Some good news about Panther

[CharlesD]

I have seen quite a bit of Panther bashing on here and I have been guilty of a lot of it myself over the last few months, mostly repeating things I have heard from other drivers and what not. Now I was never leased to them or anything, but since I got my authority I have run a few of their loads from their broker board. I also hear drivers from various companies complaining that their carrier brokers out freight when they're sitting. Well, here's an experience I had that speaks well of them, at least in this instance.

I have had a pretty slow week this week and I was sitting in my house the other day seeing all kinds of loads going out of Michigan and I live in Cincinnati. Finally a really good load showed up picking up only about ten miles from my house. I put in a pretty good bid and nobody was undercutting me or anything. I monitored my bid for a while and all the time it was showing as the low bid, then the load information disappeared from my bid screen. I was waiting for it to show up as an awarded load to me, but then after a couple more minutes it was just gone. It didn't show in my bid screen and it wasn't awarded to me either. So I called Panther to see what had happened, thinking maybe it was a problem with their site, and I was told that after it was posted there they had found one of their drivers who was about an hour away and they were giving it to him instead. The guy was willing to deadhead the 60 or 70 miles to pick it up. This same scenario happened once more that day and twice yesterday. So it seems that there are times where they are all set to broker a load out but then they find one of their own vans that can cover it and they will yank it away from the outside carrier.

Of course I was a little frustrated, but after I gave it some thought, I figured it was only fair for their own drivers to get the first crack at anything. If I was leased to a carrier and I found out that they had given a load to an outside carrier when I was in the area, I would be furious. But my experience as an outside carrier that does some of their loads has shown me that they don't make a habit out of brokering out loads if they have a vehicle in the area. I was in Dallas the other day and there were some Panther vans there waiting. I had their broker board up on my computer and not a darn thing showed up there until all of those other vans were gone. Then when I didn't see any more of their vans at the truck stop, another load showed up on the board and I was able to get it. Say what you will about Panther, but at least here is an area where I feel they are doing something right.

 

[butterfly610]

That's a good thing to know....Also, there has been a lot of complaining about the new system, but I think there is some good to it. I'm sure the EM and things like that have their problems, but I think the dispatch procedure seems to be working better. Before when they just did the 50 mile radius search, we would sit at home 26 miles North of a major board, and would not get load offers. Somehow the people who showed up would always leave before us. Now, since they go off of your board position, I have seen it work in my favor. We were 1st out, offered a load that we were 26 miles away from, and when we turned it down I looked up the load to see if someone else covered it. The truck was only 10 miles away from the shipper and I had only checked about 5 minutes later after I turned it down. So that shows me that just cause I'm a little further out, I don't feel like I have to worry about getting passed up because I'm not the closest to the load. I can wait at home for a load and not have to worry about it. I think they are trying to be better.

 

[groinster]

I too have better experiences from home now. We live nowhere near the frieght lanes and before, we would have to go to Tulsa or down to West Mephis to get on a board and get loaded. Since the new system has gone into effect, we can now sit at home and get loaded. Granted, we have to dh at least 100 miles to pickup, but before we would have to dh 160-300 miles just to get on a board. So, like anything, it has its ups and downs.

 

[Tennesseahawk]

Granted, it's not heads up that they post a load, then find one of their trucks to cover. But what you say is a vast improvement over what's been said lately.

 

[alborada]

CharlsD this metod it is normal for any one company. Landstar do the same thing thay look first to load theier people becouse they get a lot more profit from them and if somthing left thay posted as a broker load. This is for a profit of the company , not for the your or my benefit.............I know this very well, belive me .........

if the load it is under the brokerage the company loosing money.......that whay the Panther don't like so much to we brokers the own loads to from the others , becuse thay get only 15% and from the regular expedadet loads ohhhhhhhhh buch of $$$$$$$ it is proffit for the comapanys ............

 

[Tennesseahawk]

Very true, Alborada. Their opinion of you is very different than yours. To you, you are running your truck to make a profit for you, so you can pay your bills. To them, you are running your truck to make a profit for THEM, so they can pay THEIR bills. Of course there will be a conflict of interest, in one form or another.

Is that wrong for companies to think that way? No. Companies are in business to make profit, pure and simple. If you're under their blanket (authority), they make the rules about what you're allowed to eat in bed. Ppl who don't like one company's rules tend to find a different bed.

 

[alborada]

Yes you are right to........... Look in the Stock Market what huge Proffit have all this company's and thay are not so old in bussness to said over 100 years , no new and thay are in big proffit from a people like us.I don't like the company ruls and I don't need there bed - I need a theraputhic one. Then in Russia we said if you don't like - livet and that what I will do ........but I can take the ruls to them ............ Thank s for a good and smart words.

 

[CharlesD]

My wife said pretty much the same thing, that it's not out of loyalty for their own people that they give them first shot but because their profit is larger for what they keep in house. Either way though, it's an improvement over what I've heard about them in the past. I can say from the standpoint of a carrier who does a fair amount of their broker loads that they have been quite pleasant to deal with recently. They pay what they say they will and when they say they will. That's all I can ask for.

 

[alborada]

If you are happy wth this that OK..........Every person it is differant like are fingernts in the hands thay are in a are hands by they are differnt ..........If thay work in possitive way for you bussnes used and make a living..........Best luck for you and I wish the best for this year in this industry.