I had a carrier email me this past week about an issue she was having with detention, and I wanted to share her situation so you can solve the same problem when you inevitably run into it.
Email from carrier to Paul: "Good morning Paul, I have a quick question for you. I have a load that just delivered and the total on the Rate Con was $550. My driver sat at the pickup for almost 5 hours yesterday. I've been requesting an updated Rate Con from the broker to add detention since yesterday and haven't received it. The Rate Con states POD to be sent upon delivery and now they're requesting it. The problem is I've been burned twice in the last week on detention, so I'm hesitant to send it over without an updated Rate Con. This broker has never burned me, but it's sketchy that it's this difficult to get a new one. What should I do?"
My reply back: "Good morning Tammy, what I suggest is calling the broker and telling them: 'I have your POD in my hand and I'm ready to send it to you right now with one click, but you owe me $150 in detention, and I'm not going to click send until you send me a revised Rate Con with the added detention for 3 hours (3 hrs x $50/hr). If you can't send me the updated Rate Con with the detention added, I'll need to talk to your manager. I need to be compensated for the loss of use of my time and my truck sitting due to detention at the shipper.' Tammy, that's word for word what I'd say to the broker when you get them on the phone."
Conclusion: This is a solid leverage approach when dealing with a sketchy broker. As always, you catch more flies with honey than vinegar — be professional and let them know you mean business without being a jerk. Follow the Four C's: be Cool, Calm, Confident, and in Control of yourself. If you can follow this approach, you'll get the results you want.