As a leased contractor your not independent, your dependent. If your leased to fedex than your dependent on them for your loads.
As far as being in control your comment in an earlier post "sure, just let me get the pay authorized before we start" shows who is really in control, the carrier.
Having to ask permission from the carrier for services performed puts you closer to being an employee than a contractor.
There are way too many drivers and too few contractors in this industry! YOU MUST BE JUST A DRIVER.
Stay with me now. This may be a bit over your collective heads and I usually collect a consultant fee for what I am about to disclose unless I place this in the "rhetorical" category.
SOMEONE HAS TO GET APPROVAL FROM THE DECISION MAKER AT THE CUSTOMER SIDE!!!! THE NURSE SURE ISN'T GOING TO AUTHORIZE IT. IF YOU THINK SHE CAN, THAN YOU ARE REALLY OUT OF TOUCH.
ANY OF US CAN DECIDE TO GIVE AWAY OUR SWEAT FREE TO ANYONE ANYWHERE ANYTIME. THE QUESTION IS
WHY WOULD YOU FREAKING DO THAT???
I DON'T CARE IF YOUR MISTER fREAKING fED-ups OR NOT!!
MAYBE THIS ILLUSTRATION WOULD HELP.
You are at the dock of a hospital and the nurse asked you to take away and toss out the pallet, "so she won't have to".
(This is where we have our break in logic)
You think that this is a fair and reasonable request from the nurse. You think that it is fair and reasonable because you are a professional and this is exactly the type of thing you do professionally. What's it going to hurt to go ahead and take away the pallet, so she won't have too?
(ok, now it gets fun)
She too, (the nurse) is a professional. We are are both professionals standing there at the dock.
What if you said to her, "I'd be happy to take away that pallet, so you won't have too", "and oh by the way", "as a driver I soil my pants quite often while on the road" Would you mind cleaning up my rear-end for me, so I won't have too?"
In your world, this would be a perfectly reasonable request (and perhaps a necessary one) applying your logic to this new situation.
After all, she is a professional and you haven't asked her to do anything she wouldn't normally do in the course of her job as a nurse. She should be eager to clean up your rear end just for the practice alone! And besides, the hospital would not mind since most hospitals don't charge to wipe your arse anyway.
This is just good customer service on her part. And think of the equity the hospital will gain in the community! Why, when I get sick, I'll go there instead of the other hospital. Maybe she'll even give me a calender! And she is clearly a great nurse too!
Has this illustration helped you any?
I hope so.
It doesn't matter what any of you give away free. It is your choice. You don't have to justify it to anyone but yourself.
Just don't be whining about how professionals do the job.
If you give it away, you, by definition, ARE NOT A PROFESSIONAL.
You can keep pretending you are, but the we all know the truth (some here just are too polite to say the truth).