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?
 

Originally Posted by downsouthdriver:
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.

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.

Originally Posted by :
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.

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.

Cluggy...That was "priceless"!!! $500 bucks for the drive tires!!!! :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

I will not run illegal, for any reason. If I run out of hours, I shut down. If the weather is bad enough to make me want to shut down, I do so. I will not move a load that is overweight. I will not move an unsafe trailer or tanker.
I say the word No very easily....have for years.

In the past, I have had dispatchers utter threats, I laughed at them and told them I already had another job...and would be turning in the truck, and sending a formal letter to the CEO of the company with a "transcript of our conversation"..... got some real rapid attitude changes from them.

I can always find another driving job, but finding another life is not so easy. Dead is dead. Being jailed for stupidity is almost as bad.

But honestly, I haven't had this kind of problem in years now.

Originally Posted by Skywalker:
Cluggy...That was "priceless"!!! $500 bucks for the drive tires!!!! :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

They were only three weeks old, as I remember. :twisted: :lol: :lol:

I believe I said no due to time restrictions that I felt I had due to weather. I always allow for extra time when the snow starts to fly. I told him I need at least 12 more hours for the trip, and he started to argue with me. He finally told me he'll give it to someone else, and that I'll be sitting for a week to think about it. That's when I hung up. The rest you know.

It's funny how JB's safety preaches about always to allow enough time for your trip, and not to drive during rough weather. I wonder if they ever get around to telling their dispatchers that.

BTW, hasn't anyone else got a offer for tires, either to buy or sell? I know their are always people willing to buy fuel at the truckstops......

500 bucks for a set of drives id buy them in a heartbeat if they were 3 weeks old. i once had a dispatcher tell me i had to go work a job site for 6 hours once and i had only 2 and a half hours left on my 70 and told him that i would go and work the site until i had barely enough hours to get home. he told me i had to stay all day and i came back and told him he cant make me run illegal to get home and when it gets to 2 hours left on my 70 im leaving. he wasnt very happy with that and as i hung up on him i kinda said this is a f@#$*%# joke which he heard i found out and was told to grab an empty and head home NEVER I REPEAT NEVER let a dispatcher force you to do anything you are not comfortable with with like weather or running illegal hes not in that sleeper with a gun to your head and if they try forcing you to run illegal or running when you dont feel safe to do so call either your saftey department or his boss and if you dont get any results from them keep on going up the chain of command and if they fire you for being safe that company isnt worth a damn anyways. always put that you are shutting down in the qualcomm to cover your butt so they cant come back and say you never told them :twisted: :twisted:

I put in a request to go home two weeks ago. I sat in Jenks Oklahoma for 3 days waiting for a load...finally got one to Iowa...350 miles and 3 days to do it in...then I got a load to 3 Rivers Michigan after that and then sat for 8 hours waiting for the computer problems to be repaired.

They finally get repaired and Jessie W wants to send me to Chicago to run the Sterling Walmart POS for 5 days instead of going home.

He told me it was mandatory and I had no way out of it. I told him that at my age the only thing mandatory is death and I would be taking my truck to Ottawa IL and renting a car to go home with.

My terminal manager got into the middle of it and I am now taking my truck home to clean out and take it to Phoenix on monday for turn in.

Start my new job on Tuesday.

seeing as how I'm a line driver hauling sheetrock, mines a different set of circumstances. We haul out of Vegas for Az, Ca, N.M., and Utah, leaving in the afternoons and returning the next day. I normally run northern Az and NM and my dispatcher knows I won't run foreign countries (i.e. California). He gives me first choice of all the loads "up north" and we have never had a problem. This is my second time with Truline and Phil knows how I am. If there is a problem, he lets ME decide the best way to handle it. He has complete trust in all of his drivers, noobs are watched not only by him, but us as well untill they can prove they can do they job right. The only time I have told him "no" was when he asked me to go into a quarry off Crookton rd west of Ashfork. Its a 12 mile stretch that takes an hour to drive (its that rough). After the first time, I told him to NEVER send another truck in there, reasons being, rough as h3ll road and a guy that lives right at the entrance to the quarry. If you mistakenly turn onto the wrong road (his driveway) he will come out shooting. He hasn't sent a truck in there in 2 years.

i have had to say no to my dispatcher at times. when i know winter conditions will be not safe. when i know that i cannot legally get load to place in time. i have had to service fail loads because i ran of drive time.
when the loads don't have much mileage on them. when i don't have enough time on my 70 to get me back home too. being told to drive a truck which i know is not safe. i said no to all of those circumstances.

you are the one who has to be responsible. you are the one who gets tickets and pays for your actions.

but i have also done favors for my dispatcher too

WOw
 

If my dispatcher sat me out to "punish" me he'd come into work to be greeted by my truck in the parking lot and me in the executives offices raising hell. (The company i work for is like that). WHY you guys or any trucker would let anyone "punish" them is beyond me. Costs $5 for an ad in the local paper to replace a dispatcher/planner/whatever. Costs 2-5 grand to replace a driver.. who can get another job by picking up the phone.

Had one mistake my delivery date. Night dispatcher. REamed me over the qualcomm for being late and "there are drivers who do these miles every day!". I informed him that i run 3k a week in 5 days, that he's a moron and that id be talking to his bosses bosses boss in the morning when he came in.
HE got reaaal quiet after that. Now whenever i call in and he picks up he pretty much kisses my butt. He realised he made a mistake and now he knows i dont take bs.

On the other hand if dispatch asks me for a favor.. i do it if possible. Not because i have to or the company wants me to but because dispatch has moved mountains for me. They deadheaded me 500 miles last thanksgiving to get me home because a moron newbie screwed me over.
Ive got zero problem with fixing my log book. Do it all the time. But i dont drive tired. Ever. If im tired, theres ice out, its too dangerous etc i shut down.. period. And if they dont like that they can let me know so i can start returning recruiters phone calls.

On the other hand.. im going local in two weeks! Home every night baybeee! Ill let you guys keep the "big money" and sit my butt at home every night