C H Robinson

This is why we make sure that it is clear, in writing, that the broker will pay us for waiting time REGARDLESS of their agreement with their customer. There is nothing to dispute when terms are set out clearly and in writing before accepting any load.
 
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What if what if what if....

When a customer's crane breaks and a truck is delayed for six hours do I pay wait time? No. When a truck breaks down and is a day late for his appointment do I ask for compensation? No. It cuts both ways. I don't deal with DCs and others who are notorious for delaying trucks. If they're not organized or don't care then I don't want their business. Where a carrier is dead set on getting compensation for a delay that is not of my making I tell him to go to the offending party to sort it out. Really not a problem.. in 20 years it has happened a handful of times, and in all cases the carrier was compensated. Why change something that works just fine? I've paid next to nothing in wait time in about 20 years.
 
This is a very strange thread. I have never, ever heard a broker tell me to go directly to the shipper or receiver and charge waiting time. Never, ever. With all due respect, if a broker did tell me that, it would be the very last time I worked for them without a doubt. It would be a minimal to non-existant loss for them, I am sure, but nonetheless, I do consider that the 2 hour industry standard applies to everyone, not a select few who choose to abide by it. And if you have a policy of never compensating a carrier for accesorial charges such as waiting time, you should spell that out in plain and clear form on the carrier confirmation. A broker's job goes beyond simply finding loads and finding trucks to cover them. Sorry for the rant. But I do consider this forum open to all of us respectfully giving our opinion.
 
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Freight Broker said:
Quite often it isn't the broker's customer either. For example, if my customer (the shipper) loads on time and the receiver (not my customer) takes six hours to unload then who should pay? That's usually the scenario. Whoever causes the delay should get the bill. If its the broker who forgot to book an appointment then the broker should pay the bill.
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I just have one more small point to make and then I will sit back and butt out. If the receiver (not your customer) takes 6 hours to offload, then you bill your customer for the delay. And they can in turn run around and chase the receiver for the money. They are the ones that ordered the truck in the first place. If they are not happy with paying the additional charge it is a wonderful opportunity for them to get busy and speak with their customer about avoiding delays or adjust their prices to include for possible delays. That is my experience, at least.
 
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Then you'd be saying goodbye to some wonderful accounts. My three largest accounts (shippers) don't pay wait time and tell me to bill the receiver for any delays on their end. That's what they tell me to do. You might think they're not nice people or bad accounts, but you'd be mistaken. You might say that you'd never haul for them again, and that would be your loss. Would you rather have a customer who almost never delays trucks and doesn't pay for delays.. or.. would you rather have a disorganized customer who delays trucks a lot but pays for those delays? I'd rather have GOOD accounts that don't delay trucks. So what if they don't pay for wait times. These shippers don't pay for delays because they also don't ask me for compensation when things go sideways on my end. For example, a couple of months back a truck broke down at one of these shippers after being loaded. It was a serious breakdown and a fairly new truck.. the shipper had to unload the truck (hourly paid crane operator and workers) and they charged me nothing for that. So when THEIR crane breaks I should turn around and charge them? It just doesn't work that way. But like I said before, I like organized customers who don't delay trucks.. the entire issue of truck delays goes away.
 
I applaud FreightBroker for directly or indirectly educating his/her customers, shippers, consignees, etc. for being as organized as possible and ensuring that trucks are rolling rather than parked at their facility. Prevention makes much more sense than putting out small fires, it also causes less gray hair.

That being said, what other members are saying below is that it's a matter of accountability, contractor/worker agreements and flow of funds. The shipper/receiver has no real accountability to the carrier directly (beyond the legalities of the BOL). Does it make sense for a shipper (assuming they are the customer) to cut 2 cheques for a shipment (one for $25 for a half hour of waiting time)? I say no. There are independent agreements in place here (I've harped on this enough in other threads), one between shipper and receiver (include 3rd party importer here if you wish), one between the importer (typically) and the 3PL and a final one between the carrier and 3PL. All of them contain the basic and standard provisions, all too often some of the 'little details' (like waiting time) are left out. I see regularly agreements are designed to encompass 99% of the business between parties (for businesses that intend long, prosperous and mutually beneficial partnerships) and it is expected that when the other 1% happens that parties will act in an ethical manner to resolve the issues that come up. Everyone is entitled to their opinion absolutely, mine is that a 3PL is accountable to all parties for the others actions. We harvest and build strong relationships with the customer and carrier alike, the customer has a relationship with the shipper and consignee but as the carrier does not have the opportunity to do reference and credit checks on the shipper and receiver, they rely on the broker to educate, and collect additional charges. Likewise, severe service failures (not mechanical, act of God, etc) are the 3PL's responsibility as they chose the carrier. We are accountable for the carriers performance to our customers. I could be wrong (it happens sometimes), I'm still a rookie by most standards in the industry at approaching 11 years. I still learn something new every day.

Anyway, thankfully we're talking about the less than 1% here, right?

Keep well,
Mike
 
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I meant to add below in my rant that while all parties to the 'order/shipment' usually do the ethical thing and come forward if they are the cause of increased costs for another party, I find most often there is one 'untouchable', no matter how much they delay things, no matter how much they drop the ball, no matter how much you prove they have all the tools with sufficient time to perform their piece of the puzzle but still directly cause lengthy delays... The customs broker. It seems they are never accountable for their actions.

I'll leave it at that.
Mike
 
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I've had promises from Josh they would pay waiting time if we would just be patient and not pull the truck. Upon delivery he advises me the customer refuses to pay waiting time on the pick up. My suggestion, get it in writing as his word means nothing.
 
Unless you are dealing with 'old school' people that stand by their word. Bottom line is writing or no writing, people will act according to their character after the fact anyway.

Just saying,
Mike
 
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But in any event a written record provides for some kind of legal recourse if necessary. There's no way to assess someone's character from afar. No written agreement? Then prepare yourself for serious disappointment.
 
Absolutely, written agreements provide for legal recourse. As a 3PL, I'll admit I've sent revisions to a few carriers that sound like they may hold our customers freight hostage over a mistake the carrier made and my not initially agreeing to a small charge. It's rare and I dislike doing it. But, in the end, the revision is retracted with an explanation (absolutely on the phone, not by email) and it's usually understood and accepted by the other party. No one's ever sued us during my tenure here excluding one carrier that was closing, desperate and had a hard time keeping proper books. A copy of the cashed cheque ended that one pretty quick.

We're talking mainly about small accessorial charges in this thread, a few hours of waiting time and who is accountable. If anyone has to call their lawyer for a $150 issue they have too much time and money to burn.

Keep well,
Mike
 
I've never sued for 150 bucks either, but I've gone to small claims a few times for amounts in the 300 to 1000 dollar range. The very first thing the judge will ask is to have a look at the agreement... If you draw a blank the judge will dismiss your case and probably rip into you for wasting his/her time.
 
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Freight Broker said:
What if what if what if....

When a customer's crane breaks and a truck is delayed for six hours do I pay wait time? No. When a truck breaks down and is a day late for his appointment do I ask for compensation? No. It cuts both ways. I don't deal with DCs and others who are notorious for delaying trucks. If they're not organized or don't care then I don't want their business. Where a carrier is dead set on getting compensation for a delay that is not of my making I tell him to go to the offending party to sort it out. Really not a problem.. in 20 years it has happened a handful of times, and in all cases the carrier was compensated. Why change something that works just fine? I've paid next to nothing in wait time in about 20 years.
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In other words FREIGHTBROKER, you have no respect for the carrier you hire to deal with your customer... Sure wish I knew which company your are. You would be on our DNU list. I don't have time to deal with YOUR customer. I've got pleanty more to deal with. We as a company, do not go to our customer's customer... Next thing you know you'll be refusing to pay me because I 'back solicited your customer
 
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I run it like a business. My customers and carriers appear to be happy with me as they come back for more week after week. You do what works for you and I'll do what works for me, no harm done.
 
I guess in a round about way that's what we all do... none of us would survive without customers and carriers who choose to work with us.
 
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