Swift Transportation Company, Inc. - Phoenix, Az.

Ah, once again false information is given. A newbie does not go out with another newbie for four weeks. They are sent out with a mentor for 42 days (42 divided by 7 is 6 weeks). That mentor has to have at least 6 months experience and has had to go through a training course. As vickw has stated newer drivers make better trainers becuase they have not yet developed the "know it all" attitude that leads to accidents and carelessness. AND Swift is not the only one that has this type of training set up. I think vickw (who happens to be a terminal manager) has also listed a much lower turnover rate than the numbers you are quoting; well below 200%. The recruiter might have been given numbers colored by the current downsizing that is going on.

As for Swift being a "bad company" that is your opinion and the opinion of others. BUT if you look on the good company thread you will see that there are also people who think it is a good company. AND the number of drivers (which is in the thousands) who have driven for the company in excess of three years attests to the fact that MANY believe it is a good company. The reality is, EVERY company is a bad company and EVERY company is a good company. If they don't offer you what you are looking for and you don't like them, fine. BUT don't put others down for liking them. Their positive experience is just as valid as your negative experience and they have just as much right to share their positive experience on this forum in rebuttal to the negative comments as you do to share your negative experiences on the positive side in rebuttal to their positive experience. That is what a forum is for.

 

More BOGUS information. Swift starts their drivers out at $0.26/mile and you reach $0.33/mile by the end of the first year. The companies that start you at $0.30/mile will bump you to $0.31/mile in most cases by the end of the first year and no more. SO, simple math says that Swift pays better after the first year.

In your previous post you said that two newbies are sent out for four weeks with each other, now it is a newbie going out with a trainer for 6 weeks. I take it you finally started to see that you are feeding false facts. But again your facts are wrong. Eric has pointed out what the new training pay numbers are. You really ought to make sure you have the facts rather than just shooting from the hip.

Yes there are companies that will pay more but there are others who pay less. As for reputation, most drivers kick Swift around because it is the "in" thing to do. When it comes to where reputation counts, customer service, Swift gets more Carrier of the Year awards than any other company. Most complain about Swift because they are one of the largest companies and are able to do the job more efficiently so they don't have to charge as much to get that job done. Same as Walmart in comparison with a local chain store. That doesn't make them bad. And as for "bad" drivers, that is all a matter of percentages. You have a greater likelihood of seeing a Swift driver do something dumb (because all companies have people that do dumb things -- you have, if you're willing to admit it, done stupid things) not because they have worse drivers but because they have more drivers. If 5% of the industry's drivers are bad, 5% of 17,000 gives you a much better chance to run across one then 5% of 2,000.

 

I agree, snowman. People like timtruck just want to bash with no fact to base their bash on. They have a dislike for a company, maybe the company ticked them off for some reason and they come here to spout how terrible the company is and yet choose to use false information to put that company down. It does make for interesting conversation but I, too, am getting tired of his rhetoric. People need to verify their information before posting. But that is too difficult for some. Then others think that time holding a steering wheel makes them an expert on trucking. Those of us who have researched the facts about companies just don't know what we are talking about because we haven't driven forward as many miles as these "experts" like timtruck have driven backwards. I don't know about you but that really impressed me.

 

Not to menton Pawpaw, those who say 'i come off as a know it all', i have to laugh at those people. I have been doing my research for the past month, and the ONLY company so far to accept me into class is Swift. I dont need a company to look into my credit history to determine if i can attend class. WTF does my credit have to do with how well i study?? I've applied at Schneider too, they never called back. MCT requires a CDL permit....something i will get next week. If they get me into class before Swift, great, but I foot the bill to get my butt to class. Swift atleast pays for everything. Oh, and i ran into yet another driver who has been with Swift for 4 years. Swift trailer and truck....and wasnt an o/o...and he was happy.

oh and Pawpaw....My guess is timmytruck went to swift...and was so bad of a driver that he either got fired or quit after a few months. How bad you must be to work for such a 'bad' company, that you couldn't cut it.....LOL

 

6 months experience , huh? That's it? And you all wonder why we have a problem with that? It takes most drivers at least a year to even get the hang of what is going on. I wouldnt let a new driver go out with anybody unless he had at least 2 years or more on the road. Like I said--the blind leading the blind. No thanks, I'll pass. You proved my point though--Thanks much!
So what happened with all the raids at the Swift School in Memphis back in February. I know the feds shut them down and suspended their license--man they had everbody there. ATF, FBI, Secret Service, Immigration(ICE) and the US Marshall's service and FMCSA. I havent heard anything else or what happened. I figure that it had to do with undocumented aliens--seeing immigration and US Marshalls were there.

 

It has been nice since the Swift school closed...

No more trucks driving for miles on the service roads between exit 24 and West Memphis with their 4-way flashers, and their fog lights on. (I guess they "teach" the students to use those stupid fog lights right away...too bad they can't also teach them proper aiming.)

The funny thing is, whenever I saw them doing their night driving, at least half of the trucks had lights that were not working. Some had 1 headlight that was not working, others had a tail light out.
I thought the "teachers" would "teach" the students how to do a pre-trip inspection.

Probably no one was happier to see them go, however, than a friend who does a half way meet at exit 21, and no longer has to contend with the 4 or 5 Swift school trucks that would park in the street, or helter-skelter in the lot, thus blocking any way of getting in or out.

My friend was once approached by one of these "driver trainers", and told of the better living that they could make as a Swift Driver...Needless to say, this made my friend the butt of many jokes from all of the schedule drivers that run that route.

 

They are back open and I do beleive it was the shool issue not Swift...So get ready to see the traffic of SWIFT TRAINEES BACK IN ACTION...ME INCLUDED AS OF JULY 28TH in Millinton, Tn

 

You now have to have your CDL Permit before going to Drivers Central for Swift in Millington

 

I would be incredibly interested to hear what ATF would have to do with anything involving a trucking school.... You sure they were there?

 

Gad!
That is not the best news I have heard today.

I will alert the other drivers on my route of the impending danger.

Please advise your classmates that fog lights are not required for all driving conditions, your fellow drivers on the road thank you in advance!!!