It's a Team's Life

Dispatchers

While Bob was at US Xpress we quickly figured out that we were on our own.   We often would wait on hold for over an hour to talk in person to our dispatcher.   We would send in QUALCOMM messages that were often not acknowledged.    We had terminals and when we were at our home terminal in Oklahoma City we would stop in and say Hi if our dispatcher had time.  

We had a huge culture shock when we had our first encounter with the dispatchers at FedEx Custom Critical.   The first load that we were dispatched on had horrible directions and we called in for clarification.   The dispatcher who answered the phone quickly located our truck and was able to clarify the directions and get us rolling again.  

On another trip we rolled into the customer and were told your load is on another truck and we will not be unloading it and relocating it to your truck.   We went out and made a call to the dispatcher who told us just sit still and I will call you back.   Not only did she call us back but the customer came out, apologized and told us what dock to back into.   The dispatcher called us back to verify that all was well.

HazMat loads are another reason we are glad the dispatcher is in our corner.   We often get frustrated over the dispatcher sticking to the rules and us having to get our paperwork right.   Once after spending over an hour getting our paperwork right so we could leave the customer I was stopped at a scale for a level one inspection.   If my paperwork would have been wrong we all would have been fined.

Whenever we get frustrated at our dispatch system we go back to what it was like at US Xpress and are once again thankful for the dispatchers we have and how courteous they are to us.   Everyone can have a bad day including us and when that happens we just remind each other “Are we having a Purple Promise moment?”

Bob & Linda Caffee
Leased to: FedEx Custom Critical
TeamCaffee
Saint Louis MO
Expediters 5 years been out here on the road ten years
[email protected]

Expediting isn't just trucking, it's a lifestyle;
Expediting isn't just a lifestyle, it's an adventure;
Expediting isn't just an adventure, it's a job;
Expediting isn't just a job, it's a business.