Trucker Dispatcher Job Roles

They only think they can give you crap work without being punished. I own my truck, my miles go down, I go above their head, NOW. I want an answer as to why and what the problem is.

To many ppl think or act like their dispatcher is their friend. They are not. They’re merely a coworker. But yet they take it personally when you raise a concern or question to THEIR boss. Too bad, do your job same way I do mine, and we’ll all be good.

Good quote I once heard, smarter people usually make more money. I told my dispatchers this, and that I’m pretty sure I make more money than they do. Got pretty quiet. Lol

 

From my experience a load planner is technically your “dispatcher”, working for a mega they’re probably at a centralized headquarter. The person you are talking to is your driver manager. They work as a team to keep you moving. The more money you make the company the more money they make. Your driver manager is the one that approves hometime, tries to get you on track for the company safety/fuel bonus, make sure you’re making you’re appointments and check why if you’re not. The problem lies in that you’re truck number xxxx and they’re in their nice air conditioned office. Your job as driver for a mega is to learn as I call it “The game” and how your company works. Learn your companies networks for shops, terminals, tire banks. Once you know that, your options open up. If you know you’ll be driving past a company shop call a head and see if they’ll be able to take a look at it. If ahead of schedule park at a terminal if you can and put it in the shop. If they say it’ll be a day, if necessary see if they have a loaner truck. You are the captain of the ship(kindve). As a farmer you know you must keep up with you’re equipment proactively. You can’t put the truck in the shop for every little thing at a mega. But you must at times go ahead and do what you have to do if you’ve repeatedly told them and they won’t bring it in. Try to read the situation too, if it’s something that can be put off and your going home in 2 days let them know you need to put the truck in the shop and may need a rental car home or whatever. If you can work with them, if not get it done and let them know asap

 

I’m sure someone has mentioned it but try keep interactions like these on your companies communicating messaging system to CYA. That way if you do need to go to safety you’ll have proof that you told them of the issue and they haven’t acted.

 

You running paper or Elogs? Either way go back and edit your time or start a new page. NEVER go in duty until you need to.

 

In my company schmuck days, I had some woman call me and tell me that I had been idling the truck for 24 hours and how that was against company policy. Winter time, MinotND. I told her when the sun was up, the temp was 3 degrees outside.

“Driver, if you are cold, close the curtain to the sleeper, bundle up, turn the heat o high for 15 minutes, and then shut it off.”

I tell you what, I will just go grab a motel room and tomorrow’s you can have a wrecker tow this truck to a shop.

“Is there something wrong with the truck?”

What part of ‘3 degrees outside when the sun was up’ did you not understand? If we shut this truck off, it’s going to gel up and you will have to get it to a shop to thaw out.

“Oh. Well driver, just keep it running and be safe?”

No, they do not care about you, hand. How could they? They sit in a big comfortable chair, in climate controlled conditions, emailing people who they pretend to like. Completely different world. Your AC not working? Sux to be you, driver.

QUIT BEING NICE.

I’m gonna sit in climate controlled conditions too. Your dispatcher doesn’t give a fup about you, so quit catering to him hoping that the dispatcher appreciates you. AC needs fixing, we don’t talk about loads until AC is fixed.

 

I had something close to this happen to me. I was in Ohio during a really gosh cold winter. It was BELOW zero and had been for several days. I had my contact call that morning hijacked by the shop manager about my percentages. I told the terminal manager later I wanted to be routed in so I could clean out my tractor and leave. I was not in any way a "super trucker", but I did make my appointments and I took good care of the company property and I handled myself in a professional way. In that process, this company lost an experienced driver and within days had a 90-day wonder in that seat. I later discovered that same 90-day wonder rolled that truck on one of the ramps along I-285 in Atlanta.