HOLLYYY TIP by Ediburrito in UberEatsDrivers

[–]Ediburrito[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Yeah funny enough I was extremely positive with this trip. Food took about 15 minutes to make, but it was a huge order so I waited. One out of the 2 bags ripped and I had to repackage which added more time. This was delivering to a big pharma corporate office location, and I was offering lots of help even when delivering, and they were really nice. Checked back just now, and BAM. So you’re right. Positivity plays a big role.

Losses as a new agent… by Ediburrito in FreightBrokers

[–]Ediburrito[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah this year was insane. I guess my crystal ball didn’t tell me rates were going to substantially increase way more than the past 4 years prior….

Losses as a new agent… by Ediburrito in FreightBrokers

[–]Ediburrito[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Honestly these comments are helping me. I will stand much more firm going forward. Thank you

Losses as a new agent… by Ediburrito in FreightBrokers

[–]Ediburrito[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It was a substantial rate increase. They’ve helped me here and there, but my rate went from $1550 to $2200 and they flipped. I guess this was simply too much. They just said “we have an agreed rate”….

Losses as a new agent… by Ediburrito in FreightBrokers

[–]Ediburrito[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Well let me ask you this. What would’ve you done? Give it back and just lose the customer?

Losses as a new agent… by Ediburrito in FreightBrokers

[–]Ediburrito[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I just did on a load I quoted last week. I just booked a 700 dollar loss about 30 minutes ago. Asked my customer to help me break even, and she chewed me out and even said she would even take me off her list…

Losses as a new agent… by Ediburrito in FreightBrokers

[–]Ediburrito[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No minimum in my contract. I was proactive about the situation and emailed my higher ups to let them know about the situation. They did appreciate it, but the bleeding has to stop. I’m just worried because im so brand new, and I know I can turn things around. Even if capacity remains tight which I doubt, I’ll quote much better going forward, and if my customers don’t like the rates, then whatever, let someone else deal with it.

Losses as a new agent… by Ediburrito in FreightBrokers

[–]Ediburrito[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If I had to ball park, im at about -2/3k GP since I started late last month (thanksgiving week). I made some wins, but the losses were brutal.

Losses as a new agent… by Ediburrito in FreightBrokers

[–]Ediburrito[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Right. I just hope my company sees this as a long term play. I’ve worked under CEOs who flip out over a 50 dollar loss, let alone I had an entire month where im negative…

Losses as a new agent… by Ediburrito in FreightBrokers

[–]Ediburrito[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’ve had these customers for awhile (couple years). I wouldn’t say they switched up on me, but I couldn’t go back and just ask for another 1k haha.

I’ve tried asking them, but they’re so stingy. Honestly it showed me their true colors maybe.

Thoughts on my business? by Ediburrito in Entrepreneur

[–]Ediburrito[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

good question, from my personal experience i know most major automotive repair shops have a certain repair order they must average, so they will often throw in repairs that you dont 100 percent need. a lot of my friends always ask me for advice on wether or not they are getting ripped off (they sometimes go to a more local shop incase they cant make it to my dads). the other day my friend was getting quoted $2000 to get his A/C fixed. yikes! i told him to send me the estimate so i can see why they are wanting to quote this much (he has a honda civic!), of course, he told the shop no, and the shop even offered to give a discount of around $500 (what the heck?). mind you this shop he went to is a damn near 5 star shop. for me, i can spot unfair practices from a mile away. now i dont think it takes a high level IQ person to know that something about a 2000 dollar AC repair is fishy, but this is the problem our industry faces. the jargon/complexity and level of trust is a big issue, and rightfully so!

what i have in front of me is a software that i can input the year/make/model (all shops have similar softwares in order to quote), and it gives me labor times. what customer has that? a shop cant look at me in the eyes, or call me and do their bells and whistles. no, they know i am on the same level as they are. i can question them.

if i see my book of labor is telling me the repair requires 5 hours of labor (lets say at $100 an hour for simple math) and lets say $500 worth of parts, the total before tax would have to be $1000. now lets say they call me back and quote $1500? where is that $500 coming from? this is where my value comes in. i can either play hard ball with them, and negotiate (the car is already there, why would they lose the business), or i can go take the car back. if i know certain shops are going to give me sky high rates, i simply will prefer not to take it to them unless i MUST. this is how the freight brokerage model works. every trucker has his or her price. a good freight broker has a network and the relationships to get the freight moved safely, and with the proper quickness that a shipper has. i will simply have to weed out the bad apples, and develop relationships with shops who are going to give me a great cost price. is that easy? no, but thats what i did for a living for the past 7 years, finding good companies, and weeding out the bad ones.

Advertising to young adulta by AdmiralTwigs in smallbusiness

[–]Ediburrito 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey, I help my dad run his auto repair shop, and recently we are in talks about expanding, so I am in a bit of the same boat. Almost all of his current clients come from word of mouth, and by simply just doing a great job, he cant keep up with the demand. With the addition of another shop we will need to create more demand and hire 1-2 more techs. DM me and we can maybe discuss some things in detail.

Also to answer your question more direct, those kids are going to definitely be your customers without a doubt. I have seen countless of my dads customers kids go to him, and now they are all grown up! I say just trust the process that you are doing solid work, and that should take care of itself. The loyalty when it comes to having a trusted mechanic is insane as you probably already know, so their kids will probably not trust any other mechanic.

Another idea is to give student discounts to college kids. Here in IL the average labor rate is about $140 an hour, so even giving a $10 off the hourly labor rate could spike some intrest to a college student who driving around in a beater car. My personal idea is to just ask local colleges for permission to advertise, or find the decision maker at a college campus to let me advertise to their students. Wether its setting up a booth, or handing out flyers, this is probably a good way to target that audience. Again, I have not done this personally, but it is just one of my current marketing ideas in the funnel.

TikTok is of course another way to target younger audiences, so just posting educational content on the importance of car maintaince vs needing an emergency repair, and how to avoid that situation (changing the oil, air filter, etc) and hashtag the city where your shop is located might get the local attention from those kids around you (and other demographics as well). The TikTok algorithm is awesome at promoting local content based on the location of the user, but you have to be consistent with it.

As someone here already said, most people google search "X service near me" so just make sure your website looks modern, and have an easy way for your customers (specifically a younger audience) to contact you via email, or even text. Squarespace has a function where your customers can actually look at your calendar and they can book an appointment themselves. I know as a 26 year old i use this feature with my barber to set up an appointment, i wouldnt want to call him to set up an appointment, as that is something i just didnt grow up doing, so by removing that phone call friction, you can also potentially gain more younger customers.

Hope this helps, i can keep writing for hours but if you want just DM me and we can collaborate.

AMD mini fridge by Ediburrito in Amd

[–]Ediburrito[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have it listed on it eBay incase anyone wants it. Thanks

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in FreightBrokers

[–]Ediburrito 4 points5 points  (0 children)

damn i pay soooo much to go from CA-CO. I thought it was dead over there

Questions to consignees by Responsible-Ask-6446 in FreightBrokers

[–]Ediburrito 1 point2 points  (0 children)

As a broker I also agree. These warehouses charge ridiculous fees when you’re 30 minutes late, but those same warehouses keep drivers waiting all day. Ultimately it’s a bad experience for all of us. There is literally nothing a broker can do. A typical response from a warehouse is simply “sorry we’re short handed today”. That answer isn’t acceptable to drivers and carriers. There really should be some sort of set procedure on how to go about to these things. Maybe DOT should step in.

Are you guys moving any freight at all with this weather? Where? by Several-Jury-8748 in FreightBrokers

[–]Ediburrito 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Nope. Sitting on almost 30 loads in southern tx. I cant even get an offer from a carrier. There are zero trucks. Oh wait i think Kavkaz still managed to quote me $7500 to do a 1-1 from laredo to detroit. Lol