Some owner-operators say that they can book the loads by themselves, and yes, this is true. However, if you book the load while you are driving, it's illegal, and you are subject to a big fine—I mean thousands of dollars—especially since you represent a company and you are not somebody's employee (for trucking companies found in violation, this can result in penalties as high as $11,000). And this fine is for a reason—with such a heavy vehicle on the road, you are a danger to others if you aren't paying full attention to the road you are driving on. Using a mobile phone, whether hand-held or hands-free, is distracting and dangerous to any driver. Calls can only be placed or received if it requires nothing more than pressing a single button.

Some may argue that they can book the next load while unloading. Yes, but in today's market, those 2 hours most likely won't be enough. As a dispatcher, I have two 32-inch screens and multiple load boards, allowing me to have a quick reaction to call the broker or press a button that says "book it now" if I see a matching load. You can never beat that since I am focused solely on that task.

You might argue that the dispatcher has multiple trucks to cover at the same time, but it's not entirely correct. The dispatcher prioritizes their time to cover trucks and book loads in order of importance and urgency. Once in a while (but rarely), it may happen that all trucks experience some kind of issue (e.g., the load gets cancelled, the truck breaks down, the load gets rejected, and so on). However, during my 7 years of career as a dispatcher, this has happened only once or twice (and those were hellish days!).

You can argue that it depends on how greedy the dispatcher is. And you are right—if a dispatcher takes on too many trucks to dispatch (e.g., 10-15 trucks), the quality of the booked loads diminishes, and the overall attention to each driver decreases. In my opinion, having five trucks per dispatcher is very safe, and in today's market where loads are scarce, I would consider seven trucks to be the highest number I would be willing to handle without taking on too much risk. If the loads were abundant, like they were more than two years ago, I would say that handling up to 10 trucks is still acceptable, but no more than that. Sometimes a company dispatcher might face an emergency when their colleague is sick or on vacation, and they may have to handle more than 10 trucks for a short period of time, but that is indeed a challenge.

So, tell me, after considering my arguments, are you still not in need of a dispatcher?

I started in March 2017. Initially, I was instructed to make as many calls as possible. So, I called every broker and negotiated rates. However, even if the broker agreed to my rate, I would say, 'Let me talk to my boss about it.' It was just part of the training. After a week, I began booking loads, but at every step, my supervisor, who had been a dispatcher for 10 years, checked my work. He advised me to call every shipper and receiver, verify pick-up and delivery times, and confirm pick-up and delivery numbers from the rate confirmation with the shipper and receiver. I considered it as another form of training, although practically speaking, it didn't seem necessary since there was only a mistake in about 1 out of every 100 cases, such as incorrect times or addresses. Brokers would get annoyed when they realized I was double-checking what should have been their responsibility in the first place—to ensure smooth pick-up and delivery of the load.

I used to assist the drivers in case of a truck breakdown by finding a nearby repair service or roadside assistance if the truck couldn't move. However, in the last company I worked for, that responsibility was handed over to the safety manager. Additionally, if the receiver rejected the load for some reason or if we were late and the next delivery appointment was given for a week later, my job was to find a cross dock where we could unload our cargo, so the truck wouldn't sit with the load in the trailer without making any money.

There are also other common tasks, such as dealing with lumpers, detentions, layovers, and TONU (truck order not used). Some brokers drag their feet in handling these issues—sometimes out of laziness and sometimes to keep the money for themselves, especially when it comes to detention fees. I had to email, message, and call them multiple times just to ensure that the carrier received what was rightfully theirs.

Furthermore, it is important to consider checking the weather, especially during winter, when planning loads. Sometimes a load may offer a high payment, but that is because certain routes, such as I-80 in Wyoming, could be closed for days due to weather conditions, resulting in potential long delays. As a result, nobody is keen on taking the load, and brokers may offer a higher rate to entice carriers. Additionally, there have been instances of floods in certain areas, making it extremely difficult to reach certain destinations in Houston due to road closures caused by water.

Moreover, there were instances when brokers failed to provide all the necessary information about a load. Since I transported food-grade trailers, we avoided certain types of cargo, such as bulk potatoes or hay, baled materials like metal or paper from recycling facilities, as well as floor-loaded items like tires. Therefore, when reviewing the rate confirmation, I had to pay close attention to the shipper's or receiver's name or line of business. If I came across anything related to "recycling," I immediately contacted the broker to investigate further. Many times, if my concerns proved valid, I had to cancel the load.

I made an effort to avoid floor-loaded loads or dropping the trailer, as it would waste the driver's time. Additionally, in my 7 years of experience, there were very few occasions when I had to leave a driver waiting for a load to be scheduled on another day. Generally, it was not my fault in such cases. The load would often get canceled late in the afternoon, leaving insufficient time to find an alternative load, or there would be a breakdown of the truck or a rejection of the trailer. On some occasions, shippers rejected us repeatedly due to a driver's rude behavior or issues with the condition of the trailer (where they would close the door and check for any exterior light shining through). Some brokers can be highly selective, especially when loads are scarce, and they have various requirements, such as demanding immediate tracking acceptance from the driver, requesting pictures of the trailer, asking for the year, make, and model of both the truck and the trailer, along with their VIN numbers and the driver's license. They might even check if the driver has ever been arrested when visiting military facilities or if they possess a passport instead of a green card, as some government facilities require a clean background check to allow the driver to transport their load. As a dispatcher, it is necessary to please the broker without compromising the equipment or disrupting the driver's livelihood and, at the same time, secure well-paying loads.

Therefore, please do not claim that dispatchers do not earn their share. An experienced dispatcher, just by looking at the load board, can determine with 90% certainty which loads are not even worth considering, and only pursue the ones that offer the best value. After spending 7 years examining load boards for 10-12 hours a day and making countless calls, you learn to avoid brokers with dishonest practices, such as TQL, who tend to post their loads hundreds of miles away from the actual pick-up location.