How to say No to dispatch and not piss them off
 

I have linehaul job in the northeast.

Wintertime is rolling in, and where I work they want us to go out in any weather. Do you guys just say no it's too dangerous, or do you call in sick? One of our drivers just calls in sick whenever it's snowy or icy, and he doesn't get fired, but that seems so sleazy.

A few weeks ago, I called dispatch to tell them I didn't want to go out that day because of fatigue, afraid I'd fall asleep at the wheel. The truck had broken down the night before, and I'd not had any sleep. They didn't seem to care about sleep / no sleep. They kept saying to call back in an hour. I gave up on the call back in an hour stuff, and said look, I'm not going out, and I'm not calling back today. Talk to you tomorrow. Goodbye. :twisted: Well, I didn't get fired but I guess they hate me now.

So how do you say no to dispatch without pissing them off ?

Night Zombie

Bake them a pie. That's what my mom does whenever she knows she's about to piss my dad off.

If they want you to run on ice and or they want you to run without a proper ten hour break the best way to say no is in the form of a two week notice.

Do you have sickdays available? Most guys I know will use one when that situation presents itself. You may not like or agree with it, but it is a fact here.

I agree. I work linehaul, and the co I work for would never pressure a driver into running without his break. If this is the case with your company, then lose them quick.

<< I agree. I work linehaul, and the co I work for would never pressure a driver into running without his break. If this is the case with your company, then lose them quick. >>

Wow, that's scary. They've been pretty good to me otherwise.

Yes, I do have sick days. Unlimited, within reason, I think. Maybe that's the way to go. And I get the impression dispatch knows that 75 % of the "sick days" are just "want time off" days, and that they're OK with that.

Nopw that I think about it, I imagine they'd rather have an employee call in sick because it makes everything cut and dry, and makes it easier for them to justify giving you the day off, to their boss.

I wouldn't worry about pissing them off, they'll get over it. You have every right to refuse to drive if you feel the conditions are dangerous. Remember there are always lives at stake...yours and others.

The only reason dispatch wants you to run is because they don't want to have to deal with irate customers complaining their load isn't there yet. Boohoo.

If you called in and said you were too tired to drive but they kept pressuring you to run anyway, well, you do have the DOT on your side on that one.

http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/rules-regul...?section=398.4

Safe Dispatch
 

If you know you'd be operating in an unsafe manner, bring your safety department into the mix. BOL

Dont listen to the dummies that say hand in your notice- they nor I know the circumstances surrounding your midnight breakdown and if you were allowed to get your 10. Now I have never been good at NOT pissing people off, but if you want advice on how TO piss them off, I'm your man. If it was me, I'd be honest and blunt and tell them no thank you, I feel it is unsafe.

I agree - unless they constantly push you to run unsafe. If it's a one time thing, I can live with that. Start pushing me constantly and I'll find a new job before something happens. Remember, it's not only your license at stake, but it could be your life or the lives of others that happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

It reminds me of a time I was coming out of Maine a couple of years ago when I was at USX. I was bobtailing in a bad snow/ice storm and it was getting horrible out. I talked to my dispatch on the phone a few times and told them how bad it was getting and that I probably wouldn't make my pickup. On the phone they kept pushing me and pushing me to continue because they couldn't reschedule the load.

After I went sideways on the interstate I decided I'd had enough. I hit the next rest area and sent a message on the QC that was something like "the roads are in horrible condition. It is unsafe for me to continue." Within 1-2 minutes of sending that message I miraculously received a rescheduled load on the QC.

LoL: Best advise yet--above. Too often drivers get involved in "personal" friendship type relationships with dispatchers....when you have to remember it's simply a professional business relationship.......
you simply say 'NO' and don't worry about it. You start with the N sound then add the O sound. NO....once you get the practice down...suddenly you find they stop asking you to do :dung: they know you're going to say NO to.
And you watch/monitor your miles and types of loads>>>and if they seem to be giving you only :dung: loads and don't want you any more ...you professionally thank them for the "wonderful" time you've spent with them and let em know you've found a new chance somewhere else.
Protect your CDL(it's your meal ticket)....protect the motoring public....stay alive to drive another day.

That's good advise right there......I don't care who you are....thats good advise. The ONLY thing I would add would be: Be nice, be respectful, and act like a professional. In the eyes of the law you ARE a PROFESSIONAL! You are held to a higher standard than Joe-Q-Public if you are involved in an accident. Act like a professional, and you will be treated ( most of the time ) like one.

Yes, winter is comimg...Well, it is here and I love it. :D

All good advice, but with my luck that one time thing is usually the one that kicks my ass and then eats my lunch.

Just because legally you can complete a run does NOT mean you have to. Use good judgement when to pull the 'Sorry, safety first' card, dont use it too much, use the 'its the law' card or the 'flat tire' card more often if you feel you have to. Be aware of the weather forecast and the conditions you can expect where you are going, try to avoid going off the big road in winter conditions. Maybe you can sneak by a snowstorm without it noticing you, but if theres little chance, find a cozy spot before it hits. I would never bobtail in the snow, but with a good load, well rested and sense of adventure you can learn an lot. Remember: you are the captain of that ship

Winter's here in Denver and I've been routed on WY 191 north out of Rock Springs to get to Idaho Falls. WyDot website says black ice advisories all along that route. I tell FM I want to reroute thru Ogden to north on 15. He says customer won't pay for extra fuel, then I say I have to refuse that load for safety reasons. New preplan comes, load going to El Paso. Next load takes me back to Denver. Then the next load goes to CA on 70. Can't do that one, it's loaded on a 14ft trailer and I won't do Loveland Pass with chain control in effect. Next load on QC goes to you guessed it..... Idaho Falls. And so it all starts over again. I think I'll just take the load the way I want to go. I figure if I can't convince the FM to see what's safer, such as traveling on interstates instead of 2 lane hwys, is worth the extra $60 in fuel, then I'll make that decision on my own. Fleet mgrs/dispatchers whatever you call them, will tell you things like "I pulled doubles over Loveland in the winter" or "You don't know what the road conditions are like until you get there". My answer to them is "I don't have enough experience to feel safe going over that pass in these conditions". The key word here is SAFE. If you use that word very often on the QC, they find themselves respecting your judgement more.

When dispatchers start "suggesting" how you should drive the truck-based on their sometimes "fake" driving experience--- it's time to be suggesting
3-way conference call with SAFETY DIRECTOR. Call you're Risk Manager.
Yes, when you document your opinion that the conditions are unsafe---that's only half-ass CYA. If you still go ahead and drive under those conditions-the monkey is still on your back.