Frustrated With Qualcom & Dispatcher

I am having problems understanding the short, abbreviated message style on the qualcom. Call me old-fashioned, but I like proper spelling and punctuation used in complete sentences!

The really big problem though is communicating with my dispatcher. She is known as one of the best in my company, and really keeps her drivers moving. So that's great! However, when she sends me a qcom message, I don't always understand what I'm supposed to do with it. Message might be "This is the correct load number". That's all. If I call for clarification, she says "read the next message". That has more information on it. Now, how was I supposed to know that?

Or I might send in a preplan commitment, and get a "invalid number" reply because she has already dispatched it. So that happened today, I assumed that she had dispatched it, but it was actually a typo, and she was mad that I didn't resend it. Again, how was I supposed to know that?

She sent me a message saying that I am making her job very difficult. Not what you want to hear from your dispatcher. She's routing me through the yard for more qualcom training. I suspect however, that it may actually be an issue of different communications styles between us. I don't seem to be having this problem with other people in the company, whom I can call and speak with directly. My dispatcher prefers to use the qcom.

I'm certain my dispatcher thinks I am an idiot, and I let that get under my skin today. We are very frustrated with each other. It really bothers me.

Thanks for the safe space to rant!

When my friend Ken C. has to "straighten out" his dispatch, he tells him, "We gotta have 'Come to Jesus' conversation ..." Sounds like you have to ask her to set aside 10 minutes out of her busy day so you two can have a verbal "sit down" and get the ground rules straightened out ... ask her to give you the parameters she operates under and for her to define her terms ... she seems to be making a few assumptions about the clarity of her communications ... of course you have to be the humble one because she holds all the cards ... you know, let her know that you never intended to "make things difficult" but you need some guidance from her to understand what her methods mean ... in other words, eat some crow (even though you might feel you don't deserve to) just to get past any "stress" that might be lingering between you ... in all of my conversations with my dispatcher , there was only once that I was anything less than totally polite & I was VERY impolite for the first couple of sentences and then I told him I was ending the conversation before he really saw me at my worst - I didn't talk to him for a couple of days and then acted like nothing had ever happened ... you HAVE to do it their way 90% of the time so they don't have any reason to treat you as an outcast ... good luck ...

Jopa

Well, another driver just told me that she may seem difficult at times, but really wants us all to succeed and "always has our back". I was a little thin-skinned, in addition to being tired, hungry, and cranky after a week of much driving. I agree Jopa, your approach is the one I'm taking. I remember the toughest teachers I had in school were always the ones I learned the most from.

Jopa has given you the perfect approach to take - be very humble, kind, and cooperative. Remember, you're not going to be speaking with thick-skinned truckers. You're going to be speaking with incredibly fragile office personnel. That got me in a few messes early in my career. I came from a hardcore blue collar upbringing - steel workers, auto workers, mechanics, etc. We're Italian, we're from New York, we talk loud, and we say whatever is on our mind without worrying about how it's said.

That approach does not work with office personnel. I promise you. They're very fragile compared with blue collar types. So always be kind, soft spoken, and respectful.

Also, keep in mind you're a rookie driver dealing with an experienced dispatcher who is known to be very good at what she does. You're probably far luckier than you realize because having a good dispatcher critically important to your happiness and success out there. So approach this meeting with the attitude that you're new so you don't really understand what's going on yet or how things are done but you want to learn. Do not go in there with the attitude that you know how things should be done and you're going to "help them do it better". OMG just saying that made me throw up in my mouth a little bit. If you march in there ready to show them how it's done they're going to march you to the doghouse. You'll be spending the next three weeks watching John Wayne reruns at truck stops.

I don't seem to be having this problem with other people in the company, whom I can call and speak with directly. My dispatcher prefers to use the qcom.

This right here was the key statement that shows how new you are. All dispatchers prefer the Qualcomm. They have 50+ drivers to manage all at the same time and they have to handle those drivers in order of priority. Picture a fire department who gets five calls for five different fires at one time. Naturally everyone who has a structure on fire thinks their immediate problem is the biggest one in the world. But only the fire department understands the full scope of all of the problems they're facing so they alone should decide in what order to handle things. Well a dispatcher is working on every problem simultaneously. So they have a pecking order to deal with. They might have one driver who only has a few minutes to spare in picking up a hot load so they have to focus right now on getting that load information sent and getting that driver rolling. Now at the same time you might call them on the phone to find out when the next load will be available or where you can find an empty trailer. Now they're forced to drop what they're doing to deal with your phone call. If you would have sent that message on the Qualcomm they would have gotten to it as soon as they handled the higher priority situations.

So Qualcomm gives dispatch the flexibility they need to handle everyone at once.

Another consideration is that Qualcomm puts everything in writing where phone conversations do not. You can generate a ton of confusion that way. Take load assignments for instance. They send them over Qualcomm. If you get the wrong load number or address or whatever it's all right there in writing. But if they tell you over the phone and something is screwed up, who's fault is it? Did you hear them wrong? Did you write it down wrong? Or did dispatch screw it up? Nobody really knows because nothing is in writing. So Qualcomm saves a lot of confusion that way also.

Just go in there with a big smile and learn how things are done. Take a genuine interest in your dispatcher's job and try to understand the challenges she faces. The better you understand her job the better you'll be able to work together. And I promise you - if you make life better for your dispatcher, she's going to make life better for you. But the opposite is also true. So be kind, humble, and open minded with them. Listen closely and learn all you can. It's going to have a major effect on your happiness and success at the company going forward.

Great responses, thanks guys.

Do not go in there with the attitude that you know how things should be done and you're going to "help them do it better".

Brett, that made me laugh, because that is so NOT my personality! I'm more "I apparently don't know what I'm doing here, could you show me how it's done" kinda approach.

Your explanation of qualcom priority messages makes sense. I would like to sit by a dispatcher for an hour to see what they deal with. I can't imagine how they juggle all that information. Seems like crazy magic to me.

Great responses, thanks guys.

Do not go in there with the attitude that you know how things should be done and you're going to "help them do it better".

Brett, that made me laugh, because that is so NOT my personality! I'm more "I apparently don't know what I'm doing here, could you show me how it's done" kinda approach.

Your explanation of qualcom priority messages makes sense. I would like to sit by a dispatcher for an hour to see what they deal with. I can't imagine how they juggle all that information. Seems like crazy magic to me.

The company I currently work for is a small one with only 20 company drivers and about 45-50 owner operators in vans and semis. Granted, they don't have the numbers that the larger companies have but I've been in there when it's been busy and it truly is organized chaos and a pretty cool dance across the phone lines, message systems and load boards. Freight moves so quickly that even a slight delay or a driver getting chatty can cost a bid on a load. I don't envy those folks at all at times to be honest because not only are they juggling the effort of keeping drivers moving but setting them up for the next trip. All the while, they're watching bids and making deals along with updating current customers on load status and location. It really makes our side look like a piece of cake at times lol.

I've been solo for 4 months now and I had a blow up with my dispatch about a week ago. It was his error, but my fault ( it's always the drivers fault) , because i did not understand his hieroglyphic and encrypted message. I did not speak to him for a few days. I finally took the high road and called him and we had a come to Jesus. I started with an apology and complimented him on how hard he works to keep me rolling, I now have more miles than I can handle. I'm still new to this profession, but I do know I can catch more flies with honey and everyone loves to be complimented and appreciated.