question about dispatchers...potential good thread here!

Well said CondoCruiser!!

 

Yes i agree with everything said here so far , very good advise , thank's for for great info, this happened too me one night, i just sent all my info in on the q-com, empty call, mine was a female dispacther, real nice older lady, most the driver's like her, cause she keep you moving, she put me up c-m on q-com meaning call-me, so i did, i was always nervois when they send that , why i dont know , but i do, it's was my mom, guess my family the called the company and left a msg, told me my mom just pased away and she was getting me home asp, and working on that, i was in southern carolina, i was having a happy day , joking with anthor driver's at the dock, just a perfect day, till that,so she set me up i got 5 relays load's and got home or close 123 miles away, and my brother came down nd pick me,becuse at that time i lived in northen Iowa, i called her up and thank her, and she said , just take much time as you need, i ran hard for her, never refuse any run's , i just said okay just give me a week ok, she said ok np, she just wanted too know the trk was locked up in a safe place , i said yes and trl was empty, but yes work with your dispacther, there wonderful people and there too help you with too gain higher goals

 

I agree that communication will make you a dispatchers favorite driver, even if you have a few late loads. I always give my DM a ETA and PTA, and 9 times out of 10 I have a reload before I arrive at a reciever. Also, take the time every now and then to BS with the dispatcher. After all, they are human. Don't be afraid to be sarcastic at times and throw some humor in with your messages. I had a new night dispatcher start a few weeks ago, and I get along great with him.

And by sarcasm I mean something like:

"Can you bump up the appoitment time for the reciever? I could drive the truck in reverse and still make it on time".

 

Dead on the money about taking a bad load once in a while. No one likes to do it, but its not fair for the same ones to always have to do it either. Also, if your on a percentage contract. Dont get hung up on the miles. Less miles and more money is the key. You HAVE to watch your miles AND revenue, but dont complain about not enough miles. My guys worry about how much revenue they can turn in a week, not how many miles. If a driver that wants more miles will give me one week my way vs one week his way I will change his mind everytime!

 

correction: meant log sleeper berth when actually working not when not working.

 

Condo Cruiser... that's what I don't understand about my situation. I wasn't the crybaby type driver. I did whatever my dispatcher wanted me to do. I did resist a little when it came to being pushed to hard at first but than I just accepted the fact that my dispatcher wanted me to run illegal and no amount of complaining would do any good. So i did whatever they said. I ran, and ran. But than... once I had been with the company long enough for my mileage rate to go up, I started getting short runs. I was never late except when delayed by a customer (completely out of my control).

I shut down ONCE in Winter (my first winter driving an 18 wheeler... and I didn't get training in that kind of weather with my trainers because I started with the company before winter and finished training right before it). At 24 years old driving an 18 wheeler through NYC, delivering in Newark, Gloucester City, Boston, all those places... and getting after a while nothing but weeks of short runs that barely put food in my mouth let alone made me a profit (and they were more hours worked than driving the perfect drop and hook highway bound runs i'd love but don't expect to get)... I think that is one heck of an accomplishment.

Sure i shut down... but only once and it was ICE and it was multiple lane highway mountainous high traffic conditions with no training in winter. Not too shabby I'd say.

I wasn't a complainer, I did what i was expected to do. No accidents, no lates (except when completely out of my control), and I "made time" where time didn't exist... yet, i still got bad runs (nothing but them after a while).

The longer i was there the worse the runs got.

I see what your saying and how it would pertain to a highly complaining driver, but what about the kind of driver i was; not complaining at all... why did i get screwed?

I would've thought not complaining would've gotten me good loads and respect from dispatcher after a while?

Any suggestions? Should i have been more in the middle or what?

 

Also... i'm ok with taking a bad load from time to time.

But... when it starts being 90 percent of the loads I'm running, that's ridiculous.

 

My best was at Swift I ran hard when he needed me to, but if I said I can't he was like OK no prob. when I got pig flu and got pulled of the road he put me on leave of absence rather than quit to give me time to come back. Nice guy and we communicated when needed otherwise I just rolled.

 

So companies that want you to run illegal do it because that's easier than trip planning. It also indicates that there are issues with planning. The planners don't care if you have the hours and they accept whatever loads they are given. It kind of goes, load, truck, load, truck, load, truck.....ok I'm done everyone has a load. If you company doesn't suck they'll actually look at your hours, run you legal, figure out relays, get you home on time and stuff like that.

So my suggestion is that find a company that doesn't suck.

 

Location is everything. Certain cities are noctorious for not having any freight, so it's either take a short run, or drive alot of deadhead.

Case in point, if you off load at Americold in Beardstown, Illinois, you'd get a better reload if you deadhead up to Chicago, or St Louis.