Trucker Dispatcher Job Roles

You should have told them LAST NIGHT what time you were going ready to roll.

It's not what's happening right NOW that matters. It's what WILL happen.

That goes for driving down the road, trip planning, interacting with customers/drivers/ops, vehicle maintence, - in short all aspects of this job and life in general.

There are reasons that I rarely have trouble getting loads and getting home on time. Most of those reasons come down to communication.

1. I never call in unless I need am answer in the next 15 minutes or it's too complex to type clearly.
2. I read and follow my work assignment
3. I keep my etas and availability up to date with operations. That means re-trip planning everytime you stop. You many not think there is a difference between showing available at 16:30 with 3:30 on the 14 and 16:15 with 3:45 but there is. That extra 15 minutes makes more loads look "possible" to the computer algorithms that the load planners are using. Or, in you are in a FIFO market, that may put you ahead of 2 guys.
4. When I get an "impossible load" I assume it is a B.A.D. situation - best available driver. I send in my etas for my safe/legal with a quick message on why it's impossible, then roll. Calling to talk will only make you later. If dispatch doesn't like your etas, they van pull the load off.
5. I frame most of my requests in language that makes it appear that fullfilling my request is in the company's best intersest - "I'd like to get this fixed while I'm in home time to avoid an over the road breakdown" type thing. Its "help me help you".
6. I make my expectations clear AND I meet the expectations set out for me by the company (or have polite, frank conversations ahead of time why I will not).

 

Well done.

John, this is an example of being nice. Nice people do things in hope of a reward. Many times, a driver will put up with discomfort because he is hoping by his being nice, his dispatcher will reward him by helping him out. It's summer. You should have your AC. Not as a reward, but because that's part of the deal. Don't let them act like they're doing you a favor by fixing your AC.

Moose mentioned professionalism. That's you doing the job that you agreed to do in the timeframe they need. If the AC goes out during that load, I can see continuing on to get that load delivered, but once that load is delivered, no more loads until AC is fixed. Nothing about like and dislike and being an A-HOLE....this is business. You held up to your end of the business, now they have to hold up theirs. Your continuing to drive while they discuss your AC issues is you being nice.

Many drivers get into really bad situations with companies and can't figure out why the dispatcher walks all over them. Paychecks get funny, dispatcher tells you to keep driving and they will figure your money out. Suddenly, your paycheck is a reward for you being nice. That's not the way it works. This is business. You agreed to do a job in a timeframe they needed, send in your paperwork by a certain time and they're supposed to pay you a certain rate. You complete your end of the deal, they must complete theirs. If they renegotiate after you have started, and you continue on, you're being nice.

Can anyone tell what spot nice guys finish in?

 

The A/C system working is more than just to cool in hot temps. It is also part of the defrosting system.
It works as a dehumidifier, pulling the moisture out of the cabin. That’s what keeps the glass from getting fogged. It is an important system to have operating correctly.

 

I wouldn't say nice guys finish last, but pushovers certainly do. I'm very nice with my manager, but he also admitted "he's never been a driver and it's my truck to call the shots on safely operating". I know good fleet managers/dispatchers/ etc... are hard to come by, but sometimes you have to eat a little dirt, and then sometimes you have to be ready to stick their faces into the midden.

 

next time Do your pre trip off duty. When it’s time to roll go on duty 5-10 mins and show a pretrip. Still do a thorough pre/post trip. But still keep a schedule. Just because you’ll still have hours available does not mean drive all through the night tired. If you normally park it at 8pm do what you can and park it by 8pm. Doesn’t have to be so strict but you know your body. If they send you some load late in the day that’ll throw you all out of whack, trip plan how you would do it then send them your eta’s ask is that acceptable before just taking it.

 

Not sure how it is at most other companies... But at my company drivers make 33%-50% more than dispatchers... So do you think they are the bosses???

 

Your body will heat up your cab pretty quick.

My understanding (and I'm no expert, at all) is that once the cab reaches a certain temperature it should turn back on and cool the cab down, then shut off again.

Which is fine by me, as long as I can sleep I don't care if the truck is running or not.

My truck has a Freon leak. When I add Freon it idles fine. When it runs out it own turn on at all, even to just blow warm air.

I don't like the idea of rolling windows down if its 70 degrees outside because we keep valuables in the truck. And often it wont get down to 70 degrees until very late at night, or in the morning when we should already be asleep.