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In another thread Deadline Don presented some negative comments regarding the new load board from Expediters Online. I was wondering how long it would take for the company types to come out of stealth mode and attempt some pre-emptive damage control. The idea of an expedited load board has been a topic of discussion in the time I've been in this business, and I say, it's about time! It should come as no surprise to any O/O that the expediting companies monitor this and other expediter boards just to find out what nasty things the drivers are saying about them, and it seems to take what they regard as a serious threat to their status quo to bring them out of hiding. Given the paranoid nature of the expediting companies I've had the pleasure of dealing with, I would fully expect to see other negative comments regarding this type of service being posted by the companies' spokespeople, although I doubt they will identify themselves as such.
Deadline Don goes right for the throat at the top of his message by telling us that Expediters Online is going to make a bundle off of us chumps, and to beware. Duh! And all this time I thought they were a charitable organization! I don't have a problem at all with their web site making a buck if they provide a service, and if it turns out that I wasted 35 bucks for the three months, well, lesson learned! However, if in spite of Don's dire predictions and reasons why this type of service will fail, and I get one load that I wouldn't have otherwise gotten, it's paid for itself.
I think the real issue here is control. Control of the O/O's that the expediting companies have enjoyed to varying degrees over the years. Control over what are supposed to be independent business people, always with the rationale that it's in the best interest of the customer to obey without question the dictates of Big Brother Expediting Company. Without hesitation, I will admit that I don't have the corporate level experience that Don tells us he has, I don't get to rub shoulders with the upper echelons of management. I'm just a working guy with a truck and a truck payment, one of thousands of people in this industry in a similar situation; one of the O/O's THAT DO THE REAL WORK, AND HAVE THE REAL INVESTMENT IN THIS BUSINESS! So please excuse us Don if, when we see even a hint of an opportunity to increase our revenue, we go ahead and take the plunge. I don't know how this load board will work out in the end, it's the first of it's kind that I know of, but I'm glad someone's giving it a try, after all, the expediting companies are always looking to increase their market share and profitability, can we be given the same consideration too? I'm committed to this business economically for the next few years, and I'm willing to try new things to help me better that business, and I'll bet I'm not alone.
Just one man's opinion.
Deadline Don goes right for the throat at the top of his message by telling us that Expediters Online is going to make a bundle off of us chumps, and to beware. Duh! And all this time I thought they were a charitable organization! I don't have a problem at all with their web site making a buck if they provide a service, and if it turns out that I wasted 35 bucks for the three months, well, lesson learned! However, if in spite of Don's dire predictions and reasons why this type of service will fail, and I get one load that I wouldn't have otherwise gotten, it's paid for itself.
I think the real issue here is control. Control of the O/O's that the expediting companies have enjoyed to varying degrees over the years. Control over what are supposed to be independent business people, always with the rationale that it's in the best interest of the customer to obey without question the dictates of Big Brother Expediting Company. Without hesitation, I will admit that I don't have the corporate level experience that Don tells us he has, I don't get to rub shoulders with the upper echelons of management. I'm just a working guy with a truck and a truck payment, one of thousands of people in this industry in a similar situation; one of the O/O's THAT DO THE REAL WORK, AND HAVE THE REAL INVESTMENT IN THIS BUSINESS! So please excuse us Don if, when we see even a hint of an opportunity to increase our revenue, we go ahead and take the plunge. I don't know how this load board will work out in the end, it's the first of it's kind that I know of, but I'm glad someone's giving it a try, after all, the expediting companies are always looking to increase their market share and profitability, can we be given the same consideration too? I'm committed to this business economically for the next few years, and I'm willing to try new things to help me better that business, and I'll bet I'm not alone.
Just one man's opinion.