Let's talk fleet managers

Sales is the one that assigns you loads but your fleet manager can coordinate with them to get advance loads if there are ones available with enough time on appt window when you get unloaded.

Sometimes they just will not assign preplan because you are in a hot freight area & they don't know exactly when you would be done.

Weekend is clueless & can only assign loads approved during daytime as sales is not there nights. If they didn't approve a load in your area beforehand, SOL JWF.

 

The last company I was leased onto I had dispatcher that would miss 2 days a week every month. Rarely did she have me a pre plan. Kept me running, I made good money, but I could not stand the helter skelter operating doctrine. And more than once when she disappeared for family crisis, illness, alien abduction, whatever, I was left with another dispatcher that would give me anything available, regardless of rate, just to get me off her board. I left that company. The owner & O/M were kind of indifferent because you made excellent money, but my view was every time I was poised to have an exceptional week, she would flake off, or couldn't find me a load. It was like they had the view " You made a lot of money this week, just be happy."
Well I'll decide what is a lot, thank you.

So I left. I was going back to the guy I was leased onto, that paid by mile & FSC, but he paid empty as well, and I was always home on the weekend, and about the longest I ever waited for a load was 15 minutes. He plans everyone out for 2 weeks.

I remember the company I started with always said we care, team, blah, blah, but I was at the yard a few times, and what I observed is most of the people in operations ran out of the building like it was on fire at 4:59PM.

A lot of these DM's are pinheads. Don't kid yourself, they look at drivers as sub humans. I wouldn't hesitate to ask the O/M for a new D/M, for one thing he's going to say give your current guy a chance, blah. blah, so it just doesn't always happen real fast.

 

Man, that has SO been my experience. My DM has F'd me time and time again. He/she/it is nasty, condescending, dumb, and totally inept. I get the feeling that I am viewed as a pest.

I've only been on the road for a few months (Swift), but continue to be shocked at how driver-unfriendly SUPPORT staff is -- especially my DM.

 

I cannot even begin to tell you what do in that situation with Swift, you should talk to some guys in the Swift threads. @Lepton1

 

I was fortunate to work with an outstanding DM while at Swift. Night and weekend coverage could be spotty.

I don't know how the system works at Prime, but at Swift it was possible to change terminals. Some terminals from TM on down were notorious for poor driver relationships, while others were very good. Changing terminals was more involved than changing a DM, but I knew several drivers that switched to the Jurupa Valley terminal. Some from back east.

 

You should at least get a Truck Ordered Not Used fee.

 

I agree ,it's not your fault they screwed up your fm is full of it , u should get paid for that bogus load , if not I would fire that sorry fm , he/she is trying to keep that $$$ for themselves , I have always got paid for cancelled loads or things that was not under my control , dnt let em get away wit that