How to choose a truck dispatch service
A dispatch service is a phone number you hand your truck to. Pick the wrong one and you find out on a Friday afternoon with a trailer sitting empty. Here is what to ask before you sign, in the order it matters.
1. Who is actually working your truck?
Ask for the name of the dispatcher who will have your truck, how many trucks they carry, and what happens when that person is off. A desk with real coverage answers in one sentence. A one-person operation stalls. Twenty-plus trucks on one dispatcher means your reload gets planned after everyone else's.
2. Which boards and which brokers?
The two boards that matter for most carriers are DAT One and Truckstop. Ask which ones the desk works every day and whether they bring their own broker relationships, or only what is posted. A dispatcher who already knows twenty brokers on your lanes books faster than one refreshing a search page.
3. Do they negotiate, or forward?
There is a difference between a dispatcher who counters every rate and one who emails the posting back to you and asks if you want it. Ask them straight: what do you do when the posted rate is below what the lane has been paying? The right answer is a number they counter with and a reason.
4. Who does the paperwork?
- Broker setup packets (W-9, COI, authority letter) for every new broker
- Rate confirmation check before the truck moves: rate, dates, accessorials, who pays detention
- Check calls through pickup and delivery so the broker never calls you
- POD collected from the driver and the invoice out the day it lands
- Factoring packet in the format your factor wants
If any of those stays with you, the service is finding loads, not dispatching. Both can be fine. Know which one you are paying for.
5. How does the money work?
Most services charge a percentage of the linehaul or a flat weekly fee. Whichever it is, get it in writing with what it includes, and ask three things: do you collect anything from brokers on my behalf, do you ever touch my money, and what happens on a week with no loads. A dispatch service should never be between you and your payment. Your factor or the broker pays you; the desk invoices you separately.
6. What do you see?
You should be able to see every load the desk booked, the rate con, the status and what is outstanding, without asking. If the answer is a weekly spreadsheet, the information is already old. A desk that runs on a real system can show you the board the same minute they see it.
7. Can you leave?
No long contracts. Thirty days' notice is normal; a year is not. And ask what you keep when you leave: your broker setups, your load history and your documents should stay yours.
Red flags
- They want to be the contact on your MC with brokers
- They want your factoring login or want brokers to pay them
- They cannot name the boards they work or the brokers they know on your lanes
- They promise a rate per mile before they know your equipment and lanes
- You cannot reach a human after 5 p.m. when a load is still on the road
One short call tells you most of this. Ask the questions above and listen for sentences, not pitches.