Dispatcher here. I made a truck driver cry

Posted by Bluest-Of-Falcons@reddit | Truckers | View on Reddit | 136 comments

I'm not sharing this because I'm proud of it. But I think it deserves a read, and I'd like some perspective on it. And I'm sure I'll get dragged by the more sensitive among you for it. Fine. Whatever. TL;DR - I made a truck driver cry. I didn't set out to do that, it just happened. I manage construction equipment. I had a dump truck driver complain about the route I'd had her on for over a week. It wasn't a hard one. Entire route was less than 10mi. And it rode right past the terminal so it was easy to make potty breaks or lunch stops. This one is very well known for sharing her opinion on things (such as my filing system, or how she thinks we should allocate resources, or how she feels about the ones we've let go etc). So one morning before departure she meets with me in the office and gives this long boohoo sob-story about how this route is too hard on her. Since it's so short it's "Not very comfortable" and such. It takes a lot out of her. The turn & burn is tiring. The explanation drags on. I begin my response with "It's a dump truck. It's not going to kill you but it's not exactly a Cadillac." I was also going to add that the customer had been requesting her because as opinionated as she is, she's actually a decent runner. But before I could get to that portion of the explanation, she launches into this tirade about how I'm rude and mean and don't listen to her and I'm dismissive. Then she storms out down the hall, finds the GM and - I'm not making this up - cries to him about me. We can all hear her bellowing long hard sobs. The kind that a kid makes, where it’s hard to talk through. My GM pats her on the back, lets her hug it out, get it out of her system. He knows me, and knows her. I'm not worried about getting in trouble. When he comes to me later about it, he has two words to say "Kid gloves." Once the situation is explained, he gets it and we're all good. However, since then, she won't even make eye contact with me. I send all dispatches through text so she doesn't have to speak with me. Do I care that she won't talk to me anymore? Not really. It's beneficial to both of us. I don't have to like who I work with in order to work with them. As long as she performs as expected, she can go on cursing my name to the heavens. Far from my biggest headache, but I thought it was worth sharing. Who has opinions?