Swift so far ...

Good luck!! I finished orientation on 11/16/07. The recruiter told me that I wouldnt need a mentor because of my experience. Guess what, Now they tell me that I need a mentor. I passed my road test with flying colors. Two weeks wouldnt bother me but for 6 weeks starting out at $300.00 is a little crazy. Come to think of it , over 90% of the class is having to go out with a mentor. Here it is the 24th and still waiting for a mentor. What makes me mad is the fact I was lied to from the beginning. I have a back up plan. I start another job on Monday. I guess what I am trying to say is you need to find out how long they are going to make you wait. I unfortunatlly have bills to pay so I couldnt wait for them to decide to put me to work. I wish you the best of luck and hope this doesnt happen to you.

 

jenbri, where did you go for your orientation???? did they tell you that since you were out of a truck for 3 yrs you will need a mentor anyway or was it something else... how was the road test for you, what did it involve .. did you hit any gears when shifting, was the road test instructor cool or a hard butt ....

 

I went to Richmond, Va for orientation. They told me that if I did good on my road test that the worst case was that I would do 1 week with a mentor at $500. I could handle that. The road test wasn't bad at all for being out for 3 years. I rub two gears at the beginning and after that it was back to normal. The instructor was pretty cool. He said he remembered me from somewhere so I just went along with it. He checked pass for everything. My recruiter told me that he verified all my employment personally so I would not need a mentor. He claimed that he would fix everything, but he hasnt. It's probably for the best as I start a new job Monday morning.

 

Given SwiftQuit has the reputation of being a company that skimps on training, it's no surprise you guys are being told one thing, and then see another when you get to orientation. JerryCo is trying to make it seem it's cleaning up its act, I assume. Maybe by requiring nearly every new hire go with a "mentor", they can reduce the number of flashing red lights in their safety rating. Yeap, by making most go out with big brothers (most of whom could probably use a little "mentoring" themselves), they can make themselve look better in the eyes of the government. Could this be true?

 

I have to agree with you, Tip!!! Maybe thats why they had to self insure themselves for 10 million. There saftey record is one of the worst if not the worst.

 

I see that you are out of Chesapeake. I live in Virginia Beach, and have been looking into trucking as a career change. I see so many horror stories. . .what is the truth? Thanks so much for your input.

 

I am looking at going to TCC in Portsmouth and doing the training there (tuition $1357.50 in-state). It seems that I would do better to get my training and my CDL first (they offer 4 weeks M-F, 8 hours per day classroom, then 4 weeks M-F, 8 hours per day road training). That would, I think, give me more opportunities and more choices for employment. I was originally thinking of going with wither Swift or Schneider, but being blindly tied to one company for a year or two is pretty scary.

 

Obviously you have not researched the safety record, just trumpeted the comments of others. Swift has a much better safety rating then a lot of other companies; even some of the so-called better companies. Many large companies are self-insured. My wife works as a claims adjuster for the rental car industry. Some of the top rental car companies are self-insured. It has nothing to do with safety ratings but has everything to do with having the money to do it. Have you ever figured out how much money you have thrown away on insuarnace premiums in your lifetime and how much the insurance company has paid out on your behalf? If I had a couple of million dolllars that I could put in the bank and prove my financial responsibility to the state and have the insurance requirement waived, I would do it in a heartbeat. That is why most states make you prove "financial responsibility" when registering a vehicle or getting a license. They don't care whether or not you have insurance from a company or enough money in the bank to cover what an insurance policy would cover.

 

Didn't mean to upset you. I just don't think they have the safest record out there. You see their drivers doing a lot of dumb moves every day. I was just being sarcastic when i made that comment 6 months ago.