Saying No to your dispatcher?
 

Someone brought this up as being one of the hardest things for a newbie to do in another topic. And I was wondering what has made you say "no" in the past. Or what would make you say "no" now.

Re: Saying No to your dispatcher?
 

Being asked or told to violate the HOS regs.

Being asked to or told to run a load that was overweight or otherwise illegal.

Figure out where load is going.. subtract available hours... if it is in negative hours... say no! LOL If you are two hours away from a shipper or receiver, and you have 30 minutes on your 11 or 14... tell them no! It's rather simple really.

I know what your thinking,...."if I don't do what my dispatcher wants, he/she will give me crap runs and never get me home" I don't know how often this happens, but a way around it is to get your conversation recorded into your Qualcom unit, that way if push comes to shove,..you have some weight to push back with.
Do not have an hours of service/overweight discussion on your cellphone, if you don't have proof that your dispatcher coerced/forced you into the run,...its all you man,..all you to take the tickets.
Some dispatchers will sugar coat it and say "aw come on dude, I really need this delivery to happen" and they"ll promise you an awesome run that will take you within 20 miles of your home,.....call shenanigans on your dispatcher,...they are asking you to run illegal and they have nothing to lose,....and you have everything to lose.

so far.... the only time I said NO.... was to my weekend/night dispatcher.
he is rude and an idiot.

Was out for 6 weeks, on my way home and he wanted me to take a load to
LA, Ca.

he tried to bully me, told me to take it, that i was Dispatched...
I never excepeted the load, SO I WAS NEVER DISPATCHED.

Next morning MY dispatcher took the load away from me ( that i never loaded, or excepted) and gave me a load home.

I really like my dispatcher and would do "almost" anything for him, but not my night/weekend dispatcher.

I Had a horrible dispatcher when I was running for Stevens. They had me in a truck that the windsheild (T-600) was so dinged/scratched that it would actually make my head hurt when I drove into the sun or on a 2 lane at night.
I told them about it, and the dispatcher decided to let me sit for 3 to 4 days without a load,......I finally got a decent truck when I contacted my recruiter,..but I had to switch dispatchers,....and wouldn't you know it,..the second one was able to get me home in 11 weeks for a whole 3 days at home.
Bye, bye Stevens,...I've had enough,...my dog had forgotten who I was after 11 weeks!!

Several years ago, while traveling through Kentucky, I ran into some snow and ice. I slowed down, but kept going until the trailer started to fish tail a bit. At that point, I decided to stop at the next truck stop. The plows hadn't gotten out at this point, so the roads were getting slick. I contacted dispatch and informed them of the weather and that I would be stopping until the roads were cleared. He told me that there was nothing on the weather where he was located which said that there was bad weather where I was sitting. I told him that they weren't here and that I would not be moving until the roads were safe. No load is worth risking your life or that of others. I had another incident in snow while on my way to Detroit for this same company. After that incident we parted company. I won't allow myself to be put in jeopardy for a load of freight, no matter how much it needs to get to it's destination. If you are uncomfortable with the weather and push it, you may not make it, anyway. Had I continued and been involved in an accident, it would have been me who would have suffered the consequences, not the dispatcher. As I recall, this dispatcher came right out of college and went to work as a dispatcher with this particular carrier. I think it should be a job requirement that all dispatchers should have to spend a couple of years in a truck driving over the road. A dispatcher cannot understand the demands of the road unless he has been there and done that.

You would think that would help, but I have seen and been on the recieving end of it only making matters worse. Too often you run into these BBR types who could not handle it out on the road and move into the office and when you tell them you can't do something they are like, "Well I used to do it all the time."

The two best dispatchers I ever had:

1 was a driver with 20 years of OTR experience
The other had never driven a truck in his life.

The two worst:
1. Had 10 years OTR
The other had no driving experience.

There are several reasons to say no to your dispatcher. The end result will almost always be extra sitting time waiting for your load. If you find your dispatcher telling you will be sitting for awhile, try to go above them to their supervisor, and ask for a new dispatcher.

I have gotten three dispatchers during the very short time I've been with JB. One was going to make me wait a week, and told me so over the phone. I hung up, went to my qualcomm, and told him the following.

"As per our phone conversation, I am very upset that you stated that I was being punished by having me wait for a week. But since I have to wait, I will make due the best I can. I got a good deal from another trucker-he offered $500 for the 8 drive tires on my tractor, and he'll removed them himself. You got 2 hours."

I had a run before the time was up, and my last dispatcher decided that he said nothing over the phone, and he didn't know what I was talking about. Turns out, sometimes safety monitors the qualcomm.

The moral of this story is never get in a argument with your dispatcher over the phone...always use the qualcomm. And anytime you can't take a job and succeed on getting the load on time and safely to where it's gotta go, always say NO, and state the reason why. And expect low miles after that. At least with JB....can't say about other companies.