Which of us is crazy?

[AMonger]

One of my companies is a very small company that gets mentioned here occasionally. I'm sure the owner will recognize his company in this post.

So I'm in the People's Republic last week--the left coast one--Ontario, to be specific, and he called me and dispatched me on a load delivering between the Bay Area and Sacramento. Closer to the Bay. While enroute, he called me again, saying there's a load picking up the next day in Sacramento going 188 miles, delivering north of Redding. I declined that, and he wondered why. "Just trying to make you some money," he says. I pointed out that 1) it would take me off the load board during the peak expediting time of the day, 2) would take me farther away from anywhere an expediting load is likely to originate, 3) increase my deadhead back to the freight area, and 4) tie up the truck for too long of a time in relation to the number of miles involved, and 5) very possibly cost me a long trip out of Cali, all for only 188 miles. He didn't see it that way.

Ok, add to this, there was another day a month or two ago... I was in the chitown area. He called me a little after noon. He had a load picking up close to me and delivering down state, like 350+ miles or so, 359, I think. But it didn't pick up until the next day. Now, 359 miles isn't chump change...but considering that it would tie up the van for all the rest of that day and pretty much all the next, that changed things. And it would take me from a good freight area, out of which 1000 milers originate reasonably regularly, and take me to a poor area. If it were just the second reason, if the load picked up that same day, I'd have taken it. But both reasons together...had to turn it down. He didn't agree there either.

Later that same day, maybe 3 or 4 pm central or so, he called me with another one, picking up close to me and going 20 miles into Chicago. Now again, it's afternoon, prime time expediting time, and this load would take me into Chicago during rush hour, taking an inordinate amount of time and taking me off the board during prime time and very possibly costing me a real run, all for very little pay. So I declined that. Again, he expressed his dismay.

Later that day, my other company called and I got a long run from them.

In my previous stint at expediting in a straight truck with one of the big boys, those were all primo reasons to pass loads like that up, and had I taken them, my owner would have been on my phone wanting to know why I was tying up the truck for so long for so little relative compensation. And if I was an owner, I'd feel the same way.

Who's out of step here, me or him?

 

[asjssl]

It's your truck...your not out of line....that's exactly how I decide on a lot of loads....

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[Turtle]

Who's out of step here, me or him?

Neither, really. Loads have to be covered, whether they are long or short. The shipper or the customer could care less how many miles you get or what time of day it picks up and delivers, they only know they need to get the load shipped and delivered. Oftentimes short loads are difficult to cover, and when a shipper finds a carrier to cover them, they will reward the carriers with first call on their long loads, as well. Conversely, they will cease calling carriers at all who refuse short loads one too many times. No shippers like to deal with cherry pickin' carriers. So, most carriers will do their best to get all loads covered, long and short. Carriers don't like to deal with cherry pickin' drivers, either, so there's that to contend with. It's a fine line sometimes.

As a driver, there's a fine line between cherry picking and unprofitable. Turning down a load because it is unprofitable makes sense. Turning down one because of a possibility, no matter how remote, that you might get a more profitable load touches the cherry pickin' line a bit. For example, the 188 mile load to Redding I'd have taken (I've picked up loads out of both Redding and Red Bluff, as well as Corning two or three times). Being dispatched more than 8 hours in advance out of Chicago I probably wouldn't have taken, regardless of where the load is going, unless it was a very profitable load (or unless I was happy and content sitting right there and taking a break until the next day, which happens sometimes). The 20 miler at rush hour I probably would have turned down unless it extremely well. If it paid enough I'd have run it.

Then again, I drive my own van and am not having to split revenue with anyone, which makes all the difference in the world as to the profitability of a particular load. Honestly, when splitting money with a fleet owner in a van, it would be really hard to accept much under about 400 miles. Otherwise you're simply not making enough to make it worth your time. Some will disagree, I'm sure, but that's my take on it.

I don't think either was out of step. They need to get loads covered and you need to run loads that are profitable. Sometimes those things coincide, sometimes not. No matter what people want to believe, getting loaded is far more about being in the right place at the right time than it is about being smart. You can use the smarts to help with the probabilities, but it's still a roll of the dice. I've turned down loads in anticipation of getting a better load, only to get either no load at all or an only marginally better load, and I've taken what seemed to be really crappy loads only to have them immediately followed up with extremely good loads. And visa versa. Everyone has. I've had a week of nothing but crappy loads that got me more than 2000 miles for the week, and I've had 1300 mile loads where that was the only load I got for the entire week. Roll the dice. It adds up. Sometimes the luck goes your way.

 

[chefdennis]

Id have taken the Redding load, then i would have wet over the the Whiskeytown National Park for a day or 2....the other 2, nope....

 

[nightcreacher]

look at the otherside,its extra money,yes will tie you up,but what if there isnt another load,and you sit couple days,that short load would have paid expenses for sitting
evry load isnt going to be a home run,you need to take the bad wit the good,as loand as the pay is right.Different story if the pay is to low