Swift Transportation Company, Inc. - Phoenix, Az.

There are still a lot of KW's in the fleet. Almost all o/o. They recently got some Lonestars by mistake because the guy who wrote the order at International wrote it wrong. Those are all company trucks.

Regarding the guy who says he got out of Club Fed two weeks before hire: my BS-o-meter is redlining on that one. Next...

 

so am i to assume, you being a newbie to this OTR biz (driving military dont mean jack....least not to me), atleast newbie to swift, i should have to give up my 600 mi runs to give them to you, so i get your 200 mi 'crap' runs...just to make you happy? Ever hear of a thing called seniority? If anything, newbs DESERVE to get 1300-1500 mi a week, while the guys with a year+ in get the 2600 mi/wk runs. You think that isnt 'fair'? It isnt fair chocolate makes you fat, but i've ate my fair share and guess what.....

 

is that the same mentality as disagreeing with something Obama did/does and that automaticly makes you a racist? are you joking with me?? Sure wish swift would do a mental health check on some drivers before showing them the way to orientation. we dont need 5th graders driving our trucks.

If a driver isnt happy with swift...they got the power to change it. you either quit...or talk professionally with someone at your domicile to get it corrected. You think you deserve 3000 mi weeks? you think you deserve brand new equipment?? you think you get to have 65% idle "just because"?? I think you need to PROVE yourself first. and being with swift for a few weeks/months, dont PROVE anything. Anybody with a few weeks/mo. with them still has a LONG way to go before being totally trustworthy.

I'll tell ya somethin'. There was a couple who went to the swift school i did. Went L/O within 6 mo. or so, and ran Trans-Con. They felt they were getting screwed around with the last month or two of their employment, so....they quit. They tried Stephens Transport...and they said it was such a joke. they only had like 4 terminals throughout the US (i know they got more...just a figure of speech) and you could not drop your trailer at the yard and bobtail home for hometime....so they tried Watkins Shepard...they drove from AZ to Minnesota, then wouldn't get reimbursed for 35% of their cost of unleaded...never made it to orientation because of the lack of originazation....let alone they said it was obvious that was 'biz as usual'...and didnt want any part of that. Now they're looking at coming back with swift. The grass isnt always greener.

 

i've mentioned this to my DM/FM and TM....Swift could cut MILLIONS of dollars off their overhead by doing one simple thing. make ALL TRUCKS either Volvo or KWs or Freight shakers. Why do you think Southwest Airlines has done so well since they started flying in 1971? Even in this economy.....because they operate ONLY 737s. Granted they have 10 different series 737s...but 90% of the parts are interchangable. This cuts down on overhead, having to order 5 different makes for the same part. This would cut down on any training they send their mechanics to (which i doubt they do...) and you'd have mechanics who could find problems with the trucks faster, because they are familiar with a certain model truck, cause thats all they see day in and day out.
kinda off topic.....but just an observation.....

 

There is no such thing as seniority other than a few more cents per mile. Many dispatchers/planners base the loads on who's around... luck of the draw. Your personality and relationship with your company weighs more than anything if there is multiple loads. Nobody likes a whiner. Whiners sit and whine some more, lol

You have to take the bad with the good. I hate short runs too. But they have to be done. Stay positive and progress to a better company.

 

I'm not asking anyone to give up anything... The fact is I've just been sitting more than I've been driving and seeing FIVE SWIFT BOBTAILS in this parking lot right now points to the fact that it isn't me (Loves T/S at ex 332 on I80 in NE.) Two o/o's and three company drivers. I've talked to two of those o/o's that dropped off at this place and were supposed to pick up from there too. There's nothing coming out of here I guess. It also seems to happen on the weekends, so something points to the other end of the operations here.

The company needs empty trailers..... They don't have any and they keep taking ours instead of unloading then loading us.... but it could also be Swift not SENDING them the trailers they need. Chicken or the egg on this one.. I don't mind the short runs so much, but at least GIVE me a load. All of the trucks here right now are on dead time. None of us even have as much as a pre-plan.

And as far as my MIL driving record not meaning jack to you..... I was a heavy equipment operator for six years and we moved our own equipment. I'm just new to this Freight transport thing but I am pretty comfortable behind the wheel of a tractor trailer. I ran a 30t drop neck low boy, moving Dozers, Excavators, rollers and anything you could fit on there. Also ran 40' flatbeds for moving barriers and whatever else you can fit on there. I have a strong mechanical background, so I know this truck inside and out. ..... just my $0.02 on that one. I'm pretty comfortable doing this job though.

I'm just hoping they don't see me as "unrelyable" now because I broke down.... Which was out of my control. Next decent terminal I get to I'm gonna switch this truck out. I can't trust it and it won't act up when I go to have it repaired. Something with maybe 250k on it instead of 350k. That seems to be about the point that swift gets rid of these trucks anyway is because that is when they start having problems with them. -Based on what I've heard.

 

How many times have you been on the horn with your DM rattling the cage? When I sat for more than a few hours without a preplan, I was on the phone.

Mr. CC: Swift actually does recognise seniority and service. They have this program where they keep track of your mileage, service failures and accidents/incidents. The more mileage you run, fewer problems, the higher you are rated. At the top, you can request preplans when you are ready for them and they will send three. You get to choose which one you want. Only about 10% of all drivers qualify for this.

Also, if you get a DOT and have no violations, they place points into an "account" of sorts that will balance out any negative DOT inspections. I'm not completely up to speed on this yet, but I will be getting more information soon. I've had two DOT's so far since being back with Swift, both with no violations. I'll find out what that means for me and let everyone know.

 

i'll take the short runs, but not after declining them first (as long as i'm not at a terminal). when i decline them, in remarks i'll say "will take, but need backed up". within 10 minutes, i get it back, along with a backup that will keep me running the rest of the day. Why not just book them on me to begin with??

If i sit at a planning terminal (not all terminals have planners), i'll run inside and ask to see a planner, and then s/he'll hook me up with something with some teeth.

"Luck of the draw"......not really. If you got a good DM and a good planner on your side, they won't ever list your truck in a "mass truck plan". The only time i seem to get those are when i'm planned by memphis, after hours or on weekends.

But if you think a newbie and a driver with 2 yrs experience, sitting at the same terminal, with the same PTA, with the same amount of hrs available....and they wont plan the more senior driver before the newb....i got news for ya.

I just LOVE walking into terminals where i'm t-calling a load. Walking past 10 drivers whining about 'how they've been sitting here for the past 3 days waiting on a load', then walking out with a t-call load going 300 mi down the road. I dont say a thing...i just keep on walkin'. One guy was whining at me at the driver window about sitting. Right behind me...he saw me drop the T-call and pick one up. He says, "hey...how you got a load so fast?" and i responded by saying "i dont automaticly decline loads that arent 400-500 miles"....and kept on walkin'.

 

Oh...and one more thing. When i'm at a terminal starting my 10, and i'm sitting out back enjoying a cigar, or just shootin' the breeze......i dunno about you...but i NEVER EVER discuss loads on my truck. Current or plans that i've commited to. I did once, and a L/O who was whining he was sitting for a day, ended up calling someone up, and the load ended up being removed. How did i know? Because the place i was dropping, i saw the guy there the next day. After i dropped, i headed back 30 mi to my terminal, and asked my DM to pull up the info. Sure as Shatner, the load was pulled from ME...and put on him. 700 mi run.

And i also know, when the L/O said "i've been sitting for a day"...was a bunch of BS...cause my DM looked up his sensortrac info...and the guy arrived at the yard that morning (early) and was in the middle of a 10 hr break. So drivers will BS anybody they can, even their own DM/Planners, by saying "oh woah is me....i've been sitting for a week" (or whatever) just to get a load. But i've got his truck number. I ever see him again, i'm going to let him know hes my first name.

 

all depends on how the truck is maintained. Just because it says "volvo" on the side, dont mean its a bad truck automatic. My first truck had over half a million miles. drove that for 3-4 months....then got a new one. i'm about 8k from clicking 200k on this truck. Sure its had its problems, but never been broke down on the side of the road. How many Swift drivers do you see (heck..any driver for that matter) doing a proper pre-trip on their truck in the morning?? If they dont ever pop the hood, i can tell ya its not a proper pre-trip. So how many hoods do you see raised up in the morning? out of 100 trucks at a truck stop...maybe 10? the rest of them just start up and go. They may look at the lights, and see if the truck is sitting funny when they come back from grabbing a healthy breakfast meal at McDonalds.....or might ask for a radio check on their CB as part of their pre-trip.....lol