I need some help. We are new to OTR and a national company. The Dispatchers, or as they like to be called, Driver Managers, are very different than I am use to with a local Teamster company.
Please tell me what makes them tick? How are they paid? How do we get on their good side? What do we avoid? How do we indebt them to us for future favors. What makes them look good and bad to their boss? Any advice, (From Experience) would be appreciated
Thanks,
TeamBobAndbev

The easiest way to get them on your good side? Don't do anything to cause them a headache. Do your job well and there shouldnt be a problem.

This is advise from the dispatchers side of things...

Treat them as you wish to be treated... And if you have a bad day and yell at them, have the balls to admit it, and apologize if you are wrong... that will ingratiate you to a dispatch faster than anything else you will ever do.

Bonnie

SO TRUE!
If ya treat people like you want to me treated it makes the job alot easier.

It's tough at times especially when you are having a pretty rotten day.
I just grab a chocolate candy bar and a Diet Coke and my smile and personality comes back to life...lol

__________________

I miss doing dispatch and safety work..... I miss my boys....

Bonnie

Yep. They love on time deliveries, no complaints, and teamwork.

Now... what makes them get ticked off?

The "hours of service". They never want to hear you are out of hours.

Late loads. Even IF you are dispatched 980 miles and only have 14 hours of line 3 you can use. And your truck is governed at 68mph. And they want you to fuel 3 times. And they want it done legally.

You want a way to make a female dispatcher MAD faster than all ****??? Make a pass at her, when you are both MARRIED to other people! LOL!!

I can tell you a few other ways, but I would be banned for foul language!

Bonnie

TA has the hot dispatcher, I think shes hot because she can be a real #####. I cant say anymore because it will be easy to figure out who she is. I don't know if she is married or not.

What a dispatcher wants is to know that when he assigns a load to you, that it will get delivered when it's supposed to and where it's supposed to. Basically, what he wants is to have his last contact with the load be when he assigns it to you. You have to develop a reputation with the dispatcher so that he knows how you run, and how dependable you are. You need to be able to calculate times and deliveries, and if there are problems, with the delivery, let the dispatcher know as soon as possible. It's not complicated for the dispatcher to change the loads and delivery times, but the shorter the time gets the harder that is to do.

In short, the dispatcher wants you to make his job easier, not harder.

I've worked for the same dispatcher for the last 4 years. He knows how I run, what I will do, and what I won't do. He knows that I will figure my running time up and call him if I can't meet a schedule so we can change a time or open up a bigger delivery window. He knows that I will run weekends if need be without complaint, and that I almost never throw surprises at him out of left field. He knows that once my fifth wheel goes click on that trailer, he doesn't have to worry about that load being delivered any longer.

And it works for both of us. I get my fair share of the good loads, and sometimes stay running even when things slow down. He gets the loads delivered when and where he needs them. That's the way it;s supposed to work.

That makes perfect sense and what I was looking for. How to make a dispatchers life easier.
Thanks,
Bob & Bev