Advice For Getting Along With Dispatchers

i dont trust there dir. i use a good map, but now that my wife codrives i bought a gps nav system (lorwrance i-way 500) no computer needed. it has helped out a lot gives ETAs, avg speed, dist to go, ect.

 

The quality of the info in your Qualcomm depends on the quality of the inputs to the Qualcomm. Where I work is pretty good most of the time, and the directions will lead me right to where I am going. Occasionally, things fall apart, because a town adds stop lights that weren't included in the directions. "Turn left at second light" doesn't mean much if they add lights to the street. And, if there aren't good directions, I call my dispatcher and read him new ones while he puts them in the system.

Lots of my customers have rail access, so if my directions aren't too good, I can look for tracks and navigate along them to find the place, and that works a large percentage of the time. I carry a good road atlas in the truck, and if I hit an unfamiliar area, I'll stop and pick up a local map if need be. I have quite a collection of them in the truck, just part of the game. I also do some lookups on the computer at home if I know where I am going and have access to home.

 

Most of Qualcomm runs on preprogrammed messages, to limit transmission time. Many messages are nothing more than a series of digits identifying that you are somewhere, or are doing some step in the load process. Each company can have their own macros setup in the system, so there isn't much pre learning you can do on it. But you will find that the majority of times you use the same ones over and over, so it's a quick system to learn. I think out training was about an hour or so, and that combined with the 5 days I spent wioth a trainer were plenty. It's a very intuitive system to use. (See, I didn't say idiot proof!!!)

 

Relationship with the dispatcher! Now there's a subject worthy of discussion and debate. In the last 7 years, I have had 7 different dispatchers at two different companies, and have yet to have a problem with even one of them. But, there are enough horror stories out there about bad dispatching to completely shut down the internet, and I am sure that a lot of them will pop up.

As for me, I come from a military background, and I suspect that helps me a lot since I worked with the detailing system in the military that gets you assignments. I understand that the dispatcher has a specific job to do, and I try as much as I can to work with, rather than against them. He's putting together a giant puzzle, and all I see is my small portion of it. By letting them put it together and bring it into one big whole, my part will come out and I will get my loads set up.

First, when things get mixed up, I may get 3-4 different messages telling me where to go and what to do, especially on Fridays when they are setting up the weekend and the following Monday's loads. I don't get panicky over changes, and wait until things have settled down to plan out my part of the schedule. Then I call and verbally confirm the plan, to make sure that no messages missed me and the truck. Once in a while Qualcomm can miss downlinking, and that can throw everything put of whack.

Secondly, when I deal with my dispatch, my word is my bond. If I accept a load, then it will be there on time, or as much as it possibly can be. If I get called and asked about a potential load, I determine a reasonable time for me to be there, and build in time for rest and traffic. We can often adjust a time of delivery beforehand, and it's easy to be early, but it's hard to explain why you are really late. The other side of that coin, is that if I tell dispatch that I can't do something, they know I actually can't make it work, i'm not just trying to get out of a load. I have a reputation with my dispatchers, and they know that they can trust what I say and what I will do.

Thirdly, whenever possible, I help them out with problem loads. I may go over and do an extra load that fell through the cracks for them, and all the price may be would be adjusting the times of a follow on load. Whenever I can help them with a problem, I do, and later on that sort of things is remembered and compensated for later on.

Fourth item, I communicate with my dispatch. A few months ago, I broke a rear spring under the tractor at about 6:30 in the morning. I was able to make it a few more miles to the customer, unload, and then the airbag held it up well enough to get me back to the shop. But the 3 calls I made were to my boss, the shop, and dispatch. I let him know by 7 am how it was going to interfere with my 1 pm pickup. That allowed him 6 hours to find another truck to cover that load. I let them know what's going on, and anything that might interfere with completing a load. I send messages as needed to inform them of what is happening, and do as much communication as possible to keep him in the loop.

All of these things, taken together, tend to keep him happier, and I find that I get very good loads out of the package. Since I am known to be reliable, I may pick up loads that need to be delivered at a specific time, and are better paying loads. It 's not a matter of sucking up to the dispatcher, but relating to them in a professional manner.

There are bad dispatchers out there, but either I have been fortunate or lucky, or I have found a way to get along with them. My 02.

 

I think you hit the nail on the head with the plan to talk to the dispatcher first. If he knows you, and you have talked about what your limits are, how you will be running, and has an idea of what to expect from you, he has a lot better chance of assigning you loads that work out to both your advantages. If he has to determine how you work and run from just the return input to his keyboard, it takes a lot longer for him to develop a feel for your operating style and personality. I've talked before and let them know my limits, such as weather and sleep, and we discuss potential loads before I take them so that the job will work out for both of us. And when something goes wrong, we work together to make the best of the situation.

A couple of weeeks ago, I lost a turbo in my truck. Got a tow back to the shop, borrowed a day cab for the Saturday stuff, and on Monday found a sleeper to use for the rest of the week. One evening, my following loads were dispatched to my regular truck just out of force of habit. He's been assigning my stuff to 3058 for so long, he forgot I changed numbers. When no loads came in at midnite when I finished my unload, I just went to sleep and figured I would call in the morning. I got a phone call at 7 am, basically saying "I goofed". (I cleaned up the exact phrase considerably!!). I wasn't in position for the loads, so we had to jump through hoops to straighten it out. I suggested something that I could do, that would put me into position to cover the second load, but about 4-5 hours late. We did that, rescheduled, and he found a local truck to cover the first load. There's an ebb and flow to dispatchiog, and I try to make it go well for him as well as me. It's easier and less stressful for both of us.

 

Have to agree with communication with dispatcher being very important. One thing I was never afraid to do with my dispatcher was to ask him to change delivery times. If I needed rest I would let him know before accepting a load, what time I could safely make a delivery. If he could change it, he would, if he couldn't, he'd send me a different load. I was never late on any loads I ever commited to.
Another helpful hint: Anytime you're going to physically see your dispatcher, make sure you're presentable. Make an effort to present yourself showered, shaved, and in clean clothes. Sounds like common sense, right? You'd be surprised. In smaller companies, it's noticed and appreciated.
My dispatcher and I had established a routine where, whenever I came back into the truck after some time off, he'd dispatch me on a load with lots of miles. One time, I come in and see a three hundred mile load as a preplan on the qualcomm. I don't commit, and go up to see him. I tell him, "You mad at me Bob? Can't you get me something with a little more miles to start out the week?". He tells me, "I know, but we need a favor. This is a new customer and we want to make a good first impression. You're one of our more reliable drivers and you're always presentable, so I'd like you to take this load. We want to put our best foot forward with this customer, so you'll probably be getting a lot of their freight the next couple of weeks. You're not dedicated to this acct, but any chance I get, I'm sending you to them. You'll also get a lot of home time cuzz their main distribution warehouse is here in town." Thinking back on it, Maybe he was just stroking me a little bit to take that crappy load. It worked. But it also let me know that my extra effort to make myself presentable to the office staff, was not going unnoticed, because I always WAS presentable whenever I was in our main yard. Sometimes just an acknowledgement of your extra work is better than monetary pay.