Goodbye Big Green Cab Co? (long and wordy)

[Deserted]

Many of you might remember me saying something along the lines of "I've got to get away from Big Green Cab Co" repeatedly for a few years now. That time has come. (For some of the background, see Dear management and This is why I haven't posted in so long.) Believe it or not, it actually has nothing to do with We're being sued, yay (in fact, having their lawyer also cover me is one of the best things Big Green has ever done for me) and is only marginally related to Time for something else and Could you at least weed out the bad calls?!

So my friend who moved from Big Green to Yeller Cab (formerly called... something else... by me ) told me that Yeller Cab finally purchased more wheelchair vans. I drove a couple shifts for Yeller Cab back in October and I was rather unimpressed, but things at Big Green Cab Co have gotten to the point that I absolutely must leave the company or else risk homelessness. (As things stand now, I'm late paying most bills.)

So yesterday (Friday), I went to the main Yeller Cab yard to... well, let's call it a fact-finding mission. (I'm already a Yeller Cab driver so I wouldn't call it "applying for a job.") I needed to talk to one of 3 people: the recruiter, the fleet manager, or... uh... the guy most directly in charge of wheelchair vans. (Don't remember his title... doesn't really matter.) The recruiter was out, the fleet manager was in a meeting (with my friend, the owner, and a group of other managers, though I didn't find that out until later), and the in-charge-of-wheelchair-vans guy was out repo'ing a van. (I didn't ask for details.) Crap.

While I was there, I verified that I am still in the system, but listed as inactive, meaning I'm supposed to have to go through the entire training regimen again. (5 days unpaid training for wheelchair drivers. Ugh.) But that could be waived by either the fleet manager or possibly the in-charge-of-wheelchair-vans guy, especially since I've done it relatively recently, and I've been driving a wheelchair van for Big Green for 4 years. Okay, works for me. I'll try again later.

On my way out, who should I run into but the in-charge-of-wheelchair-vans guy. He wanted me to come talk to him in his office right then, but I had a call scheduled for 10 minutes from then, so I told him I could be there Monday morning. We agreed to 9-10 am.

As I'm heading to my call, my friend texts me to tell me about the meeting, and when I told her I'd just been there, she told me that the fleet manager wants to hire me to work swing shift in their dispatch office -- one of the dispatch supervisors left last week, and another has turned in her 2 weeks' notice. Those positions will be filled internally, but that leaves 2 dispatch positions open.

Interesting.

You see, at both Big Green Cab Co and Yeller Cab, none of the dispatchers have ever driven a cab. (Well... one of the dispatch sups at Big Green Cab Co used to. One. Used to.) This means that those dispatchers have no idea what it's like to be a driver, what the drivers need to succeed, why drivers don't leap to accept every piddly-ass call from 20 miles away, why they're always so pissed off at dispatch, etc. The idea behind hiring me is to bring my experience as a driver into dispatch.

Well, I'm game. The fleet manager is supposed to call me Monday, but... I'm already going there anyway. I'll stop at his desk first before heading over to the in-charge-of-wheelchair-vans guy, and we'll see what happens.

As a little footnote, I intend to keep on as an active driver at Big Green if I'm not a full-time driver at Yeller Cab, largely to keep an eye out for some of my current regulars. (If I'm a current driver at Big Green, I can still log into the dispatch app on my phone and see if their calls are on the board or not.)

(Hmm... I'll have to change my avatar if I do this...)

[Arcus]

Sounds to me like this would be more stable work for you, and the drivers would love to have one of their own sending them calls.

[RealUnimportant]

Looks like you've got a couple of potential leads then, which is good, and the dispatch role could end up helping a lot of drivers and customers get a better service so that could really work out well if you feel it's something that'll get supported properly. Nice!

[Deserted]

One of the things that really bothers my friend is that the dispatchers will assign her a call that is literally 20 miles away, and is only going around the corner. A 1-mile trip does not justify driving 20 miles, guys! And the dispatchers don't understand why she gets mad at them. Yes, the call needs to be covered, but isn't there a closer driver?! If not, can't you add some money (what Yeller Cab calls an assist) to the call? She often refuses those calls entirely.

Also... there seems to be a lot of calls that are getting sent to dispatchers' favorite drivers. My friend was told by the dispatch manager that there are so many hundred wheelchair calls every day -- should be on average a call every minute or so -- but my friend isn't seeing them. The calls should go to the board (meaning visible to all drivers) so that the closest drivers can get them, but instead she's having to grab whatever is nearby, which is rarely wheelchair. Why does this matter? Well, she drives a wheelchair van, she should be driving wheelchair passengers... make sense? (ETA: If the good (high-value) calls are all going to the dispatchers' favorite drivers, that means all other drivers are getting screwed.)

Now, I can understand there might be a legitimate concern over me doing the same thing, since I'm talking about "my friend" here, but I know that I won't, and any review or audit (or whatever) I have will demonstrate that.

[Deserted]

I talked to the fleet manager yesterday. It turns out that he doesn't have the authority to hire dispatchers, but he is the highest manager directly responsible for drivers, and is the one they go to when they get screwed by dispatch. He had me fill out an application and put him down as my reference, and he's going to fast track my application with the hiring manager. I should hear back from him sometime today.

In related news, I also talked to the manager in charge of Yeller wheelchair vans, and he's interested in me driving for him, so if the dispatch position somehow falls through, I've got a backup that doesn't involve Big Green Cab Co. (My friend told me to reject his initial offer to drive an "old van" even though the lease is $150 less per week, and I'm inclined to agree with her. Too many mechanical issues.)

This could be interesting. If I understand correctly, the wheelchair manager is the dispatch hiring manager. Hm... slight conflict of interest there? I got the feeling that he'd definitely rather have me driving than dispatching (he pointed out to me that dispatchers start out around minimum wage) but I believe that Yeller really does have enough wheelchair drivers at the moment. (On the other hand, Big Green is on the verge of losing their biggest contract, and Yeller is the only company with the capacity to take it on. If & when, they'll need more drivers across the board.)

[Blue Ginger]

Not sure how exactly driver vs dispatch shifts work, but can you do both jobs? So have dispatch as your main job, but be a driver during big events or super busy times? Or even when there is a shortage of drivers during things like flu or xmas seasons? It would keep your driver skills up and add more to your cv if you need to leave there later.

Your experience as a driver will definitely help in the dispatch side of things. And you clearly need to get the hell out of green company, especially if they are highly likely to be losing that big contract.

[Deserted]

I tried calling the fleet manager twice today but got voicemail both times and didn't leave a message. He's always busy, so this is no surprise. I'll call him again tomorrow afternoon-ish and this time I'll leave a "touching base" message if I don't get through.

Not sure how exactly driver vs dispatch shifts work, but can you do both jobs? So have dispatch as your main job, but be a driver during big events or super busy times? Or even when there is a shortage of drivers during things like flu or xmas seasons? It would keep your driver skills up and add more to your cv if you need to leave there later.

Dispatching would definitely take priority, but yes, I intend to do both... but I'll be driving a regular (non-wheelchair) cab. At Yeller Cab, wheelchair vans are only available for weekly leases. For a shorter lease -- 12 hours or 24 hours -- it has to be something else. (Big Green Cab Co allows shorter leases regardless of vehicle type. They prefer wheelchair drivers to be weekly, but if not, shrug. I just switched from weekly to 24s today.)

Your experience as a driver will definitely help in the dispatch side of things. And you clearly need to get the hell out of green company, especially if they are highly likely to be losing that big contract.

My experience as a driver is the main reason the fleet manager is interested in me. That I'm interested in dispatching at all sets me apart from most drivers (because in general, drivers make more than dispatchers).

And the downward trend at Big Green Cab Co is fairly gradual. The big kicks in the ass are infrequent.

[Mikkel]

At my company's dispatch there is one guy who was a driver before. It's wonderful when he answers a call, you don't have to explain anything, he knows the problems, he knows all the roads. You just state the problem and you get a solution. Much more effective.
You may make less per day in dispatch, but you will know what you make and can count on it.

[EricKei]

Wait...is unpaid training even still legal these days?? o_O;>

(Hmm... I'll have to change my avatar if I do this...)

Got chu covered, fam ^_^

[Deserted]

Wait...is unpaid training even still legal these days?? o_O;>

We're contractors, not employees. Totally legit and aboveboard.

Got chu covered, fam ^_^

Thanks, I appreciate it.

Maybe I'll go for something more like this:

(Not me, not my cab.)

[Deserted]

At my company's dispatch there is one guy who was a driver before. It's wonderful when he answers a call, you don't have to explain anything, he knows the problems, he knows all the roads. You just state the problem and you get a solution. Much more effective.
You may make less per day in dispatch, but you will know what you make and can count on it.

(Dang, missed this yesterday.) Must be nice. The one dispatch sup at Big Green Cab Co hasn't driven a cab for years. Since then, he's been a yard attendant, worked in the shop, in the cash office, and then finally dispatch for a couple years now. While I'm sure he remembers what it's like as a driver, memory fades, and driving now is big bunches of different than it was even a few years ago.

[Deserted]

UPDATE

Ladies and gentlemen and squirrels, you are now addressing Yeller Cab's newest dispatcher, their first with cab driving experience in something like 10 years. (The last one got promoted to supervisor, then manager, then manager of the call center, then... uh... I'm not really sure what he does now.)

I have to go to HR and sign all the usual paperwork, but as of about noon today, I'm hired!

This is my first "real" job in over a decade. I'm a bit nervous, but I figure, it can't be any worse that driving has been. (Cue laugh track in 3... 2... 1...)

I'll be working normal biz hours while in training, because the dispatch manager works those hours and that lets him oversee newbie training. Once I'm up to speed, I'm switching to second shift, including weekends. (My "weekend" will be largely up to me; I'm thinking Tuesday & Wednesday, but it ultimately doesn't matter.)

Also, since I have no experience dispatching, I'm starting basically at minimum wage. Fair enough. Once I'm past the probationary period (3 months) we'll talk raises.

Also: Behold my new avatar!

ETA: I also met one of the two owners. Seems nice enough, and my friend that got this all started speaks highly of him. He's pretty well involved in the day-to-day biz, unlike Big Green's owners. (I gather the other owner is somewhat of a silent partner.)

[Blue Ginger]

Congrats on the new job! I really hope it all works out for you.

[Jetfire]

Congratz on the new job. I'm sure it will open up a whole new universe of SC stories to share with the class.

[EricKei]

Conga rats!