How To Be An Incredible Dispatcher
Dispatchers can be unrecognized heroes in the trucking industry as they get trucks from point a to point b and make sure they stay on schedule. If you’re joining a new fleet as a dispatcher or if you’re looking to hire a dispatcher for your fleet be aware that a good dispatcher can make or break a trucking business.
Everyone in the trucking industry has heard a bad dispatcher story or has their own experience to share. Don’t become another part of trucking lore. Instead, check out our tips on how to up your dispatching game.
How To Be An Incredible Dispatcher
Have Good Communication Skills
Truckers already deal with enough people who make them feel like another number when they deserve respect. Talk to your drivers politely and take interest in what they are saying. Avoid the use of profanity and don’t try to cut calls short or rush your drivers off the phone.
We know that dispatchers lead a busy lifestyle, so it’s perfectly fine to be direct with drivers some days, but remember that you will be talking to them on a daily basis and everything will go much smoother with a positive attitude.
Even though you will be receiving tons of calls on a daily basis, you can’t use that as an excuse to ignore your quiet drivers. Call and check-in with everyone.
Keep Calm And Prioritize
Grab a cup of coffee and relax. You know as a dispatcher that you have a lot on your plate and stressing out about it won’t help you accomplish anything. Make a list of what you need to get done, then prepare for your list to get a little unorganized as you begin to multitask during the day.
You will always have a lot going on at once, so it’s important to be able to have the ability to quickly decide which task is the most important.
Do you need to reroute a driver or contact a client to let them know their delivery will be late first? Do you need to call your driver back to answer questions about a terminal or check on a driver you haven’t heard from yet today? These are only a few examples of the daily chaos you might face.
Don’t Get Mad
You are the middleman between your driver and the customer. That means that you usually get the earfuls of their complaints. If the driver is going to be late you may have a very frustrated client to deal with. Also, if the client needs your driver to delay their delivery by a few hours you may have an angry driver to deal with.
Take a few deep breaths and keep your composure. If you let your anger get the best of you the situation could escalate or you could lose a client. Also, if your driver gets angry they could take it out in the form of road rage, which is extremely dangerous.
Be Prepared To Plan
As a dispatcher, a lot more goes into your routes than simply getting a driver from a starting and ending location. You need to figure out how to cut costs, be efficient, and most importantly, keep your drivers safe.
Try to plan the most direct routes with safe passage for truckers. Also, don’t push a driver past their limits. If they need to stop because they are tired or sick, let them.
To cut costs you can try to combine shipments, find routes with the cheapest fuel prices, try to negotiate rates with shippers, and more.
Become A Dispatching Legend
Dispatching trucks can be a job that deals with a high level of stress on a daily basis, but as the backbone of trucking, we need you! With a little planning and the ability to keep calm and prioritize you’ll lead your drivers to greatness.
