Dispatch Question

Hey Larry,

The others have given good feedback. I'll see if I can add a little here.

if they get a nasty attitude, i have a habit of matching their energy

Amen, brother! Most of us are that way. I know I've done that plenty in the past and regretted it plenty. I try to keep my energy unaffected by those around me, but easier said than done. However, it's a powerful tool you can use to turn this situation around.

I've learned that a great approach to a situation like this is to switch from stating facts to asking questions. Instead of sharing facts about how you feel and what you want, ask your dispatcher how he feels about your performance and what you can do to get more miles and help him do his job.

Look for questions that might get you two on the same page, like, "Man, it must be tough trying to please all these drivers and the load planners at the same time?"

Show an interest in his job and what he goes through daily. Dispatchers have an incredibly hard job, and most truck drivers don't know 5% of what their job entails, myself included! Looking back on my career, I wish I had spent more time speaking with dispatch and getting to know their job better. I learned a good bit about how companies operate, but I could have benefited from learning more and getting to know people better.

Right now, he may feel you're complaining too much, even though that wasn't your intention. He may feel you're making too many demands, though that wasn't your intention. He may feel that you have one set of demands he must meet, while load planners have a different set of demands to meet, and the two conflicting sets of demands are causing him grief.

None of this is to say you've done anything wrong. I'm just trying to give you some possible insights into why he isn't responding well to you.

Asking questions will allow him to drop his guard a little and express his feelings and opinions. Once he sees that you're a true team player and you're willing to do whatever you can to make things better for everyone, himself included, he'll be less defensive and more open to conversations.

Maybe you could offer to buy him lunch next time you're at the terminal and get to know him a little better. Show an interest in his job, his life, and his needs. Learn all you can about the difficulties he faces doing his job, and find out what you can do to make life easier for him. If you make his life easier, he'll almost certainly do the same in return.

Finally, what the others have said is true - there isn't much room for pleasing drivers when dispatching freight. There is a list of available freight and a list of available drivers, and the load planners have to make those two lists work together. It's not easy.

We all get caught up in our own challenges at times and lose sight of the fact that everyone we meet has their own challenges. It's super hard to humble yourself sometimes and start a conversation that focuses on helping someone else. But doing so may just be the best way to help yourself at the same time.

Most of our loads are actually assigned by an algorithm. Program checks your NAT/NAL and available hours and determines the best load available. Yes we have human planners but the bulk of our assignments are handled this way. I had suspected that was the case but after a long discussion with a manager it was confirmed.

The only time I call dispatch about an assignment is when I first receive it if I see any issues on appointment times or if I need help with additional information etc. The closest complaint I will give is if I feel there’s something unsafe about delivering to or picking up from the location or if the company navigation takes you to a bad address. I will call in with the proper directions so they can get it updated. Just the other day in Chicago it took me to a customer entrance on a road that is now permanently closed but looked great during trip plan. So I call in, not to complain but to get them the correct information so other drivers don’t end up in the pickle.

I used to work in dispatch, I personally didn’t care if someone liked their runs/stops. I cared about servicing the customers unless of coarse safety was a concern. You don’t want to be that driver that’s constantly complaining.

Our load info in our Zonar has a survey where you can leave comments and rate the customer. We also get texts with surveys for many.

I've left feedback in that context, professional relevant feedback. Usually technical aspects that may help another driver.

Our dispatchers don't have the availability to plan loads, they are effectively caught in the middle between the driver and the load planners as well as account managers.

Given that, I'm on very good terms with my DMs, past and present. I regularly talk with my last DM on a friendly basis. I make it a point to see what I can do to help them. Treat them with respect.

Usually they just tell me keep getting the loads in early/on time and safe. Probably the best reflection of that is that i was told having me on their board is like having a truck on autopilot, meaning they don't have to spend much time dealing with it.

They're extremely busy and stacked up with phone calls. I keep it short, professional at work and get out of their way. Not critical of you, just offering a different perspective, I go out of my way to avoid having a combative relationship with my DM. If you stop and think about it, they govern how many miles you get, which in turn dictates how much money you make. It pays to take care of that relationship.

Had an experience last week that reminded me of this discussion.

Wednesday morning I delivered in Mansfield, Ohio for our dedicated customer. Once empty I received a dispatch to pickup a load in Marion, Ohio for delivery in Northern Kentucky just across the river from Cincinnati. I have an Ohio only medical card so I was told that I would be dropping the load at our terminal in Cincinnati and another driver would take it to the final.

I was pretty sure this was a broker load because neither the shipper or receiver sounded familiar. Our backhauls are a mixture of customer and brokerage freight, we have a small brokerage division that finds loads for us.

Once I get loaded I take a look at the paperwork I see that there are very detailed delivery instructions. Had to schedule delivery 24 hours in advance via email, receiver can only receive 2 deliveries a day etc. I have no idea if dispatch has this information so I took a picture of the paperwork and texted it to my dispatcher just saying: "FYI Not sure if you guys are aware of this."

Once I drop my load at the yard I do not have a new dispatch so I go into the Dispatch office to say hi and see what's next. As I'm talking to my dispatcher one of the other guys in the office who handles the scheduling of brokered loads comes over and thanks me for sending in the text. They had planed to have another driver grab it soon after I arrived at the yard. Once they saw my text and emailed they found out that the earliest they could deliver was Friday morning. He said I saved them a wasted trip and also said that not many other drivers would have noticed the potential issue.

Never anger those who handle your food or dispatches.