The "old timer named Ray" part really got me because I used to roll my eyes at guys like that. I figured if it wasn't in the current binder, it wasn't real, and I'd trust the paper over some guy's memory every time. Then I spent two hours chasing a chafed wire run on a 737 that a service bulletin had moved, and the print in the binder was older than my truck. Ray would've saved me the whole afternoon if I'd just asked. Now I check the revision date before I even grab a probe, and if the date is older than a couple years I go find the guy who's been on the floor the longest. Your shop should honestly make those old timers sign off on print updates, because that knowledge is worth more than any online system.

The "terminal lot is where doors get dinged" thing sounds like a line Ray has used a hundred times to send business to his buddy's hauler. I'm not saying the guy scammed you, but a dock worker steering randoms toward a specific company is a little odd, and the $400 gap could just mean the broker quote was high to begin with. Plenty of people book direct and save money, sure, but plenty of others get burned when the small carrier has no backup truck and your rig sits for a week. You got a good result this time, that doesn't mean brokers are a scam across the board. Sometimes a deal is just a deal and there's no deeper lesson in it.