TQL Milford Ohio , Friday morning rant

[DWC]

Good day all

We are allowed to vent once in a while just to relieve some pressure so here is mine

Not sure how many of you that have done any loads for Total Quality Logistics( TQL) from Milford Ohio but the last 3 loads we have done for them we have had legitimate waiting time, Arriving on our scheduled dock time for delivery or pick up and done the ususal 2 hr free time then sit and wait, Have tried to get waiting time paid for each and every time and they have every excuse in the book why they do not have to pay waiting time, They called us on a truck posting of ours this morning and we told them in order for us to do the load we need in writing from them on the load confirmation paid waiting time after 2 hrs at shipper or receiver, They told us that they would not do it so we told them to keep their load, The dispatcher from TQL could not understand why we would not take the load, go figure, So just beware you will not get paid any waiting time from them.

Have a great Friday I feel a little better now

DWC

 

[martinetav]

We work quite often with TQL. We are usually able to negotiate a decent rate with them. It is ALWAYS more advantageous to us if they call back. Many times they have offered us very cheap rates and we have refused. When they call back, usually with more money, we usually end up taking the load. We have, on occasion, gotten more money for very long waiting times. It's usually when they have messed up royally on delivery time or delivery location. Never what we deserved but, what can you do. The fact is, these guys work for commission only. The less they spend, the more they get paid. The 'associate' that you work with has a lot to do with it. They aren't much different than C.H. Robinson and no worse than FLS. They pay ALMOST as well as C.H. and definitely more quickly than FLS.

 

[misto27]

It's still baffle me when I read / hear these kind of stories ( broker not wanting to pay waiting time )
Been in the industry for about 15 years - 12 in brokerage. I'm always fighting for my carriers to get waiting time / layover charges / extra pickups, etc...
I will, however, never pay 80$ an hour for waiting time, that's for sure. But I will always pay 50$-60$ an hour at least! And if the customer doesn't want to pay, then I will absorb what I can without loosing money and still give something to my carriers.

Most brokers thinks they are alone. My opinion is, we all need each other.

 

[ShawnR]

also remember TQL is a very large company with many different people working there. One person doesn't mean the entire company should be thrown under the bus.

but I understand the rant.

 

[theman]

We work quite often with TQL. We are usually able to negotiate a decent rate with them. It is ALWAYS more advantageous to us if they call back. Many times they have offered us very cheap rates and we have refused. When they call back, usually with more money, we usually end up taking the load. We have, on occasion, gotten more money for very long waiting times. It's usually when they have messed up royally on delivery time or delivery location. Never what we deserved but, what can you do. The fact is, these guys work for commission only. The less they spend, the more they get paid. The 'associate' that you work with has a lot to do with it. They aren't much different than C.H. Robinson and no worse than FLS. They pay ALMOST as well as C.H. and definitely more quickly than FLS.

The fact is, when you deal with people who work in a commission only environment, it makes it very difficult to get people to 'tow the company line', sort of speak. The experience you will have with TQL will largely depend on the agent you are dealing with. Some have integrity, others not so much. Some of them even do double-brokering, which makes things worse. You'll find that with any broker environment where sales is a commission only job, this will be the case -- but TQL is a much larger player than most of those so they are more visible.

When you're working with a salary plus environment, the thought process is little different and you can see the whole picture.

 

[MikeJr]

Just to expand the topic a little. Not just freight brokers - everyone (shipper, consignee, customs broker) all need to understand that there is a tangible cost to having a driver parked either at the side of the road because a shipment is not set up to clear the border or at a dock for a 4 hour offload. Usually these things are pretty straightforward.

The more interesting ones to deal with are when a truck arrives 15 minutes late for an appointment and the request comes over for 30 minutes of waiting time. Should it apply? What if the request was for 4 hours detention at delivery and the truck was 5 minutes late for the delivery?

On the flip: when a truck is an hour late for a pick up or delivery appointment don't forget it's pretty much blasphemous to even hint that the shippers/consignee time also costs money. Just saying.

Keep well,
Mike

 

[Salma]

We do a lot of business with TQL as well and it does depend on the agent you are working with. I have had some that are just plain rude and totally unwilling to compromise and then there have been others that go out of their way to make sure we get our extra charges taken care of, even if it is "out of pocket" for them. Fortunately, we have had dealt with more nice agents than nasty ones (knock on wood). HOWEVER, you do have to be very clear before taking their loads or else there will be difficulty later on. If a rate is not right, we refuse the load; if it sounds "fishy" or the details keep changing, we refuse the load. Simple.
It may take a few days to "wear them down" but if you have legitimate waiting time, don't let them make excuses. If they choose to serve a customer who will not pay for detention, that is their problem - not yours. Keep at it and I'm sure a fair amount can be negotiated. If not, go to the supervisor, team manager or whoever is responsible for making the ultimate decision.

 

[theman]

I can tell you that any customer I deal with on a contracted basis has a policy regarding detention. It is part of our consideration when we decide to take business or in our costing. Spot customers and produce guys are usually the ones that are the hardest to work with as far as that is concerned.

 

[DWC]

Not throwing anybody under the bus just relaying factual information G Roch , We Have dealt with 3 different agents at TQL and burnt us on waiting time on each load , 2 loads had scheduled dock times and 1 load had FCFS and had more then 3 hrs at shipper on 1 load , 5.5 hrs on another and 4 hrs at one receiver and did not get paid s**t , So G Roch if you think I am throwing TQL under the bus for us doing our job and not getting paid for doing our job, I guess I am throwing them under the bus and is my decision to not work with them . Ask any broker/carrier on here that we have dealt with what kind of a carrier we are and it will be nothing but positive because we have been around for a while and know how to treat our partner brokers and carriers and take care of their customers when we are lucky enough to move a load for that particular company on behalf of that Broker/Carrier and not chase after and back door them but when we do get taken advantage of by a company I have that right "to throw them under the bus" as you call it

Another Friday rant and feel a whole lot better again

Have a great weekend all

DWC

 

[Gord M]

From my experience with TQL if you have waiting time and you ask the agent for the money it is more likely hell will freeze over before they will call you back with the extra $100 or whatever it is. They will delay, then pass you of to one of thier associates, then they will promise to get back to you when the salesman gets back to them by next Thursday. Forget it you dont get a dime for waiting but you do get the privelidge of them avoiding your calls for two weeks then you just invoice the load to get it off your desk. Thats how it works............use e'm if you have to but know going in they arent paying any extra charges.

 

[CG Group]

Wow!!! Starting to like this site - We know who complains and bashes the brokers all the time - Now I know not to take anything serious from this Gord M member.

 

[AccountsReceivable@DRC]

CG Group,

Gord M has been a member on this forum for 5 years. With that said - his contributions and opinions have proven beneficial to the forum as a whole.

Tread 'lightly' here with your new membership on this forum - especially when remarking about other Senior members on a personal note. Stick to making positive contributions and you won't have any problems.

Thank you

 

[Gord M]

Now you are stalking me? I just asked the members at Inside Transport for a credit reference on you and not one person had anything positive to say about you. Now you are commenting on my other posts....this is a site for serious carriers and good freight brokers, not one of them came forward and said CG Group of Batman and Robin impersonators pays thier bills so your 20 minutes of fame is up. You asked us for credit, the answer is no.

 

[MikeJr]

Trying to stay on topic for this thread:

The argument, "I need to get sales involved, we need to ask the customer, etc..." is nothing more than pure BS. I can understand having to confirm times to ensure that there are no time discrepancies, but other than that... There are 2 agreements at play for all brokered orders, one between the carrier and broker and a second one between the client and broker. Both have 'similar' but not necessarily equal terms and the challenges of collecting from a customer for the large majority of situations should have zero impact on the requirement to pay out for legitimate waiting time or other straightforward requests. I find it hard to believe that any reputable broker wouldn't understand that driver time is money, and haven't a clue why anyone burnt in this manner would subject themselves to further business that risks 'random' costs without the ability to collect for hard work.

My rant for the morning,
Mike

 

[Shakey]

so it is not just us???

http://www.ttnews.com/articles/base...utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=newsletter

 

[Nawk]

These jokers call here everyday. With a "great load" that they want to offer just to us.