Anyone notice any inconsistencies associated with trip trade processing times lately? I realize that certain circumstances require prioritizing of tasks while working the desk, but I have also noticed some clear differences that seem to be more a factor of who is working the desk rather than what may be going on system wide.

It is my understanding that the trip trade system is pretty much automated to the point of being "hands off" but to give Crew Scheds the benefit of the doubt, I was also told by a helpful scheduler, that all trades must still be reviewed by a live person prior to finalization. Great, good policy.... but, that is not the gist of this message, the real issue here is something much more basic. Mutual Respect.

So I recently called scheduling and after a genuine, but futile attempt at exchanging courtesies...I very politely inquired about the status of a particular trip trade and was quite taken aback by the lack of enthusiasm, poor attitude and marginal courtesy ...........and believe me, when I heard the familiar dead sounding voice on the other end of the line, I phrased my question carefully. Most times when I have called, at least in my experience, people seem very attentive, so I have to conclude that it may have more to do more with the person sitting at the desk. (Hint: Begins with a P and ends with an A).........and for anyone that has worked here for a reasonable amount of time, you know of whom and of what I speak. As a professional, I have come to expect a certain measure of performance for myself and I am happy to report that over the years, I have come to know a great many outstanding people who share that same sentiment, but unfortunately, I have also met those who do not. My opinion is this: If you are a part of this team, your understanding and sensitivity for your fellow employee, while nice to have, should not be a prerequisite for common respect and courtesy. If you don't get that, fine, then perhaps this is a matter better suited for management, but for me.....I am neither a therapist nor a manager, so my advice is to walk that bad attitude off elsewhere.

I find this to be particularly frustrating since we are occasionally reminded about our "tone" when dealing with other employee groups and yet, some long time offenders from the non pilot side, seem to go on for years in ignorance of this standard with apparent impunity. Now, I don't want to get into an "us and them" argument or any other type of similar nonsense, because in my experience it is a futile exercise that contributes nothing toward solving a problem or resolving an issue...(perhaps neither does writing this post), but we all work for the same team and for the most part, we all try to do our best. We are told to come to work with our "A" game...and I totally agree with that sentiment. We are reminded that no one person is more important than another and that all are deserving of our respect....and I agree......but sometimes.........sometimes.....when I run into those rare exceptions....I am reminded of the scene from the movie Pulp Fiction. You know, the one where Jules says to Ringo at the end of his now infamous rant:


I'm tryin' Ringo. I'm tryin' real hard to
be a shepherd.

 

My understanding of the 'human in the loop' is that only involves hitting the enter button.

 

I have another scheduling buddy, her name is L.... She should be fired as well. BTW, she is working MD-11 now....

 

GOOD GOD MAN...what company?!? What company?

 

No, it is absolutely not a good policy. I know you said that's not the gist, but it the root problem that required you to get on the phone in the first place.
A trade, m/u request, drop, etc. is either legal or not. They don't need to "review" it. It pops up on their screen and they hit enter when they GD please. The computer checks legality - not the scheduler. Pi$$es me off. No reason whatsoever for them to be in the loop.

I knew it had to be Fedex. We're the only ones with this porked up trip trade system.

 

Hang up and call back in 12 hours

 

As a pilot, you can't backtalk or correct ANYONE at Fedex. You're automatically the bad guy. Most non-pilot employees act like they're suddenly 10 years old if you dare call them on something or object to their rudeness. They make a complaint, and since you're the big, bad, nasty pilot guy, you're automatically in the wrong. You have to treat everyone else like some kind of love-starved child or you can expect to hear from the peeps upstairs. Just like in the military, same on the civilian side.

 

What system is it? We have a trade system at ASA that sounds pretty similar, I thought it was pretty standard. I've had mutual trades denied after waiting for days and it angers me as well

Edit: Just realized we are in the Cargo section. Disregard.

 

Instead of allowing "real time" trip trading using a computer to execute the trade and check legality providing immediate feedback on the results, Fedex requires a scheduler to execute the trade. A computer programmed with scheduling/contract parameters still "approves" or "disapproves" the trade. It's up to the scheduler to decide when they feel like hitting the "enter" button and letting the 'puter go to work.
I guess I'm spoiled because I used to work at an airline that had real time results and it was mucho better. Hopefully we'll get it some time.

 

Valid thread/post--- but let's not cast the net too widely.

Last month, I was trying to trade a trip for an airport standby in order to (hopefully) commute home a day earlier.

The computer wouldn't accept the trade and I realized the only way to make it happen would be to drop the trip and then pickup the airport stby.

Of course, that's a gamble if you don't know what's in the que and don't know when the requests will be processed.

I called the scheduler and explained it.

He first confirmed nothing was in the que and then offered to stay on the line with me while I inputed the drop and pickup, and then he "processed" those requests immediately.

I watched all the little electrons flow within seconds before my very eyes.

In the end a very, very positive experience with scheduling.

(....yes, I actually just typed that without any sarcasm intended!)