When it comes to a driver's success throughout his or her career there will always be one factor that will stand out time and time again above all else...more important than the equipment you drive, more important than the freight you haul, and even more important than the company you were working for. The biggest factor in the level of success and happiness a truck driver will find will without a doubt be the dispatcher. Everything in trucking begins and ends right here....with dispatch.

Depending on whom you ask, dispatchers can go by many names. If you ask someone in middle management in a large company they may call them fleet managers, distribution specialists, driver managers, and other wonderful titles. They'll smile and say how these people are the backbone of the company and their knowledge, dedication, expertise, and heartfelt appreciation for the hard work their drivers put in has made their company grow into the industry leader it is today.

If you ask experienced drivers about their dispatchers they may agree wholeheartedly with the middle manager's view. Or they may describe them more along the lines of being the most, “idiotic son of a @&%(# I ever knew. That $&^@ is so %*#& $&^@ stupid I'd like to shove his $&$*@ in a $&@*# volcano!”

I can't tell you how many times I've met up with drivers on the road that had the same dispatcher that I had and we had completely opposite opinions of that person. Maybe I was getting 3200 miles per week and home every weekend while the other person was getting 1800 miles per week and only allowed to go home every other weekend.

Nobody will have more of an influence on your success as a driver than your dispatcher. He or she can be your best friend, worst enemy, or anything in between, sometimes all in the same DAY!!! Of course I can be that way too and without a doubt there have been a number of times I've brought that upon myself. But hey, I'm not on trial here so get off my back!! No, seriously though you will find out that you control your own destiny to a very large extent. Pretty soon I'll show you how.

For now, let's start with what exactly your dispatcher does. A dispatcher's duties will vary greatly from company to company. In a smaller company a dispatcher will have a lot more control and authority than in a larger company, generally speaking of course. First and foremost though your dispatcher will be the number one day to day contact point you will have with your company. Almost every single time you call or message your company it will be directed to your dispatcher. You will deal directly with each other one on one but you will not be the only driver your dispatcher will be handling. He or she will have anywhere from 5 to 60 different drivers on their “board”. A dispatcher's board is simply the group of drivers he/she is handling at any given time. If someone else's dispatcher calls in sick you may find that your dispatcher will have to cover his or her board that day and it will likely take you longer to get replies to your messages.

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