Macropoint cell phone tracking

203 and comments in a FB group on this topic If you belong to a service related industry give the service required!


If someone is paying good money and they require you to be tracked, Not a problem because a good agent will remember the company/owner that went the extra mile.

 

My phone is my personal belonging and I have right to refuse tracking. They can deal with my dispatch to get my current location. Why do I have to let somebody to put in my phone some kind spyware? And then they can access data on my phone. Many times they asked me to use tracking but I always refuse , deliver load and no problems.

 

That's ok if you're a company driver. If you're running a business you ought to rethink that. The customer doesn't care how often you're surfing porn on your phone. They're paying the freight and would like to be able to pull up on a computer screen your general location with a few mouse clicks. As opposed to calling a dispatcher who doesn't have a clue and wasting time playing phone tag.

 

I have a policy with most things I consider are important. 2 is 1, 1 is none. This relates more to critical equipment and survival than most anything else. Simply put it really means that, if it is important, you need a back up. Be it a back up tool/devise or back up plan. If it is important to your success then have a back up. This means that I if I carry a small pocket flashlight because at night my life could depend on me being able to see, (or to be able to be seen) then I'll have 2 in case the primary one takes a dump right when I need it most.

Why am I telling you this? Because I carry a cell phone to run my business. What do I do if it takes a dump Friday afternoon at 4pm in the middle of west nowhere? Simple. I reach in my glove compartment where I have a spare cell phone that I charge every Tuesday and Friday. I call my cell provider and have them forward all the calls from my primary phone to my back up (Which is just a very basic non-smart version) and order a replacement of for my primary to be shipped to me wherever I'm going to be in the length of time they tell me it will take for the phone to reach me.

So how does this affect this conversation? Simple, when you take a load and they ask for your cell number, just ask them if they are going want to use the phone to track you. If they say yes, just give them the number to the back up phone. Let them track it if they want. If they really do snoop into your call history or address book there will not be much if anything there. Your internet history? On a non-smart phone... What internet history? After the first message to accept the tracking, put the ringer on silent and you'll never even know they are sending you more messages. Just remember to turn the ringer back on if you give the # to anybody else and actually want to get the call.

Having a spare cell has really come in handy for me a few times. The very best idea is to get it on a different carrier than your primary phone. Even the best provides can have a system wide outage occasionally. And of course it is going to be right then that you need to make a very important, possibly even life saving, call. Having an alternative provider to be able to use might make the difference. You can get one of the prepaid versions for just a few $ a month if you don't actually use it at all or much.

Hope this idea helps some...

Edited to add: One thing I forgot to mention about having a spare phone... You can use it sort of like a walki-talki when you have somebody spotting you when backing. I put on my bluetooth headset, dial my # on the spare and hand it to whoever I can get when I'm in a bad spot... in the dark... while raining, (You get the idea). They can talk to me and me to them so I can tell them what information I need. It is much more effective than hoping they have some clue as to what they are doing back there and me getting frustrated because I'm not getting the info I need. Saves aggravation, frustration, is safer, makes life easier.... And is faster than getting their number and calling them... if they have their phone on them at the time and if they want to give you their number.. Just a thought..

 

Then they should put a tracking device on their cargo.

They should not just expect to track someone’s phone without paying a fee to do so. Why should I pay the cost for the data for tracking for them?

 

Don't worry it's built into the rate....

(our favorite saying...)

 

The only broker that has requested this tracking software has been ATS and usually only when hauling crane parts. I reply to the text and let it do its thing. I still call/text my location updates anyway.

 

The way I feel about it is that its my phone. If they want to track 'Their' load,.. they can put a tracking device in or on their load. Not my phone. Thats not negotiable.

Hurst:smt111

 

They're paying several hundred or thousand dollars to move the load (or whatever the rate is) so where exactly are they getting a free ride? Using up your data? It's never been an issue with my phone what sort of plan do you have. Do you not have cell phone, interent as your cost? You're being hardheaded over nothing really. You're providing a service and some customers (read that shipper or receiver NOT broker) would think of you for not doing it as just another lousy truck, where the hell is it? What's it doing with my load? Just like everyone else out here working spot. And wonder why it's like pulling teeth to get a decent rate or why no-one ever wants to pay good rates with spot? Instead of making things easy for a customer you'd make them jump thru hoops to figure out where the truck is? If you were paying good money to move a load and expected this sort of tracking would you use someone again that left you in the dark? I wouldn't.

 

I agree with you, rollin. these guys are nuts. your cell phone can be tracked anytime is on. I could make a fortune with tin foil hats