How to be a Dispatcher,,, how hard can it be?

Don't strain your fingers on this. Seems most of the cry baby responses you get are from a bunch of steering wheel holders. Pros understand the business and brush off the bad apple.

Holders are stuck at bad companies that get the same quality dispatchers as drivers.

 

I get a few bad dispatches, get sent here, then told nevermind got there 50 miles away and pickup, get there and am told there's no load for my company. Call dispatch and get sent 50 miles back here where I was before.

And it's funny when dispatch sends me on a load saying i'll have plenty of time to deliver, it's only 1,000 miles and I have to remind him there are 250 deadhead miles before I can pick up the preloaded hot trailer which adds another 4-5 hours of driving.

I know I'm new and don't know everything but...you missed your lunch break? I'm eating a granola bar ad bottle of water while driving. You have to take your daughter to soccer practice after work? I'm missing my daughters recital and aside from video chat get to see her 4 days a month. you work from 7-7? I often start at midnight, stop long enough for a meal, shower, paperwork, and if I'm lucky 7 hours sleep then start driving again. Cry me a river.

I know I chose this and we all gotta start at the bottom. I got lucky with a halfway decent DM but still it seems they just try to make life difficult lol.

 

Then you are working with the wrong company, yet you choose to continue to work there. What is wrong with that picture?

 

Lol!!! I love you!

 

Dispatching and load planning has its share of challenges and annoyances, but it's basically a paper pushing job you put down at 5pm and can pretty much do in your sleep once you get the hang of it. It's not really comparable to driving at all in terms of what you have to endure without cracking and crying for mommy. Driving OTR is a tough job for tough people, steering wheel holding jokes aside.

 

Sometimes during my 20 yrs otr I felt the same way about dispatchers in general tho I've had more good than bad. I've been working in dispatch for a year and a half now and I'd much rather be in the truck. The constant phone ringing, lying freight brokers and brokers that want to know exactly where the truck is 24/7. My thought is leave the driver alone and let him do his job as long as he is on schedule. I've had brokers call every hour on the hour wanting to know "where's the truck now" when the driver has driven the freight halfway across the country and IS on schedule to deliver early or on time!
Maybe I prefer being in the truck because the company I worked with had Qualcomm and as long as you were doing your job they left you alone, no phone calls or Q messages to the driver. SOLITUDE, I loved it!!

 

I would not argue the point about drivers doing a tough job. I couldn't agree more. But dispatching done well is not a job you just put down at 5pm. There is more to it than that.

 

i use to dispatch 40 trucks a day.and was through noon everyday, very easy job

 

LSagent and bbboblitz hit it on the head, been there, done that myself and went right back to driving the truck. Dispatchers catch all the flack, or at least, a majority of it, from the drivers, planners, customer service reps and so-on. answering phones, satellite messages, voice mails, emails, contacting customers, Listening to customer and driver complaints.....just about pulled the hairs outta my head. PLUS....NO the dispatcher does NOT make any kind of commission/percentage on the loads you hauled. Heck, outside of all the crap that takes place in the office, I Had to leave and go back on the road so I could pay the bills. 6 months driving a desk was MORE than enough for me.