Swift (disagreement with company)

Well after reading I have to agree its was a load, it was late, and you did fail to follow the proper channels. Live and learn. I have a friend whom worked for Scheider for liek 20 years, left them (retired), and then when money was tight he tried swift, and about had a heart attack. He ran back to Schneider and still works there today lol.

Then again I myself hate Schneider with the passion equaling the heat from fires of the sun... but I won't go there.

 

this is trucking sometimes you have todo what you do not want todo.
I took 9 cars from atl to laredo puked 4 times finished unloading then reloaded and headed back
you have to be cut out to be a trucker some are some are not.
you have to keep someone informed regraudless so the one getting your load is not left hanging these days it is to easy to loose what you have to the million waiting in line.

 

I must say it did take some guts to open yourself up to criticism on this point. I believe the consensus is clear; The error was on your part for not using the computer to communicate the problem sooner.

The fact that you took the time to even post this thread shows me that you do in fact want to learn. I respect that. You have a valuable resource here at your fingertips with a wealth of information from scores of drivers available to you.

Do not be afraid to ask questions in the future either. You may not always get the answer you would have liked but you will get the unvarnished truth from your fellow drivers.

We have all adapted in one way or another to this lifestyle and are willing to lend advice, suggestions, and support to our brothers and sisters of the road. Stick with it "Behindthewheel," it does get easier.

 

My sympathies. The economy is in such a tail spin right now it has changed the balance of power from drivers to employers. With the over abundance of qualified drivers looking for work it has empowered the carriers to start thinning out the herd. Drivers with any kind of service failures, accidents, too many tickets, or just have a bad attitude could be the first to get the Axe.

In your case it sounds like you have been suspended. If this is true it kind of puts you in limbo. Unsure of whether you should try and find a new job or wait for the boss to give you a call back with another truck assignment.

It may be difficult to find another job at this point but if I were you I would start making phone calls first thing Monday morning. When speaking to the recruiters be sure you explain the reason for the current suspension and appeal to them for an opportunity to get back in the saddle.

I do wish you luck.

 

I would look for another job immediately. Ive heard other stories of people getting thrown off there truck with no bus ticket home and being hundreds of miles away from home.This is a bad practice on these companies parts. I have a feeling sooner or later they will do this to the wrong person and someone will end up killed. but like i said i would find another job asap.

 

You did wrong, but so did Swift. The difference is, you admitted your mistake. Swift acts like they're blameless in all this.

Time to move on....

 

Wow! I'm blown away. That sucks! What terminal are you from? I know of a person from my terminal who had 2 accidents (1 backing / 1 hit a deer) with the same amount of experience as you and me and still have a job! If I were in your situation, look for another job immediately! Swift is down sizing and there are not doing any re-hires at the moment. Somehow students are still coming in. As far as they saying they are put you at the bottom at the list for another truck.... yeah right. Personally, i think they are going to starve you out which will make you quit anyway. I hope they don't murder your DAC. KEEP YOUR HEAD UP!

 

I've been driving for Swift since middle of November. on my 3rd day, i bumped into another swift driver at a shipper. we almost didnt even report it, because the damage was so minor. I saw the rear of my trailer in front of his truck, and had 2-3 feet of room. I was in the process of trying to get into this dock, and when i felt it was not enough room to back it, i just pulled around. They are calling it a preventable, and during my class i had to take, the guy said 110% of all backing accidents are due to a lazy driver. Sorry, pal. but my accident wasnt due to being lazy, it was due to INEXPERIENCE because i did not know when your tandems start to slide more than they 'roll', your trailer will swing somewhat backwards. I knew where my trailer was, knew how much room i had, and was aborting my attempt to dock. I never once put the thing in reverse.

I've been sitting in Memphis terminal since wednesday because my DM was giving me a pat on the back because he was 'thinking ahead' to get these classes taken care of before my 12-27-08 deadline. I got them done, but put on a whopping 83 miles this week. It is obvious this company dont care about their drivers. But lets rewind back to the day I finished my on road training.....

I get the email that my father was having slight medical problems. And seeing how they require you to take 6 days off, I told my DM i was headed to Waterloo, and staying with my folks because of said problem with my father. My DM said "okay, sweetie....ill call you when a truck is ready." My 6th day ended the first thursday in Nov. When i didnt get a phone call from my DM on friday, i knew she wouldn't be in till monday. Prior to the end of my 6th day, I had sent emails to her saying i had another phone number i could be contacted at. Not to mention she had my email address. She told me i was #2 in line for a truck the first day i was home. I heard NOTHING bout a truck. Come the next monday, i emailed and called, and got the "...i'm still lookin..." answer. I finally told her on Tuesday, that i'm coming down thursday morning, and that i NEEDED to roll in something. I said i didnt care if it was a daycab running local runs, but i needed something. She agreed on wednesday, that i could run local. I dont answer 'unknown' phone numbers on my cell. And if you call me, and dont leave a message, then that really isnt an attempt to contact. She calls me thursday morning. FINALLY leaves a voicemail. I call back within a minute, and i get HER voicemail. I tell her i will be leaving by 11a, and will be there at the terminal before she leaves her desk that day. I dont check my email, till after i arrived at the terminal. I get to her desk, and she says "oh, see "bob" tomorrow about your truck." So i then get a bunk room, check my mail and read she sent me something that morning saying "i've got a truck for you. it is in phoenix, do you want it or not?" When i stood at her desk, she said nothing about the truck in phoenix. I find "bob" the next morning at 7a, and he tells me "come back and see me at 10a". So i do. he tells me the truck i'm going to take over wont be in till 4p....come back and see him then. SO I DO. he tells me the truck had to go back and get reloaded to make weight 3 times. Finally the truck arrives at 8p on friday. I finally get to climb inside it saturday, and find the previous driver left a couple items of clothing, a 20oz soda bottle with chew spit, drinking straws with ends chewed on them on the dash, the truck was just plain filty. My DM said something to me the friday i saw him at 10a, about getting a load and getting out on saturday. I thought to myself 'no way. we are going to go over this truck with a checklist, because i am not going to get stuck paying for some high dollar item that is broke or missing'. during our meeting we agreed i would be in the 910 comfort zone. it wasnt a week before they tried giving me a load to central NY. I never accepted or declined the load, but because i wanted to roll....i decided to accept the load. afterwards, it ended up being taken off me.

This company seems to not have its act together. One hand dont talk to the other hand. And drivers are kept in the dark. I've got a DM who says he 'looks out for me', and his big plan ends up making me sit for days. One load he gave me was a 700 mile run. He gave it to me to make up for running a couple 80-120 mile runs. (which i dont care.....if i took 5 100 mile runs, it pays the same as 1 500 mile run) I took the load on saturday, ran my tail down 550+ miles, ended up getting to the final on saturday at 2p....HOPING i could get unloaded early. Nobody was there. So i wait till 8a the next morning, and seeing how this place only has one receiving dock, they schedule everything by appointment. Mine wasnt until 8p monday night. I finally get unloaded, then end up sitting till 4p the next day for a Pre-Plan. That picked up by 7a wednesday, and was only a mid 80 mile run. and that is all i have had this week. And here i STILL sit.

So to me, there are 3 possibilities:

1) my DM sucks, and couldnt tie his shoe without looking at an instruction book.
2) my DM wants to keep me rolling, cause he knows i want to work, but the freight just isnt there.

or

3) my DM is getting tired of hearing me complain about not rolling, so he is giving me diddly squat.

What can i do??? Tuff it out? work on my patience?? Seeing how freight is slow, i mean there cannot be that many companies out there willing to hire anybody with little experience like me, not to mention the preventalbe on my DAC report.

I want to roll, i want to have a little pride in my truck and company, but when you get less than 100 miles in a week.....something is wrong.

 

KGB0911, things are bad. Period. I'm sure most drivers on this board are getting lower miles. Being new only makes it worse, because most new drivers get fewer miles anyway.

Getting a truck is always a pain. I got lucky with getting mine. They bussed me down to Eden, NC to get a truck they had there. I tested out on Thursday, had a truck on Friday. I've heard horror stories, though of people waiting weeks for a truck. Sounds like that's what happened to you.

Anyway, now you've got one, you're just not getting any miles. Neither am I. Neither is any other Swift driver I know of. Complaining and pestering doesn't really help any. I doubt any other company that would hire you would give you more miles. Don't know for sure, I don't have a crystal ball, but that's what common sense tells me.

If you're financially able, tough it out. If not, you could always find work with a collection agency. I hear they're booming right now.