If you are a vendor manager then you are one of the ones keeping the work.  The sourcing companies are not keeping the work...they don't want to do the work.  That is not what their business is all about.  So you are not getting the "crap" we are.  

As far as difference in Texas versus other areas, yes we drive farther than your folks in Upper MN and guess what we have snow and ice in Texas and the BIG kicker is we don't have all the equipment northern states have to make it safe to drive.  Our weather has changed drastically in the last 5-7 years.  We even had snow before MO, where I grew up, one year.  MN is 360 miles x 407 miles.  Texas is 660 miles x 790 miles.  They don't ask us to go to the large counties that we live in...they ask us to go to the small rural counties that have only 10,000 people so the possibility of having a second order at the same time is next to none.

As far as why would they go to you instead of an abstractor...well you stated because they don't like working with a lot of abstractors. Then you talk about basics and Walmart and why go to Whole Foods....which just kicked your original argument right out the door.  Realistically, if we were given all orders and now we could do some online, we could have reduced those orders at first with no travelling.  However, a small increase always has to take place to keep up with expenses of employees or cost of living. 

We are not a technology.  We may use technology that enables us to be faster but it still requires a "person" because they haven't yet developed a device to think for itself.  Technology is when a product is developed and first it is expensive because of all the research and development that went into it but after that it goes down because it is a one-time cost.  Until it gets to a point where no abstractor is needed, then everyone needs to put their foot down and charge what is needed to live and make a profit.  That is what a business is.  The companies can decide to pay a high cost every so often or they can give out all the orders and spread the cost over many.  The choice is theirs.  We only react to what is placed on us.

 BTW  despite the number of title cases have gone down Stewart profits go up 60%....is it fair for the company at the top to be the only one increasing year by year and at such an alarming rate.  How many of you would have been glad to just have increased 10%?

 https://www.thetitlereport.com/Articles/Stewarts-profits-climb-60-percent-74523.aspx