Swift, had a dumb swift driver hold up the shipping dock

funny how you can spot the haters in just a few words. If you dont know the facts, you're best to just keep your hole shut, rather than open it, and remove all doubt how ignorant you are.

Now i'm not saying there aren't dispatchers who were once drivers for swift, but not EVERY dispatcher was a driver. Quite the opposite. I'm willing to bet that not even a quarter of the dispatchers ever set foot in a truck before. Something i think should change. Despite your job title, you should know how to do the job you're position is created to support. If you have a job that supports assembly, you had better know how to assemble. if you cant, you have no business in your support job.

sad thing is that some driver managers get that "manager" title, and think they are above or better than the drivers they are to "manage". When all that "manager" means, is nothing but what a "manager" does for a football or basketball team in high school.....they are there for support.

but please....get your facts straight, or know what you're talking about before shooting off your mouth.

 

And you base your information on what exact experience, education or training?

 

Dispatchers in my opinion, should come from the ranks and file of the drivers. Often, they dont hire from drivers because companies feel that they need someone who knows the back end of the business; particularly with complience and account knowledge. Throw in the idea that profits are everything, and these dispatchers came become your slave masters.

 

Sorry but that information is going to remain with me for now until its safe (I get a job). But I will tell you that I have worked in management for trucking yards, construction companies, and have done some dispatching. Much of it in compliance.

 

I agree with you on what should be. Back in 88 & 89 I was manager foe Waste Management and our driver managers had to do ride along's with the drivers. We had a overtime problem with scheduling, the we solved it was made it a requirement that the salaried manager for a driver had to be present and available till all his trucks were back in the yard. Now it was a local not a long haul company. But there are solutions for the problems, you just have to have the correct inspiration for management to care. Hang out for free, that worked really quick. Also customer complaints were logged against the manager not the driver. And all managers (14 then) came from the driving ranks. WMI also believes you have to know the job and its problems to properly manage them.

 

That's odd.
For some reason this post caused me to think of John Sebastion ,
the singer/songwriter. Now there's one of his songs stuck on PLAY
up thar in my head. I think John wrote it for the Lovin' Spoonfull
........................................................................................................................

What a day for a day dream
Custom made for a day-dreamin' boy
Now I'm lost in a day dream
Dreamin' 'bout my bundle of joy ................................. :smt034:smt035

:smt020

 

However, there is often a two tiered system of management in most companies. Take fast food resturants for example. Usually there are 3 manager all who get paid 35k to 55k, while the workers get paid close to if not, minimum wage. The fast food resturants hire from the outside to get managers because they look down at the workers that they hire (things have changed over the years though). Also, they dont want a manger to come from the ranks because they dont want the workers to know what managers get paid. The military is like this too. They make people fresh out of college, who only go through 3 months of OCS, officers over people who have been in the service for many years. The military, like many employers, create an us vs them mentality. This mentality is common in many industries. The only difference in trucking is that you just cant get anyone to do this type of work because of licensing, background checks, the need for clean licenses, etc. Otherwise, this would be just the like the fast food resturant industry or military. In my perfect world, I would make everyone who gets into management to come from the ranks of the working slobs.

 

Heres a good case in point. A paper plant in West Point Va. Yesterday afternoon.. 5 trucks can back up to dock for recycle paper unloading. 2 are Swift trucks. Now it is made known by the forklift drivers when they sign your bills before unloading you, That when they are done You can sweep trailer out rite there on the dock.

Well not one but both of these drivers pull away from docks when they are unloaded. One pulls rite into the only way in or out of this set of docks and starts to sweep trailer with his feet. Now brooms and shovels are readily available with in a 15 foot walk. No lets use our feet and really block everything up.. So this drivers holds up and coming or going for 20 minutes.

After Swift # 1 leaves and the yards clears here comes Swifty 2 comes back to the enterance and blocks that up by walking to get a broom and sliding his tamdems.. I mean now i have never worked at Swift so I am not sure about the IQ Testing but I think the passing level of this test should be revisited. It makes no sense that Swift drivers Think just cause they Sure Wish I Had A Faster Truck means they have to block in other trucks......

 

So you are what you spoke of: someone in management who has not been a driver. Odd that you spoke so insulting of people just like yourself.

 

You are correct. However, I did work as a laborer in the warehouse.