Night & Weekend Dispatch

These folks are sort of like your ordinary drive managers, only way, way dumber than your drive manager. I don't mean to be harsh, but allow me to give you a real-life scenario of how dumb they really are...

We have a pick-up at Amazon. We don't have an empty trailer. Guess where they send us!? To the shipper (Amazon) to pick up an empty trailer! Did we do it? Heck no! Why pick up an empty trailer in the same yard we are picking up our load? See the stupidity yet?

Another real-life example would be actually doing their job.

As I've mentioned before about getting weekend runs from the area planner, well I did that. I'm on a run one Saturday morning, started my second run of the day, and I was never dispatched. Yeah, you see where this is going...

I said, well, the dispatch directions aren't in my qualcomm. Screw it, I'll type them in from the orders we received. Well, I did that, sent in my "arrived at shipper" and "loaded" calls. They were both sent back saying something about the previous load I had, which is a clear indication that I am not dispatched on this run.

Giving the weekend personnel the benefit of the doubt, hoping they're not really this stupid, I send them a message that says "I have arrived at shipper. I am loaded. I am headed to the scales." And, get this, they respond, "Cool. Thanks for the heads-up." Seriously? Yep.

I make it to the smallest little Pilot in West Virginia, scale the load, and send another message. "Scaled the load. Weight is evenly distributed. I'm headed to the reciever." And what do they say? "Thanks. Drive safe."

Hahahahahaha

I get to the terminal to drop my trailer, because I wasn't delivering this load to a consignee. So, the t-col person says, "I can't take this load from you because you were never dispatched. I'll have to call your terminal and have them dispatch you." That's the darndest thing. So I have to wait there about 45 minutes for these people to do that.

Now, I really like my terminal and drive manager, but the weekend warriors aren't too bright. That's all I'm saying here. Should I really have to tell them to dispatch me? They know I've got four runs to make back-to-back. Once I've sent in an "empty" call from one load, the next load should be dispatched to you immediately, or at least for the time you've set your PTA to be... but they're not that bright. And they don't take hints.

These are just two very small examples of the weekend crew, but other drivers have had even worse experiences. I'll let them tell their own stories.

So if you are a dispatcher and you're working on the weekend, you're dumb. Interesting.

You didn't realize you were dispatched yet even though, as a fellow Swiftie, I know firsthand that it's pretty straightforward. More interesting.

You realized you weren't dispatched, but you played dumb instead of simply asking to be dispatched. More interesting.

Then you come on here and explain how dumb these guys are, apparently having no idea why they might even be working on the weekend anyways. I mean, you do realize how incredibly frickin busy these "weekend warriors" are, right? That they're understaffed on the weekends, often having one person cover multiple fleets? And dispatchers aren't paid very well, especially considering the amount of work they have to do, so they're probably working on the weekend to help pay the bills.

I think the most interesting thing here is that you don't realize how dumb you sound. Congratulations.

Yeah... dispatcher sees I've got four runs from the planner accepted. They see the PTA. They receive the empty call, which means "I'm ready for the next dispatch." They see me telling them my location, where I am, what I've done, and what order # i am currently driving under. --- yeah, they're dumb.

Yeah... dispatcher sees I've got four runs from the planner accepted. They see the PTA. They receive the empty call, which means "I'm ready for the next dispatch." They see me telling them my location, where I am, what I've done, and what order # i am currently driving under. --- yeah, they're dumb.

Or they're busy with a million other things--drivers at the dispatch window, drivers at the terminal gate waiting to leave, drivers on the phone, drivers on the Qualcomm , messaging planners and csr, other dispatchers talking to them, distracted because they're tired and missing the weekend or staying up all night. I don't usually make excuses for people, but come on man, stuff happens. No they shouldn't be making mistakes like that, but it mostly just irritates me to no end to see you bad-mouthing an entire group of people like that. And it doesn't even make sense--Swift doesn't exactly have an entirely separate crew that works just weekends. These people also work during the week.

It also irritates me because I believe dispatchers are some of the most under-appreciated people in the trucking industry. Do you have any idea how much s$%& they have to put up with from drivers on a daily basis?? Spend some time in a dispatch office and chances are it won't be long before you hear a driver mouthing off to a DM in person or a DM having a "stern discussion" with a driver over the phone. Yes, they get to go home every night, but there's little else I envy about their job.

I'm with Paul on this. I've always been treated well by the Weekenders. I never assume they can know what I need. I simply ask politely and it happens. I treat everyone I speak with as if they were my own DM. Have you ever sat in their work room and listened to their side of the conversation? The questions they have to answer, repeatedly, when talking to drivers might open your eyes a bit. Give them a break, many of them used to drive and they're trying.

I see where you're coming from, but I don't understand how a daily planner or daily driver manager can easily put things into motion for you, but you have six or seven people in that office every night who can't do the same.

When you send them a message,they see everything you're doing on that computer screen. They see the order, the truck, the driver number, all of the information they need to see what they need to see...

And when you tell them the order # you are on, as well as where you are in the Macro section, and they don't put two and two together, especially when they received the empty call from the last order... come on, driver.

Common sense. That's all I want them to have... you can make all t he excuses you want for them, but the ones I've had to deal with so far aren't the brightest. Sending you to the shipper to pick up the empty, the same place you're picking up the load? I think that maybe you've not dealt with them enough? If you're a solo driver, I highly doubt you deal with them on a daily basis, but I do.

I'm with Paul on this. I've always been treated well by the Weekenders. I never assume they can know what I need. I simply ask politely and it happens. I treat everyone I speak with as if they were my own DM. Have you ever sat in their work room and listened to their side of the conversation? The questions they have to answer, repeatedly, when talking to drivers might open your eyes a bit. Give them a break, many of them used to drive and they're trying.

Good point. I know what you mean about being asked the same questions repeatedly. They do it to us all of the time. I can't say that al the night and weekend dispatchers are dumb, but the ones we've been dealing with sure ain't the smartest.

I've never "told my dispatcher where I am", like I think you are saying, CJ. Every ARRIVED AT SHIPPER and ARRIVED AT FINAL DESTINATION includes your location. True, you might not know your actual status IV the system, but if you keep up with the different ends of your trip, you should do fine.

Yes, being dispatched to get an MT from the shipper may sound silly, but Trailer Solutions will find you a trailer where they can. 90% of the time you go into a property with a trailer and leave with a trailer - no bobtail without instructions from dispatch.

CJ, overall, you are assuming way too much. And without people 24/7 in the office, you will not be dispatched anywhere.

I see where you're coming from, but I don't understand how a daily planner or daily driver manager can easily put things into motion for you, but you have six or seven people in that office every night who can't do the same.

When you send them a message,they see everything you're doing on that computer screen. They see the order, the truck, the driver number, all of the information they need to see what they need to see...

And when you tell them the order # you are on, as well as where you are in the Macro section, and they don't put two and two together, especially when they received the empty call from the last order... come on, driver.

Common sense. That's all I want them to have... you can make all t he excuses you want for them, but the ones I've had to deal with so far aren't the brightest. Sending you to the shipper to pick up the empty, the same place you're picking up the load? I think that maybe you've not dealt with them enough? If you're a solo driver, I highly doubt you deal with them on a daily basis, but I do.

Actually, I was in the reefer otr division for almost six months, so I did deal with night and weekend dispatch quite a bit. Perhaps the people you dealt with weren't the brightest, or perhaps they naturally assumed you were dispatched if you didn't tell them otherwise (at least, after you were already loaded and on your way to receiver). Sometimes I get automatically dispatched and sometimes I don't. It's pretty common for me to have to ask to be dispatched on my next load. Since you're the driver, it's your responsibility to make sure everything is in order, and if it's not, then ask.

And the reason things are different with your dispatcher is that you are actually part of his fleet, so he knows you and what's up with you. To another dispatcher, you are "just a number," so if you want things to go smoothly, you have to communicate even more with them.

As far as being sent to the same place you're picking up at, yeah that seems a little silly. But so does a driver backing into a pole next to a dock, or forgetting to re-engage the tandem pins after sliding tandems , or getting banned from a customer because they were rude.

I don't doubt they've made mistakes, but again, I think it's ridiculous/rude to judge the whole crowd because a few people made a few mistakes.

You hit a nerve, plain and simple. On the other hand, I really like your other thread about getting loads over the weekend. Thing works a little differently on the dedicated fleet I'm on now, but I did all the same things you mentioned when I was otr.

For your sake, Paul, I will give them all the benefit of the doubt.

How do like dedicated? What's the pay and hometime like?