Why So Much Animosity For Dispatch Services?

@mc8541ss you’re right, it all depends on what you pay. Maybe 10% is crazy, but what if you find someone or some company that does it for 3% or less. In that case it may be worth it to some O/O.

And as @Dino soar puts it, you’re still giving away some percentage in other aspects of your business (Brokers, repairs, leases, etc.) It just depends how the economics of your company vs. your strengths are set up.

 

Let’s put it this way, is there a PRICE where a Dispatching Service makes sense to you guys?

Or is it like Driving your truck that only you can do it?

 

I commend you for this post Dino, no sour words, only on-point sensibility. You are correct in stating that everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses. I have them, you have them...I know, I know...there's a few on here that are so perfect they possess all the talent, brains and good looks to have it all. I didn't ride that train unfortunately. But I will say this; I've been in and around trucking, excavation, contracting (having been one myself in excavation,) and many facets of this industry going on the 40th season...and I still don't know it all nor care to.

I work like an animal at 56, still will if I'm making it to 76. It's my bloodline. No matter what I am involved in, I bull into it like I'm running out onto the football field with my head down. After I type this little rant, I'm going to move an excavator for a neighbor down the road (yeah, it's Sunday and I just came off an Indiana to Vermont turn,) and THEN bust out the welder and fix a trailer mudflap bracket and whatever else needs fixin'.

Between repairs, the actual relaxing time I get to drive it, and all the million other things associated with a winner's attitude, I'm a fairly busy fella. I for one am appreciative of a decent load finder/dispatcher due to the way I do things. I coordinated all of the loads to get me from home to Indiana and back again for last week, and it was more arduous a task to me than if I had to bale a load of hay and stack it I think. I spent the entire day last Friday (the ENTIRE day,) in this chair searching the loadboards for the right load, negotiating the rate, then doing the carrier packets which consist of emailing back and forth signed documents, have the insurance agent email the COI, send a W9 and a Cert. of Authority...on and on and on. By the time I got these 3 loads all finalized, my brain was mush and I was wore out. This is where the skillset strengths of a good secretary or any woman that's business/administratively savvy can be a huge asset.

Sure, you can do this yourself if you're running dry freight, etc., do one or two loads a week...and go basically the same place all the time and don't do 1/2 of what SOME of us do aside from driving the truck, but if you're a consiencous, determined fella that has other ambitions besides counting fractions of pennies per mile and comparing lanes and freight rates all the time as you life's ambition, then I think a good second hand in the chair to assist in finding loads and doing the pile of paperwork, faxing, emailing and coordinating makes a hell of a lot of sense in the long run for a few %.

I and my son here are working vigorously on an exit plan out of this industry, as it's very sensible to do so in our opinions based on what's headed down the road in the future. So time is limited NOW, to do other things to reach our goals. Again, having someone else doing all the paperwork, emailing, faxing, calling is a big asset to me, not necessarily the negotiation part...but let's get real on that subject too for a second.

Most every posted load on a loadboard has a pre-determined price, and the broker will only go so low as to not cut into his or her profit, based on what the shipper will pay them to do their jobs. So there's not a whole lot of High-IQ, Harvard degree-level of mathematical intelligence really even needed to negotiate that extra hundred bucks you may or may not get outa that joker (I mean broker,) unless it's a more specialized or unique deal.

I did run into that this week and I was dealing with (luckily) 2 very reputable brokers and I had one load that wasn't described right on the Rate Con. I ended up negotiating for more money to get creative on some changes, something that a freight finder/load dispatcher obviously can't do without your permission. In the end I needed to make that call, and it worked out for all parties involved and I made 2 brokers very happy with the changes that had to take place. I like it when everybody's happy, including ME.

So to sum it all up, what works for the goose, doesn't necessarily work for the gander.

If this was easy, everybody'd be doin' it.

 

2 many scam artists out there. At the end of the day it's my truck and business on the line. Tens of thousands of dollars on the line and in the hands of some lap top slammer pretending to be a broker. They have no skin in the game like the actual broker or O/O except a laptop and a phone. Ultimately it's the O/O that has to eat a #### sandwich if the load goes sideways. The flip side of this is ....would I like a seasoned professional help find, manage and negotiate/optimize my loads. Hell yes. BUT, there are too many scammers, posers and self serving liars out there just trying to leech off drivers. Basically they scrub load boards and pretend they have all these broker connections LOL. I have already busted out over 3 dozen of them so far. Just scam artists. They talk a lot of high octane BS lol. But when you peel back the onion layers.....the BS is revealed. Currently I work with only legit brokerages. Not wanna be brokers who want to skirt the regs and qualifications by calling themselves a dispatch service. It's kinda like getting legal advice from someone that does not have a law degree or any degree for that matter lol. Could I see a nich for a legit management service....probably so. But for now it's just over run with leeches and con artists.

 

I have a guy that's been trucking over 30 years who's out on workers comp right now giving me a hand with load coordinating. He by far is the best thing that's ever happened to me personally. He knows the business being a former o/o and flatbedder, he deals with the brokers/jokers and does all the necessary prep work for me so I can stay disconnected from the mess of dealing with these load board jockeys. I can concentrate on all my activities while he does all the dirty work and all I have to do is perform the work and send the invoice in afterwards. He's no professional, hyped-up best-in-the-business load finder or "personal dispatcher"...he's a real-deal seasoned guy that "gets it", and he's doing a fantastic job for me that's all I can say. It's gonna hurt when he goes back to work at his regular tanker job I know that LOL.

 

That is an exception to the rule lol. Many of the leeches dont even have ANY truck experience let alone and OTR experience to point to. They are just in it to scam, leech and mooch. I vet them pretty hard. Wish I had a guy like yours that seems like he knows what he is doing.

 

Hey, I'd be glad to share him, LOL. I'm actually trying to help him build a small clientele base so that he doesn't have to go back to driving to be honest. He's up in his 60's and has a few physical ailments, so he and I both discussed trying to help him build a small group of "qualified" guys that would use him to help them stay busy.

It's not like he went out and decided to try and leech off of guys disguised as a dispatch service; he and I just accidentally got into this because he saw I was driving myself nuts trying to tackle everything I do and do the coordinating too. He's been out on workers comp. from a shoulder injury and bored to death, so this is a great fit for him and me. He's taken the pressure off of me big time and I have no problem paying someone to do as good a job as he does.

I'll tell ya, he's a little too aggressive sometimes, lol. He's booked a load for me yesterday that I can't do because I have a problem with my trailer that I have to fix today and I can't (and won't) work all day like an animal on fixing that and then wash my hands and go drive 350 miles to load something tomorrow morning that delivers the same day. I did it way too many times over the years, I'm not 25 anymore, and I am just gonna pace myself today and fix this trailer, leave in the morning and do my thing.

I'll give you his number and stuff if you are interested. Just PM me.

 

It kinda sucks we all have to suffer for the bad. Not all dispatching services are scams. But I completely understand what you are saying and I do agree. However I decided to go into the dispatch business But unlike most out their I have been in this business many years as a carrier. and still operate as such. Just looking to spend more time at home. I have experience dealing with brokers and drivers as I have had several owner operators under my mc as well as a company driver. I understand the industry and am not looking to take advantage of drivers. I also dont try to sell new drivers that they need a dispatching service as there is nothing I can do for you that you cant do yourself. I know cause I have done it all. Its not that hard. However my service just makes things easier on the driver And also a huge help when time is an issue. or maybe they could use the time saved to get more well needed rest. or perhaps they would like extra free time. As a driver myself their have been times i could have used a dispatcher. It can be a cost saver for small fleets as well as convenient for single owner operators especially those that hate doing paperwork. Dispatching services much like brokers have their place in the industry and just like brokers you have good and bad ones.

 

If a driver can't tell that a dispatcher is a scammer, should the driver actually be a dispatcher then? I say this because my company dispatches for o/o and small trucking fleets. The reason they work with me is b/c after talking to me, they realize I know my ####. I know the industry. If you've been in this industry long enough you should be able to smell out the scams and the con artists. It's not hard, we live in 2018 and lots of information is public on Google. And if something sounds too good to be true, then it is.

That being said, I don' agree at all that an o/o should be able to self dispatch. The driver should focus on driving and driving safely. A driver cannot efficiently keep his eyes on the load board at all times, call within split seconds of a good load being posted, know all the lanes and the pay, get a recovery load if the broker screws you over ... all the while driving a truck, making it to appointments and doing this safely. A good dispatcher is the right hand man to the truck driver. It's a team effort based on trust and understanding.

Now it's obviously not efficient if the dispatcher is charging too much or even too little. Don't trust any dispatcher that charges very small commission. He's attracting you by the cheap price and that's exactly the type of loads you're going to get too.

 

Ex Driver is a great place to start but isn't the solve-all only solution. You really need someone who understands all the logistics involved in trucking. Booking loads is easy especially if you're just pushing the truck down the interstate everyday but making sure you're getting good rates, ability to think ahead and pre-planning your driver 2-3 loads out so they're not sitting is not always something you'll find in an ex-driver..

Even ex drivers don't make good drivers. It's really luck of the draw on if you find a good dispatcher or not. I honestly prefer to work with someone who's fresh to the business because you can mold them to your business better than someone who's already set in how they want things done.