Pros/cons of tracking using smartphone apps

You get me my load due somewhere at such a date and time.

You already have the qualcomm on my truck to track it with and my dispatcher to call and get where I am in a few moments.

I get to roll in peace, undisturbed by silly smartphones demanding attention like brats that have not learned self restraint. I don't do apps other than what is necessary to silence spam calling. Im busy driving a very high value load and don't hae time to sit and yak answering questions already answered previously a hour ago. You will get the information when I am empty and out of the customer.

To wit, I had CH robinson access my emergency cell number to my cab on I-5 in northern Califronia. That number sat on the FFE's emergency contact only form deep in a filing cabinet in HR. Dispatcher accessed it and gave that to CH Robinson so they can bother me every 15 miles where you at. where you at where you at.

That particular cell had 300 minutes a month, promptly destroyed and then billing and fees rolled in against me for overages. Repairing the damage cost me more than it's worth.

That two hour episode of where you at in my life vs CH Robinson made some pernament changes in 2000. It will never happen again that way. We are not at War. There is no rush on this load and 500 others with me on I-5. It will get there a little bit later and slower because I have to pull over to answer the stupid phone. Which itself was eliminated a number built on the new one and given to just the spouse. The FFE got nothing. So if something did happen oh well....

 

All of those track the phone, not the load. No one needs to know where I am at, the need to know where the load is at. Mainly it boils down to do I trust them to turn off the tracking when the load is delivered. The answer to that is no.

If I'm a company driver it's the companies job to provide tracking for the truck.
If I'm an o\o I suggest getting a cheap prepaid walmart phone and loading said apps to that phone. After the load is over it can be turned off.

 

Does it tell you what dock # to back into when you arrive at the destination? If they are making a way to check in with less running around and waiting they would be a good thing, but for baby sitting? No thanks.

 

Bingo. "Mainly it boils down to do I trust them to turn off the tracking when the load is delivered. The answer to that is no."

I've asked about that and the answer is, "oh yeah, it stops tracking after the load is delivered, no problem". As though the 21 year old broker automaton that I'm speaking to fancies himself a tech wiz. Truth be known, only the app developer would know that for sure.

 

As a broker I rarely have any issues with tracking for drivers. Most are happy to take it instead of check calls, especially O/O's.

Our system does only track from pickup to delivery time, I get zero updates outside that window.

 

No offence, and I will even give you are being 100% honest with what you know. How do "I" know that the system stops tracking after the load is delivered?

Heck, how do you know it's no longer being tracked? Just because you, as a broker, no longer get updates doesn't mean it's no longer sending that info back to MacroPoint, etc. Just means MacroPoint are the ones that have access to the tracking, not the broker.

 

Well, you know, Zuckerberg and the others have been so open and transparent that their goals are to merely enhance the human experience and make the world a better place. They're not here to hoover up big data and exploit it to become even wealthier than they are now.....SAID NO ONE WHO HAS BEEN MARGINALLY CONSCIOUS THE PAST TEN YEARS.

I'm sure MacroPoint just wants to be our friend!

 

Absolutely no offence taken! All I can say is I've never heard of Macropoint tracking outside our window, and our in house solution is not designed to. You're absolutely right that it's technically still capable though.

Load tracking is a service my customers really value, and most trucks do not mind doing it. I'll even pay more for it on loads for certain customers.