Do you want me to make you aware???

[acvox24]

"Do you want me to make you aware." This is question that is asked a lot by dispatchers, and it has always puzzled me. What happens is a dispatcher will call you telling you that they have sent you a load. And they go on to tell you, it picks up here, it delivers there, these are the loaded, and so on and on. Ya ok that's sound cool. Then they ask do you want me to make you aware. I always chuckle inside because isn't that what just happen. I mean that's no longer an option the cats already out of the bag.
We'll today I got sent a load and on the Panther phone app you can decline or "make aware", but you can't accept. So I hit "make aware" to tell them I was aware of the load offer so they didn't need to worry or track me down. Needless to say they called anyway, and I got into and argument over the semantics of "make aware"
According to the dispatcher she claimed that it meant I'm going to accept the load.
So what's going on. Why do they always ask that. Am I wrong in this or is it just very badly coined term they use. Or does it mean exactly what it says, and this was a dispatcher just trying to bully me into accepting a load. Which of course has the opposite effect with me.

 

[acvox24]

Well I guess everybody must be as confused as I am over this. I wonder if Panther is aware that they are habitually asking there drivers a question that none of them understand.

 

[Turtle]

According to the dispatcher she claimed that it meant I'm going to accept the load.

On their end, that's exactly what it means.

In order to book you on a load, to prevent another dispatcher from simultaneously booking you on a different load, or from dispatching the same load (same PRO#) to another truck at the same time, they actually put you on the load. It's essentially putting a "DO NOT TOUCH" sign on your truck, and on the load. To any dispatcher (other than the one who just put you on the load) looking at you or the load, you're on it. Done. If something distracts the dispatcher who put you on the load, an emergency, or even their shift ends before you accept the load, or you never answer the load via QC or the phone, anyone looking will think you are have accepted the load and are on it. Done. They won't pay it any attention until you show as being late for the pickup on the computer. Then they'll call you and ask where you are and what your ETA is and why you're running late.

In order to prevent all that mess from happening, you are initially put on the load but are flagged as "unaware" on the load. That lets everyone know you're on the load, but you aren't even aware of it and haven't yet accepted it. Once you accept the load, your status is changed from "unaware" to "aware" to let everyone in dispatch (and Safety and everyone else who's looking) know that you've accepted the load. If you turn down the load, you are removed from the load completely, being neither "aware" nor "unaware." This happens automatically when you turn down the load via the QC, and alerts dispatch that the load still needs to be covered.

Going from "unaware" to "aware" on the computer makes perfect sense to those in dispatch. Not so much to the drivers who have no clue when they are on a load but are "unaware" of the load. It would certainly make more sense to use the nomenclature of "unaware" and "accepted" on the computer system, that way everyone all around would be using the same language. It's like to drivers who cross the border or pickup freight that will eventually go to Canada, the BOL and customs invoice is referred to simply as "Customs Paperwork," because that's what it is. To dispatchers, it's "CCI" because of the Canadian Customs Invoice. They assume you're going to have a BOL, since ya gotta gotta, but they want to make sure you have the CCI, cause you must must. The first time they ask you about a CCI and you respond with, "I don't know that that means," they will exhibit ginormous exasperation at your rank ignorance and stupidity and tersely tell you what it means. Now you know.

Whether it's aware or CCI or any number of other stupid little things, embrace them. Learn them. Be one with the stupidity. Once you embrace the stupidity, you came make it work for you. Or at least have some fun with it. Next time they call you on a load, tell them you'll run it, but not to make you "aware" yet. Tell not for at least half an hour. When they ask why, just say it seems like the prudent thing to do, don't want to rush into anything. Or that you want to see what happens, or you want to spice things up a little. They of course will ignore you and make you aware post haste.

 

[acvox24]

Thanks Turtle, The confusion is over. Now I'm aware of being aware.

 

[Moot]

I don't get that question asked of me very often. Usually it is only asked by new dispatchers, so I only hear it about twice a week. When asked: "Can I make you aware", I reply sure. Then I add when I look over the load offer I'll accept or decline so consider me aware. That usually confuses them so they ask again if they can make me aware. So I play stupid, winch comes naturally. I ask what does "make me aware" mean. The conversation declines even more from that point. By then I have decided whether I want the load or not but occasionally, with some perversity, drag it out for yucks. One can either embrace the stupidity or fight it. I choose to embrace it and then go the extra mile.