How to Develop a Positive Relationship With Your Trucking Dispatcher
No matter what type of trucking job you have you will have to deal with your dispatcher on a daily basis. They are there to tell you where your next pickup or delivery is and to also make sure you are running on time. You will end up talking or communicating more with them than your family and friends.
Your Dispatcher is Not Your Best Friend
The dispatcher is not there to be your friend but sometimes they will be the only person in the world you have to talk to everyday. The reality though is they really do not want to hear about your problems on the road because they manage many drivers and hear the complaints day in and day out. Afterall, trucking is a tough job. This is not to say that you cannot throw an occasional legitimate complaint their way. If you have a good dispatcher, they will listen and sometimes even offer a solution in an area they are able to help out in. The best type of relationship to have with your trucking dispatcher is one of teamwork. Afterall it is in the best interest of both of you to pick up the highest paying freight in the most efficient way and get it to where it is going legally, safely and in a timely fashion.
When Your Dispatcher Asks You to do Something that is Not Legal
Yes, this will happen and when it does you have to tell them that you are not able to continue driving for whatever the reason could be. Such as when you are out of legal drive hours for the day, or your truck and trailer has an issue that needs to be repaired. You will find that they may even press you and tell you we need to pick up that freight today or get it delivered. Of course this is your call but if you want to keep your CDL and not cause a potential danger to the driving public it is almost always in your best interest to inform your dispatcher that you have to wait for your driving hours to reset or that the truck and trailer is not safe to drive and that you are going nowhere until they are fixed.
When Your Dispatcher Calls Unexpectedly
Whenever you get a call from your dispatcher other than about a pick up or drop off, they may ask for a favor for you to perform some extra work. This will be whether you are already under a current load, or you are on your home time. They may want you to come back to work earlier than planned. In trucking a lot of unexpected stuff happens out there on the road. Do not be surprised when you are asked to run extra shifts or routes as these things occur.
Missing Pay
If you would like to get paid for the 8 hours, you just sat watching the red flashing light on the docking door while they slowly unloaded your trailer one box at a time you better talk to your dispatcher. Truck drivers do get extra pay sometimes for things like breaking down or being held over at a shipper for an unreasonable amount of time. Unless you ask for this pay and take note yourself it will not be paid. This is where talking to your dispatcher and asking them for this accessorial pay is critical. If your truck is sitting in the shop for 2 days or you just sat at a shipper all day waiting for your load to be ready your dispatcher can let payroll know to pay you extra for this lost time. While the pay usually is not as much as you would normally make it is a lot better than making nothing. Your wheels need to be moving if you are paid by the mile like most truckers so unless you speak up this lost time sitting around will not be reimbursed.
Your Dispatcher Wants a Favor
If your dispatcher asks for a favor, it is usually in your best interest to comply if you can do it legally and safely. This is not to say that you should always say yes to everything but showing them, you are a team player can go a long way to earning their respect. They will take notice of these favors you perform and eventually you will be looked at as a good driver and treated better and may even get better scheduling and routes.
Emergencies on the Road
When an emergency or unexpected event happens out there on the highway your dispatcher is there for you. A good dispatcher will always be there when something bad happens and do their part to help you get out of the bind. Whether this is a tire blow out, accident or any number of events they are your main support line to help offer solutions. If you are an owner operator you do not have this option and will have to figure out what to do which can make the situation a lot more stressful. Your dispatcher will usually set everything up such as call in a tow truck or a mechanic to come out and fix your truck or trailer.
Friend Away from Home
Given enough time working with your dispatcher day in and day out you will establish a working relationship with them and may even have someone to small talk with sometimes. They will not talk to you all day because they are busy, but you can potentially become work friends so to speak and out there on the road you can use all of the friends and social contact you can get trust me. Sitting in a box for weeks at a time gets old fast no matter how experienced you are. You will want to have as much positive social contact as possible with your friends, family and yes occasionally even your dispatcher to help ease the isolation some.
