A Different Swift?

i dont hate any company i chose to drive for. i would like to become a good trainer for swift how can i do that? and still get the home time and miles. do recruters lie? if so why?

 

Most probally don't lie on purpose. Most have never driven a truck, so they don't really know what it is like. Therefore, they can only go by what they read or hear from other people.

 

Ppl are just trying to make a living and get started by working for sweat shops like Swift! I think many drivers are threatened by all the new drivers coming out of the CDL mills---I know that I am!! Their DAC is as clean as mine when they start---cept I got 7+ years of experience on them...Companies like Swift think that we are both the same---0 exp and 7 yrs exp, both fill a seat in a truck!! Blech.....!!

 

swift will tell you what you want to hear to get you in there, as a matter of a fact you dont really hear much of the truth about how they work untill after you sign the contracts that bind you to a $4k tuition, after that the pretty glitter starts to dull, and fade away. ofc they still want to keep you, as they do need drivers, and they will still keep some of the real picture of your future covered with pretty colors. but when it comes down to it, they will tell you that you will get pay for training, orientation, probalby food vouchers even. but you will never see any pay for training, or orientation, and youbetter bring money for food.

they will tell you there going to hook you up with an brand new plastic still on the seats truck, ill tell you from experience, if you get an truck that dont have cigarette burns in the seats, and floor, or crap stains on the mattress your doing very good. and dont even think about getting paid for detention, layover, or breakdowns, dont matter how often you tell your driver manager, you will be denied for it. also watch out, when they print you off an paper with an list of stuff you need to get done before getting put on safety hold (you cant drive and make money while on safety hold) dont pay attention to the day's it say's you have to complete the task at hand, it isnt correct, 9 day's left really means 3 day's.

about the only thing good about swift, is there rarely pulled into weigh stations, I have been in 1 the whold 7 weeks i have been driving, and was green lighted through the fast lane.

if you choose to go with swift, gl, you will need it. and I hope your experience goes better then mine did with them.

 

Present 6 months of good driving and you can be a level 1 Mentor with Swift.

 

Go to Schneider if you can. Stay away from Swift. Don't let the equipment fool you. If you're really serious keep talking to drivers.

 

Well I finally left not so "Swift". They would not pay me break down pay at my home terminal. They told me it would take 3 or 4 days to fix my truck which was ok since I was going for 4 days home time( no pay was expected at this 4 day interval). I called after my 4 day home time and was told truck was fixed. I drove 4 hours to get to my terminal and truck was still not fixed. I then was told it would take another 3 to 4 days to fix. I decided to go home (rather spend 4 days at home then at a motel). I called again after 4 days. I was told again truck was ready (wrong again). this went on for another 2 more times. When I told my dm that this was ridicuolus they gave me a "loaner truck" which was 2 years newer and 300,000 miles less. I asked why dont you just give me this truck and was told they cant it's a loaner. I was told to take all my stuff out of my truck and load up in "loaner" till mine is fixed and then take my belongings out of loaner to my truck when its done. I said I will take my stuff and put it in my car and they can the my truck and the "loaner" to keep. I'm going home after i'm told they dont pay breakdown at home terminals. I have come across trailer in my employment that brakes are metal to metal,doors falling of hinges, and trailers being used for storage at walmart dc's. Fighting to find a trailer that is worthy is about a 3 hour to 2 day hunting trip. Its not drop and hook most of the time its drop and hunt. they need to step up to walmart and take trailers that are storage and give them the junk ones to store end cap shelving. I am now not driving but working as factory worker but still searching for a decent driving opportunity in Florida with my amount of short experiance. I am now thinking of going to a flatbed company where I dont have to worry about trailer storage and a company that has decent trucks.

 

Sorry to hear that some of you have had problems with Swift. I recently completed my first year with them. I have had a pretty good experience so far but i don't really expect perfection. I know to expect the unexpected at times. I learned to use the chain of command at Swift so if I have issues that my DM will not resolve in the time I expect them to I will just goto the next person in line. DM's are not really trained on how to deal with people issues, attitudes and some have never driven a truck so i would not expect them to resolve most issues. I found as long as I remain calm about a issue it will get resolved. I just let it be known if it doesn't get resolved I will find someone that will resolve it. There are plenty of people that can help you in the chain of command. There are plenty of resourses in Phoenix that will help you get problems resolved with pay or even just DM issues as long as you keep facts in order and be civil about it. There are some really good DM's and some really bad ones that don't give a rats butt about a driver. On the flip side there are some really bad drivers that whine about everything, complain about going to certain places, won't accept loads they don't like, drop trailiers with flat tires, tandems that won't slide. Trailers don't get fixed if the drivers ignore the problem and leave it for the next guy. One of the biggest problems I see is lazy drivers.

Am i looking to leave Swift? Not right now. I am enjoying myself at the moment and still learning how to do good backing. I watch and observe other drivers for tips on how to improve my own driving.

Swift is not perfect but they are now that bad either. You just have to learn how the work the system and don't let it work you.

Happy trucking!

Marty

 

what are you looking for in the carriers that you are looking at?
look at medium size carriers, carriers with aprox 250 trucks they are more personable with the drivers, you are a name not a number. Major carriers require you to be away from home for 30 days at a time, ask these type questions, there are companies out there that offer driver home time every weekend, if you have a family these are important questions, when i drive i went with a company that had a 30 day out policy and i missed time watching my children growing up. dont jump in with the first carrier that will accept you shop around you will be surprised what you find.

 

as a prior employee of Swift, I have a few words to add. I worked for Jerry for four and a half years out of Troutdale Oregon. My former dm is still there and can verify anything I write here. They are a BIG company, saying that they have a bunch of dm's that should not be working for anyone. I found most of them to be east of the Missippi. Thet always have had maintence problems , this is normal for a company that big. lubes are late and take three times longer than they should. Parts that are needed are on back order. The mechanics are under paid and overworked. Just like life anywhere else. Some of the people that drive for them are slobs. For every driver that has a stupid wreck, a backing accident or any of the other comments you read on this forem, there a literly thousands of them that don,t! No one can tell me they have seen all 22,000 od so of them. So talk to the drivers, call Gary Reman at the swift yd in Troutdale and tell him skip said hi. them make up your own mind