Magic Happens When Truckers and Dispatchers Work Well Together

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• Publié par: seorumer
• Publié le: 02 juin 2017
• Nombre de lectures: 1
• Langue: English

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Magic Happens When Truckers and Dispatchers Work Well Together

Have you ever visited truck driving forums only to find drivers bad mouthing one company or another? We have. In fact, we read comments from disgruntled drivers screaming at the top of their digital lungs in an effort to discourage anyone who mightthink of becoming a truck driver.

We are here to tell you that most of those comments are absolutely untrue. We also want to explain that the key to a successful career with any company is the relationship between the trucker and his or her dispatcher. It is this relationship that causes most of the trouble truckers experience when it is not fostered correctly. The opposite is also true. Magic happens when truckers and dispatchers work well together.

In Business to Stay in Business

If it were true that trucking companies willfully abused their drivers just to make a quick buck, we would be doing so to our own detriment. The industry is already short tens of thousands of drivers right now. Why would we chase drivers away by treating them poorly, especially when we need them so badly? The truth is that we are in business to stay in business. We do not help ourselves by being mean to drivers.

As stated earlier, much of the conflict experienced by truck drivers is a direct result of having a bad relationship with a dispatcher. Dispatchers and truckers carry most of the responsibility for completing jobs on their shoulders. Dispatchers have to arrange for pickups and deliveries while drivers have to get loads where they are going. The stress related to both positions can be enough to sour the driver-dispatcher relationship if both parties do not work hard at maintaining it.

When dispatchers and drivers do work well together, they feed off one another to accomplish great things. They encourage one another, hold one another accountable, and generally work together to make sure everything runs as efficiently as possible. But such relationships do not happen by accident. They take time and effort, along with the realization that no one is perfect.

The Driver’s Roll

Perhaps ǁe ǁill deǀote a future ďlog post to edžplaiŶiŶg the dispatĐher’s role iŶ the driǀer-dispatcher relationship. For Ŷoǁ, ǁe ǁill address the driǀer’s role. There are fiǀe speĐifiĐ thiŶgs that truĐk drivers can do to foster good relationships with their dispatchers:

    

Be easy to get along with Work with the dispatcher to get tasks done (within reason) Understand that dispatchers are looking at a bigger picture Maximize daily hours of service Learn to effectively communicate with the dispatcher

A lot of the problems that arise between dispatchers and drivers is a direct result of neither party fully appreciating what the other is goiŶg through a dailLJ ďasis. Driǀers see the dispatĐher’s joď solely through the lens of what they are doing ďehiŶd the ǁheel. TheLJ doŶ’t take tiŵe to realize that the dispatĐher is dealiŶg ǁith ŵultiple driǀers aŶd literallLJ dozeŶs of shippers and receivers simultaneously. Trying to coordinate it all and keep everyone happy is no easy task.

By the same token, dispatchers have a hard time coming to grips with what the trucker goes through. Sitting behind a desk, they have no appreciation for traffic, weather conditions, lengthy delays at shipping and receiving locations, roadside inspections, etc. They need to realize that their drivers are not superheroes capable of getting loads to their destinations instantly. Bad things happen occasionally.

Fostering a good relationship with your dispatcher is the key to success in trucking. If you and your dispatcher can work well together, great things will happen.