How to Choose the Best Trucking Service?
Great quality is what makes the difference in anything that you do. Choosing only the best and making the right decisions when it comes to trucking service is important. Your freight must be safe throughout the transportation and your goods should remain intact. That is why we have created this useful guide on how to choose the best trucking service possible for your freight. Although it may seem that you should focus on an endless list of things, the point is to recognize and choose quality for your needs.
Recommendations can help to choose the best trucking service
Recommendations are always a good way to choose the best trucking service. Research can and will help you hire the best trucking company, for sure. However, a slightly easier way is to hire a company that has been recommended to you by a reliable source. Another company, or friends and family members may have used the services of a certain company and loved it. Ask them what kind of issues they have encountered with the transportation and how did the company manage them. You need a capable, efficient, and reliable NJ trucking service for your freight and one way to find it is through the recommendations.
The Internet is your best friend here
Another way to choose the best trucking service is to find them online. Spend a few hours searching for the best trucking service. You will find numerous websites offering a lot of things. What you need is a moving company that offers exactly the type of service you need. Once you find at least five similar trucking companies that you believe are good, you should compare them. Price, manpower, equipment, customer service, reviews, and other factors will help you make the final call. This will enable you to truly choose the best trucking service for your needs.
Always check public records of the company
Reliable Brooklyn trucking service companies have accreditation with the Better Business Bureau Agency. Other agencies can help you find out more about your new trucking company as well. Department of Transportation record for Compliance, Safety and Accountability score (CSA score) will also offer you a great deal of information. What you will find out here is whether the company has had any claims, negative reviews when it comes to maintenance, crashes, driver`s wellbeing, roadside inspections, hazardous material compliance, and other things. Once you learn about the company`s information the decision that you have to make will be fairly easy.
Experience is vital
Look for a company that has been in business for at least 5 years. They have faced countless problematic situations and know how to solve them. Also, since they last for so long that is because their clients are satisfied and happy. Most importantly, they can foresee any problems you may face and give you precious advice on how you should proceed and which option to choose. When doing business it is essential to have a reliable partner that will help you achieve what you want and need.
Excellent customer service is a must
Check out whether the trucking company you plan to hire is easy to reach. They should be available throughout the day, and 24/7 is the best option. They should give you their phone numbers, e-mail address, fax, and be available in person. Once you can reach them, great customer service is a must. When you call, chat, or e-mail them what is their business tone? Are they professional or rude? Are they knowledgeable or just rushing to the end of the conversation? It is easy to spot professional customer service so make sure to call the company first before hiring them.
Men power and equipment
One of the things that interest you the most when it comes to choosing the best trucking service is whether they have enough men power and proper equipment. Their staff must be knowledgeable, reliable, well-trained to perform their job, and able to resolve problems on spot. Also, if there are not enough people working, your freight may be delayed or damaged. This is something you don`t want to inquire about the number of men working on the freight. Also ask about the experience of the drivers, as they will be the ones transporting your cargo.
Equipment is another important aspect when you need to choose the best trucking service. A newer trucking fleet meeting all the regulations, that has passed technical exams is desirable. Although older trucks are not necessarily a bad thing, you will feel safer knowing that the trucks are newer.
Do you have palletized or loose freight?
Palletized freight means that your load will be stacked on pallets. The staff will secure it to the pallets and all in all, this is a much safer way to transport goods. In this case, your trucking company should own forklifts, hand jacks, and other pieces of equipment.
On the other hand, you can fit much more loose freight into a truck. You will not need as much space as you can stack several layers of boxes on top of each other. With this type of freight, your moving company will not need the equipment mentioned above but will require more men power. So, based on what freight you have and how you want it packed, you should look for these things in a trucking company.
Visit the company in person
Nowadays it is best to schedule a meeting and visit the company in person before deciding to hire them. This is very convenient as you want to avoid fraudulent companies that might just disappear with your cargo. When you go there in person you will be able to see in what conditions are their trucks, meet some of the employees, get an impression about their professionalism, and similar. Although it may take some additional time for your to do this, it is a great way to choose the best trucking service for your needs. Good luck!