Swift Transportation Company, Inc. - Phoenix, Az.

Dear Majik lady,
Your going to be a good driver. At least you have a good head on you and can think. God bless and give you a safe and interesting road ahead. Just keep on doing what your doing now.

 

Starting pay is low in any industry. Why should trucking be different? Once a person pays their dues, they can expect more. In that vein, Swift is probably the best starting trucking company because a newbie moves from $0.26/mile to $0.32/mile (I believe that is the right amount) in ONE YEAR. Most other companies will start a driver off at $0.26 to $0.30 for the first year and then raise it a penny or two at the END of the first year. As for training companies "sucking" well, part of their "job" is weeding out the wannabees. If a person is really cut out for the truck driving life, they will survive the first year and go on to a successful career. The problem, and we see alot of evidence on here, is there are a lot of slow learners. Wannabee newbies who go to a company, can't hack the stuff they face, quit, come here and complain while looking for a new company. Problem for them is they will always be dissatisfied because, in most cases, they are not cut out to be professional drivers (that is why they are called wannabees).

So, here are some pointers for all newbies out there (and others who haven't figured this out yet):

1. Truck driving is a job with unique characteristics but many similarities to any other job.

2. As a company driver you are an EMPLOYEE. That means your driver manager (dispatcher or whatever else he/she is called) is your supervisor and has the RIGHT to tell you what to do and expect you to do it. Just like at McDonalds, GM, or Walmart. Difference here is trucking companies are smart enough not to fire (unless flagrant violations exist) because it saves them the unemployment benefits fight.

3. If your supervisor tells you to violate the law you have an avenue past them -- in this industry it is called the safety department.

4. You are going to start off at low wages and, if you will stick with it and resist the urge to keep looking for greener grass, you will see your pay go up considerably over the years.

5. You will probably be given alot of crap jobs and treatment in the first few months to a year (just like at McDonalds, GM, or Walmart) to check your commitment to the job and the company. If you suck it up and do your job with a good attitude things WILL improve.

6. Resist the urge to jump ship just because you THINK something else looks better. Remember, the picture on the menu always looks better than the real meal.

7. Your attitude has more to do with your satisfaction (or dissatisfaction) with your company than all the things reported on here that companies have done to people to earn their place on this forum. You can work for a "nasty" company but have a great attitude and you will succeed AND enjoy your job.

8. If you don't like the idea of being an employee (and maybe that is why you quit your other job and came to trucking) buy a truck, be an independent truck driver and run your own show. That way if you don't like the way your company is you can come on here and tell us what a lousy company you are and none of us will want to work for you.

 

just havin' fun, didn't mean anything by it. Who i work for now? nobody, but will be going to Swift or MCT. Was just saying what TimTruck was probably going to be saying in regard to your post.

 

dear PawPaw,
Thank's
As always you have given a very good answer to the questions. The answer you gave has always been a good one and still is. Your out-line say's you are a year driver. But I think you hit the nail on the head and show a maturity in the trucking industry knowledge way beyond a year driver. Good going. Just keep telling the ones who will lesson the truth. I couldn't have said it better!

 

All you need to do is go to your local Swift terminal and you will find several there over the course of a couple of days who have been with the company more than 3 years. Why don't you just man up and admit you don't have a clue what you are talking about? You are a typical Swift hatemonger, you can spout "facts" but cannot back those facts with real statistics. You also might want to take the time to proof read your posts before posting as the numerous spelling and grammatical errors further detracts from your claims. It shows one of two things; either someone who just never got a clue in English class or someone answering in haste and anger.

 

Ah such hate and anger-now ignoring you since you know it all.

 

I'll keep on believing those 100,000 or so Swift bashers who've actually held a Swift steering wheel in the past and thus know how it really is at that outfit way, way before I'll believe a few people in a Swift terminal or a Swift cheerleader on a site like this.

Of course, this is just common sense, which seems to be severely lacking here at times.

 

100,000? Sounds like a normal Tip-embellished number.