Dispatcher Vs Broker

[BarkerBK]

Hi all! I've spent my career in transportation and have noticed in recent years this has become a hot topic. I'm no stranger to the average drivers opinion on either.

While many operators are fully committed to working independent, I'm curious your opinions on which you would prefer. I've rarely seen a dispatcher in a carrier setting work on behalf and advocate for their drivers. It's always company time and revenue as the priority. I've also met very few brokers truly advocating for the operators they offer loads to. It is always about making that large difference for themselves, giving the shipper the break to get their business while offering close to the minimum to the drivers to get the load moved.

I think there is a huge industry push for independent dispatchers. People knowledgeable in the industry and privy to these tricks that are contributing to driver shortages and an overall bad taste in the mouths of the ppl our country depends on, drivers. People to advocate FOR the drivers. Would love to hear your opinions on the subject.

 

[Sinister]

I think driver opinions on what's good and bad are as varied as anything can be.

Some drivers will take a company job that may not pay as much as they could make but offers a steady schedule and hometime. Other drivers are willing to sacrifice home time for money and
interesting work. Personally I commute 120 miles one way for a job with good pay and a steady schedule, but also that will fire you fairly quickly if you stack too many serious infractions.

Owner operators like @Electric Chicken are confused in life as to whether or not they want to work at all and so adjust their life to have a minimum of expenses, thus enabling the freedom of ownership without the stress of chasing every dime for revenue. This also allows him to really wine and dine all the Amish women he prefers.

What's good and not is really a subjective thing. Some people still think sitting every other weekend in a truck stop for free is normal. Others can't leave home for more than ten hours.

I'm not sure of any industry wide issues you'll find a common consensus on that need fixing except "more parking".

 

[Shreck]

I think driver opinions on what's good and bad are as varied as anything can be.

Some drivers will take a company job that may not pay as much as they could make but offers a steady schedule and hometime. Other drivers are willing to sacrifice home time for money and
interesting work. Personally I commute 120 miles one way for a job with good pay and a steady schedule, but also that will fire you fairly quickly if you stack too many serious infractions.

Owner operators like @Electric Chicken are confused in life as to whether or not they want to work at all and so adjust their life to have a minimum of expenses, thus enabling the freedom of ownership without the stress of chasing every dime for revenue. This also allows him to really wine and dine all the Amish women he prefers.

What's good and not is really a subjective thing. Some people still think sitting every other weekend in a truck stop for free is normal. Others can't leave home for more than ten hours.

I'm not sure of any industry wide issues you'll find a common consensus on that need fixing except "more parking".

lol

 

[Mike]

To be honest, I don’t need a broker or a dispatcher to advocate for me. I am my own responsibility and will take care of myself.

No independent dispatcher can take care of issues that arise better than me because I will always have my best interests in mind.

Also, there is truly no such thing as an independent dispatcher. Why? Because you can’t do a minute of business without my business numbers. The best you can do is make phone calls as a representative of my business.

You don’t have a truck or authority, so you cannot independently book loads, and you are not a broker so you can’t build a freight base to provide me.

Nowhere in there is independence. You are fully dependent on carriers to let you represent them, and it’s debatable as to whether that is even legal or not.

If I have a problem with a load, I want direct contact with the broker who is responsible for the load, and if that doesn’t quickly bring resolution, I want contact with their manager, and ultimately the owner of the brokerage.

You have zero skin in the game. You can ruin a relationship between a carrier and broker, and simply continue doing business with that same broker for other carriers.

To me, you are merely one additional obstacle when it comes to problem solving. Now, it takes two phone calls to reach a broker with a problem, not just one. And if you are handling other trucks as well, my call to the broker may be delayed, or it may end up being an email rather than a direct call.

 

[Electric Chicken]

I think driver opinions on what's good and bad are as varied as anything can be.

Some drivers will take a company job that may not pay as much as they could make but offers a steady schedule and hometime. Other drivers are willing to sacrifice home time for money and
interesting work. Personally I commute 120 miles one way for a job with good pay and a steady schedule, but also that will fire you fairly quickly if you stack too many serious infractions.

Owner operators like @Electric Chicken are confused in life as to whether or not they want to work at all and so adjust their life to have a minimum of expenses, thus enabling the freedom of ownership without the stress of chasing every dime for revenue. This also allows him to really wine and dine all the Amish women he prefers.

What's good and not is really a subjective thing. Some people still think sitting every other weekend in a truck stop for free is normal. Others can't leave home for more than ten hours.

I'm not sure of any industry wide issues you'll find a common consensus on that need fixing except "more parking".

Accurate.

 

[Electric Chicken]

To be honest, I don’t need a broker or a dispatcher to advocate for me. I am my own responsibility and will take care of myself.

No independent dispatcher can take care of issues that arise better than me because I will always have my best interests in mind.

Also, there is truly no such thing as an independent dispatcher. Why? Because you can’t do a minute of business without my business numbers. The best you can do is make phone calls as a representative of my business.

You don’t have a truck or authority, so you cannot independently book loads, and you are not a broker so you can’t build a freight base to provide me.

Nowhere in there is independence. You are fully dependent on carriers to let you represent them, and it’s debatable as to whether that is even legal or not.

If I have a problem with a load, I want direct contact with the broker who is responsible for the load, and if that doesn’t quickly bring resolution, I want contact with their manager, and ultimately the owner of the brokerage.

You have zero skin in the game. You can ruin a relationship between a carrier and broker, and simply continue doing business with that same broker for other carriers.

To me, you are merely one additional obstacle when it comes to problem solving. Now, it takes two phone calls to reach a broker with a problem, not just one. And if you are handling other trucks as well, my call to the broker may be delayed, or it may end up being an email rather than a direct call.

Yeah if anything I need a girlfriend to watch the load boards and book things that come up while I'm busy driving.

I'm not paying someone a cut for that low effort.

I don't need an advocate either because I have a phone and a headset, and nobody has more clout than the "CEO."

 

[mndriver]

When I had multiple trucks under my authority, it was nice having a guy as a dispatcher booking my loads. I had four other trucks I was minding and babysitting. Even leased o/o need babysitting.

I leased my truck to a company to get the same benefit and actually have a freight base to pull from. Kind of nice when you have 30-40 agents looking for trucks to cover loads. You see the shit that never hits the load boards.

 

[JamesFS]

As a Independent dispatcher I work very hard for the drivers that I dispatch for. I am a former driver. I drove for over 25 years until my health took me off the road. I have been a company driver and an owner operator. I know what you go through out there. I ALWAYS put the drivers I dispatch for first. I ALWAYS make sure they make as much money as possible. If they dont make money, I dont either. Can you do it all on your own, sure you can. I respect the fact that you can do it all on your own and dont really need my help. But, why do it all on your own? I can be looking for loads while your driving, sleeping or on home time. I can handle all the back office stuff for you. I know using a dispatch service is not for all drivers. That's cool.

 

[Wolf River Transit]

As a Independent dispatcher I work very hard for the drivers that I dispatch for. I am a former driver. I drove for over 25 years until my health took me off the road. I have been a company driver and an owner operator. I know what you go through out there. I ALWAYS put the drivers I dispatch for first. I ALWAYS make sure they make as much money as possible. If they dont make money, I dont either. Can you do it all on your own, sure you can. I respect the fact that you can do it all on your own and dont really need my help. But, why do it all on your own? I can be looking for loads while your driving, sleeping or on home time. I can handle all the back office stuff for you. I know using a dispatch service is not for all drivers. That's cool.

Exactly! We work hard for our O/O.