TQL

I have never used TQL just from the horror stories in bulk and all the other Freight markets they do business in keeps me away from them. My question to some shippers would be if they took the time out to handle their own shipping and recieving their would be no need for TQL they made 2 Billion last year thats more than most shippers make so do they think they care about customer service or ruputation...no they are purely for the profit they can care less about saftey or quality service.

i would never let them touch any of my loads ever. i got a young one on the phone about an open deck load that needed to be tarped, i says to him, let's nail this down! He replies: Uhhh, i don;t think the driver has a hammer with him.......
no words......

Got a phone call from TQL they said they read my posting in another forum, called them back to let them know why I said the things that I said. While I may not desire to business with TQL anymore, and I am pretty sure that the feeling is mutual. I am an honorable man and will give kudos when they are due. I received a message from Amanda in their Customer Relations Department to call her back. We discussed the issues she understood and was very courteous and professional. They have taken us off of their call list, which is what I mainly wanted anyways. Thank you Amanda at TQL for your professionalism.

Scott- I respect your opinion and understand that reading TQL sucks over and over might get old to you. I for one am thankful that Art and Alfred list off all the bad brokers, as well as the good ones. I've been at this for a little less than 2 years and listening to the old timers helps me get farther ahead faster. I would much rather learn from yours or their mistakes that cost them $$ or time than make them myself if possible.

Scott, I don't hate brokers that are honest. The ones that I hate are the ones that tell you that the load pays $1.00 per mile and that is all they have in it. I then say thank you have a nice day. I then look around and start calling shippers direct and they pay me to haul the same load for $2.00 per mile. Now the honest brokers tell me that the same load pays between $1.80 - $1.90 per mile. Thats ok by me because I now did not have to spend another two hours of my time calling shippers.

These numbers are just examples and may or may not be an indicator of the current market prices anywhere else except Spokane, Wa with my dry van this week.

I agree with you that not every driver is an owner, a lot of them should go back to driving as a company driver.

I also have to state that not every broker is a true broker, most are theives that are to lazy to actually get their own customers and are just getting it from the real brokers and taking additional cuts. Now just like the truckers that have no idea what they should charge for their services, a lot of brokers are in the same boat. So while the cheap ones may actually be honest folks just like the cheap truckers, neither have a clue as to what the shipper should be paying the truck.

It does not matter what the is going on with the price of the product for the shipper. That does not effect our cost to operate, so when they are hurting they expect the truckers to make up the difference. Well everybody keeps stating for us to just park our trucks, with that I agree. Why don't the shippers just park their widgets until they can make the profit they want? They have figured out how to make up their losses by getting us to absorb them. Guys it is going to get worse not better over the next two years.

I have tried to educate all sides and have warned the brokers that if we don't start working together willingly then we will have to work together by force.

You see here is the formula: NO TRUCKERS = NO BROKERS

All anyone has to do is take a look at the trucks on the auctions right now. A lot of those trucks were passing me last year going down the highway. As far as I am concerned I have stated several times that I have parked the hopper, and will wait until the feeding frenzy is done and the rest have went out of business. Our dry vans are doing very well and if that market starts to erode, than I will park them all and go to work at McDonald's (a new widget).

Maybe things are different here than over there, we hate cheats, liers, bullys, and thieves. Those are still things that we get into fights about here in Missouri.

Ghost posting,thats what some of call what TQL and other brokers do when they post a dozen loads from every surronding town within 100 miles of their one load.Half of those TQL brokers are arrogant little azzs.The rest I get along with fine,when I use them,which is about twice a tear.

Brokers seems to forget we are doing them a favor,hauling their freight for them,by extending them credit.If we made them pay in advance,half of them would be out of business

I hope Alfred and Art keep exposing a-hole brokers. Go gitum boys. In my 40 some odd years I've taken some pretty hard punches from cut rate coniving brokers so if these boys efforts can keep just one load from being covered by a crook I say HOORAY.

If you can't beat em join em. Brokers are evil and they are the reason my truck doesn't make the money it should. It's not that I can't negotiate my own rates or don't know my own cost to operate it's their fault. They posted a cheap load and I accepted it so they are to blame. I just had a conversation with my 5 year old about accepting responsibilty for his actions over the weekend. He was much more receptive to the concept then you guys. I guess I should stop beating a dead horse and jump on the band wagon......WEEEEEEE!!!!!!! Keep on truckin' Boys

I will respectfully respond as follows. I support all who does honest business and is not trying to feed off the suferings of others. I support those who warn others about wolves praying on the weak. And I will support all the rest of the honest people out there who bust thier a... every day thanklessly to support the lives of all of us who hold this country near and dear. However I will not support those who blame others for thier own failures. We all try and fail and it is that that makes us stronger. There is many companies that make it off our suffering such as the one you are pointing out. I can not have an oppinion on them because I have never dealt with them. I respect you for the warning and thank you in the regards that I will will have my reservations if they ever contact me. My only quarrel is the constant complaining about brokers as a whole in every conversation. I do not know how you operate your business and it is none of my business to know. If you rely on brokers for all of your loads I can understand the frusteration. My point is that complaining about them is redundant. It's like drivers complaining about dispatchers. Maybe I am looking at this from the wrong angle and appolagize if I come across that way.

Thanks for the postings. Let me clear something up.. there are over 2000 brokers at TQL. Each of them runs their book of business as a separate entity, so naturally there will be good apples and bad apples, just as there are with drivers. As for myself, I rarely post loads with fake pick up or delivery cities unless it is truly in the middle of nowhere and I have a lot of money to pay for deadhead miles. My recommendation would be to find a few individual brokers within the company that you work well with and that you trust, but don't lump every employee of TQL into the same basket because there are plenty of good brokers here who take care of their carriers - you just never see postings on forums about the good ones because people like to complain more than they like to praise.

Since I would rather not be called a hater and a pointer would somebody else ask this nice gentleman to give us a list of the names at that company that are actually honest that know how to do their job and will do things correctly and not lie that would be helpful just a thought

Scott, you just don't get it. I have suffered and my friends in our area from corporate raiders like TQL. You obviously and fortunately to date have been spared. When TQL comes into your playpen hold on to your butt. They will cut your average rates on a commodity by 25-40%. They won't have a clue what a bale of hay is or how to deal with anything, but they will cut the rate. They will have your truck sit in a field for 12 hours because they don't know what they are doing and you find out that they didn't know that they were responsible to order the hay squeeze to load you. They don't know a small bale from a big bale or a round bale or anything else, but they will tell you they do. I could go on for way longer than I can type about their practices. Of course I should be able to as I am a Keyboard commando.
You fail to understand that it is about taking some control over who we deal with as a group. TQL, UTI and other large brokerages care about money, nothing else. The TQL guy just told you they have 2000 brokers with no control over what each entity does. There are no corporate morals, no bottom line as to their business pratices. I want to call a broker that knows what we are loading how to deal with every aspect of the product the shipper and the reciever. I want to be on a first name basis with the broker and know that if it is 2 am and I have a problem that will affect us both that i can contact someone to try to find a solution. That is the type of service my people expect of me.
I regret every saying anything to Alfred about the length of his posts. He needs to be ALfred and write what he wishes and I will read every word as I have great respect for him and many other like Jason, Jeff, Mr.Hayes on and on. However without his invite I will not asault him with personal phone calls trying to beat him up over his opinion.
Scott you fail to understand the differences between the operating conditions between the upper midwest and the other regions of our country. So many things change including what language is acceptable. I have been in more than one meeting with larger corporate people with a lot rougher language among mixed company than anyone including me has expressed on this site. Scott if you have a problem with me call matt or Jared and ask them to take me off the site. You can call me personally and I will go round with you as long as you wish, but I WILL NOT BOW TO YOU.
You fail to understand that this industry segment has been dominated by small companies, trucking companies and brokers. You rarely see SWIFT pulling a hopper and the companies that are somewhat large stay to themselves, they typically don't broker, don't care for their presence but what am I going to do. This is the environment that I charish. The TQL and and their KIN will change the industry forever if we let them. Every time someone thinks well I can just do it once that is all they need. When they book that load they are taking it away from Jim Nolte, Tommy Wilhelm, Taylors and so many others Brent I could go on. It doesn;t matter if Jim and I see eye to eye. He is a part of the industry that is on a level that needs to stay, we will hash out the details later.
You state you have been in the industry for 11 years, woohoo. I been here for 40 this October. You haven't seen s$%^t yet dude. When you make 30 then you call me and we can talk. Oh SORRY a bad word. AND NO I don't represent the industry no matter what you say. If you really beleive that my views are so far out and the corportate america and shippers real give a damn what I say here they can boycott me and call you Mr.Boyscout.
Let me put my disdain for you and few others in the strongest words possible and not violate the bad word code. Sir you are a northern leftwing yankee democrat. Sit back and learn a few things. If I can post something on this forum a few times a year that keeps someone from leraning the hard way it is worth it. I''ll put up with the crap. If I can help another person get their truck going a little better, little power, etc it is worth it.
Scott get a clue as to what the rest of us go through. You just spout things I knew when you were in kindegarten.
Good Luck to you. Learn there are other situations outside of Michigan. You'll not muzzle me.

Art Pfluger