Question:
I know that a lot of negative remarks are made in this Forum, regarding dispatchers. I would like to help you newbies get a better perspective of what they go through.
1) They come in each morning to about half of their trucks needing loads. Many companies require the dispatcher to obtain these loads, without the help of a "load planner or Customer Service Rep.". They have to handle ALL problems thet happened since they went home. They have to deal with check calls and they deal with special circumstances ie; truck 777 needs a load to Frankfort, KY for home time and he's in Butte, MT. Problem is, NO FREIGHT out of Butte area going to KY. OK so he puts together 3 short loads that get the driver home. Remember, he has to book the freight, check on the customer's credit, line up appointments, just to get that one driver home. Sometimes, it just isn't meant to be, so the driver stays out longer than he wanted to.
2) While all of the above is going on, many companies have dispatch meetings in the morning, to see how the trucks are being used, to check on deadhead ratios, remember, the company usually doesn't get paid for deadheading to a customer! If deadheading gets out of hand, the company as a whole suffers. There went your raise and the dispatcher's, too!
3)Then the whiners and bitchers start calling in: I don't want that run, I didn't get enough miles last week( Even though he turned down freight because, " I don't want that load") HMMMM sounds familiar, doesn't it?
4) Now a brand new driver, fresh out of the box gets put on his board. He's been told that the new guy is a little shaky on backing and big city driving. So, he needs to keep him going to easy places that aren't in big cities. All part of the process to turn the guy into a good driver. See, you just thought you were done training when you got off the trainer's truck and got your own.
5) Breakdowns happen. It's just part of the industry. You can have brand new trucks that go in the shop 3 times as much as 3 yr old trucks. Right in the middle of the dispatcher's "Smooth" day, truck 444 breaks down in Salt Lake City, UT. The closest truck to him is 777 in Butte, MT and 444 has a HOT load for the company's BEST customer, going to Ontario, CA. Dispatcher talks to 777, telling him the problem and also tells him that if he takes the load, HE WILL go home from California. Driver of 777 whines and (edited), not thinking that this is the best deal, yet. He can stay on the 3 loads that will finally get him home, with 2200 miles and 3 pickups and deliveries making the trip last 5 days, or take the CA load and get 3300 miles getting home in 6 days. What would you do? personally, I'd take the CA load and run with it. 1 more day out and 1100 more paid miles.
There are many more things that go on in a "normal" day for a dispatcher, that I haven't mentioned. The one thing I will say is this: If you make life hard for the dispatcher, he WILL most certainly make life miserable for you, the driver. You can work with them and get those gravy loads or work against them and get the crap loads all the time. Remember, all companies get crap loads. Someone has to pull them. If you have a bad attitude, I can just about guarantee it will be YOU!
Something else to remember, the dispatcher has the power to starve you out. If you constantly are disrespectful and hard to work with, he has the power to starve you. 2 trucks in Omaha, NE 1 load, on Friday afternoon. Guess who's sitting the weekend Guess whose fault it is!

Answer:
It's all about gittin along to get along......NO I aint saying drop to your knees and be the company beeyotch,but you would be pleasantly surprised how smoothly things run if you help a dispatcher "out of a jam" occaisonally.......AND dont be afraid to remind them that they owe you a lil somethin somethin(they do get busy and forget sometimes)
CD
If you think education is hard......try ignorance recovering dweller..........oilfield trash division

Answer:
my dispatcher is really awesome. He knows when I start sounding tired, and slows me down a bit. If I need a break, or have problems, he is always there to help.
If he's got something that needs doing, he knows that I'll do everything in my power to help out.

Answer:
I agree totally I work for a small co and my dispatcher is awesome.Whether Im askin for miles or hometime he always comes thru. the last 2 wks were slow but New Yrs Eve I took a load that just pop[ped up to BROOKLYN,NY. Got major brownie points for that from The OWNER who dispatched me and Im headin for Kentucky tommorrow. My dispatcher knows I like to run and trys to get me good loads as much as possible]

Answer:
I did it for two years, It has its goods and bads.
More of a "Head game" than anything and worth every penny to experience.

Answer:
A friend of mine that is leased onto the same company as me, was offered a load today. He empties out in York, PA tomorrow morning. Dispatcher found a load with a pick-up in the Pittsburgh, PA area ASAP, then Friday three pick-ups in the Cleveland, OH area, another pick-up in Indianapolis, IN on Monday, then deliveries in El Paso, TX and Phoenix,AZ. Since he would have to sit in Indy for the weekend, they're going to pay him $ 300 for sitting. He also already has his reload out of Phoenix lined up: a load to Omaha, NE with a drop trailer in Omaha. See, life can be good when you get along with the dispatchers. BTW this guy can be a whiner at times, but he's still a good guy. Another reason the dispatcher even considered the load is the fact that he knew the driver could handle it. The picks in Cleveland might be a little tight due to the locations.
On a seperate note, notice the timeline here. He gets loaded in Cleveland and beats feet to Indy, so he gets to be off duty for over 34 hours and lookie there, he's got a whole brand new 70 hours to work with. Imagine that