How to be a Dispatcher,,, how hard can it be?

And it's just that easy...
You don't have to fax a pile of paperwork to the broker, you don't have to run his credit and ensure he has a bond in place (let alone make sure it isn't tapped out). You don't have to worry if the freight even pays enough or if it's going somewhere where you can load out of!

Love truck drivers that think driving the desk is easy as pie.

 

I'm NOT a dispatcher. But I can fill you in on what mine does.

One 30 minute visit.....

Two screens with 4 windows open in each. Bubble pop ups for incoming messages. Those would be from planners, customer service and drivers.

Headset on, with 3 or more lines lit up.... dispatcher across the room walks over and tells her he has one of her drivers on line ###...

All the while trying to carry on a conversation with me and another driver.

Oh, and a note pad that individual task are written on as they come in. When she catches up on her other work, she works on those task. My task was a over idle issue that could ding my bonus, caused by an electrical issue with truck.

P.S. .... Dispatchers don't book your loads. They merely try to provide input to planners and customer service that fits their needs and yours.

If you want to ##### about NOT having a load. Ask to speak with a load planner or sales rep.

The days of dispatchers booking loads for drivers are over at the large companies.

 

Go head run one of those loads and I will laugh when you don't get paid lol.

Companies look at more then its a load before going with a customer. You'd probably have your head explode trying to keep up with 50+ drivers whom think JUST like you that its a cakewalk. Every company has a cpm bottom line they have to make, likely you were looking at cheap freight, which is why, even during the slower season, its still looking for a truck.

 

It's easy. Spend 2 hours answering QC messages, ignore phone. Spend next hour answering phone calls, ignore QC. take a smoke break. answer more QC messages, ignore phone. Answer phone, ignore QC messages. chat with co-worker about Real Housewives show. answer phone. put driver on hold. hang up. receive urgent message about OOS issue. check "Dispatching for Dummies" book to see what to do. realize there's no chapter on issue. ignore issue. go to bathroom. pull out smartphone and do some day trading while periodically flushing toilet. come back to desk to find pile of papers on desk. shred papers in paper shredder. stuff into pillowcase. take nap under desk....

 

Let's see. I answer the phone with multiple lines ringing at once, use pop messenger to speak back and forth with our employees because I'm busy talking to customers and drivers on the phone and can't speak to them on the phone.

Answer calls and transfer them to the appropriate reps, answer emails, skip my lunch break because we're so busy we don't have time to leave the office. Post loads on three different load boards. Call our customers to schedule pickup times, call consignees on certain loads and schedule delivery times. Type up paperwork, fax paperwork only to have wrong fax number. Spend next three hours trying to get ahold of the driver/dispatcher to get correct fax number and attempt to refax load. Have two drivers call and for no real reason, drop off of loads at the last minute. Repost loads to three load boards and start calling drivers to try and get the loads recovered.

Deal with life and family issues because I own the business so I have stuff outside of it and stuff that's business related to deal with on top of all the rest of it. Get in at 7:00 am and usually leave by 7:00pm. Get the kids from soccer practice/piano lessons/youth group/baseball/friends house. Help em with their homework/spend 3-4 hours that night doing their school project they "forgot was due the next morning." Get to bed about 2-3 am and start all over again at 5:30 the next morning.

Any questions?

 

We had Rollin' Coal spend one morning in our office on a SLOW day. He was sitting there shaking his head at the utter chaos. What is said about is right on.

Sure anyone, even a trained monkey, can book one load. It is piecing together a good paying week that is hard. I can find a great paying load into S. Florida anytime. But can I get my driver out? And what about the trip that falls out when you already have the trip behind it booked (we had that one today). How do you get your driver from point A to point B to pick up at point B when it is 3:00pm in the afternoon?

One of the things that I love (and hate) about dispatch is that you have no idea where your day will end up. It is insane and an adrenaline rush and challenging. But at the end of the day, we all have to pay the bills. And your dispatcher won't have a job for long if they are not making the company (and if it is a good company, the driver) money. End of story.

Finally, I will add that of the four drivers we currently dispatch, my husband BigBadBill is the only one who books his own loads -- and that's because he is OK with sitting and is REALLY picky. But even he will tell you that the difference between a driver booking loads, and a dispatcher who can watch the boards all day equals about a 15% reduction in pay. Now, that may be worth it to you. It is to Bill. But I think most drivers would stop to think twice before taking on the insanity that is dispatch.

BTW... My experience with MOST brokers is that they are polite, professional, and a pleasure to work with. But I go into the day expecting people to act that way. But there are a few jerks out there in the broker world. And you have to have the cajones to stand your ground, without losing your integrity, when a load goes sideways with those people. Sometimes the money just ain't worth the fight/stress.

OK... off my soapbox for the night.

 

And after all this they still find time to make up lies to tell drivers. HOW DO YOU DO IT????