Is this job ever gonna be worth it?

Tell Swift you want a dedicated account,once you are on dedicated the company you are assigned to will keep you moving for sure.My son got on dedicated regional with swift right out of his mentors truck.They put him on P@G where he grossed any where from $300-$1000 per week depending on how well he planned his routes.You just need a new DM nobody should sit for more than a day unless they are broke down.

 

It's hard to believe but I believe the OP.

We have a company driver where I'm leased who started his OTR career with Swift... he runs as hard as anyone I have known (like I did years ago) and he told me his best check the last 1 1/2 years he was at Swift was $360.00. He made $60K with us last year.

He had a CDL when he started with them... no school deductions. And I have talked to many others over the years who have had similar stories. One guy I KNOW was forced to sit at a truck stop for two weeks while his trainer went on vacation... Swift would not advance him any money so he hired himself out polishing wheels and unloading household goods just to have food money..sad, sad deal.

 

Krooser, there's no incentive for the "Swifts" of the industry to change their way because even with over 100% driver turnover, they still keep their trucks full of "meat in the seat", keep the freight moving and make a profit. IF newbs would quit gracing their doors then things would have to change.

 

Somethings going wrong here (DUH!) Are you sending in the right Q/C messages? And at the right time? If the load has a "window" and you deliver do you just sit and wait till the DM contacts you?
You really need to get PROACTIVE here!! Call your DM dispatch or whoever and explain whats going on and come right out and ask them "do you want me to quit?" if they say no then ask them what your doing wrong. Go over everything step by step, some of this could be as simple as NOT SENDING AN EMPTY CALL! Good luck and hope this helps

 

I'm all against big gooberment, BUT THAT SHOULD BE ILLEGLE!!

 

Well, I was glad I didn't go with Swift before, but this story just reinforces that gladness. I hired on with May Trucking Co, soloed out beginning of January. After coming off 4 days home time over a month ago, I've been running like crazy. Have not taken a 34 reset since then, and my worst week so far has been $740, after all deductions (including a $119 garnisment). I wouldn't do this job for less than $500 a week!

Seriously, with a year of recent experience, it's time to move on...

 

10-4.......

 

A shame really... but I have heard that same story from a couple of trainees...

CR England is known to let a newbie sit for weeks due to a "truck shortage"unless he's willing to sign a L/P deal then they find a truck right away.

My friend Mike went to Schneider's school several years ago and was assigned a cabover to drive. They sent him to Gary, IN and set him up to run Chicago city deliveries for a few weeks. He had trained in a Century and wasn't sure his skills were sharp enough to do Chicago city work in a totally unfamiliar truck (cabover) so he asked for a Century... any Century. Dispatch sent him to northern Michigan to pick up an abandoned truck and he brought it back to Gary. He was told he'd have to sit two weeks until they could DOT it and let him drive it. Faced with no income and being broke he quit and headed home.

 

If someone talks about your family and makes it personal PM them and let them know. As you type, there are Moderators watching, which is very good. Let me tell you it this way, If your not getting miles, and your in a parking lot for a week, Get on your PC and start searching, Its the best time to start looking, make some phone calls. When you left to help your family move, was your downfall, Being OTR, your going to stay in that truck, and have to work things out, on getting time off. There are other companies that will hire you. Myself, if Im not making any money, Im out of there. You said, you thought this forum had a lot of info. It does, you just have to ask the right questions.
You have a lot of drivers that WILL help you.