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

dispatcher is one job i would not want

 

We'd love to do just what your asking. It's hard to find quality dispatchers who will take pride in their job and not goof around on the internet all day. But you can't just hire any driver...or anyone for that matter off the street though. Our dispatchers have to be very capable of multi-tasking, and handling ever changing conditions on the fly.

Our sales staff have to prove to be educated; professional in both appearance AND mannerisms, and knowledgable of the field and how best to secure freight for our o/o's. A lot of the problem you see in the industry today is from inexperienced people thinking they can just come in and half ### it and make a living in this industry. It's part of the reason why you see such cheap freight. The vast majority of these idiots making the sales calls don't know what it takes to survive as a driver day to day. they could give a flying frog whether you get paid decent or not. They keep their job so long as they get the freight...whether it pays $.82cpm or $3.00 per mile.

If you know of people interested in giving it there all and taking pride in their work...have them get ahold of me and I'll get them an application packet to fill out to keep on file for when we expand our operations later this year.

 

I must be under a luck star or something, but the dispatchers at my home terminal go out of their way to take care of me. They have even put me in for pay that I did not know I had coming and routed me to keep me rolling for the most part even during the slow periods. I work for a major company, and so far, I have been treated good and have no complaints

I have sat with my dispatcher, he was talking to me, and in the space of 5-10 minutes, he had several calls, qualcomm messages pinging up and being answered left and right, and still had time to answer my questions and take care of me.

I know I am lucky, just wanted to put it out there that I appreciate the work mine puts out for me.

 

Sounds like someone wants an extra day of home time this set!

 

I worked for one of the BFIs for over 16 years. They were a fantastic 450 truck company when I started and I worked my way up from driver to dispatch. I eventually became operations manager and did sales for a couple years. Most of the first 8 or 9 years out of the truck I would haul loads on the weekends and vacations just to make the same money I had been making driving. I finally made it to my goal of terminal manager. In 2008 we mutually agreed to part ways after the economy was in the toilet and I could no longer support the "companies vision" (read poor treatment of drivers).
Why more drivers don't become dispathers you ask? They get the job and hate it. I gave at least 8 former drivers the opportunity to get out of the truck. So far as I know, 1 is still in the office. To be honest, being a dispatcher, driver manager or whatever you want to call it is a tough job. You guys might not like to hear it but it's a lot tougher in many ways than being a driver. EVERYBODY is ######## at you all the time. Drivers, customers, the boss, safety, etc etc. At some point most of them just throw in the towel and stop caring so much. Most of them are good people that want to do a good job for their drivers but either don't know how or just need to keep a job. If they fight, eventually they end up like me - out the door. I understand why the company didn't keep me and others like me, I could no longer support the policies they put in place but it's THEIR COMPANY.
I've been driving full time again for a couple years and couldn't be happier. I run under my own authority now and love the freedom to suceed or fail on my own. For any of you guys that think your dispatcher has a cake job, think again. Been there and done that. I'll take the truck.

 

I can't speak for the big OTR freight companies, but at my company, I:

1. Answer the phone to book loads, ask for loads, call the tire man, give ETAs to the shippers & consignees, get directions for drivers, re-route drivers when they get to leases with no oil (crude oil gatherers), set delivery appointments for OTR deliveries, answer questions for applicants who are looking for jobs, screen calls for my terminal manager, recruiter, and mechanics, deal with salespeople, and fend off bill collectors who are looking for my drivers, past and present ("He's a driver, and he's out on the road right now. No, I don't know his cell phone number.").

2. Enter load paperwork into the computer so that drivers get paid.

3. Advise customers of our availability for tomorrow.

4. Load-plan when we receive the loads for tomorrow.

5. Deal with vendors (parts delivery, tire delivery, oil delivery, used oil collection, garbage collection, tire techs, uniform service, Blue Beacon, Speedco, road service, Comdata, and an endless parade of salespeople.)

6. Schedule trucks and trailers to go into the company shop or third-party shops for planned maintenance/emergency repairs/tanker tests, and check on the status of in-progress work (to help motivate the shops to get the work done quickly), and schedule pickups for when those units are ready to hit the road again.

7. Receive visitors, and applicants.

8. Serve as the drivers' marriage counselor, financial consultant, babysitter, pastor, sounding board, and joke teller.

Now you know why I can't wait for my days off: so I can go out and drive!

 

What company do you work for?

 

Do it in your sleep?

No, you have to be very attentive at all times, and you must anticipate what can / could / will happen in the future.

If you don't, Murphy will make his presence known, in a BIG way.