DRIVERS!! Please have a candid discussion w/ a dispatcher who cares!

I dispatch tanker (fuel) drivers. I've been in the trucking industry for 2 years and I am concerned! Most drivers seem to think that dispatch is against them. That we don't care about them. I will say that I can see where they are coming from. I just need some opinions on how I can help bridge this gap between "office" and "drivers". All views would be appreciated!

 

Don't think or act like you know more than the driver !!! If you do think you know more than the driver slap yourself and think again

 

Most drivers don't know crap about the dispatching side and too many conflate driving with dispatching and the two mostly don't have anything to do with one another.

You're going to have issues with drivers and drivers are going to have issues with you and there's nothing you can do to eliminate them. The new[er] logging rules have made dispatching easier but drivers will still try and convince you that you are to forget about what the HOS rules say they can do and only listen to what the drivers say they can do. Drivers will try and convince you "I know best, forget about the HOS rules and rework your schedule to fit my wants and driving style"


Good luck to you. I feel sorry for you. And I'll say a prayer for you.

 

When drivers have an issue,sure dispatch might listen but soon after they sweep it under the rug.Same with other departments within the company.There really is no such thing as an open door policy when very rarely if at all does the company side with drivers.Op you really don't need us to tell you how to fix the problem with you and your drivers.I think you need to ask your drivers how you can better the relationship with you and them.

 

Cuz well all know drivers know everything, kind of like dealing with a 12 year old. I know,,,,Ya Know

 

The thing is your the bridge between drivers interests and the interests of the people in the office and also the needs of customers the thing is you have to take the heat for everything and most guys dont realize that I have always told are dispatchers dont take things personally because any issue you are going to be the person that takes heat for it most of the time drivers just want a simple explination the truth not some bs thats made up or just saying just do it.. I think all dispatchers should have to spend some time actually being a driver to know what we go through . And drivers should have to spend at least one day in the dispatch office to see what goes on but understand the fatigue associated with long runs.. But just be honest with your drivers try to balance their needs with the companys and if you can go to bat for them if there is some reason they need to be home at least ask your boss so at least you wont be the bad guy when they say know the thing is its a respect thing I respect my dispatcher because he treats me like a human and not a monkey holding on to a wheel

 

To improve relations w drivers dispatch should:

1.Always tell the truth.(period) to the drivers,when a dispatcher is caught in a lie the distrust begins.
2.Dont blame the truck driver for operations issues/mistakes.
3.Communicate,communicate..did I say communicate?..communication is key.If you know a driver is going to be needed to run over the weekend..tell him ahead of time,dont wait until he empties out and is expecting dispatch to the yard on Friday afternoon and his qualcom starts beeping w a load to Florida?..That kind of BS makes drivers mad!!

If I were to pick 1 thing I guess it would simply be communication..my operations Mgr has been key to me learning that important lesson,if my phone rings and im at home..i answer it..
I may not want to run but I need to man up and communicate..

open honest communication between dispatch/operations and the fleet/drivers is never going to happen..but if we try?...

 

Once when I was explaining to a dispatcher why a load was unsafe for me to accept, he turned to me and said, "Look, I'm not going to argue with you, I needd you to take it."

My reply, "I don't want you to argue with me, I need you to argue with whoever planned and accepted this load."

As a dispatcher, you can choose to be the companies advocate, to the driver, or the drivers advocate to the company.

A skillful dispatcher can do both most of the time, but if you do it dishonestly, you will earn a bad rep from both sides.

There will be times you have to pick one side or the other. Don't always be a yes man for the company, look at the facts and try to see it from both sides. Be fair.

If you do your job fairly and honestly, you will quickly become known as a good dispatcher. You will still get whiners, or those who try to manipulate you, that comes with any job.

But if you have 20 drivers and two of them are constantly whining, you know it is their problem, if 18 of them are complaining, then it's time to look at yourself.

I always believed every dispatcher should spend a week on a truck with a driver, and every driver should spend a week at a desk with a dispatcher.

When you see what goes on n the other end of the phone, it makes it easier to see both sides of a problem.

 

Biggest thing I have a problem with dispatchers? is the lie's, in order to get drivers to do what they want, Weather it's staying out longer than they wanted to,or swapping a load with another driver, And when a driver tells you "I'm tired, I don't think I can make delivery" don't try and push him/her to keep going, IT's their life and livelyhood on the line, not yours