The good, the bad, and the ugly.

[theoldprof]

Would like info from solo cargo van people. Would you give me some specifics of a good load you have accepted, and a bad load you have rejected? Why did you accept it, or why did you reject it. What did it pay, what was the fsc, what was the deadhead, where did it deliver. The ugly you can fill in whatever.

Thanks. :+ :+

 

[bryan]

HI
As luck would have it if I start out the week with a good load it only gets better from there.And if I start with a bad load it only gets worse.So, best was Washington WV to Mc Henry IL paid just over $400.00. Then had a load cancel, easy $50.00. Then loaded in WI for Larado TX so theres $1100.00 more. Before I emptied in Laredo they offered me a Brownsville to Georgetown KY but I had to transfer in Memphis Tn so just over $850.00. Loaded Saturday Jackson Tn. to just south of Columbus OH. another $400.00 and back home.
Now for the worst,Caldwell OH. to Toledo OH. $170.00. Then Toledo Oh. to Pioneer Oh.$50.00 Then turned down 2 loads coming out of Ft. Wayne IN.going to Tillsonburg On. Becuase of freezing rain and snow. Couldn't see taking the chance of putting her in the ditch for cheap freight.Bounced south to Indy where it was only raining. Picked up in Greenburg IN. to Marysville Oh. for $150.00 where I ended up having to drive through flood waters to pick the load up and then drive over downed power lines and tree limbs to deliver. Got to consignee's at closing time, but due to the weather they were still there and did take the freight. Bounced home to a flooded basement and no electric. Next morning went back out to the van and found a tree limb jammed up underneath it. What a week.LOL

 

[chaz]

Hi,
I have to say that all my loads were good so far. I just started doing this in March.
I signed on with " Nations Express " and am very happy so far.
Although,there is 1 load that I didnt care for but I'm not complaining.


I was on my way home for the weekend and dispatch caught me and asked if I would pick up in Ashtabula,Oh and deliver to New York,NY.
I accepted,(after telling them in orientation that I didnt want Ny runs) thinking it wouldn't be too bad.I would arrive about 1:00 a.m. and it wouldnt be bad.
Wrong,I forgot it was A Friday night.Traffic was bad.The place I delivered to,didnt have a forklift.Didnt have a ramp.Had to lift 16 (100 pound) reams of paper up to the dock and palletize them, while listening to the spanish accent speaking guy mf'ing this and that.Although he did help me a little.
The pay was good. It was 457 mile trip and paid $680.00.Not bad I guess for a cargo van.
I just carried a 13 pound box down to Cub Cadet in Brownsville,TN for $680.00.lol

I dont see too many people speaking of Nations Express.
I think they treat me well along with they have friendly dispatchers and corporate people.
The pay is good and business is getting busier.They told me between $.85 to $1.00 per mile for cargo vans but I havent made less than $1.00 and it has varied between that and $1.48.
Sorry to rant,but I just like them and what I am doing.
Chaz

 

[mvbn1]

Well, I really haven't had a "bad load" yet ... well, what a minute. I did take a load out of Huntington, IN going to Spencerville, OH, 67 miles total. Was paid $1.00/mile + FSC, but the problem was ... it weighed 3120#! Thank god it was only 67 miles. That's the best bad load I can come up with.

Good load(s), came a couple of weeks ago, back to back. I was home on a Friday night, Saturday morning I went to my son's double header baseball game. About the 5th inning of the second game, my cell phone rang. It was dispatch, asking me if I'd take a load out of Columbus, OH going to Rome, GA. Well, it took me some time to think about the warm weather and beautiful women in GA, and after .03 seconds, I said yes. (I don't turn down loads). Delivered Sunday morning, sat in Atlanta until Tuesday morning, when I got a load going to Big Stone City, SD (1300 miles), delivering Wednesday afternoon. I ended up dead heading home, slowly, but what a week. Two loads, around 2000 miles. Where can you find a better job?

P.S. - As I stated, I don't turn down any loads. You must take the good with the bad in this type of work.

 

[merkurfan]

I have yet to turn down a load as well. Well, except for the one where I was deadheading home and was listed as out of service. I had a appointment I could not break. Dispatch said I was the only truck with-in 200 miles (I was in Iowa) so they thought they would ask. I refered them to the company I use to work for who gladly covered the load for them.

You do have to take the good with the bad, however, I sometimes wonder if dispatchers look at that 100% acceptance rate and think "ya, I can dump this one on him, he'll take anything" and thus those of us with 100% might get some of the junk dumpped on us. Has not happened to me yet, but I keep a sharp eye out for it.

Can't say I have had a bad load yet, or anything really exciting. I am still baffled by the places that will pay the big bucks to send a 10 pound box. What is needed that badly that it can not be overnighted? Not that I complain when they bring the little box out to the truck.

 

[mvbn1]

merkurfan,

Having a strong background in shipping and receiving, I've worked for companies in the past, that would do just about anything to please a customer. Spending $200.00 to get a $10.00 item in a customers hands, without the worries of weather delaying a plane, or some other unforseen problem. I used expediters several times, because we knew that it's a "door to door" service, and 99.9% of the time, the driver picking up the freight, was the one making the delivery on the other end.

Believe me, spending the big buck on a customer can, and in most cases does, yield great results. One company I worked for, produced tradeshow exhibits. We forgot to ship some graphics with a booth going to Chicago. I ended taking them up myself, and the boss paid me $600.00 + hotel expenses, and told me to take the wife and make a weekend of it! We ended up building a new booth for that customer, and the company made lots and lots of money off that deal. So, the bottom line is, in some cases, it's great customer service that causes us to haul a $10.00 item 450 miles.

 

[Tennesseahawk]

Murkur, I hafta disagree with your logic on that one. I too used to think 100% would make them give you junk, but I've gotten more as a team with a 60% approval. We don't turn down reasonable runs... a 300 mile is fine n dandy with limited dh. We'll take the occasional mini, but won't dh to bfe to get it.

To an extent, we also try to save the dispatchers from themselves LOL... for example... We were the only truck in Grand Rapids, where they get 10 loads a day. First load we turned down was a 180 mi run to Romulus, where there are usually around 10 trucks. Seems they would need us for a better run than that.

Just good business is the other reason to turn them down. We've gotten alot of junk runs (150 dh for 200 loaded, for example), we simply hafta turn em down. Thus our approval rating sank. That day in GR, we turned down 7! All but the one to Romulus was high dh for the amount of loaded. Finally we got a 1000 miler going to Monroe, LA. It's also good business to take a bad load that piggiebacks you out of a bad area... but I guess that makes it a good load, doesn't it?

I'm not in a hurry to take runs. We get penalized for turning things down, and I accept that penalty. Usually the penalty puts us in a better position than a worse one. I'd rather be 8th out- 1st or 2nd team than 1st out- 1st team.

T-hawk

 

[davekc]

There is always a fine line between servicing the customer and operating profitably. With fuel and operating costs climbing, and no measurable change in rates, that line is ever so thin.
Remember, "businessman first, driver second"
Davekc
owner
20 years