Many previous threads have included comments regarding a desire that non-CDL qualified dispatchers and other company personnel accompany a driver on the road for a while so they can appreciate the pro and con of our day-to-day routine and decision making processes. I know I'm in the minority with my position, but I think a drive-along by a dispatcher is not a good idea.
When a team or solo leaves an empty home to go on the road for two or more weeks they have to make advance preparations to become expediters as well as care for that which they leave behind. These are some of the things we've felt necessary:
Install intrusion alarms; $250 + annual monitoring fee of $276,
Install irrigation system to maintain lawn and shrubs; $2800,
Lawn mowing service; $1200 annual,
Obtain PO Drawer for mail security; $120 annual,
Buy a truck, equipment and make it ready for expediting $30,000 - $100,000 minimum.
Obtain CDL with hazmat endorsements; $120 plus any training necessary.
Obtain DOT medical card; $75
Other O/O's may also have had to do some or all of the following:
Attend basic orientation; xxx miles deadhead, 2-3 days hotel bill, more deadhead,
Attend Nuclear, A&E, Hazmat training; more deadhead and hotel bills,
Reefer truck temperature validation; more dead head and layover expense.
When the phone rings with an acceptable run offer we have to do the following:
Discard all perishable fruits, vegetables, and items that will expire prior to our anticipated return,
Load van with all bills that will come due while we're gone,
Soak all indoor plants and hope they don't die,
Load van with enough clothes for warm or cold weather.
What does a dispatcher have to do before going on a ride-along? Pack a bag with 5 days clothing.
They don't have to worry about getting a run offer that will cover their weekly expense because they are still on the company payroll and are probably getting a per diem rate to cover hotels and food. Most likely they would have someone back at their residence to take care of things that we worry about. The dispatcher will have had a nice 5 day respite from the office grind and when they get back to work will likely spend a fair amount of time at the proverbial water cooler telling colleagues about all that was seen on the weeklong adventure.
We can explain our thought process for load selection to the ride-along, but until they would have to experience the long term effect of our idle days and repeated discounted loads on their own pocketbook, they can never fully understand what it is we do and how or why we do it. Heck, after all these 17 years, I'm no longer sure why or how we do it.
In fairness to the dispatchers and other office staff, we don't fully understand their role in the scheme of things. Rene' and I have sat, with headphones on, with customer service agents and dispatchers for, cumulatively, several hours. We watched their computer screens flash from page to page as they dealt with easy and difficult customers and pleasant and ornery drivers as they handled easy and complex loads. It takes each of them several months of training and hands-on experience to become proficient at their jobs.
We can never understand the complexity of our dispatchers' jobs, nor the roles their management play in operating a large motor carrier by watching them at work for a few hours. Alternately, they can never truly understand the day-to-day dilemmas we face by setting in the passenger seat for a few day trips.
A more important program, I believe, is the Contractor Relations program that FedEx Custom Critical has had for several years, the pending Panther inaugural Contractor Relations meeting, and perhaps similar gatherings by other carriers. Management and Owner/Operators each have the opportunity to exchange comments, ideas and displeasures around the big table. The impact on company and driver and the pros and cons of any government regulations, company policies or Owner/Operator recommendations are often reviewed or resolved before any operational changes are implemented.
When a team or solo leaves an empty home to go on the road for two or more weeks they have to make advance preparations to become expediters as well as care for that which they leave behind. These are some of the things we've felt necessary:
Install intrusion alarms; $250 + annual monitoring fee of $276,
Install irrigation system to maintain lawn and shrubs; $2800,
Lawn mowing service; $1200 annual,
Obtain PO Drawer for mail security; $120 annual,
Buy a truck, equipment and make it ready for expediting $30,000 - $100,000 minimum.
Obtain CDL with hazmat endorsements; $120 plus any training necessary.
Obtain DOT medical card; $75
Other O/O's may also have had to do some or all of the following:
Attend basic orientation; xxx miles deadhead, 2-3 days hotel bill, more deadhead,
Attend Nuclear, A&E, Hazmat training; more deadhead and hotel bills,
Reefer truck temperature validation; more dead head and layover expense.
When the phone rings with an acceptable run offer we have to do the following:
Discard all perishable fruits, vegetables, and items that will expire prior to our anticipated return,
Load van with all bills that will come due while we're gone,
Soak all indoor plants and hope they don't die,
Load van with enough clothes for warm or cold weather.
What does a dispatcher have to do before going on a ride-along? Pack a bag with 5 days clothing.
They don't have to worry about getting a run offer that will cover their weekly expense because they are still on the company payroll and are probably getting a per diem rate to cover hotels and food. Most likely they would have someone back at their residence to take care of things that we worry about. The dispatcher will have had a nice 5 day respite from the office grind and when they get back to work will likely spend a fair amount of time at the proverbial water cooler telling colleagues about all that was seen on the weeklong adventure.
We can explain our thought process for load selection to the ride-along, but until they would have to experience the long term effect of our idle days and repeated discounted loads on their own pocketbook, they can never fully understand what it is we do and how or why we do it. Heck, after all these 17 years, I'm no longer sure why or how we do it.
In fairness to the dispatchers and other office staff, we don't fully understand their role in the scheme of things. Rene' and I have sat, with headphones on, with customer service agents and dispatchers for, cumulatively, several hours. We watched their computer screens flash from page to page as they dealt with easy and difficult customers and pleasant and ornery drivers as they handled easy and complex loads. It takes each of them several months of training and hands-on experience to become proficient at their jobs.
We can never understand the complexity of our dispatchers' jobs, nor the roles their management play in operating a large motor carrier by watching them at work for a few hours. Alternately, they can never truly understand the day-to-day dilemmas we face by setting in the passenger seat for a few day trips.
A more important program, I believe, is the Contractor Relations program that FedEx Custom Critical has had for several years, the pending Panther inaugural Contractor Relations meeting, and perhaps similar gatherings by other carriers. Management and Owner/Operators each have the opportunity to exchange comments, ideas and displeasures around the big table. The impact on company and driver and the pros and cons of any government regulations, company policies or Owner/Operator recommendations are often reviewed or resolved before any operational changes are implemented.
