Swift Transportation Company, Inc. - Phoenix, Az.

Mr. Montana, don't think I'm trying to be a prick with this reply, as I'm not. Anything but. But let me post my opinion of your opinion.

I think you need to step back and look at the forest instead of focusing on a few evergreens. I say this because I KNOW you're not the absolute, very first person who went to Swifty with that gung-ho, can-do, I'm-going-to-make-it-no-matter-what attitude. Your post sounds like common famous last words, actually. The trucking industry is strewn with former Swift drivers who went in determined that NOBODY would keep them from succeeding. They sounded exactly like you. Well....guess what?

Actually, to think that little ol' YOU or little ol' ME would be able to go to an outfit like SwiftQuit and "make it work" is pretty arrogant. There have been plenty, and I do mean PLENTY, of great guys with great attitudes who've gone there and fallen flat. And given that reality, I'm gonna think I will make it after all those guys crashed and burned before me? Who the hell would I be to think that?

I think you should formulate a backup plan instead of presuming Swift will treat you with the same ethic you plan to have while driving a SwiftCo wagon. Sometimes, it's out of a driver's hands. Try as a driver may, he can't win for losing at some companies. You may go there and be happy as a pea in a pod. You may also go there and meet up with the most lying, cheating, thieving, vindictive folks you've ever encountered. Those guys will sorely test that determination you speak of. How do I know? I once had the great pleasure of holding a SwiftCo steering wheel myself. I went in with your attitude, and I wish I could get the three months of my life I spent at SwiftQuit back in my coffer.

Good luck.

 

im not worried one bit tip. i can fall back on other trades. you dont have to sell me on the cutthroats in this buisness ive seen it. i dont trust anyone. i stay away from drivers in truck stops i dont need anymore negative bs in my life. way i look at it. if they run me like a dog with no respect, i will run like a deer far away. but swift will never fall, because they seem to have and endless supply of new recruits. and by the looks of some id say they are getting desperate.

 

Hey Montana,

Remember that while thads may not have made it at Swift, thousands of others have and many still work there. Some go there to get the experience necessary to go to a different company. Attitude is a great amount of anything we do in life. If you keep that attitude and realize that, like with all companies, there are times Swift is going to "screw" you, you will overlook those problems and move ahead. There will probably be times where you don't do it exactly the way Swift feels it needs to be done and as such will let them down. They won't kick you to the curb right away. If you maintain a good attitude they will work with you. Best of luck.

 

how true pawpaw.ive been screwed by the best of them.im old enough now as to where i will control my life and not let other's bring me down. just seems to be an endless supply of negativity on these forums regarding swift. all i can say to that is its there opinion.to say a trainer and his student are 2 #### in a white truck was idiotic and was offensive to me. i hated every minute being in the truck with a trainer but i pushed thru bit my tongue and finished.i had a plan going into this buisness and im determined to make it work.

 

Something I think every new driver should think about when looking for a company, is its size. Swift has thousands of freight contracts and hundreds if not thousands of drivers. They are going to keep what they think are their best drivers on the good contracts and whats left over will be dolled out to the newbies. Keep that in mind.

If you plan on taking their training program, be prepared to literally starve to death on the road unless you have some very good friends in the company. All big companies are the same. I remember meeting one swift driver on the road who had finished his training and was being paid .22 cents per mile. Now if you lucky enough to get 2500 miles per week as a new driver, you will gross a wopping $550.00 per week. Now take taxes and whatever Swift thinks is appropriate and this is what you have left over to buy your health food at the truckstops. You may even have a little left over to wash you clothes at the end of the month.

If you have any common sense whatsoever, get your training from some other source if you can. Taking the training courses through big companies and hoping to make any kind of living is absolute ingnorance and suicide.

Just my 2 cents.

 

Ether he was lying to you or he's an idiot for being unaware of his own pay rate .26 starting .33 or .34 at the end of first year depending on vans or flats.

 

You may be right, but the fact is, even at .26 per mile, you cannot live on the road. If your a single guy, maybe. And how many miles are you going to put in each week. One week you'll maybe get 3000. The following week maybe 1500. I'm not saying your wrong, I'm just saying anyway you look at it, its a tough row to hoe. Maybe you'll love it. Who knows, but I can assure you they are not going to do you any favors. Their main goal is profit, which is understandable and keeping the customer happy and you are the tool to do just that.

I don't mind hard work, but I exspect to be paid an honest wage for it and living on the road is not cheap.

 

Well you have to start someplace and just to clarify .26 is starting CPM with zero OTR exp. 26 to 28 is pretty much a standard starting point and when you take into account the turn over rate of first year drivers I can see why most companies don't pay much to start.

I know a company driver that made 92K last year and took four weeks off. You just have to put in your time to move up the pay scale. And then be the right guy in the right place at the right time for the right opportunity. If you just stay in one spot and don't expand on opportunities (I see this all the time) then yea, you, your pay, and your career will stagnate.

 

Usually, companies that are listed on NASDAQ are bad news. I'd stay away from the publically-held companies. By law, their mission is to maximize profits. Any concern those companies may have for workers falls far down the totem pole.

When I first started right out of a mill, I made 22 cents per mile at Swifty. Mind you, this was 1995.

 

Even though I think you'll be fine, Montana, I think you should formulate a back-up plan, just in case this Swifty deal goes south. I wish you good luck, although I hope you don't need luck.