It’s not easy to determine which of the haulage companies on your short list would be the one who will help you achieve your personal business goals. But a hauler being ‘perfect’ is only relative to your intended purpose—you will have to take a close, careful look at your individual requirements and see which company is the most suitable fit for you.
Analyse Your Reasons
Why are you looking for a hauler in the first place? Your personal business needs should provide a specific direction for your search, and will help you narrow down your list of haulage companies into a manageable few. Perhaps you’re trying to outsource your transport requirements, or you simply need support services that can work with your existing fleet of transport vehicles. That’s why being ‘perfect’ in this sense simply means being completely fit to meet all your requirements, regardless of the size or extent of operation of the hauler.
Attitude to Customer’s Questions
Good haulage companies will not flinch from a potential customer’s questions, no matter how exhaustively detailed the customer wants the answer to be. But the general drift of questions of this nature will usually revolve around the company’s history, portfolio of achievements, list of major clients, or any achievement the company has made in the past (any award for excellence, for example). The more established haulers usually make it easy for potential customers to get to know them by providing an informative company website that provides a detailed FAQ page to answer the aforementioned questions at a glance. If you ask the questions and the hauler’s representative seems not very willing or accommodating to engage in the discussion, that’s a sign to move on to the next one in your list.
Is Being ‘New’ Better?
Even amid the slow-down in the country’s economy, there are many new haulage companies sprouting up, each offering a new way of doing things or promising (or over-promising) a different level of service performance. The hype may be compelling, but without a track record of actual performance, how can you know you’re not actually walking into trouble?
Fortunately, there are ways to find out the service potential or even read a short history of the new company. For instance, there are online forums and platforms where customers like you—disgruntled or happy—share feedback and experiences. There are also exchange websites (such as the Haulage Exchange) that bridge the gap between haulers and potential customers by facilitating communication with one another in transparency. The bottom line, however, is that not all new haulers are ‘bad’ per se, but if you want to really be sure about the outcome, it’s often better to deal with more seasoned and reputable companies.