rate and offering the 50.00. But really if you take a load to BFE without seeing the rate before accepting you are doing yourself and your business a disservice. As for the .50 DH that is good for a van if that includes "all" miles to pick-up and "all" relocation miles. I would still be losing money at that but that is because of what I am pulling. I know most companies make you eat the first 50 or 100 miles then start paying you. Or as in Fedex's case I guess for a van they just pay you the FS on the DH. Correct me if I am wrong on this, it has been a long time since I spoke to a CC van.

I only know 2 guys that drive Sprinter vans and they told my that there CPM is more than .50 a mile so they to would by losing money at the .50 DH. Both are leased to a large carrier and do not want to go independent, and they DH allot!! I just don't understand the mentality of some of these contractors out here. I know it took me about a year in a big truck and about 2 years in a van to figure it out. When I first got in the business in a van I saw vans as throw away vehicles, but eventually realized that there really is no difference in this than operating a big truck for profit.

Drive safe and profitable at all times!!

One correction tho..our straights get $75 a day for 2 days...
By my calculations 300 miles by say 9 mpg is 33.33 gals at $4.00 a gal =133.33
Now .50 x300 =$150 plus your $75....that is $225 for the move of 300 miles...That is approx $82 in your pocket minus your drive time

Holy crap!! .50 cpm? that is way high....

chefdennis · Mar 15, 2011

goslow, the $50 is PER day for up to 2 days, so that $100...then the $.50 a mile to DH...and as was pointed out, the ST get $75 PER day..Thats $150...and that starts as soon as you drop and close the drop over the QC..(it really should start AFTER YOU SCAN THE BOL...

) Thats an inside joke there

)

As for getting burnt or leaving money on the table, its not a worry as the minimum rate we get is higher then most and the chance of us getting 10-20% over our minimum rate are just as good as people getting more after they have to play "lets make a deal'...we just don't have to deal..they pay us accordingly and don't screw with us.

As for getting my truck fixed...if I can't fix it or don't want to, the guy that does my work..has my Credit card number in his file..I drop the truck off and leave a note and he calls me when its done....he had worked on what I can't fix for over 30 yrs..does my stuff my moms and my adult kids cars....He fixed my Van after it was hit...He used the adjusters estimate...he covered my deductable, gave me a brand new spare and gave me a check back for 154.00 from my insurance payout...yea I trust him....

goslow · Mar 15, 2011

OVM I was going by CPM not just fuel, point taken on the 100.00 total!!

You also have to figure in lost time to get that money. If I get the 100.00 for sitting 2 days. Then decide to get relocation pay at .50 a mile I guess I could move 1250 miles before it was costing me money to move, there would be profit in the move up till 1250. As for the CPM of .50 for the Sprinters 1 is a 07 and the other a 08 long and tall and they tell me that there CPM at minimum with fuel at 3.50 is .54 -.55 a mile. They are leased to a large carrier and have all the wonderful fees that being leased are associated with it.

1250 miles = 100.00 is .08 cents a mile plus the .50 relocation pay.

My CPM is .58. So after the 1250th mile I would start losing money. Mind you I would never DH that much. And I had to sit 48 hours to get the 100.00

I guess it ain't to bad. Allot better than what other carriers are paying.

OntarioVanMan · Mar 15, 2011

goslow said:
OVM I was going by CPM not just fuel, point taken on the 100.00 total!!

You also have to figure in lost time to get that money. If I get the 100.00 for sitting 2 days. Then decide to get relocation pay at .50 a mile I guess I could move 1250 miles before it was costing me money to move, there would be profit in the move up till 1250. As for the CPM of .50 for the Sprinters 1 is a 07 and the other a 08 long and tall and they tell me that there CPM at minimum with fuel at 3.50 is .54 -.55 a mile. They are leased to a large carrier and have all the wonderful fees that being leased are associated with it.

1250 miles = 100.00 is .08 cents a mile plus the .50 relocation pay.

My CPM is .58. So after the 1250th mile I would start losing money. Mind you I would never DH that much. And I had to sit 48 hours to get the 100.00

I guess it ain't to bad. Allot better than what other carriers are paying.

With some carrier fees and carrying a large note on the sprinter I can almost see them numbers...

BTW you can collect the DH pay while moving during the paid layover time. you don't have to sit the 2 days and then move

goslow · Mar 15, 2011

OntarioVanMan said:
With some carrier fees and carrying a large note on the sprinter I can almost see them numbers...

BTW you can collect the DH pay while moving during the paid layover time. you don't have to sit the 2 days and then move

Well then that is really cool that you don't have to sit the 2 days to collect. So If I drop ask for a relocation that is about 200 miles I can start rolling at the .50 then If I don't get a load the 1st 24 hrs I get 50.00. Then if I sit another 24 I get 50.00 again. That works I can make money that way. Thanks again for the incite you and Chef provide on Load 1.

OntarioVanMan · Mar 15, 2011

goslow said:
Well then that is really cool that you don't have to sit the 2 days to collect. So If I drop ask for a relocation that is about 200 miles I can start rolling at the .50 then If I don't get a load the 1st 24 hrs I get 50.00. Then if I sit another 24 I get 50.00 again. That works I can make money that way. Thanks again for the incite you and Chef provide on Load 1.

Absolutely yes you can...they usually require about 24 hrs at least to try and get ya a load..unless it is really a BFE...then ya just turn and burn...