12/14/07
After a bad experience with kllm and marten, in regards to their recruiting practices I have decided to try SWIFT and see what the noise is all about. I have just finished my 11th year of over the road and 10 yrs as a trainer.(I tried 14 months of solo and I'm just not suited for it and can't stand my singing) I have had 2 jobs in 10yrs and the 1st went bankrupt so I moved onto my 2nd co or I might still be there. I truly enjoy training and have put some old school trained drivers on the road and I'm still in touch with quite a few. I will keep this updated as I go and maybe add some good info, pro or con for people interested. I was sent a bus ticket which I accepted rather than drive and leave my car at the terminal. I start a 2 day orientation in phoenix az 12/17/07 and have a trk on the 12/19 with a go home to get trk gear set up and/or clean up if needed. (This will be the 1st big test which is to see if they can put it altogether) (I won't tolerate a dirty trk). I hope I can pass the work well test, I'm 62 and not really geared to unload a trailer, but am geared to put on max legal miles any time, day or night. I just hope I get trainees that want to be a professional and have common sense.
I am really a tolerant person and been around long enough to ride the ups and downs of trucking and will give this my best unbiased review as I go. See ya soon

im searching through trucking schools now, mtc in st louis has all my paper work and should be starting school the 27th. a friend and i want to try to become team drivers. we both meet swifts criteria. ill be 51 next month and i have been in construction for about 30 plus years. kids are grown,so i am seeking a new career here.any replies and advice would be greatly apreciated. it would be great to team up with an experience trainer .

good for you. this industry lacks good trainers and i am glad to hear you like what you do and take pride in it.

What Kind of problems did you have at KLLM. I've been looking at them and a couple of others for my first company driver job.

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WELL HERE IT IS A FEW DAYS LATER. I TRIED AND DIED BECAUSE OF A MEDICAL ISSUE....THE PROBLEM IS THAT SWIFTS QUESTIONAIR WAS TO CRITICAL IN ONE WAY BUT MY DOCTOR WAS GIVEN AN OPTION THAT I FEEL WAS MORE THAN FAIR AND WOULD NOT BUDGE, SO IN ALL FAIRNESS IT IS FAIR TO SAY THEY WERE BOTH TRYING TO HELP BUT BETWEEN THE 2 COULD NOT FIND A COMMON PLACE WHICH IS SAD FOR ME BECAUSE I THINK THIS COULD HAVE BEEN THE COMPANY FOR ME BECAUSE THEY REALLY TRIED MUCH HARDED THAN MY DOCTOR AND FROM WHAT I SAW AFTER BEING THERE A WEEK AT THEIR EXPENSE AND OTHER DRIVERS THEY WORKED WITH I SAW ALOT OF"TRYING" BY SWIFT TO MAKE IT WORK. I SAW ALOT AND ASKED ALOT OF THINGS AND WAS FOR SHUR IMPRESSED BY WHAT I SAW,WHICH MAKES ME REALLY WONDER ABOUT ALL THE BAD STUFF I HAVE HEARD. I HAVE COME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT U CAN MAKE YOUR SPOT HERE IF YA UNDERSTAND TRUCKING AND NOT TRY TO BLAME EVERYONE ELSE FOR YOUR OWN PROBLEMS AND LACK OF "TAKING CARE OF YOUR OWN BUSINESS" AND LEARNING HOW TO "ROLL WITH IT" THIS IS TRUCKING AND THERE ARE UPS AND DOWNS FOR SHURE. COMMUNICATE AND BE FLEXABLE AND YOU CAN GET A GOOD RIDE AND PAY THE BILLS. ALL COMPANIES HAVE THE SAME PROBLEMS AND DEAL WITH IT THE BEST THEY CAN, GOOD OR BAD IT ONLY HURTS ALITTLE BIT. REMEMBER ONE COMMON FACT, THEY ARE THE ONE WHO MAKES THE PAYMENT ON THAT TRUCK AND NEED TO KEEP IT ROLLING SO YOU WILL HAVE A JOB NEXT WEEK

Kllm Was Supposed To Be A Very Christian Place And The Reason They Denied Me Was At 17 Yrs Old I Had A Felony (50 Yrs Ago)and Have Never Had Another Touch With The Law Since And Have Been Rather Proud Model Citizen Sense Then. So Much For Cristian Understanding At That Company. Aside From That I Still Think They Are A Great Company Give, It A Try

Hi, I trained and live in st. louis,,, I trained at Nu-Way, Just remember one thing, they are training you to get your CDL not become a truck driver, sure you can use some of this training when you start driving but you are going to there to get your CDL, In missouri you will have to know how to back in at a 45 degree angle, staightline backing and parallel parking, sight side and blind side, which if taught to you correctly is pretty easy, Good luck and be safe.

Biker

I drive for Marten and was curious what recruiting screwed up on ? Hope your able to get on with someone.

As a Swift grad from lewiston id let me tell you what I encountered. The staff there was awesome minus one but I'll explain that a little later. They put us up in a crappy motel but I guess that was to prepare us for living on a truck. The training was ok till you had to stay back a few extra days because you didn't get enough training since the class size was to big for the instructors to handle. I wasn't to concern about it I just wanted to get my CDL and get on the road. My third week there I was on a truck trying to learn how to double clutch and all that fun stuff. My instructor would fall asleep all the time. I didn't think much about it since it would be him having to explain to his boss if there was an accident or anything in that nature. After giving it a little bit more thought I got upset because I was paying for him to instruct me on driving ( see this was during the winter when we had ice and snow on the roads). I read through these fourms to get an idea about companies and figured that everyone has something to say about someone. I went about and went to Swift for training but have been waiting around for them to finally approve me to get on the road even after my doctor sent off 3 faxes stating the same thing that I am able to drive. They finally called me tonight and gave me my driver code but I have an offer from CRST to go to orintation next week. not sure what to do but I do know I am leaning more towards CRST just because I am fedup with the excuses and crap that Swift put me through these past 3 weeks.

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If I would have been there, I would have made sure you made it through. One company that needs experienced trainers is SwiftQuit. I'd have shoved you through, if I would have had the final say, and you'd be working for them now.

Sometimes, I feel like I want to be like some of these NFL coaches who go to losing teams just for the chance to build a winner from the bottom up. I could go to SwiftQuit and help turn things around there. The first thing I'd do is change the name of the outfit. The negative connotation attached to Swift's name is chaining it down. After adopting a new name, I'd get rid of the mentoring program and cut the size of the company by at least a third. I'd then hire a whole batch of new trainers, guys with a minimum of three years' experience.

My company would become similar to what Crete was when I drove for them. You should give those guys a call, GTO.

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--Paved Dudley--

Yeah I drive a Swift truck
And that means one thing
It means she's slow
It's a typical company truck
It's just all show and no go

I'm gettin' passed by Yella
And even Overnite
I'm gettin' passed by ever' body in sight
46 days on the road
And I'm not gettin' home tonight

No, my hometown's nowhere in sight
And if you think I'm pissed off
You're right
46 days on the road
And I'm not gettin' home tonight


Love pissing off those trucking company insiders.