Have you ever bought a pair of cheap shoes that lasted about a week before they fell apart? What about a cheap dinner? Surely we can all agree that a fast food dollar menu deal isn’t nearly as high quality as a five-star restaurant. Cheap cell phone chargers last about a week and become useless, cheap pens run out of ink…the list goes on…

In the freight industry, especially as third party freight brokers, HG Logistics employees often hear customers say that they want their freight moved for the lowest rate. I can’t imagine trying to count the number of times I have heard “You weren’t the cheapest” or “I can get it done for less” or “Match this other guy’s price and the load is yours”. Many of us understand the idea that a penny saved is a penny earned. I think that we are forgetting to ask one major question, though; Is going cheap the same thing as saving?

What it looks like to use the “Cheap” guy:

Freight customers who go for the low bidder often fall victim to the following scam. A cheap truck will accept your load until a better paying job comes around. If you’re lucky, they’ll call you and let you know they can’t pick up your load, usually with a “flat tire” or “broken reefer”. If you’re not so fortunate, you’ll get a call from your shipper asking why no one came to pick up…now the clock is ticking…you have to log the extra time securing yet another carrier to accept your load. This time, you’re probably going to pay more. Not only that, you’re losing productivity. While you could be invoicing, collecting payments, taking the afternoon off, you are stuck on the phones negotiating truck rates on the same exact load as yesterday. You end up with a late load, if it even picks up on the right day, an annoyed shipper, impatient receiver and your mood is probably suffering as well. The tension that comes with going cheap is starting to mount, and so is the cost. You’re on the hook for the late load, you’ve wasted your day away, you’ve paid more than you should have for your truck and you might even be accountable for the extra hours that the guys on the dock are working to get your product on and off the truck. This might not happen every time. Other times, the cheap guy might send in a dirty trailer for your food load, or a trailer with holes in the floors. Maybe they’ll send in a flatbed to pick up your step-deck load, causing on-site production to grind to a halt. More losses. Ouch.

What it looks like to use HG Logistics

Ask our customers, they’ll tell you. When you choose HG Logistics, a third party freight broker in Cincinnati, Ohio, you’ll thank yourself. You might have to pay just a little more than you would for the cheap guy, but you’ll save in the long run. We don’t sell our cheap rates, we sell our quality service. HG Logistics fully investigates the carriers that we allow to move our freight. We assure you that our professional and courteous drivers will pick up your load on time, with the correct equipment. Your load will be delivered flawlessly and we will communicate with you throughout to be sure that you are abreast of the status of your product. We won’t leave you with a load to scramble to cover at the last minute, and we won’t lie about even showing up. You’ll have satisfied shippers and receivers because we will send in clean, safe trucks and trailers and drivers who respect you and take pride in their work. You will have the same friendly point of contact in our office to work with each time, and you can rest assured that our small, yet efficient dispatch team will work together to be sure no matter who you reach, everyone is on the same page. You’ll be satisfied with your decision.

I don’t know about you, but I like for the soles of my shoes to stay together, so paying just a bit more sure is worth the value in the long run.

If you’d like to learn more about saving money by choosing value, give HG Logistics a call at 513-244-3026