Ali, In any other business.-Jennifer Ralston, Moments Notice! co-owner, bemoans the lack of standard business practice In the haulage world...
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6 tNhoetibnedingtnia seenctohnudsioarstt.hirldi -generationohalduslieary, I joined
naively—assuming that it would work along conventional business lines. This confirmed to those I already knew in the haulage business that I was quite definitely barmy.
All the form-filling, the examinations and other rigours of having to prove myself a "fit and proper person" combined to give me the impression that I was entering a thoroughly organised industry; surely, I thought, adding a short-notice traction service to my , ,-, business would be a piece of cake. z z But I was wrong. 0
cc, III had a pound for each time
cc < someone said, mockingly, "welcome : C to the haulage game, love", I wouldn't 2' bother doing the lottery each week! ,
E. I have often complained about
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5 things which would be unacceptable in any standard business 8 practice, only to have people laugh in my face.
i With my other business interests, I wouldn't dream of committing time and materials to a job with absolutely no idea of how much I would get paid for it; yet this seems to be quite normal in the haulage industry.
When the job is completed it can be several weeks until the work is priced, and even then some companies take up to 90 days' credit! I can hear them now: 'Welcome to the haulage game love..."
I'm fortunate insofar as my vehicle is bought and paid for, but I often wonder about the fate of owner-operators who lease, hire or borrow to purchase their vehicles. They must live in a permanent state of financial limbo.
Don't get me wrong, there are good companies out there and I don't want to be accused of tarring them all with the same brush; but sadly, they seem to be the exception rather than the rule.
There is a module in the CPC course devoted to business strategy. However, try to apply this theory to the real-life haulage world and it quickly crumbles. A larger company may well be in a stronger position to manipulate and control its business, but as an owner-operator you really are locked in a stranglehold by those who offer the work.
I have turned down work at a poor rate, only to have it reoffered third hand at a better rate than was initially quoted. With everyone playing their cards so close to their chests I have no idea how much profit is being taken out of the job chain, and by whom, before it actually makes its way to me.
if your vehicle is not on the road, it's not earning money. But if you do turn the job down because the rate, the hassle or the late payment makes it ultimately worthless—it's very likely you won't get offered any work again.
Profit is the ultimate goal—surely that's what we're all working for—but running a nicely turned out vehicle and providing a professional service is not cheap. As I'm constantly being told: there's always someone out there who will do the same work for less...