Say What?

Question: What makes a good dispatcher?

Ron Stevens, 37, Philadelphia, PA

Professional driving experience: 12 years

“I haul propane. In the winter season, when the weather is cold, they want us to work no matter what. It gets to be a bit tricky, but the dispatcher should try to understand our needs and fit them into the company’s needs. The driver knows the job; dispatchers don’t. Communication is the key. Dispatch needs to communicate with the driver and know what the driver is able to do. Communication is the key, from the president all the way down. If there is no communication, there are going to be problems, and it will usually result in an upset driver.”

Mark Leggu, 52, Grove City, OH

Professional driving experience: 25 years

“I get along with dispatch pretty well. They ask if I want to go someplace, and I tell them yes or no. That’s what's nice about being an owner-operator. What makes a good dispatcher? One who understands what it means to be out on the road. One who has been through what we go through every day. I believe dispatchers should have driven themselves at some point in their career.”

Dianne “Granny” Smith, 51 Massillon, OH

Professional driving experience: 19 years

“Dispatchers should know that drivers have feelings. We’re not robots. You

can’t just say ‘pick this load up here’ and ‘you’ve got to be there at 9 a.m.,’ and ‘you’ve got to deliver the next load at 2 p.m., even though it’s a thousand miles away.’ That can’t be done, and a good dispatcher will know that.”

Ron “Snuffy” Smith, 52, Massillon, OH

Professional driving experience: 28 years

“The best dispatcher in any trucking company is someone who has compassion and understands that drivers are people, too. It’s not just a truck and the load. We’re human beings, and we have to stop and take breaks once in a while. We have limitations. There are a lot of dispatchers today that have never driven a truck, but they know how to operate a computer. I’m not saying that’s not good, because you need that, too. But they should also be able to think in terms of actually being out on the road and how much travel time is involved to get from here to there.”