What's the stupidest thing you've ever had a dispatcher or office rat tell you?

Maintainence suprvisor tells driver sitting on the shoulder of the Interstate with a blown/shredded STEER tire and trck sitting on bent destroyed front wheel to "just drive it to the next tr.stop and have it fixed".

 

After experiences with the weekend staffs of a half-dozen companies over the years, I'm convinced of one thing:

They all graduated from the same school.


The Graduate Program of UI (University of Idiocy) in southwest Nebraska.

But don't ask what their class schedule is....you'll be told it's 24/7 (but it's really only 0800-1500 M-F).

 

Oh lord I used to absolutely hate calling in to the weekend dispatch, talk about a bunch of idiots, why would they hire someone for the weekends if they have no idea what they are doing. Basically all weekend dispatch is good for is telling you to call back on Monday and talk to your regular dispatcher.

 

I was #####in about all the short runs I was getting-I mean short-150 mi or LESS-threatened to quit,-he asked me 'Well,how much money do you want to make' I was getting paid by the mi.,by the way....

 

I do want to clarify something regarding the weekenders.

I know they're on the bottom of the totem pole in terms of experience (generally speaking). And often, they have to mop up whatever messes have been put on their screens leftover from Friday. There's freight to move, drivers that have dropped loads, other drivers that are trying to relay their loads and go home and all the rest. And we understand that.

But the inability or unwillingness to make a decision or to take an individual issue to someone who can and is willing to is endlessly frustrating, along with seemingly blind loyalty to any information the computer spits out in their laps.

 

Last winter I think in December,I got caught in quite the snowstorm in Flagstaff,Az.,called Dispatch to to em I was shuttin down.....Thier response?- It's not snowin here...(Lake Mills,Ia)

 

I got a call from a weekend dispatcher while at the gun range. "Did you pick up that load at Tyler?" Me "No I was told to drop that trailer at Tyler and bobtail home. "So you didn't get the load?" "No I bobtailed home". "So when will you be back available?" "Friday Morning" "OK" Click.

If they would look at the qualcomm they would already know ALL of this.

MORONS!

 

I remember during my stint with Schneider in 91 they sent a qualcom message to all trucks saying:" Please do not fall asleep while cruise control is on." I laughed out loud at this of course because they made it seem as if you fell asleep without cruise control engaged it somehow made sense . . .

 

Was at Wal-Mart Dist center in Hagerstown Maryland in September 2010 for pick up. After hooking up and pre-tripping I pulled around to their scale on the yard and found trailer was 2000 over gross. I called dispatch to let them know. Then the dispatcher said "Maybe their scale is wrong, I believe there is a state scale house a few miles East of there, stop in there and verify."

The dispatcher was silent while I was laughing at him.

I had a better Idea... I dropped the trailer at dock 11 and made them rework load. They paid me 2 hours detention pay.

DM laughed her ### off when I told her what dispatcher had said.

 

My ultimate.....

I've been off for a few days helping my wife deal with a death in her immediate family. The funeral was today. Anyhow, I'd informed the company about all this, including the time frame and that I'd not be going out until Sunday.

You guessed it, got a call from dispatch during the funeral procession... "How you doing?" "I'm in a funeral, how the hell do you think I'm doing." "Oh.... you wanna load out this evening?" Reply unprintable and would scorch your eyes.