Is Dispatch training required?

I actually interviewed to become a Dispatcher for a morning at a company and I thought it went well. But the young one that interviewed me was intimidated. A little bit.

I had a feeling the office was PC (Poltiically correct and needed hard young pretties inside of it rather than crusty warriors fresh from battle on the big road.) A year later they relocated out of state. *Shrugs

The actual questions of the interview essentially came down to can you work a computer? Hell yes I build em. Can you work a phone? Sure Bill collectors call all the time. If that is not qualification I don't know what is.

 

I think your evaluation of the actual / essential interview questions are right on point.
Without question the number one qualification is " Are you computer literate? "
And I'm also most certain there is a summing up by the office manager of weather you can be hoo rah'd by a 24 year old.

Your post does raise a very valid point, seasoned drivers, many that lose their card, becoming dispatchers. I've heard of it, never seen it. Schneider had some, and just like the regular DM, would make your skin crawl.

I think if your a stand up guy. " I do what I say ", you are basically unqualified to dispatch.

We have one really good one that works at night. There is another guy ( early 40's late 30's ? ) that is training that will probably be good.

Your also looked at in the interview as " Would this guy make a good pimp?"
Cause that's what they are.

 

Several companies I worked for had ahem family members who lost the class A via dui etc and they end up being issued a desk and phone to make a new life. But usually there was the owner a relative or something issuing the load information for 5 days to run around or whatever, essentially LTL or series of entire truckloads.

There are some like that I would imagine.

My favorite way to evalute a office staff is real simple. Show up in regular clothes, talk to someone about something and if the staffer tried to brush me off with a BS platitude I will hollar at him or her "Bull---- at the top of the voice. So the whole office will hear.

One of two things will happen, they will scurry like rabbits into the cubicles or a bigger officer will emerge from the corner office, someone with real company authority come up to me and say is there a problem? So it can be fixed in some ways, maybe via firing, maybe via money, maybe via another poor driver told to take the trailer and go. Or something else.

One office had a man in a suit who was told to make me go away because I just come from Alabama 110 degree heat all week in the south and it was not acceptable to the suits in 58 degree air conditioning. I was beginning to look for another company at that point. It rubbed me the wrong way.

Ive wondered if I was always such a Savage running amok in genteel company who cannot stand a lout or monster who can drive something they cannot or something I don't know what it is.