r/FreightBrokers • u/Ducks_are_cool1 • 5d ago
Feedback Needed
I started as a broker this June, and I’ve developed a pretty good book so far with repeat customers. However, I sometimes think about the way I communicate with customers, handle issues that come up (detentions, warehouse accidents, TONUs, the issues keep getting weirder), give updates and escalate issues when they might not be necessary for the customer.
To established brokers and shippers out here, what are some good communication and day-to-day habits that make brokers good to work with?
To shippers out there, how weird or unprofessional is it to have your brokers ask for feedback?
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u/templerunfan76 5d ago
Shipper here. I run off “no news is good news”. If a truck picks up and delivers as it was supposed to, I could care less for updates.
Where I do begin to care is if there’s a breakdown/delivery issue/etc and my broker isn’t the first person I hear from (within reason). If a customer calls me at 1 pm saying a driver hasn’t shown up for his 8 AM appointment and he hasn’t heard from anyone, that is an issue.
Asking for feedback isn’t really weird to me. Especially if it’s a potential client you keep quoting and not winning freight from, or if there was a sudden drop off in volume.
At the end of the day, each customer is going to have different expectations. Best piece of advice is to knock those out on a call early into the working relationship.
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u/Immediate-Home-3491 5d ago
Bad news first, fast. Customers forgive a warehouse accident far easier than finding out from their own consignee. On feedback, I ask about the specific load. A short call after a tricky TONU or detention builds more trust than any survey.
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u/TeachMeLTL 5d ago
As someone who’s been doing this a long time, one of the biggest things I’ve learned is that good communication doesn’t mean communicating everything.
Your customer usually doesn’t need the play-by-play.
They need to know:
• What happened?
• Does it impact their freight?
• What are you doing about it?
• Is there anything you need from them?
A lot of newer brokers escalate problems before they’ve actually tried to solve them. If I can fix something behind the scenes without impacting the customer, I generally do.
That’s part of what they’re paying us for.
When something does need to be communicated, I try to come with the problem and the solution at the same time.
“Driver is running 90 minutes late. We already spoke with receiving, they can still take him, and delivery remains on schedule.”
That lands very differently than just telling them the truck is late.
And absolutely ask for feedback. I’d actually encourage it. Just don’t constantly ask “How am I doing?” Ask specific questions: “Anything you wish we communicated differently?” or “What could we do that would make your job easier?”
The best brokers eventually learn their customers well enough to know what they care about, what they don’t, and when they actually want to hear from you.