Poaching customers

Rules concerning active solicitation (also known as ‘customer poaching’)

One of the reasons why the Exchange is a highly attractive platform for operating transport professionals is that we offer protection and a “safety umbrella”, so to speak, for valuable relationships members have spent time and energy building with customers. Grow your network as you see fit on the Exchange. Collaborate with anyone and everyone that will help you succeed. Be that a one-man-band across the country or in your backyard. A small company or one with a large sales force. Ultimately, you control what is in your best interest and we leave that decision, rightfully, in your hands.

However, the active solicitation of another member’s customer is considered to be a serious breach of the Rules, Regulations and General Policies of the Exchange platform. The Exchange relies on ‘honest dealing’ between members in order to facilitate the orderly running of the platform.

When you carry out work on behalf of another member on the Exchange you are representing their business. It is hugely important that you respect the confidentiality and the business relationship that already exists between your customer and their client. Therefore, if you actively solicit business from your customer’s customer, either during or after completing an order, with the express intent of enticing them away from using your customer, we consider that to be an act of ‘customer poaching’. 

Examples of customer poaching include the following:

Use of branded PODs

Whilst this can often be an oversight, carriers should avoid this as it can also be viewed as an attempt to poach a customer. Our advice is to avoid the use of branded PODs altogether – please use the Exchange mobile app and the paperwork which has been provided by the customer. If you are in any doubt, we advise letting the member who has allocated you the order know before collection is made (if possible) and follow their instructions.

Use of branded vehicles

Some members do not wish to alert their customer that the load has been sub-contracted. It is contingent on the posting member to make this clear via the system load notes section. If it has been made clear that the use of a liveried vehicle is not allowed, this will be deemed a form of poaching.

Cold Calling / Soliciting Business during or after a delivery has been completed

On delivering a load on behalf of a broker it is prohibited to proactively sell future services to their customer for a minimum period of two years and this obligation survives beyond termination of membership. This is due to the fact it takes a long while and substantial business resources to develop and maintain these relationships. All parties benefit from the confidence that our committed enforcement of this non-solicitation policy affords.

Solicitation can come in the form of:

• Advising the member’s customer at delivery or pickup to contact you directly next time;
• Exposing the price you are being paid by the member to their customer;
• Contacting the member’s customer directly without previous consent in any form while in their service or after completion of a load;
• Leaving a business card or any self-promotion behind at pickup or drop-off – if you are asked for this you should politely decline and point out that you are delivering on behalf of your Exchange customer;
• Marketing directly (email, mailings, flyers, or even cold calls) to end-customers on the platform. 

Whilst we appreciate that it can often be unintentional, members are advised to keep a running record of who they should not engage and clearly inform their staff of these restrictions.

How we enforce this policy

If a member suspects their customer has been either poached, or an attempt was made to solicit business in this way, they are asked to raise a poaching complaint and we will open an investigation.

In the first instance, we strongly urge members to engage with one another to review all the circumstances and agree on a resolution. If this is not possible, we will review the evidence submitted and assess the case in line with the following questions:

• Was the action proven to be deliberate?
• How serious was the action taken?
• Is there evidence* to prove the offence? If not, the complaint will be dismissed.
• Is this a first or repeated offence?
• Was the previous load completed within two years?

* In most cases acceptable evidence will consist of:

• Email
• Customer Account
• Photo evidence (branding & PODs)
• Diary evidence 

Once the complaint has been submitted, reviewed, and decided, that decision is final and not subject to appeal. It is important to recognise the severity of the consequences of a deliberate attempt to poach another member’s customer.  

To further help you and your staff understand this policy, here is a simple visual representation of how, in most cases, we will approach a poaching complaint:

• Advising the member’s customer at delivery or pickup to contact you directly next time;
• Exposing the price you are being paid by the member to their customer;
• Contacting the member’s customer directly without previous consent in any form while in their service or after completion of a load;
• Leaving a business card or any self-promotion behind at pickup or drop-off – if you are asked for this you should politely decline and point out that you are delivering on behalf of your Exchange customer;
• Marketing directly (email, mailings, flyers, or even cold calls) to end-customers on the platform. 

We highly encourage that if there is anything that you or any member of your staff do not understand, to discuss it with a member of our customer support team.