First off, let me state tht I have worked for the same dispatcher for almost 5 years now, and I have never once had problems with him or the work he assigns to me. So I don't have the adversarial relationship that some folks seem to have with their dispatcher. But the last week or so is a prefect textbook example of how things are supposed to work.

A week agon on Wednesday, I delivered in Kalamazoo Mi at 8 am, and when done, called in on the phone. I was told that I had a load for Chicago for the nexty morning, and arrangements had been made to load it at 11am. I drove over to pick up the flour, and had about half an hour wait, but in return for that half an hour, I was home by 1230, and had he afternoon off.

Next morning, I delivered the Chicago load, went to the railyard and picked up a load for Kalamazoo delivering that afternoon, and stopped in to see my dispatcher. He told me that friday looked slow, so I could take Fri and Sat off, and he would give me a monday delivery in Kentucky that I could pick up and run on Sunday.

Monday morning, I delivered the Kentucky load, and as soon as I was done, the Quallcomm beeped with my next load. I returned the trailer to Chicago, and picked up a load of starch for delivery Tues morn. The receiver had an open delivery time of 8 am to 3 pm, but if I needed to, I could make a phone call and open the windown up to 11pm. So I had my choice of up to 15 hours to make the delivery. I made it at 9 am, then made a phone call for my next load.

Next load would be a pickup of wheat on Wed morn, about 45 miles from home, and I was told that they would be milling it as we loaded, with about a 6 hour loading time. I spent the afternoon at home, then I was there the next morning, picked up the load and when it was ready left for Lancaster Pa, arriving there on Thursday morn. After unloading there, I made a phone call, and was told there were some loads from Fostoria Ohio going to Teutopolis Il, and they had open pickup times and open delivery times. I would know for sure as the day shook down later.

A couple of hours later the phone rings, and I find out the terminal in Illinois has already assigned trucks to the Fostoria loads, but that the mill in Augusta Mi had just added on a load for delivery in Chicago at 8 am Friday, and could i cover it. I figured up my schedule nd said that I couldn;t amke that, but could do about 10 am. My dispatcher called the shipper and informed them of this, and I took the load, loading early friday. i delivered it on time and then picked up the load of sugar that is out in the trailer right ow, which will deliver Monday morning.

Now, note that throughout this time, if there was a chance to get me home for an afternoon and night at home, we did just that. The one load that was going to take a long time to load was something that we planned on, and for which I was paid detention time. Coming back from PA, we looked at various possibilities before they were confirmed, and i kept him apprised of how many hours I had available to do things. When the one load came up that I would not be able to cover at the requested time, we went back to the shipper and told them the time we could do the load.

All along this time, we talked and coordinated what was going to happen. it wasn't just him assigning me loads with no input, but was discussed and agreed upon, and I had the option of saying that I couldn't do things at the requested times. There were no wasted hours, or 300 mile loads with 2 days to complete them. We kept the truck rolling and working, and I clocked in close to 3000 dispatched miles. In financial terms, I made about 1500 for the week for my efforts and though I spent 4 nites in the truck, I had Wed afternoon and nite at home. I had a full two day weekend bookend the week, and the day that work was slow I took the day off and ran a weekend day instead.

This is how it is supposed to work, and a good example of what can be done when the driver and dispatcher work together, not against one another.

After reading so many negative posts about dispatchers, I was so pleased to read this. My friend has this type of relationship with his dispatcher, and has similar results. They communicate well, Bud accepts the occasional #### load by simply saying, "let's git 'er done", and as a result, his dispatcher keeps him moving.

You're right, Burky -- it's the way it's supposed to be.

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Yep thats the way it should work ideally. It seems that I hear so many people complain about how their dispatcher is a jerk, dont understand, is not a driver, dont care, etc...... and granted, some of them probably dont, they just want to get the freight to where its supposed to go to make themselves look good. But there is alot that goes on behind the scenes that drivers dont see, they only see the negative and how it impacts them. If you get a bad load just deal with it. Try to have good communications and attitude with the person that puts the money in your pockets and understand that all loads cant be the gravy loads

The only thing I don't like about my dispatcher is she wants no phone calls. Wants everything on qual comm. We are dispatched by CSR's not fleet managers. I had a CSR lighting up my urgent lite on the dash for stupid reasons the other day. I was on a very tight schedule and did not have time to keep stopping to read stupid messages. The load was an open window on delivery. Load assignment had no directions available and I called the cons for directions and they told me to be there between 8-3.

This was a 2 day run and 6 hours before I get there (my eta I had a 1 hour cushion to make it) CSR decides to butt in with info. Must be there by 2. I had to keep pulling over to read these messages and called my FM. She said well only stop if it is a urgent message. Well tell the CSR to quit sending it as such! Ended up getting another beep. Pulled over and message was let us know if you need to reschedule for next day. Last straw I was ticked! Sent back go ahead your making me miss the window anyway. Sad part was got there at 1430 with a half hour to spare, but no; now it was on for 8-3 the next day!

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A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels:

My hubby has had a couple of WONDERFUL dispatchers!

Tom was a dispatcher for Roberson when it was still Roberson. I never got to meet him face to face, but I LOVE that man! He made sure he got my hubby home on a regular basis, and he kept in touch with everything going on! He was an older gentleman, and had been a driver. My hubby is the Great Non-communicator, and this guy believed in communication. So when he couldn't get an answer from Guy, he called me!

With Tom, I was required to call in before I left on a "long" excursion, and when I got home. I once had to take a Greyhound back to Visalia CA from Youngstown, OH. Since I got off the bus with no cell phone, I was REQUIRED to call dispatch on the 1-800 number from every transfer, and when I got home!

My hubby thought the world of him, and it was entirely mutual. My hubby did alot of #### jobs for him, but in return, had his undying respect, and when he got home, he was HOME and to be left ALONE!

Laurie is one person there is no explaining. She was like a sister to my hubby. And they got along great. She did her job well, and so did he.

I truly hope one of them is reading this.. they deserve to know they are still thought highly of!

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I have a wonderful dispatcher too. I go the extra mile for him, but when I have something that needs to be accommodated, he will go the extra mile for me. I enjoy working with him, and I feel he appreciates the work I do for him.

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i feel that i work well with mine also. last month when i got back from hometime (it was the opening of archery season here) we had a Q'com conversation about both of our first hunting excursions of the year while waiting to get a load assignment from the LC's

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tip for new truckers: to err is human, to forgive is not D.O.T. policy.

I have been working with the same dispatcher for three years and i can honustly say i can't remember the last time i had to wait for a load, he has a load for me before i even make the delivery. I think in the past year the longest time i spent wait for a load was no more then two hours.

ZHL, are you a driver or dispatcher for ZHL? Your profile says Trucking Industry...

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I'll start with my most recent experience with a true dispatcher for the last OTR company I worked for. There were three dispatchers in the 3.5 years I worked for this company. The first was Bob...he was very good and thought ahead of the game always. Knew from experience just how far it was from one point to the other and how long it took a truck to make the trip. He never was a truck driver, just one of those gifted guys that had a thing for being a good dispatcher. I ran hard, but I made a LOT of money running for Bob.

Bob got a promotion and I was given a Palmolive Soap Green kid just out of college. He went as far as to try to run my log book for me...he just didn't understand how drivers got to pick-up more hours at midnight...old HOS rules here folks. To add insult to injury with this youngster, a bunch of us were shut down due to bad weather(snow) in Laramie, Wyoming. They had the gates up and nothing was moving. I made my morning check call and told him it was snowing and I couldn't go anywhere. He tells me to "Go chain up" and get going. Company policy also stated that our chains were just to get us to safe haven and get it parked if it got too bad. I had to call Bob and have it explained to the youngster that when Wyoming decides it's too bad to move...you sit till it gets clear enough to drive again. At the end of this particular run, after watching my miles go from mid 3000s to barely above 2000 for the week, I fired this dispatcher for economic reasons and was given to an old hand dispatcher for punishment. I held on for 2 months before I did this.

Enter into my life on the road...Ed. I had to call Ed and tell him I was new to his board...Ops manager hadn't even informed Ed that I was being put on his board to serve out my sentence for firing the youngster. I'm on my way back to the home office at this point, and I get to meet with Ed personally. It helps that a friend of mine is also on Ed's board and a Viet Nam Vet to boot. Come to find out, Ed is an old VNV and has most of the other Nam Vets driving for the company on his board already. Punishment(my sentence) just wasn't that bad after all. I made very good money and was only sent to NYC twice in the 2.5 years I ran for Ed. My request for no NYC and Ed did his best to never send me there if he could help it. I didn't mind running the East Coast, but if you kept me out of that city, I was even happier.

Next came the...Untimely demise of about 40 solid truck drivers. Ed gets burned out and quits...within 6 weeks, 40 of the 60 guys that were on Ed's board also turn in our keys and fuel cards because we just can't get anybody in management to listen to us in regards to how our new dispatchers are treating us...miles and runs wise. Seems they(management) had come up with one of their "No reason for it" rules that said you couldn't switch dispatchers even if there was a problem...like not making any money. I guess a lot of us were just "Spoiled" by a guy (Ed) that just did his job and tried to make his drivers happy by keeping them busy when they were on the road...and getting them to the house when the time came for that.

Since my OTR days I've driven for 2 private fleets and haven't really had a "True Dispatcher" again. Sure, I've been dispatched, but with each of these companies, I either had a set run (LTL) that didn't change all that much...or I'd see my boss first thing in the morning and get my daily assignments that way. Last job was a construction company and wherever the work was that day or week, that's where I went...either with a low-boy and a piece of equipment or a dumptruck to move material.

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Big Red



Freedom wasn't won with a registered gun.