On My Way Back "Home"

I didn't want to hijack someone else's thread, where I mentioned this before, but my processing is just about finished.

I was with Swift in 2007 and part of 2008, but made the mistake of leaving for a tiny independent company. That didn't work out for a few reasons: The big contract they had with American Axel dried up because of the strike at AA. The team situation I went into fell apart. The truck kept breaking down and there was little or no reserve funding for that because of trying to keep the rest of the "fleet" up and moving.

In the meantime, I got a dog and didn't want to give him up to go into a company truck. At the time, there were issues with the o/o division at Swift, and things were really tough for those guys. Swift was dealing with a lot of adjustments and I didn't want to get in the middle of that either. I talked to my original DM, who suggested I go over to Prime. He had a guy on his fleet who did and was very happy with the situation. It hasn't been so great for me.

A few months ago, I came to the conclusion the culture of this company just isn't a good fit for me and I can't continue to run almost exclusively East Coast without going completely out of my gourd. So, I put my paperwork in for Swift in early June. The part that took the longest was getting the necessary information from Prime due to some clerical issues. That took almost two weeks to straighten out on both ends.

Yesterday, I went to the Swift yard in Phoenix, talked to the o/o division, took my wiz quiz and got a physical. Had a bunch of questions answered and preselected a Prostar Eagle. Color choices right now are white, white, white.......and white. So I guess I'll go with the white one. And head to a decal shop as soon as I can. Average MPG in the fleet for them right now is 7.5 to 8. I'm okay with that. It's almost 30% better than I'm getting right now.

And then I went over to my daughter's apartment and unloaded all but the very essentials into her closet. I left my dog with her (he's already spoiled....she ruined him!) and he seems to be getting along great with the resident dog....who, by the way, in spite of being neutered, decided for the first two hours or so that my boy was going to be his new girlfriend. My dog, AJ, eventually told him to knock it off and they've been doing really well since.

I'm sitting in a drop yard this morning waiting to see where the next load will take me in this truck. I have requested to return to the main terminal in Springfield, MO and will be washing the inside of the truck as I go. There is no exterior damage to this truck at all and very minimal interior scratching and wear. The driver seat still looks and feels brand new. I kept a seat cover and butt pad on it the whole time. When Prime gets this truck back, it will be ready to roll out of the yard. Since I've already had all of the really major stuff fixed on it, the next person won't have nearly the headache I have. I don't see any major hitches coming up on the turn-in. I'll keep you posted on that one. I've heard some horror stories. When I get back to the yard, there will be an inspection and my stuff will be ready to load out. I will be able to be out of it in about a half hour.

Then I will be on my way back to the Swift Phoenix yard to get my truck, sign the contract, get my stuff and dog from my daughter's apartment and go back to work. I will be going back on my original DM's fleet, even though most of his drivers are company. He does have a few o/o's and he knows how to run me. We didn't have any trouble getting things done when I worked with him before. He's happy I'm coming back and happier I'll be on his fleet. Swift will pay for up to $350 of my travel expenses.

So...I'm guessing that in a week or less, I will be a "Swiftie" again. And, much to the consternation of some here, happy about it.

 

Turned in the Prime truck today. My fixit list was very short and all very minor stuff. I think the most major thing I saw on it was a light out on the bottom of the passenger side door. Yes, I have a copy of the inspection and was present for it. There is an oil leak on the back of the motor at the head and the driver side mirror remote adjustment doesn't work, but those are covered under the warranty. I took very good care of that truck. Some of the mechanics here will understand this when I say the following: My brakes were evenly worn to the gnat's butt. Steer axle 18 both sides, first drive axle 16 both sides, second drive axle 17 both sides. I've been very particular about the upkeep. I had no intention whatsoever of getting out of that truck and got a little teary when it came time to sign the paperwork.

I sat down with my fleet manager and his boss this morning. We went over, in detail, my operating statements for year-to-date 2010 and Jan-Jun 2009. Prime hammers on fuel cost constantly and insists if we drive no faster than 62 mph, we will get better fuel economy and, thus, a higher pay check. My fuel cost was only 1 cent/mile higher this year, but fuel prices have gone up too. If fuel was what the problem was, the difference would have only been $585. I'm down almost 6K for this year from last year. (I'm talking about money in my pocket...not gross.) They had to admit there isn't anything I'm doing to cause my pay to go down so dramatically. Remember...last year was when we were in the middle of the economic dump. Companies were going out of business like crazy and rates were way down. Since rates are coming up and customers are screaming for trucks, I should be making more money this year than last. But, it's not my problem any more. I'll get some good rest tonight and be on my way.

Tomorrow, I will be on the train on my way to Phoenix. There was a slight mixup at Swift, but that was because the recruiter I was working with took vacation time this week. I will say, though, if you call Swift to talk to them about the o/o side, avoid talking to Lucy. She actually told me that it's Friday and they don't do anything on Fridays. I was a little short with her and almost told her, "Well, just go home then and save Swift the money!" I mean, why collect a paycheck if you have no intention of doing anything just because it's Friday??? It's still a work day! Maybe I'm just being narrow minded.

We'll see how this goes, but I can already guarantee an instant raise by almost $300/week. That's the difference in truck payment alone. I have an International Prostar Eagle with Cummins ISX reserved, so fuel economy should be much improved as well. Fixed payments are lower and there is no question as to what the rates will be. It is a per mile set rate plus fuel surcharge. And I have a DM who knows how I run and wants to run me. That by itself will be a huge improvement.