Low Paying Load Opps

jjoerger · Jul 28, 2010

Is anyone else getting inundated with low paying load opps?
We delivered near Mount Vernon, IL on Monday morning and are at the T/A in Mount Vernon.
I have not kept track of all the opps, but we have had at least 20 with rates below $1 per mile. Many way below. We have had very few above $1 and only a couple of those were above $1.15. I am speaking about all miles. Most of these opps had deadheads of over 200 miles.
The last time we were in Illinois the same thing happened. Lots of low paying loads. Is this area the discount freight center? Or are there so many trucks around that they are sending out these low offers because someone will eventually get tired of sitting and take a low paying load just to get moving again?

Doggie Daddy · Jul 28, 2010

The same thing is happening to us in Richmond,VA. What I think is really annoying is when they keep sending out the same load,add some money to it (still not even close to what we would accept) but when the next shift comes on duty the load goes back to the original offer.

LDB · Jul 28, 2010

It seems like there are few trucks making deadhead a killer on a lot of jobs. My team hasn't had a good offer in the last few days. They've had a very few that were poor but barely marginal to keep them moving but it really needs to pick up. Perhaps it's time for an extra nickel in van deadhead and an extra dime in truck deadhead.

jjoerger · Jul 28, 2010

Doggie Daddy said:
The same thing is happening to us in Richmond,VA. What I think is really annoying is when they keep sending out the same load,add some money to it (still not even close to what we would accept) but when the next shift comes on duty the load goes back to the original offer.

The load that brought us here came from Richmond and paid very well. It was a Saturday pick up with Monday delivery and was a true expedite load.
I wonder if all these low paying opps are LTL's leftovers?

teamjdw · Jul 28, 2010

could be your acceptance rate is to high,we need to knock you down a couple of notches.

ATeam · Jul 28, 2010

We receive a stream of crap (specifically, money-losing) load offers on an ongoing basis now. It is annoying and demoralizing, and becomes even more so when it continues days, weeks and months at a time.

They no longer take the first refusal. We have to decline the same load sometimes three and four times in the same day. That too is demoralizing in that it is disrespectful.

Clearly, the company is playing a numbers game and us saying no to a load is irrelevant in their eyes. Got a "no" answer? No problem. They'll just send the same offer out again in a few hours with no respect for or regard to the contractor's decision.

I once defended the new dispatch system, thinking at the time that any bugs in it would be worked out in time. That has not happened. If anything, the system is worse now than it was when it was first rolled out.

Good friends of ours who were many-years-seasoned and among the very best contractors FedEx Custom Critical had, have left the company partly or entirely because of this new system. We have heard of others who have left for the same reason. I did not understand why at first. Now I do.

jjoerger · Jul 28, 2010

teamjdw said:
could be your acceptance rate is to high,we need to knock you down a couple of notches.

Now theres a thought.
Could also be that we had a weekend run and we needed a couple of days off to rest up.

LDB · Jul 28, 2010

I don't like it when they send an identical offer after getting a no but I can understand it since what may have been a no at 0900 could be a yes at 1640. In general though a no will always be a no for an identical offer. Hopefully we will see good rates consistently very soon.

jjoerger · Jul 28, 2010

LDB said:
Hopefully we will see good rates consistently very soon.

Are you forseeing some type of change in the near future?

LDB · Jul 28, 2010

Just optimistic. I don't have any special info on anything.

ATeam · Jul 28, 2010

LDB said:
I don't like it when they send an identical offer after getting a no but I can understand it since what may have been a no at 0900 could be a yes at 1640. In general though a no will always be a no for an identical offer. Hopefully we will see good rates consistently very soon.

Load offers, whether they come by phone or C-Link, often interfere with sleep. Repeated offers now happen so often that it is beyond ridiculous. It is difficult to remain positive toward a company that expects you to get your needed rest and continually wakes you up with offers you have refused once, twice, even three times before.

There is a way to avoid this, I was told when I called in my complaint to official listeners. I am confident the complaint was passed on and equally confident that it then fell on deaf ears.

The repeated offers come because the dispatcher makes frequent use of the re-send function instead of taking steps to make sure the offer is not re-sent to trucks that have already said no. We have even received repeated offers after we have accepted another offer.

There is no excuse for this and the explanation goes to taking the lazy way out instead of actually stopping to think that the contractor's wishes ought to be respected, as should the fact that the contractor may be trying to sleep. If a load was declined at 09:00 still needs to be covered at 16:40, and a truck remains in play, there are better ways to deal with it than hit the re-send button and thus re-broadcast the money-losing load to a number of trucks.

layoutshooter · Jul 28, 2010

There seems to be a few, possibly newer, dispatchers that are a bit on the lazy side. We find them mainly in surface but there are a couple in White Glove. It is bad when drivers have to explain to dispatchers how loads need to be handled.

teamjdw · Jul 28, 2010

When we get low offers,we reply decline,but will counter offer.$2-$3 all miles paid will stop the low offer.I think they get the hint,or we get a nice run.

ATeam · Jul 28, 2010

layoutshooter said:
There seems to be a few, possibly newer, dispatchers that are a bit on the lazy side. We find them mainly in surface but there are a couple in White Glove. It is bad when drivers have to explain to dispatchers how loads need to be handled.

I want to amend what I said to change "lazy" to "quick and easy." I don't think the dispatchers are lazy. I think they are now stretched so thin and so overworked that if something can be done quick and easy, it will be, regardles of the burden or irritation it shifts onto the contractors.

Though, your point about dispatcher inexperience is also valid. Diane and I were recently shocked when we called dispatch and asked to have an 04 (code 04, running late) entered and heard the woman say, "What's an 04?"

teamjdw · Jul 28, 2010

sounds like someone got a phone call objecting to your choice of words.

layoutshooter · Jul 28, 2010

ATeam said:
I want to amend what I said to change "lazy" to "quick and easy." I don't think the dispatchers are lazy. I think they are now stretched so thin and so overworked that if something can be done quick and easy, it will be, regardles of the burden or irritation it shifts onto the contractors.

Though, your point about dispatcher inexperience is also valid. Diane and I were recently shocked when we called dispatch and asked to have an 04 (code 04, running late) entered and heard the woman say, "What's an 04?"

Maybe but I am not so sure. There are dispatchers who spend a lot of time avoiding doing their job. We have had a problem with not getting safe havens (again) on security loads as required. We call and ask for one (we should not have too) and get told that a safe haven is not needed (FedEx regs required it on that load) we asked again, on the clink, got same answer. Called again, got a different dispatcher, told that one the story, had a safe haven in less than 10 minutes.

ATeam · Jul 28, 2010

teamjdw said:
sounds like someone got a phone call objecting to your choice of words.

No phone call received. I made the change because my second choice of words better expressed what I meant.

TeamCaffee · Jul 28, 2010

I do not believe the dispatchers have a QualComm to see what a "04" really is.

We have not noticed any change in the load opps and have not turned down or accepting loads any more than usual.

Doggie Daddy · Jul 28, 2010

So far today,this is what we have been offered.This to a team D unit.

A rate $0.92 all miles

A rate $0.71 all miles

D rate $1.38 all miles

A rate $0.97 all miles

D rate $0.98 all miles

A rate $0.77 all miles

C rate $1.14 all miles HAZMAT

Now before some might say why would you not take the $1.38 load just to get out of a bad area,this load did not p/u until 7:00 am tomorrow and didn't del until 7:30 am friday and the run was only 331 miles.