Accountability

"...From everything I have read there seems to be absolutely no accountability for those sending out the work."

You're correct.

"...When you get a preplan (I think thats what I have seen it called) or offer of a load, how long do you have to accept it typically before it is lost??

Sometimes a few minutes. Sometimes a few hours. As a company driver your not being offered the load. You'll do the load or else. You'll have to have a really good excuse not to accept it. Emergency brain surgery that day or something similar.

"...Has anyone found a way to cover their rear when they do everything right but are mislead by the folks who drive a desk professionally?"

Take pictures of questionable qualcomm messages to CYA.

Good luck.

 

Yes it is called preplan.
Often times it has nothing to do with planning.


How long it stays on before you accept it depends on how good it is.
It seems the good ones get sent to a lot of trucks at once.
The bad ones, they will leave on you indefinitely.

They have a habit of sending out the same preplans to 10-20 trucks at a time.
Whoever accepts it first gets to keep it, gets pulled of the other trucks.

 

All you have to do is learn the system and put a little thought into it.

By the way... "As a company driver your not being offered the load. You'll do the load or else. You'll have to have a really good excuse not to accept it. Emergency brain surgery that day or something similar."
That is a totally false statement.

I turned down 2 loads the other day.
The first one had a pick up at 2200, delivering the next morning at 0800.
My empty call for my previous load was at around 1100 that day. But it was only 120 miles that morning to deliver it, so I woke up at about 0700. No way was I going to get much rest between when I got the plan and the pick up. And no way was I going to drive all night after being up all day.
And that was the reason I gave for turning down the load - I can't drive all night after being up all day.

The next pplan was just the opposite. Pick up that afternoon and deliver 2 days later, with a total of 300 miles.
I turned it down - too much time on the load.

The next one was just right. ~600 miles total, delivering the next evening.

As for trip planning for any pplan, it is your responsibility to only accept loads that you can safely and legally do.
If there is not enough time on the load (because Plus1 planning cuts too many corners) you simply turn it down with the times that you can do the load in.
So before you respond with that Mac 9 you need to do a little planning. You need to include transit time to the shipper, transit time to the delivery, all breaks you will require, added time for rush hour traffic or possible constructions zones, pre/post trips, fueling, scaling, etc...
And you need to take into account the probable route you will be taking, because many routes have slower speed limits or towns to go through. That adds time.
Then maybe add another hour just to be sure, if it's a long trip.

If your times are within the customers' requirements the pplan will be kicked right back to you - with your adjusted times.
If not, the load will be taken off you and you will be sent another one shortly.

Even as a company driver, we have a lot of control over how we run.
It is that control that lets you cover your rear.

 

It's not difficult to realize there's very little accountability for the desk monkeys. I believe their training consists of, "here's your computer, best of luck."

 

I don't drive for Swift, but when I encounter pre-planned routes, or straight line routing, I always request route discretion. I pick the route, not dispatch. I have made this extra important in the Winter when I need to stick to the interstates and off the smaller highways. Yes, it may add time. Yes, it may add some miles. My priority is getting the truck there right side up with an undamaged load. It's also nice to be able to adjust my route for road construction/accidents/etc. When my GPS shows me that upcoming traffic hasn't moved in 15-20 minutes, I can still do something to avoid it. Unless it's a government or high value load, Qualcomm routes are made to be ignored.

 

It's especially fun when you get a route in your QC inbox which was obviously copied straight from Google Maps with no effort to edit it whatsoever. Take a business loop through every small town. No filtering for residential roads, non-truck roads, low bridges or raised railroad tracks, tight curves or other obstacles. You want to know why I left your 'route?' Because it's moronic.

 

Well, you know a chimpanzee can be taught to push buttons, but I've yet to see one drive a truck.

 

I used to worry about all the deadlines etc. the pre-assigned is a company wish list,,,they wish you could just run it the way it appears,,,but you can't. I figured out 90% of the time loads have a window. Even appointments can usually be rescheduled. I let the people with all the people skills make the load work around my available hrs,,,not theirs. Even after a pickup if something isn't going right,as long as I notify them that I can't deliver on time,the problem becomes theirs,,,they can re-power or reschedule,,,not going to loose sleep.

Other things I have learned,,very few trailers are pre-loaded,,,get used to the idea..

the phone number listed on the load is usually connected with a sales or marketing person and you will get a voice mail...don't trust the voice mail,,,hell the guy may have quit 2 weeks ago...

Get to the shippers switchboard, ask for shipping ( or receiving) dept. Have your load number ready and ask if the product is ready ? Also ask for local directions to the plant and which gate or dock would work best. Become proactive ,,it usually helps..it is also a way to head off problems like no shipping after 16:30 etc...they can advise on local parking near the gate or something better.