Is swift a good company?

The company pretty much is what you make out of it like i always say with each company the difference seems to be different name and maybe a different colored hood. Having said that some times it just comes down to the kind of dispatcher your issued with however remember there all human the golden rule i've found is very effective in other words " do unto others as you would have them do to you" if you don't like getting cussed it makes perfects sense not to cuss them etc etc, the company i worked for had 4 dispatchers obviously not a large company like Swift, we knew the dispatchers personally and over all i never had any major problems . The you'll scratch my back I'll scratch yours principle is very effective in the trucking industry.

 

Thanks. I have narrowed it down to Swift, Knight, and Gordon. What do you all think for a newbie that will be coming out?

 

To me personally, SWIFT is a decent company for a newbie to start out. At first, when u go solo wages are ###### but it gets better depending where your at. Unfortunately with my situation, I live in Philly so they took me of otr to put me on the Kmart dedicated in Fairless Hills, PA. Is not bad but can be better though.

 

Okay. Thanks for the info

 

I like Swift for the most part. It is a very impersonal company. You get the sense that no one cares. But there are people working there that do care and try very hard to help drivers in a bind. I always get home time right when I want it. So far miles are very good, starting pay is low but does get better. You have the potential to go many directions with swift as well, which I like. Thy have lots of dedicated accoubts, flatbeds. Refers. I even heard there is some kind of tanker work up north but I cant get a stright answer on that LOL

 

If you have never driven and hire on you can become a mentor after 9 months driving with swift, which seems crazy. LOL

 

You hit it right on the head!

I've been having problems with planners/ECT/CSR WITHOUT A CLUE! Biggest problems stems from changing my PTA WITHOUT my knowledge/permission,etc.
Example: Sent me a PrePlan that picked up more than 12 hours prior to my PTA (was on hometime). Since you CANNOT turn down a load via phone (only accept) I ignored it. When I returned to my truck I found out that someone blew my PTA out more than 72 hours.

Then something happened to remind me that not everyone at Swift is a "keyboard pounding monkey".
I was enroute from San Diego to Pomona yesterday (to pick up a load) when the load got canceled 15 miles from Pomona. I was seriously pissed so I turned around and headed to Fontana to drop my MT and bobtail home. Since it was the weekend I decided to get the dispatch window to make sure I got paid the MT miles from San Diego to Fontana. A planner overhead me talking to the dispatcher and came over. He told me that if I waited for a few minutes that he'd find me a load that I could t-call in Phoenix. 10 minutes later he told me that I had the load.

 

I have to say cor the most part the planners are keyboard monkeys. They changed my pta 3 days out and I sent a nice lengthy message about them and my 4 year old daughter stating thats something I would expect from her not a grown adult. And asked if they was a security camera watching them throw a 2 year old tantrum. Because I would like to see it. And that is my pta to change not theirs. But there are few planners that does their job and uses some brain power when doing so. when they are trying to get you home you can tell they are trying and I respect them very few.

 

Yes, planners are the biggest problem. Yes, they have a job to do, but then again, do it. They send me to NC right at home time. All that I can think, they have a load here to get me home. Turns out, not really. All that they are doing, covering the loads, even though right there on the screen when they see my truck, highlighted. Home Time. Going on almost 3 years here now, and as a L/O, I have always taken my home time on a Monday so that can come back out on Friday. This is because of the pay cut off. Now lately, all that I am getting is excuses, and do not even bother to talk to my DM anymore. There is nothing that he can do.

 

Swift and Gordon both have heavy haul divisions that stay in the NW if you want to be home more often.