Dealing with Dispatch (for newbies)

I'm not saying what your dispatcher did was right but you put the dispatcher in a position to throw you under the bus. For most it is human nature to try to shift any kind of blame. At least you learned a lesson from all of this.

 

I hear ya! Load planners were often the culprit when things went screwy. I would often ask my driver manager to look and see what the real drop dead time was on a load........ when I got one of those crazy overnight 600 milers......lol. He would get the DT adjusted on my QualCom if there was any wiggle room.

 

You deal with dispatchers the same way you deal with any other supervisor at any other job. If they yell and ##### at you, you better yell and ##### at them right back. If they scratch your back, you scratch theirs. If there is something your not happy with at your job, call them up and let them know how you feel. If they shrug it off, let them know your ready to put your 2 week notice or if its safety related tell them to put safety on a conference call with you all and explain the situation to them.

I don't understand why people act like they're being recruited into the army when they join a trucking company. It's no different than any other job besides different labor laws. If you screw up a load, they're gonna slap you on the hand with a ruler. If you drive illegal and cause a multi car accident resulting in multiple deaths because someone "harassed" you .... Big Bubba is gonna be your new dispatcher for the next 20+ years.

 

I do the same when I've a moment. I'm at SNI myself, and I always make it a priority to know who my bosses are. Glad SNI leave the doors open for its drivers to meet, at least over the phone if not in person, their dispatcher.

Thank you to the OP for the thought and advice; I don't plan to stay with SNI and I know I got lucky with who and how my dispatcher operates. I've learned a great deal simply from my dispatcher, but there are things you mentioned that I wouldn't have known or realized.

 

always always get it in electronic writing...

 

I've watched dispatchers at companies my trucks are leased to, been sitting in the chair dispatching and one thing that all of you need to learn is that loads get covered no matter if you take them or not. Dispatchers normally don't care, they are trying to produce revenue - a lot of loads are booked without confirming that they are going to be covered and this goes for the intake process where a company will get a shipment from a customer and not even look at if it can be covered - one company is really great for that.

I have, and so has one of my trucks taken a lot of fedex loads that are thrown to the 3pl and preferred carriers and there is a lot of latitude to get these loads delivered, only exception is FedEx Custom Critical White Glove loads and some Supply Chain loads (JIT).

But the real issue is that it seems no one sets a stop limit to their logs. The OP drove 500 miles and then was asked to take a load without understanding that 500 miles isn't going to go away with just a nap. When I was doing the OTR thing, if I drove 500 miles and unloaded, it was time for a reset, and I've been threatened by dispatchers because they knew I had hours left but I refused to take a load because I just burned 8 or 9 hours of my time and was in my reset mode. So the best advice isn't the 15 minute rule but set a limit to what you will do, 500 miles is an average so that's a good start.

 

I got a laugh at what you did with the QUALCOMM,lol.Anyway great post op.

 

I learned a long time ago to not trust anybody and to always have a paper trail. But sometimes I forget . But I'm hearing and reading this a lot... leave a paper trail/digital trail. Good to know.

 

I agree, now, but not everybody goes into this business knowing that they will be taken advantage of at every turn. That comes later. That dispatcher wasn't simply trying to shift blame, he set me up from the start. He knew there was no way I could possibly deliver on time, lied to me in the beginning, lied on me at the end, probably knew what would happen as far as FedEx and didn't lose a wink of sleep over it.

 

I do my part to have a good working relationship with my dispatchers.. after all.. I want to keep running and I need them to assign me loads...
I driver for werner, so whenever I, or all drivers, go to the terminal we always go see our fleet manager (dispatcher ).. cause they give you a free meal ticket at the cafe, and often other give aways.. like shirts, hats, beach towel, pens.. so, I have a face to face with my fleet manager whenever I am at the terminal..

If ever I have a conversation on the phone with my dispatcher or the shop .. I back it up with a message on the qualcomm. .. as per our phone conversation.. I will take this load and deliver as soon as I can.. however the load will be late and as I told you on the phone I will be stopped to take a nap..... also.. I send appropriate macros.. I send the macro for my ETA...

Also, I do not know why drivers do not turn the volume down on their qualcomm when they are napping or sleeping.. then complain about it waking them up... my volume is always turned all the way down.. and unless I am using the qualcomm the brightness is turned all the way down...

For me... I dont nap when my 14 hour clock is ticking away.. I only have those 14 hours to get my 11 hours of driving and getting miles and earn a good pay check.. so one I start my 14 hour clock I am all business.. and I know it rubs some drivers wrong.. like when I am doing a drop n hook at a drop yard and they want to chat... I dont.. I want to drop.. hook and roll... same when I am fueling.. it isnt a social stop for me.. I want to fuel and go...

I have never dispatched.. and have no desire to.. cause I would probably be one that drivers would complain about.. lol.. cause I would expect all drivers to want to roll and earn and not all drivers want to run hard... but, when I started I first drove for an O/O and he drilled it in me NOTto waste time.. and when he was pushing me I didnt always like it or him... but, I sure do appreciate it now... and I end every day doing the same thing he use to do woth me that bugged the heck out of me... I review my day and my performace to see where I left money on the table...