What to do when a dispatcher tries to force a load on you?

I've refused one dispatch in my long tenure driving. Many many years ago Knight Transportation, Tulsa branch. I emptied in PHX one afternoon and was informed it would be next afternoon sometime for next dispatch. So I get a hotel room (had some sort of a summer cold as I recall and not feeling good) Anyway the PHX dispatch calls my cell at around 21:00 wanting me to take a container load overnight to Fontana. I said they could call my dispatcher at home in Tulsa then he can dispatch me. Never heard back from them. I knew he'd never deal with such BS from the home terminal location with resources out the butt

Mind you I've never pulled chassis and containers and never had any intention of ever doing so.

 

Yep but needs to learn how to do what he can then have it repowerwd not just flat out refuse it from the start. That probably puts him on a list he doesn't want on.

 

Yep and too many of them will get him fired.

 

Sounds like the OP is on forced dispatch (did he say swift or something?). Anyhow, if that's the case the answer is always "I'll run it till I'm out of hours". After that grab it and run. Let them worry about repowering the load and take your 34 after that.

Or better yet, buy your own truck and do what you want, when you want and then file for bankruptcy because you have no customers.

 

Now on the other side of the coin,I drove for a small company I did have to refuse a few loads because I didn't even have the hours to pick up load.Of course the owner and I went round and round about me refusing and come up with some stupid reasons to get the load,weigh stations aren't open you'll be fine stay at shipper after you get loaded.I said you do,t get it I do not have the hours to pick up load.I had like 2 hrs and 150 miles and was to pick up in the twin cities.

 

Is Swift centralized national dispatch or home branch dispatch? If you were normally dispatched from another source, I'd have told that unknown office to call my people at home and see what you can work out and have my dispatcher call me with the details.

I can almost guarantee you won't hear anymore about it and you won't have a load refusal in your jacket.

 

I personally think taking a reset is a bit much if you have the hours to run and with more exp op you'll think the same thing.you had what 9 hours?That's alot of ground you could have covered and I think you would have gained 6 hrs at midnight which would have been a easy day for for you.

 

I think all companies run on the time zone where the driver lives.

 

Yeah different situation here. In this situation a brand new driver should have taken this load and rolled as far as possible. Once you get sone time in you know when you can't and that is only after the dispatchers learn to trust you and not questionin you. As a new driver is this situation you are just digging a hole.

 

I'm all for sticking up for yourself in an impossible situation. Why oh why do drivers feel the need they have to take reset? 8 and 9 coming back is more than plenty!!!

This was not an impossible situation...you just didn't want to run hours that inconvienced you. You're in the wrong business for that....

I'm expecting a post from you in the next few weeks complaining about your lack of miles.