spent a lot of time recently sorting my own customers having got sick of time wasting freight forwarders and haulage firms who seem to think you should be sat next to a phone waiting for them to offer you a load, so i’m touting my services at every opportunity as you can never have to much work right?
the jobs quiet at the mo as it’s the dreaded shutdown weeks so took a load out of a local firm subbed through a forwarder, now this firm has a lot of haulage work and it’s on my doorstep so while i’m in there i ask the question “i can i give you some direct rates etc” yes no problem, so having done the job i spent three hours that night putting a price on all their regular drops, fax it over and then follow it up with a phone call the next morning only to be told that unfortunately they can’t deal with me because i’m contracted to the forwarders i’d done the job for the previous day and as they already deal with these on a regular basis it wouldn’t be right to give one of “their drivers” work 
obviously did my best to explain that i’m not contracted to anyone etc but the seed had been sown, to say i wasn’t to happy is an understatement!
just makes you wonder what ■■■■■■■■ these setup’s give to potential customers or weather those customers actually know that the fella on the end of the phone is sat in his kitchen rather than some big haulage yard office?
some would say i shouldn’t have gone behind their backs but the way i see it, i’m the bloke thats took the gamble, it’s me who’s got the wagon and the o’license, all any of these outfits have got is a phone and a computer so basically without o/d’s and small hauliers they havn’t got a business so is it out of order to try and cut them out of the job?
Its always been that way. Not so long ago they didn’t even have the computer,just a phone & a Biro, grabbing all the money & then going broke when it suited them ,leaving small firms & O/D’s totally bust.
agree totally with everything you say paul, been there, done that etc etc…what annoys me is how much is the forwarder getting against what he,s paying me. the usuall line is can you take this load but there aint much money in it. aye you
mean there aint much after they,re cut. i,m always of the opinion, there is no such thing as a backload its the same as any other load. the diesel is the same price whichever way your heading. I always try and give the backload people a run for they,re money I tell them my price if its no good then its no deal.also ive recently started charging one forwarder demurrage because he always says its ready and when i get there im waiting 2/3 hours every time.
ah the joys of transport but ho hum do unto them before they try to do it to you.
they will need you before you need them thats my opinion theres always
other places you can phone to find a load.
to be honest i’ve come to the conclussion that you can be your own worst enemy in this game, these chancers are only able to survive because people like me are mug enough to go and do a load for them when we’re quiet, knowing full well that we’re not getting the rate the job should pay but do it anyway because it’s a fill in and keeps the wheels turning! what really gets up my nose is when i see one of these forwarders offering loads on the net that i’m already doing off my own back or know the customer and know full well that they’ve absolutely no chance of getting that work! no doubt the ploy is when someone rings up, them loads have gone but “i can get you a load out of so n so mate, don’t pay much but it’ll get you out of a hole” meaning i want you to do this load so i can make a nice few bob for doing nothing.
paul b:
to be honest i’ve come to the conclussion that you can be your own worst enemy in this game, these chancers are only able to survive because people like me are mug enough to go and do a load for them when we’re quiet, knowing full well that we’re not getting the rate the job should pay but do it anyway because it’s a fill in and keeps the wheels turning! what really gets up my nose is when i see one of these forwarders offering loads on the net that i’m already doing off my own back or know the customer and know full well that they’ve absolutely no chance of getting that work! no doubt the ploy is when someone rings up, them loads have gone but “i can get you a load out of so n so mate, don’t pay much but it’ll get you out of a hole” meaning i want you to do this load so i can make a nice few bob for doing nothing.
have you not thought of joing them, if ya cant beat em join em, you will make more dosh in the long run!But they r all a LOAD OF F****S if ya ask me, bunch of leeches with no regard nor respect to the decent O/D.