How much time do you need to accept a load

OntarioVanMan

Retired Expediter
Owner/Operator
You guys crack me up. On another post there were several knocking E-1 about different things but correct me if I am wrong but you guys have to hover over your QC?

If there is a load offered to us they ALWAYS call us first. I could be sitting in my living room and get a call. We discuss the particulars and I make my decision at that time. You should have plenty of time on the phone if its good or not.

IT'S NOT ROCKET SCIENCE!!!!!

Your right Flattop..our dispatch would go thru the top 3 trucks in under 10 minutes to get an answer....so saving time? I don't think so....
 

Bruno

Veteran Expediter
Fleet Owner
US Marines
I guess everyone is thinking about taking about FedEx which I'm not. To be honest I can understand why they went to the system they have in place. The customers are paying for a service to get their loads covered ASAP. For those of you have been in the business a long time you remember the days at Roberts Express when we was doing 1100 to 1200 loads on a Friday. Ask Davekc i'm sure he remembers those days, but back then there wasn't as many companies either. The business has grow so much over the years and we live in a "just in time" world. So if a customer has to wait 45 mins for the carrier to call them back about getting the load covered. Customers are going to call someone else that maybe able to cover the load faster. If they call someone else and they cover the load, who do you think they are going to call the next time. The company that covered their load in less than 15 mins or the one that called them back an hour later.
 
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Tennesseahawk

Veteran Expediter
You guys crack me up. On another post there were several knocking E-1 about different things but correct me if I am wrong but you guys have to hover over your QC?

If there is a load offered to us they ALWAYS call us first. I could be sitting in my living room and get a call. We discuss the particulars and I make my decision at that time. You should have plenty of time on the phone if its good or not.

IT'S NOT ROCKET SCIENCE!!!!!

4 years ago, I had the privilege of attending E1 orientation. Don't know if things are the same now; but we were told that when we get the info over the phone, we were to answer 'yes' or 'no' only. No questions. No looking something up. Now I'm guessing that was just rhetoric to keep the newbs doing the E1 zombie dance; and that dispatchers aren't really that strict. I guess what I'm getting at is, no, it's not rocket science. But to consistently make a decision based on pick up and delivery is bad biz. Occasionally, time is needed to investigate a load... or find your co-driver... or wake up and get a clear head before you accept a load you'll regret.
 
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davekc

Senior Moderator
Staff member
Fleet Owner
This is where it is of value for one to sit in with dispatch for a short time to see how the loads come in. The reality is that only a small portion require immediate pickups of 90 minutes or less. More often than not, loads have a lot more time than that.
Only critical times are when there are few trucks in a area and they need a fast answer. Periods close to a big holiday come to mind. In most instances when the customer calls one of the larger carriers, they tell them yes immediately to keep from losing the customer. It has little to do with how long it takes a truck to respond in most instances. When it isn't covered internally, then these carriers broker it out. Exclusive use is probably more of the issue as many loads are booked 12 to 24 hours in advance of the actual pickup.
 

OntarioVanMan

Retired Expediter
Owner/Operator
Hawk..I can apprieciate what you are saying...In our case being on flat rate...only really two things come to mind...where its picking up with DH pay or where the load ends, again DH pay.
Did I miss anything?
 

LDB

Veteran Expediter
Retired Expediter
Having spent most of my time on a fixed rate system it definitely is important where the load starts and ends and the d/h involved on both ends. That isn't the only thing though. It also matters if it's calculated Rand McNally or not as well as if it's hazmat or not. To a lesser extent how heavy it is as well. It takes a little time to figure the miles and whether you'll have to take the loop around 3 or 4 cities due to hazmat and add those unpaid miles into the mix. That's why I keep streets and trips open with my current position marked as the starting point. Then I can put in the zipcode of shipper and cons and get a good rough estimate. It's not rocket science but an informed and intelligent decision takes several minutes.
 

OntarioVanMan

Retired Expediter
Owner/Operator
*L* Leo..us vans just go down the back alley thru the mall out the other side...one advantage of a van
 

iceroadtrucker

Veteran Expediter
Driver
Leo, give it three months and report back. It is the best system for the shipper and to Fedex. In my opinion the amount that it will benefit the O/O's will be outweighed by what it does to your bottom line. I'm not saying that it will put O/O's in the red that were doing fine. But you know as well as I do, it was put in place to Benefit the Fed first, the customer second, and after that they don't really care. That is not evil, thats business.

It's the same idea as the one call gets it all. That was only setup to facilitate Them, and the customer. And maybe to help draw a cleaner line for there brokerage.

Finaly Somebody got a the Guts to say the same thing Ive been saying only they slam me on here for speaking the Truth.

Jaminjim Your a straight shooter in my book keep telling it like it realy is and not candy coating it. Good for YOU man.
 

Bruno

Veteran Expediter
Fleet Owner
US Marines
Finaly Somebody got a the Guts to say the same thing Ive been saying only they slam me on here for speaking the Truth.

Jaminjim Your a straight shooter in my book keep telling it like it realy is and not candy coating it. Good for YOU man.

Jim has always been a straight shooter. The new system is part of the reason we left FedEx. After we pulled 2 trucks off and got a letter from Protective saying the last day the truck would be covered would be the 12 of Sept. If the truck is still on with FedEx on the 15th of each month you get charged for the next month insurance. Well, FedEx took over $300.00 Dollars out of our settlement for trucks that we was told that was covered anymore. It made my wife so upset we are pulling the rest of our trucks.
 
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ATeam

Senior Member
Retired Expediter
Jim has always been a straight shooter. The new system is part of the reason we left FedEx. After we pulled 2 trucks off and got a letter from Protective saying the last day the truck would be covered would be the 12 of Sept. If the truck is still on with FedEx on the 15th of each month you get charged for the next month insurance. Well, FedEx took over $300.00 Dollars out of our settlement for trucks that we was told that was covered anymore. It made my wife so upset we are pulling the rest of our trucks.

Thank you for being honest and saying you are now moving trucks not for financial reasons but emotional ones. A $300 billing error is something that is easy to fix. But the error is not why you moved. It was because you were upset. Your words, Bruno: "It made my wife so upset we are pulling the rest of our trucks."

This is not uncommon in the business; moving trucks from one carrier to another for emotional reasons. Newbies researching the industry can see things more clearly when people state their reasons for doing what they do. Bruno is more helpful than most by being honest and stating his reasons.
 

Bruno

Veteran Expediter
Fleet Owner
US Marines
Thank you for being honest and saying you are now moving trucks not for financial reasons but emotional ones. A $300 billing error is something that is easy to fix. But the error is not why you moved. It was because you were upset. Your words, Bruno: "It made my wife so upset we are pulling the rest of our trucks."

This is not uncommon in the business; moving trucks from one carrier to another for emotional reasons. Newbies researching the industry can see things more clearly when people state their reasons for doing what they do. Bruno is more helpful than most by being honest and stating his reasons.


Phil

I said the rest of our trucks. I had nothing to do with a billing error. It was many different things. Like the saftey department for starts. The list goes on Phil. Our drivers wanted to leave a year ago, but I wanted to stay at a company that like you and I loved to work for.
FedEx Custom Critical is not the same company it was five years ago. It was time to move on. I was the one that wanted to leave a few trucks on with FedEx for my own reason and because those trucks was paid for. But since many things have happen over the last year with FedEx my wife she didn't want to deal with the BS of FEDEX anymore. That is why, it had nothing to do with a billing error.
 

davekc

Senior Moderator
Staff member
Fleet Owner
As long as Dave has been in the business, I hardly think he would move his trucks on the premise of a $300 insurance bill.
Maybe a straw the broke the back on the remaining trucks, but not the initial ones.
That was rather a goofy assumption Phil.
Any move to another carrier is certainly a emotional roller coaster. Dave has been investigating Panther for several years. Maybe longer? I am only basing that on my conversations with him. But like the majority of moves anyone would make, the financial picture plays a majority role.
Even more so in his case with moving seven trucks with drivers in them.
 

Bruno

Veteran Expediter
Fleet Owner
US Marines
Just 6 of the 7 Right now. The ER unit is the only one left. But if the safety department don't get their crap together it may be leaving too. The driver has faxed the inspection papers and the manitenace report 5 times to the safety department and they say they don't have it. Then he took them in the head of White Glove and they made copies of it because the truck was put out of service. Now these inspection are suppose to be good for 6 months. I looked on the web site and it said paper work due, truck inspection due on 10/1/08. It hasn't even been a month.
 

nightcreacher

Veteran Expediter
Just 6 of the 7 Right now. The ER unit is the only one left. But if the safety department don't get their crap together it may be leaving too. The driver has faxed the inspection papers and the manitenace report 5 times to the safety department and they say they don't have it. Then he took them in the head of White Glove and they made copies of it because the truck was put out of service. Now these inspection are suppose to be good for 6 months. I looked on the web site and it said paper work due, truck inspection due on 10/1/08. It hasn't even been a month.

Are you sure the drivers originally faxed the paperwork to the right number?I did mine last month,the next morning when I made my usual call in,the computer no longer told me i had paper work do.I know in the past,paperwork has been lost,including logs,sometimes drives me crazy,but that can happen, and has happened at other carriers.Also,just because W/G made copies,doesnt mean they were given to safety
 
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Bruno

Veteran Expediter
Fleet Owner
US Marines
Are you sure the drivers originally faxed the paperwork to the right number?I did mine last month,the next morning when I made my usual call in,the computer no longer told me i had paper work do.I know in the past,paperwork has been lost,including logs,sometimes drives me crazy,but that can happen, and has happened at other carriers.Also,just because W/G made copies,doesnt mean they were given to safety


Yes, and it was also taken into the home office. The Head of White Glove and someone in the safety department made copies of it also. No reason for this Steve.
 

arkjarhead

Veteran Expediter
I worked for a carrier once that required us to fill out these forms that had our mileage in each state we ran the load through, the roads we ran, and if we got fuel where and how many gallons. It wasn't a big deal until that page was getting lost out of my trip pack and none of the rest. When the settlement would come in it would be off, and the guy that owned the truck and trailer would call me about it. So I started faxing paper work in and not dropping in the trip pack box until they told me they had it, plus keep a copy on file in the truck until the load was paid. That was a small carrier, so I can imagine the problem could be magnified at a much larger one like FedEx. That is nothing against FedEx just stating something I think would be obvious. I mean they probobly have hundreds of trucks faxing stuff in on a daily basis. For something to get lost doesn't surprise me.
 

Bruno

Veteran Expediter
Fleet Owner
US Marines
I worked for a carrier once that required us to fill out these forms that had our mileage in each state we ran the load through, the roads we ran, and if we got fuel where and how many gallons. It wasn't a big deal until that page was getting lost out of my trip pack and none of the rest. When the settlement would come in it would be off, and the guy that owned the truck and trailer would call me about it. So I started faxing paper work in and not dropping in the trip pack box until they told me they had it, plus keep a copy on file in the truck until the load was paid. That was a small carrier, so I can imagine the problem could be magnified at a much larger one like FedEx. That is nothing against FedEx just stating something I think would be obvious. I mean they probobly have hundreds of trucks faxing stuff in on a daily basis. For something to get lost doesn't surprise me.

Yea but 5 times.
 
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