Shocked at the state of Dispatcher Profession

[405]

I wonder if UPS and FedEx allow iPods on the dispatch floor?

 

[homerjdispatch]

I wonder if UPS and FedEx allow iPods on the dispatch floor?

SkyWest doesn't! Although many test this rule, along with the no shorts rule.

 

[10nCLR]

Hey Homer, can you guys where t-shirts on the weekend?

 

[405]

I wonder if UPS and FedEx allow iPods on the dispatch floor?

I'll answer my own question: Probably not and not even a valid question so who cares.

After today I wish I could wear an iPod all day long to drown out some of the ridiculous sh.t and moaning I hear throughout the day. Actually I'd like to work from my house. No dress code, no 20 mile drive in this hellish city, lunch at home every day, no whining people around me, etc. It'd be like getting a raise.

 

[BigFellor]

I'll answer my own question: Probably not and not even a valid question so who cares.

After today I wish I could wear an iPod all day long to drown out some of the ridiculous sh.t and moaning I hear throughout the day. Actually I'd like to work from my house. No dress code, no 20 mile drive in this hellish city, lunch at home every day, no whining people around me, etc. It'd be like getting a raise.

Sounds familiar. I personally think crew scheduling should be moved across town. Nevermind across the airport to a different building. Thinking of buying/figuring out an iPod just to drown out all the whining I have to put up with all day. So crews, if you think you have it bad, come sit in a room with them for 10 hours a day.

 

[brokedash]

SkyWest doesn't! Although many test this rule, along with the no shorts rule.

In my office one of the managers seems to be cracking down on people wearing hats...

I've got no beef againsit ipods or watching movies or sufing the net, just as long as your congnizant of your flights, produce releases correctly and check the radar to monitor flights progress. Way to many dispatch offices are micro-managed, and I think that only adds to the stress some dispatchers are put under. Fortunately my office is designed like a real office with no one starring you down and you can actaully see clear across the room and out the windows.

 

[whatfuelpolicy]

Guys,

I have been dispatching for 9 years now and when I started, it was great. I began my career at a charter company, left after the owners shut down the business to retire and went to PSA. I never would have thought that an airline would continuously operate the way they did. Hiring dispatchers that belong in the special olympics and expecting them to excel in a poor training environment. PSA constantly expected you to make chicken salad out of chicken sh!t. I stayed or 3 years and bolted to another charter company for twice the pay. My advice to any dispatcher that hasn't had the privelege of experiencing the 135 side of the fence; THE GRASS IS GREENER. The regionals aren't going to recognize the error of their ways until the good dispatchers jump ship to go elsewhere. PSA lost 4 supervisors in 3 months. It really opened some eyes at PSA because they had no experienced dispatchers willing to accept a promotion to supervisor and the people that were willing, just got their certificates. Find a charter company and go there! It is worth it.

 

[BigFellor]

they had no experienced dispatchers willing to accept a promotion to supervisor and the people that were willing, just got their certificates.

Hey hey, easy there BP. I know what you are getting at though, you should have been there to see the moron that just left. I wouldn't trust him to tie my shoe let alone work on an aircraft, in ANY capacity. Good to see ya still alive.

 

[whatfuelpolicy]

Hey hey, easy there BP. I know what you are getting at though, you should have been there to see the moron that just left. I wouldn't trust him to tie my shoe let alone work on an aircraft, in ANY capacity. Good to see ya still alive.

Sorry about that. Wasn't pointing the finger at everyone, just the fact that the airline keeps letting the good ones go because they'd rather have an un-experienced body that is willing to follow the fuel policy or be a puppet. PSA doesn't want free thinkers.

 

[brokedash]

A couple of more thoughts:

Professional courtesy shows. Simply speaking to crew members in a firm and through tone will go to great lengths. There are several captains I work with who now call me by name when I work their flights. They know who I am (as a dispatcher) because they see I take the time to do simple things such as rounding off the gate fuel, listening to their concerns and responding courtesy and getting them in touch with someone else in SOC if I can't answer their question, (IE: MX issue, crew issue, etc.).

Addressing a captain with his name also goes a long way, they appreciate that and now due to that some of these pilots and I are on a first name basis when they call.

These guys are also aware of the turds in the dispatch department, and it seems like every time I'm on the jumpseat one of the pilots will ask about that one certain dispatcher and it usually goes into a conversation on what a poor and unprofessional dispatcher this person is. Give them time and a couple of more dispatchers at my place will be infamous enough to be brought up by crew members.

Just a couple of things I've learned through dx that I thought I'd share.

 

[crjdxr]

I think there are several facets to the problems being described.

1. Noobs are only as good as the training they get and the OTJ example that is set by the 'crafty veterans'. To a certain degree one can compensate for the other, but both need to be operating at a high level in order for the noob to get where he/she needs to be proficiency-wise.

2. We don't earn our keep on those clear and a million days. Yes, you still have to pay attention, but paying attention is usually sammiched between time spent looking for Anna K. nip-slips and watching skateboarders getting de-nutted on ebaum's.

3. Any given pilot has an event horizon of one flight. They generally know when all hades is breaking loose, and are pretty good about asking for only what they need. By the same token, they don't really care (nor should they unless they're flying there) that you have five spinning for ATL because an unforcasted flock of wild moths started farting just west of Pumpyoursis, AL.

4. Hiring a bunch of mouth-breathers right out of Sport Allen's Dispatch and Culinary Academy, giving them a few weeks of softball training, another couple weeks of "fetch me some coffee beyotch" OJT, and then turning them loose is not a way to success. Since most of the regional pukes start pay somewhere between happy meal and gubbmint cheese, chances are that Spanky Thumbsucker is not going to be a top notch learner.

That's my rant. How to fix it? Dunno and don't care. At this point I can only worry about me, my flights, and how I do my job. If mgmt. doesn't feel the need to fix it, or if they are too cowardly to do so, then so be it.

 

[BigFellor]

2. We don't earn our keep on those clear and a million days.

Granted, they can be a tad monotonous and a nice break from time to time, but surely there are still things you can do/learn/review ... especially if you are in a position to directly train new people, or just be available for questions from them.

Yes, you still have to pay attention, but paying attention is usually sammiched between time spent looking for Anna K. nip-slips and watching skateboarders getting de-nutted on ebaum's.

Are you kidding me? Are you old enough to have a dispatch ticket? You just made the point of this entire post. Good job!

 

[WalterSobchak]

3. Any given pilot has an event horizon of one flight. They generally know when all hades is breaking loose, and are pretty good about asking for only what they need. By the same token, they don't really care (nor should they unless they're flying there) that you have five spinning for ATL because an unforcasted flock of wild moths started farting just west of Pumpyoursis, AL.

That...was epic. Thanks for that...

 

[crjdxr]

I understand for the most part now, regionals seem to be a stepping stone to something better, but for God's sake people, take a little pride in your work and do it well. The safety of thousands of lives are in your hands and the Captain's hand every day. One of my biggest complaints is these people just dont seem to give a damn.

BigFellor,

I understand your point, and maybe you missed mine. In my yearS (started in my mid-20's..in my mid 30's now) of dispatching experience, I have learned that I cannot make someone take pride in their job. We can lead the noobs to the door, but they and only they can knock on that door. That is their choice. If a noob (or a crafty veteran for that matter) is spanking it sideways instead of monitoring their console, sure, I can and have (made one cry once) jumped all over them. But that is a temporary fix.

Not a one of us can do more than set a good example. If you're in management, grow a pair and start ********************-canning the chaff. Make it a point to hire in a different type of person, rather than a warm body with a still smoking whiz-wheel.

Take your concerns to management. Volunteer to help out with new hire training. Hell, take over new hire training. Mentor and lead. Don't just sit fuming at your desk because Johnny Dispatcher sent a half empty aircraft with 15 minutes of holding fuel to a hub airport during a heavy arrival bank.

Iffin' yer feeling really frisky, call your friendly FAA inspector down on FSDO way and raise a stink with him/her. The FAA weenies are looking for easy wins these days, and I'm sure they'd be along presently to "help". Of course, the boss(es) will probably take you into a conference room and "thank" you for your assistance. That's your call.

 

[crjdxr]

That...was epic. Thanks for that...

:beer:

 

[brokedash]

BigFellor,


Not a one of us can do more than set a good example. If you're in management, grow a pair and start ********************-canning the chaff. Make it a point to hire in a different type of person, rather than a warm body with a still smoking whiz-wheel.

If you can find that 'different' type. There are some people out there that have never dx before but are serious in learning and doing a good job, but more often that not you get more 'warm bodies' because the people applying are looking for a pay check, not a job skill (and license) their wanting to apply. Why noobs get their dx ticket is beyond me, but they seem to be wlecomed at the regional level with open arms.

Take your concerns to management. Volunteer to help out with new hire training. Hell, take over new hire training. Mentor and lead. Don't just sit fuming at your desk because Johnny Dispatcher sent a half empty aircraft with 15 minutes of holding fuel to a hub airport during a heavy arrival bank.

I've done the mentor and lead thing, stepping in to help newbies that just got checked off and thrown on a desk, with answering questions they didn't absorb or job related issues that were never brought up in training. However, you can only do so much, Someone that wants to better themselves asks Q's and gets more profiecient, then there are the turds that just never get it and are always depending on you and your knowledge to do their work for them or worse they just stop asking and it's hard to detect the problem until s--- hits the fan.

Iffin' yer feeling really frisky, call your friendly FAA inspector down on FSDO way and raise a stink with him/her. The FAA weenies are looking for easy wins these days, and I'm sure they'd be along presently to "help". Of course, the boss(es) will probably take you into a conference room and "thank" you for your assistance. That's your call.

Yes, and your boss can give you a nice 'thanks for throwing us under the bus' lecture when that LOI comes back from your favorite federal agency citing the company for poor training. The company takes the heat, which you might think as a good thing, but it totally circumnavigates the real issue of dealing with tools that shouldn't be on a desk because their actions in dx prove it's questionable if they should even have a license. Then with the real issue ignored, the company goes out to hire some more 'warm bodies', one of which might possibly be your replacement... Bottom line, be careful how you address the issue if you feel compelled to go to FSDO, make sure it highlights the mis-haps of 'warm bodies' that probably couldn't pass a spot comp check, not taking the company to the cleaners.