What makes a good dispatcher?

I may be in the minority here, but if a company schedules you 8-6, they pay you 8-6. If you show up early they don't pay you extra, but darn right they will take pay away if you are late. By wanting you there at 7:45 for an 8 shift, they are saying your time is worthless because they literally pay you $0 for those 15 minutes.
 
bbmikej said:
I may be in the minority here, but if a company schedules you 8-6, they pay you 8-6. If you show up early they don't pay you extra, but darn right they will take pay away if you are late. By wanting you there at 7:45 for an 8 shift, they are saying your time is worthless because they literally pay you $0 for those 15 minutes.
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Don’t get this mindset at all…at the majors we make a boatload of money, and that is before you factor in things like premiums for various things (shift,secondary quals, just holding the license, etc.)… heck with how the airlines have been this summer, we have seen topped out senior guys making more in a single OT shift than regional dispatchers make in an entire check.

sure it’s up to you to be there at X time, but i will say this. If you’re always the last one in for turnover don’t expect to get the super detailed or any extra favors in terms of fuel if you’re walking in at 1300 right on the dot because in the words of you, we aren’t paid extra…
 
Most places schedule 15 minutes if not 30 minutes of overlap. That is plenty of time to give a detailed pass down. If your company doesn't have any overlap, that is the company saying that they expect you to work extra for them. Not to mention most of the pass downs I've received rarely last more than 2 or 3 minutes, and usually that is plenty for the day ahead.
 
Just be on time. Its good for life. If someone asked me for a reference and I knew them to be chronically tardy, I'd say no. Where I work we get paid for the 15min turnover. Even if I didn't, I'd still be there 10-15min early because that's how responsible adults should plan their day. That 15min is courtesy and contingency. If something comes up, I'm still on time. On-the-dotters are late every time there's some minor traffic abnormality, they forgot they needed to get gas, etc.
 
I guess I should elaborate a bit. I always try to be there 5-10 minutes early so I can grab a cup of coffee and some water before taking the desk on time. If I'm running a little late, I'll pass up on the drinks until later. I think companies having the expectation that you show up 15, 20, even 30 minutes early is toxic. If you choose to show up 30 minutes early in your own time, more power to you.
 
Good dispatcher moves often involve looking at the "big picture"

- I was racing a line of storms to Nashville. They were forecast to get there right at arrival time. Dispatcher filed me with both Memphis and Knoxville as alternates because he wasn't sure which side of the weather we'd be on when we got there.
- When I'm doing a transcon and some unforecast weather pops up 800 miles ahead, it's appreciated when a dispatcher warns us and perhaps suggests a different routing to request. "Hey, maybe ask to go over northern New Mexico instead of El Paso" when you're still hundreds of miles out is generally far superior to having to pick through a bunch of cells.


Bad dispatcher moves are pretty much any decision made where, when questioned by the pilots, the dispatcher responds with either "well, it's legal" or "we have this new policy."
 
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