Why So Much Animosity For Dispatch Services?

The best dispatchers are x drivers.
Ever send(rush)a driver for a pickup,only to strand him there?
Lol

 

Most of the worst dispatchers that Ive ever had were exdrivers.
The best were the ones that honestly cared about their guys.

 

You are soliciting here and that's fine by me. I'd do the same, if I were you.

You want 3.25%.
The factoring wants 3-5%.
The banks want 6 - 10% for the equipment.
The insurance want 8-10% for financing their own premiums
The State and the Feds want about 2% equivalent of the gross in forms of fees (IRPA, and 2290 and such)

Too many grabbing hands.

Do you think that I am making millions?

Besides it is fun to book loads and all that staff and not that difficult. If I were a fleet owner I'd hire a dispatch to have them close to me and be able to look over their shoulder

You could be worth it if you had an access to well paying brokers beyond a loadboard, but as long as you see the same loads I see then not so much. I have time and desire to read the loadboard when I am on the road.

The only time I could use you, would be when I have 2 or 3 more trucks and I drive one as well. In that scenario, I don't see I could handle 2-3 more trucks. But if it is 5 or more I'd probably quit driving and dispatch myself.

 

If I was a trucking company I would look for ex drivers to be a dispatcher. They would have at least 10 years all 48 states experience. Nothing less. They will make good dispatchers.

I have had many dispatchers in my time. I think there was about 7 in total who I will run to the gates of hell for them when asked. because they are worth it. The rest of them, half never touched a 18 wheeler in life and did not do well dispatching. The other half were bullies who does not know how to be good with drivers who yell back at them.

And you wonder why dispatchers get a bad situation sometimes. Because they should not be dispatchers. I once interviewed to be a dispatcher myself but decided that babysitting 100 drivers each day and night would be a bit much because a certain percentage will not be trustworthy to be on time where they say they will be at a certain date and time. When you go to check on them wala, they are late. The solution to that is to fire em and find good drivers to replace them. Wash, rinse and repeat until your full list of 100 will be on time where they are supposed to. Everything else will fall into place for them. I would not ask any of them to do things I wont do myself. Im just glad I did not go into dispatching. The way things have changed with the so called snowflake generation whose feelings will be too fragile and sensitive when yelled at... it wont work.

 

Obviously some drivers will not be ' trustworthy ' to deliver at a certain time because as you should know not much is for certain about driving.
Too much is outside the drivers immediate control.
Also some x drivers do not make good dispatchers because they might bring their hearts to work.
If a dispatcher cares too much about the drivers task, he/she might be perceived as too soft.
I have been away from the industry for about 8years. I am wondering if there are any real changes.

 

My reasons for being critical of dispatch services is that no o/o out here booking their own loads should need to use one. It's not that difficult to self dispatch, drive the truck while also dealing with other ordinary routine trucking tasks.

Controlling what one books and where they go or for how much is the most important part of the business. It's critical to learn that and have full control over it.

Lame excuses like "I just like to drive" or "how am I supposed to book loads while driving" don't cut it. Sloppy, slouchy, laziness is what that is. Find a way.

An operator that "just likes to drive" needs to leave the business side and drive as an employee for someone else. That actually ranks right up there with "I just bought a truck, now what do I do". Ridiculous.

Finding good freight, learning good lanes, negotiations. These are all necessary skills any o/o worth his salt must always hone to stay sharp. The dozens of rejected load offers are just as important in learning markets as the one load here and there that is accepted. How is one supposed to learn that stuff farming out dispatching?

 

Don't forget the Broker's 10%-12%.....and then if a driver's paid percentage, they get 25% to 30% of what's left (minus fuel surcharge) and if they're paid by the mile, most "programs" (i.e.- practical, Rand McNally etc...) pay 5% to 12% less than actual miles.
The whole darn thing is a complete rip-off for the driver (the one that does all of the physical work) any way you look at it---so the least amount of hands grabbing at the so-called 'revenue' is always best. And the least amount of people to deal with is DEFENENTLY always best (anyone that's had a Broker or 3rd. Party dispatch that insisted they be called 2, 3, 4 times a day knows EXACTALY what I'm talking about).

To the OP...it's nothing personal...you just simply aren't needed in my opinion. If the company feels they need to pay YOU to dispatch ME, they should pay you separate from the load's revenue. Pay you out of THEIR pocket, not mine.

 

If there is a market for them ,then the market has decided that they are needed. The same goes for brokers. However, I am also a firm believer that dealing with brokers is a higher level of the game, not as high though as having boldness and guts to solicit to find our own freight to put all the beloved brokers out of the loop . But once established and having a small fleet and if this 3rd party dispatch service is reviewed well, then why not using it even sporadically. But I am not there yet, and won't be for a long, long time, if ever. For one truck operation it is absolutely avoidable.