Swift Transportation Company, Inc. - Phoenix, Az.

Tip you give yourself to much credit. Some of your posts about various subjects bring an honest smile to my face, so I have read a few of them just to brighten my day. Its not a conspiracy, I am not after you. By all means post away, I think you are beyond reason anyways so I will not try to respond to you anymore. If you believed the world was flat, you would argue it forever. I actually just took the time to look at my terminals mentors. Here is what their experience is. Overall average is 2.85 years. I only run about 20 mentors for 240 trucks. Looks like I have only one with under a years experience. He has 8 months and does a great job for me. This is pretty typical of the company.

6.52.752.662.51.831221.51.53.252.251.2521.52.1625.750.661.331.66

 

Perhaps I'm just a relic from the past, but honestly, I can hardly believe that you think that a driver with less than 3 years under his/her belt is a seasoned enough "veteran" driver to be able to be going around training others.
I figure a person need to be out there more like 7 or 8 years or more before he/she can see he/she has - any great amount of experience to be passed on.

But, that's just my opinion.
bb

 

For starters, you're just pissing up a rope with this guy. He's stuck in the typical insider-knows-more-than-the-driver world. We know what is going on down on the pavement. Sure, some drivers will go to work at a place like Jobber and Swifty and do fine. I even did well MOST of the time I worked for JerryCo. But when a company stoops so low as to let inexperienced drivers train new grads, that shows their true colors. If find that a threat to my safety when an arrogant company puts profits over people. But this is just the socialist in me, the ol' hammer and sickle.

For another, this person relies on personal attacks instead of facing ice-cold reality. That will get one far in some circles, as one can always find an easy audience of sheep who don't want to think for themselves. It works in politics, and it works in Utah in the supermajority there. Will it work here?

 

In other words, another smooth-talker. I used to frequent another trucking board with a JBHunt recruiter that would sit there and say just the right thing to infuriate a driver. He would do it to make that person look bad, and then go on to say how cool, calm and collected HE was, and how he's just trying to show how 'great' his company is. Lol. Too many people - like dozens and dozens and dozens rejected his statements and eventually showed this person to what he really is.

I don't know WHERE they find these recruiters, but I'll tell ya, they are a special breed of smooth talking, lie spouting know-nothings that will literally say ANYTHING to get a person to sign on. I have been on the receiving end of it more than I care to admit here - only will say that none of those people call me anymore for reason of my "creative" responses, put it at that and leave it there, lol.

 

I would love to see 15 to 20 years, just to fully have every possible angle of experience down, but unfortunately that is not the reality. Most companies would struggle with 7 to 8 years experience as a requirement, but then again there are not that many companies willing to train. Three years gives a fair amount of experience for the trainee to learn the basics of the company, dot, and the highway and lifestyle. Although a longer training period would actually be more benificial in my opinion, but unless it was regulated to 10-12 weeks, most companies would not do it (economics of hiring, I would rather go to work for truck company A because training is 6 weeks vs company B who has 10 weeks). Something else I have noticed over the years also, the more experienced a driver is, the less willing they are to train. Many don't mind helping newbie's, but they like to travel alone. I am not sure if its because they have spent so much time alone, or just seen to much on the road and dont want to chance an accident with a rookie.

 

It's actually both. Experienced guys have gotten set in their ways, and they like being alone. Plus, many are loners. Others don't want to risk their careers to help a company that feels no obligation to them.

I'd love a chance to go to work at SwiftQuit inside to change things around. I'd have to have dictatorial powers, though, and therein lies the problem. I'd turn it around at Swifty. The very first thing I'd do is change the name of the outfit. It'd be all downhill if I could actually pull THAT off.

 

I don't drive yet. But will be in a month my dad drove for them for 10 years when they had the shoals terminal.If you get the right dispatcher.It was a good then. I was like 8-10 then. My mom didn't pay any attention. I would call dispatch and they would have him call me.Don't get me wrong its been awhile and i am almost 19 now but it was good then.

 

Hello I was with SWIFT for 10 years.I started out there for my first driving job.Did the trainer thing for 7 of those years.It wasnt bad until the end,it seemed to be more of a baby sitting job than anything.
It wasnt bad until the company lost it true owner and was taken over by stockholders,Then he got the company back and is trying to get it back on its feet,thats gonna take more time then I have.I quit on my 10 yr anniversary,went to another company and am VERY Happy here,wish I did that along time ago.Swift in my eyes is a traning companybut you got to start somewhere so GL to all the new drivers.

 

What company do you work for now?

 

Good Lord! I read all 25 pages of posts here, and there are only a couple of people posting who don't sound ready for a heart attack or stroke due to their utter hatred for all things Swift. A word of advice, get over it and move on!

No matter what you do for a living or who you work for, there will always be good and bad. Change what you can, learn to live with things you cannot control, and try to be happy because life is too short. Some of you sound like you would not be happy unless you are spewing unhappiness.

My husband has bee driving for Swift for about 6 months now. Yes, the schooling pretty much sucked. He saw many people sent home for many reasons, and had to listen to people whine about how they were being treated badly due to their race/sex/religion etc. But these same people would have the same complaints no matter what they did or where they worked.
He was fortunate to get a WONDERFUL trainer (Hi Ivan!!!), who he still talks to on a daily basis. They discuss questions my husband has about the business and the company, as well as just shoot the breeze. His trainer has become a father figure, someone who's advice is highly valued. Some of Hubby's classmates weren't so fortunate, but managed to live through it and are now happily on their own.
Hubby has a fabulous Driver Manager, who keeps him busy and happy, and gets him home as often as he likes. Even with our impending move across the country next spring, he's going to keep her as his DM. She's too good a resource to lose.
Yes, there's times dear hubby is miserable; he's currently waiting out a snowstorm in the Sierras, along with all the other truckers that aren't moving, and is going to miss out on a lunch with an old friend because of it, but he knows he'll be in the area again sometime. And he always checks his logbook against his checkstubs when he's home (he's found a couple of minor discrepancies), he calls me a dozen times a day, and misses homecooked meals, but he's much happier than he used to be in his old job, and enjoys being on the road. In fact he gets itchy to be moving even when he's home for 3 or 4 days after a 3 week run!
All of you folks spewing venom about Swift; I'm sure you have your reasons, but as I said earlier - get over it and move on - you are only hurting yourself by not letting go of your anger. I thought this thread was about your FAVORITE trucking company!