Swift for an experienced solo driver working out of the Memphis Terminal?

Discussion in 'Swift' started by Leftnut, Feb 4, 2015.

  1. JOHNQPUBLIC

    JOHNQPUBLIC Road Train Member

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    Apr 19, 2014
    Central New York
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    And good luck.
     
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  3. Luse

    Luse Medium Load Member

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    Nov 8, 2010
    Middle of nowhere Montana
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    Ask for Mr Lawson lawsj mem1 fleet and if you do get on his board tell him problem child says hi

    And if you see truck 130379 wave and say hi that's me

    Also my 4 week avg according to the New driver portal which is cool. The dashboard says 2605 a week which for January not to bad been in some crap weather
     
    Last edited: Feb 5, 2015
    27butterfly Thanks this.
  4. Aflak

    Aflak Light Load Member

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    Jun 6, 2011
    Las Vegas, NV
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    Mr Luse, Be careful about connecting a truck number with a forum name. There to many nefarious people lurking on these forums ready to snitch out other drivers for typing something they don't like. These people are the lowest of the low slime balls and will rat you out quicker then you can say stool pigeon.Just fyi. :biggrin_1square2:
     
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  5. seabass

    seabass Light Load Member

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    Nov 21, 2007
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    I worked at Swift for 1 year on a dedicated target account. I did ok with them. Stay away from their terminals if possible. They will route you by one to fuel oftentimes though. It is aggravating to be pulled off a load because a fuel attendant finds a light out on the trailer or some other issue. I was woken up one night around 2 am at the Decatur terminal by a mechanic who said my PM service was due on my truck.

    Overall they were decent enough. They offered me a great mileage rate to rehire late last year. I chose Bynum Transport instead. If you are considering Bynum, I can say that the only difference in Bynum and IRT is the name on the door. Now I can't go to Swift because they currently have a hiring freeze in Florida.
     
  6. Moosetek13

    Moosetek13 Road Train Member

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    Nov 1, 2010
    Burnsville, MN
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    I'll seldom fuel at a terminal.
    I just bypass that fuel stop and call from a truck stop.
     
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  7. Milkman719

    Milkman719 Medium Load Member

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    May 29, 2013
    Colorado Springs
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    Please don't take my remarks personally. I just thought it seemed strange that a driver with 14 years experience would consider going to swift. I was joking about the other companies and didn't mean to offend you.
     
    Leftnut Thanks this.
  8. inkeper

    inkeper Road Train Member

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    Only the owner/lease op division offers reference pay, not the company drivers.

    @Leftnut, been here almost 10 years, did the OTR all 48 for a while, got on a dedicated that loaded 20 miles or so from my front door, and have always had decent miles for what I needed, even during the soft freight seasons. Almost everyone at my terminal that matters knows me by my first name AND my truck number. Granted I am a slip seat driver in a day cab now, but it fits my needs perfectly.

    You may find that since you are new (if you decide to sign on here) the office folks may take a while to warm up to you. Hard, smart work pays dividends. You prove yourself and it gets better. I am a big believer in face to face contact with the "keyboard pounding monkeys" when ever you are in the vicinity. Give them a chance to get to know who and what you are. They see so many newbs come and go that they are sometimes reluctant to develop a more personal relationship.

    Good luck to you driver, whatever you decide to do.
     
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  9. Leftnut

    Leftnut Light Load Member

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    Mobile, Al
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    It's all good Milkman wasn't really serious just kinda jabbing back in playful way.
     
  10. DocWatson

    DocWatson Road Train Member

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    Jan 21, 2010
    Jersey shore
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    I just passed my 2 year anniversary with Swift. I think a few of the other guys said a lot of what I would have said.

    Learn the system and you will do well. Swift does have a lot of drivers and a lot of new drivers but they seem to want to keep experienced drivers. They appreciate drivers with a good safety record and a good ontime record. Like they said, establish a good relationship with your Driver Manager/Leader and you will do well.

    Think of it this way, your drivers leaders are evaluated on their drivers' safety record, on time percentage and weekly mileage. They want you to do well as it makes them look good.

    I took a couple of months off to travel and returned during the slowest freight season. But other than the first week when I had some mechanical issues, I've been running between 2400 and 3100 miles a week consistently solo. Despite what the naysayers say about Swift and how large of a company it is or how many newbies there are, with a company this big you have more options. You can get into flatbed, Canada runs, dedicated routes, doubles etc. My home terminal in Washington is a heavy haul focused terminal. I'm OTR so I'm more of the exception to the rule out of that terminal. The heavy haul guys drive only the northwest and they are home often. Some seem to be home or back at the terminal everyday. There are options within Swift. And since they are so large our percentage of drop and hooks are greater than most companies since we have so many trailers floating around out there. While others are sitting there staring out their windshield waiting to get loaded I'm dropping my empty and hooking up to my loaded trailer. I'm out of there in 20 minutes. Get your rank up, get to Platinum or Diamond status and you get a nice quarterly bonus.

    As far as terminals go, like they said it doesn't matter so much what terminal you are out of to some degree. I spend most of my time off in Virginia but my home terminal is near Tacoma, WA. Memphis is a big terminal. I think it might be the second biggest of Swift's terminals after the Phoenix headquarters. The only thing I didn't like about the Memphis terminal is the driver's lounge but that is a petty complaint. Last time I needed a truck I went to Memphis and I had a choice of a few trucks. You can always switch terminals later if you desire as long as you maintain a good RA (risk analysis) score and good mileage.
     
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  11. 27butterfly

    27butterfly Medium Load Member

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    Aug 1, 2013
    Pittsburg, Texas
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    I thought about changing to Memphis Terminal, can you send me name of your DM? Also, do you go to Texas a lot because that is where I live but I do not want to be in Lancaster(been there, done that:biggrin_25512:)? I just got off the truck with my co driver because he did not want to work as a Team, we had a load from Utah going to Plainview Texas and when I got to Cayton NM he was to drive the rest which was about three hours, when I woke up we were sitting in the Wal-Mart DC still six hours after he had got there because he did not want to hook up to empty and ask for another load since we did not have one. I was p##### off, and after that we got a load to pick up in Lubbock Texas at 1am, well he does nights so I went to sleep and woke up at 1:52 am with him sitting there playing on his phone and when I asked him what he was doing he was like "oh ####, umm was I supposed to get the load":biggrin_25513: . He always had an excuse for not driving and I finally had enough so when we got to Oklahoma City Terminal I got off the truck and now sitting here at the motel until the morning when I can talk to them about changing Terminals and maybe mentoring.
     
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