Any companies still have dispatchers behind locked doors?

My uncles drove in the 60's and 70's

I have a friend who drove 70-94.

Like I said. I do not believe it happened.

 

I think the question ought to be the other way around.

Are there any companies that DON'T HAVE dispatchers behind locked doors???

You know how bad those mean, nasty, smelly truckers are!!!

Maybe if dispatchers/shippers/r'cvrs treated us better, they wouldn't need to be protected!!!

 

I watched my dad back about 30 years ago grab the guy he was driving for and raise him off the floor and onto his back with a punch. The guy told him he was fired dad told him good i just quit and good luc finding someone to take his BS. The next day the guy called him and dad was hooked to the next load for him. The guy appologied for being an arse nd dad accepted and everything went back to business as ussual. I have seen this multiple times up until recently with the last 10 years. People have became soft whinny little wimps. Use to be that 2 guys would get into a fist fight beat each other bloody and then go down to the bar and buy each other a drink. now you whoop someones arse and the next thing you know you have a shooting cuz the guy could take his lumps and move on. Too many candy arses these days.

 

I was an owner operator for a medium sized company years ago. We were allowed to go into the main building, to conduct business, but 'encouraged' not to hang around. At the far end of the compound they had a 'drivers break room' that consisted of a table, and coke machine, and a few plastic chairs. Maybe a bathroom? Don't remember now, but it was not anywhere you would spend more than a few minutes in.

One time I was at the main office, and ran into a friend of mine, another 0-0. He had parked his truck, and called a local relative, who was on the way to pick him up to go out to dinner. It was easier for them to pick him up at the back entrance to the main building, which lead to the employee parking lot. You could turn in right off of the street, bang..you're there.

I stood and talked to him for maybe ten minutes while he waited for his ride, probably 50 feet away from the entrance to the office building, not in the way, not loud or rowdy. EVERY office jerk who walked out of that door to go to the parking lot would say something like 'Excuse me, the drivers lounge is over there..' (pointing across the parking lot to the nasty building far away.)
(it was getting close to 5 pm, and one or two would drift out every minute or so)

This is how most of these desk jockeys think of you.

 

I enjoy having most of the drivers stop by to say hey, or even call just for a quick visit while on their break. They know I have a job to do, also, and aren't offended when I work while they visit. It's my belief that if more were treated with respect, and as a human being, things would go smoother for all concerned. Sadly, that isn't how it goes, and I believe it's part of the reason I'm somewhat looked down upon by the load planner/dispatcher. Granted, that isn't my job, and I have no desire to be put in that position, but I do it when I have to, and the plan is already made up. I don't like having to figure out who can go where and who has hours for this load or that. On the other hand, I'm not ashamed to message the drivers and ask which of them can help me out, and I generally get positive/truthful responses from them.

 

Ever see the cartoons where the protagonist has an angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other, and they're both telling the protagonist to do the opposite of what the other says? Yeah, that's how I feel right now after reading some previous posts.

 

I'm sure there's dispatchers around the terminal somewhere. I've no real desire to go looking for one though. If i want a stupid answer to a stupid question the qualcomm works fine. That and I always Imagine something like this:
View attachment 62932

 

There are locked doors preventing access for just anyone to enter the buildings where dispatch at my carrier are located at. That being said, all drivers have access to dispatch 24/7... no armed security guards, no locked doors inside, no bullet proof glass. You are encouraged to come by and chat when you're in town. If you want to talk to your dispatcher's boss, he's there too. In fact you can usually catch the owner when he's not busy, and he does attend the Friday morning safety meetings in Springfield. If you want to see how load planning works, talk to the sales folks, and they'll arrange a time when you can spend a few hours with the load planners and see how it works.

When Prime bought out TRL in Pittston PA, the internal cyber-locked doors and bullet proof glass were removed within about 48 hours. I dropped by the place a week later, walked into the dispatch area to ask a question... and let me tell you the folks in there looked darn nervous to have a driver within ten feet of them and no physical barrier, LOL! The culture has changed there now, and they're a lot more at ease with us.

 

back in the late 80's TRL out of scranton ,Pa had a road driver in the yard and his wife was with him (not sure if they were a team) but anyway the wife had been in talking to their dispatcher while the driver was out in the truck and i don't know what the dispatcher said to the drivers wife , but she went back to the truck very upset.

the driver proceeded to go into the office and shoot the dispatcher dead .

this went through the whole industry and probably has alot to do with walled off dispatchers