Swift Transportation Company, Inc. - Phoenix, Az.

Wes, I know where you're coming from. You're right in your post--many, if not most, drivers who have problems with companies bring it all on themselves. They've acted unprofessionally, abused equipment, have had careless accidents, and on and on and on.

But I know a group of five guys who went to a trucking school in '95, graduated in the top quarter, and got jobs at Swift. I was in that bunch. After about six months, not one of us was left at Swift. We found other jobs in trucking, went to work at those jobs, acted the very same way we did at Swift, and had no problems. None of us were ever late on deliveries, we never turned down loads, and 3 of 5 of us never had fender-benders. After leaving Swift, we were treated right and stayed with our outfits. Some of us stayed a year, some stayed longer. I bet there hundreds, probably thousands, of guys who have been through this same experience at Swift. That company just chose to abuse them for no good reasons.

My point is that five guys can't be wrong, nor can all those other guys be wrong. Some maybe. All? No way. It's the company. The company was wrong. And judging by the hundreds of testimonies from ex-Swifty drivers, many of which one can find here, it's obvious that company is still wrong.

Swift has always needed drivers in the past, they need them now, and they always will need them. That sums up Swift in a sentence.

 

I agree Tip but did you see vick's response to me. That's all old posts. There is a new Swift in town now. According to him those that post bad experiences with Swift are like the men in prison claiming to be innocent. (ok that one got by me too)

He seems to be misses those posts from recent ex-Swifties also stating the same displeasures. And yes where has some valid posts and is optimistic. I hope he doesn't get crushed.

 

It matters not what someone like VickW says on a website like this. I know full well his voice of reason is being drowned out by voices of reality, so I wouldn't hire on for Swift even if I had to drag my bony, hungry tail to a Swift terminal.

A lot of Swift guys see the troubles they do at Swift because it's the fault of the those drivers, but I know plenty of good guys who were burned while driving for that company. And they were burned because the company sucks, not because they themselves were at fault.

I have a policy with companies such as Swift--they'd have to not only see the error of their ways and start acting right, but they'd also have to be on sort of a trial (probation) period before I would consider them. They'd have to fly right for a minimum of five years before I'd set foot in a Swift truck.

 

I understand completely and I agree. I have the same feelings about P.A.M. and JB Hunt.

 

I Currently work for swift and have been with them for about 6 months now.
So far I cant decide if I want to quit or stay. 2 Things piss me off the most about swift. The first being the low pay, I'm currently making .27 cpm which I don't need to mention sucks. Second is the $h|t I pickup from other drivers just for being in a swift truck. I am a good driver never been in an accident or had any violations. I work my ### off and they provide me with a crap load of miles. I'd say if they paid me more I would stay with them but that will never happen so my only 2 options are train for swift or quit and find another company. Also I'm not going to say swift has the best drivers in the world because it does not. I'd have to agree there is a large number of swift drivers who should have there licenses revoked. I don't believe I'm one of them and yet I have to take the crap from other drivers just because the truck I drive. Just my Thoughts and opinions.

 

I Also wanted to add a few more things about swift.

They do keep me extremely busy, As long as you do what you need to do they keep you busy. I hear people (that work for swift) saying that night and weekend dispatch sucks. Well from my experience the night and weekend dispatch always gives me good loads the last 2 weekends I have received a 2600 mile run and a 2100 mile run. And also when my driver manager forgot to get me home weekend dispatch did so. I believe that it is when you turn down loads, are late for deliveries or pickups or any thing else that might piss them off you start getting in a position of not liking weekend dispatch because they are no longer willing to work with you to get you what you need. I just wanted to make that point because i noticed somebody else mention something about them being a night or weekend dispatcher for swift and having to pickup the slack for dm's from time to time. and it is true. Not saying that is always the case, my driver manager works hard for me and gets me good loads that keep me busy and make me what ever little money i can make from the .27 cpm i make. and as for somebody else mentioning something about cushy dedicated runs and it taking along time to get on to them, I was offered walmart dedicated since the first day i started, i would take them up on the offer but i dont beleave i can make as much money as i can otr. all together i think swift is a good company to work for just wish they would pay more, then maybe the trainers wouldnt push the students so hard for miles and perhaps train them a bit better. but who knows i could be wrong.

 

Hey, MShaw, here are some bits for you to chew on:

1. Don't bad mouth the company too much. Sounds like your pay is merely low. It definitely doesn't suck. It's not too bad, actually. I worked for Crete on the western fleet for .28, and that wasn't bad. It wasn't great, but, again, it wasn't bad. I've worked for companies that paid 18 cents per mile. I drove my arse off for these guys to save for tuition. Believe me, THAT was slavery. Hell, I even worked for an outfit for one coast-to-coast cycle that paid about 13 cents per mile, and I even got to go to the legendary Hunt's Point Market on that run. You don't know how good you have it, man.

Well......you do work for Swift, so maybe it's not THAT good. But it's not a living hell, either.

1b. Save all your receipts and all your logbooks. You'll need them next year at tax time. Be sure to take your full per diem deduction on your return for next year. This really adds up quick, and I think it's about ( $52 per day) x ( about 300 days avg on the road ) or around 16,000 bones. That sure beats your standard deduction, which is still down in the basement at around 5K. That "low pay" you get now will get a boost of about .30 x 16,000 or around 5,000 bucks saved on taxes. The standard deduction will get you about 40% of that.

2. You have 6 months in already. Dig down deep and find that energy inside yourself that will see you last another 6 months there. When you find it, use it. Don't quit Swift until you get that year in unless they are starving you.

3. Definitely get the imps here to change your user name. Insiders at Swift may snake you out and start retaliating against you if you post negative things here about that company. There are plenty of Swift insiders who visit this site, and all they have to do is run a search for all the "M. Shaws" they have on their payroll to narrow you down. Yes, Swift insiders are indeed vindictive. I know, as I worked for Swifty once, which was one time too many.

Good luck.

 

I missed your post, Whispers:

"Tip you worked for them. What was your experience right out of cdl school?"

Check this website under trucking company DAC reports. Look for Swift, my posts, and read all the gruesome details of my experiences at Swift after graduating from my outrageously priced trucking school. I should be flogged even today for dropping the money I did on training.

 

I went to Swift after being retired for about 7 yrs.I already had about 10 yrs.of driving experience under my belt.I knew from the git-go things were not right at Swift,having worked for other companies.Also being an O/O for about 5 yrs.Perhaps a person coming right out of school and going with Swift might think they aint too bad,because they have nothing to compare them with.When I signed on with them,I had never heard of this sight.I figured they had merged with the old MS Carriers,but later found out they had bought them out.If I would have checked things out more I would never have went there.I put up with their BS for about 4 months before pulling the plug,and just marked it up to experience.I could sit here at the computer for the rest of the day posting ways Swift will screw over you,but I have too many jobs to get done.When I look at the posts about who is the worst,and Swift is leading the field I know I am not the only one who feels that way.

 

Sorry you get lumped into a group. That's like drivers for JB Hunt. On a positive note, I was traveling on I-70 in Missouri and coming up on a Swift driver in the right lane; I noticed he was coming up on a slow moving vehicle. I backed off and flashed the driver so he could come over without losing momentum. He came over and thanked me. So see I don't discriminate against Swift drivers. I'm kind to them too.


Unfortunately I assume the bad rap drivers get is from the trainers Swift has.