Everyone quit SWIFT!!!!

I don't doubt any of the stories of the hand holding that happens there. But I honestly can't believe they don't have enough work to support a decent paycheck. I get the impression that if a fellow wants to really run as hard as the HOS permits, they would have the work.

So, I guess it boils down to either the company really is a scum company, or the stories I hear are the results of people who have zero business behind the wheel of a truck. I'd hazard a guess and say the truth is somewhere in between

 

Swift? In the Bad Company section? Say it ain't so!

 

Swift has a really low expectation of asset utilization. If a driver is running their HOS to within 60-70% of availability, on average, they're happy. So to make good money there, you're probably going to have to work yourself into some sort of optimal lane and get in good with whoever and prove both your ability and desire to work hard and get to get the job done every time, no matter.

Where I work is a smaller outfit with about 250 trucks, it's rare that we get within 24 hours of delivery appointment and don't have a preplan that also works on critical appointment times. A huge place like Swift probably does very little appointment work except perhaps on their refrigerated side, and can effectively play it one minute at a time and dispatch with random selection of available assets, with little regard to "the individuals" in play

A percentage of drivers there are happy and have been for a while. I don't know how many or how many of them are "senior drivers" (what a senior driver at Swift is, I don't know) but they couldn't run their business if at least a few drivers didn't stay longer than a year and nobody is going to stay longer than a year at a completely dysfunctional carrier that can't keep anybody in a decent wage

 

I started there and couldn't get miles no matter how much I begged my dispatcher. She told me the only way to get more than about 1,800 to 2,200 miles a week was to lease a truck and train students. I pulled the plug after 6 months because I just couldn't afford to work there anymore. Swift works for some but not for others. It depends a lot on your dispatcher. I asked for a new one and was denied. I asked to change divisions and was denied.

Oh well...

 

if you had signed a contract, and did not meet you obligations, they may have with held your final check. if they kept it, then did you read the contract, that YOU signed?

i have worked at companies, EVEN a UNION SHOP, (and my CURRENT employer) where i still had to pay into the health benefits...not too many companies offer "FREE health benefits"...

you were lucky, that as a student, you got THAT MUCH in pay. while some may "offer more", think about it, they add in fuel bonus, hiring bonuses as well to bump up the wages.

they didn't treat you dirty, you failed at reading the contract, typical....for a newbie.

why don't you get real..??

that 48¢ per mile, was most likely with added on items, either that, or you totally misunderstood the pay...maybe you heard..."top pay" after x amount of time...???

dispatchers have loads lined up, most times, when you have the hours to run, they never give the loads at the wrong time, you must not know how to manage your time!

spent too much time at the truck stops? maybe too much time texting home..??

dispatch has all they need to acquire loads for you, from the time you accept one, and deliver. for me, i was always ready for another load as soon as i delivered...my job was to make me money, not sit on my butt.

of course Swift is a school based company, and that's one of a few reasons why you went there, to learn, hopefully.


did you have money to get your CDL on your own? or were you broke, and needed help to get that CDL..???

and NEVER be too sure of any "free benefits", as i can assure you, that one of 2 things will happen..

1) those free benefits can be lousy

2) those free benefits can be dropped,, and you will pay for them

 

The "sliding pay scale" model [based on trip length] is what throws a lot of guys off. It's a classic act of deceit and deception and there's no way for an outsider to truly know how it might all average out if they ever DO figure it out and grasp the concept before signing on. It's always a crap shoot from week week how the loads are going to fall, especially when you're working in a regional fleet where there is a certain level of expectation of reliable and frequent home time.

Four of the "better paying" 400 mile runs in a week still makes for a miserable pay check. And several events strung together of shagging loads across town, and looking for phantom empty trailers, losing entire days in the process, is enough to make even the most patient and understanding drivers go "postal"

 

Home time is another thing. It's rare to have BOTH consistent time at home and exceptional pay checks but many have unrealistic expectations they can have both.

Average mediocre pay checks is about the best you can hope for if you're sitting at home every 5-9 days

 

I used to work for Swift.
It started out great; Swift and I knew that we would both go places together in our beautiful relationship.
After awhile; Swift started becoming...distant; as if there were other drivers that were courting my beloved company.
As our relationship progressed, Swift became increasingly unavailable to me, especially on pay days....$450.00 for a week’s pay? Really? Honey, we need to talk.....
Then I finally found out that Swift had an entire chorus line of doe eyed, idealistic, full of p**s and vinegar, desperate and slightly ignorant wannabe’s all lined up in a tag team eager to take a stab at the company front door.
They all reminded me of... me.
It was then that I’d realized that I was just another cheap and expendable clown in the Swift conjugal bed chamber.
Swift and I were divorced soon after.

 

Ha, ha. I don't have to jump off a cliff, to know it isn't going to end well.

 

My buddy recently started working for Swift. Got his CDL through them, training, and his own truck 3 months ago. His checks are between $1200-$1700 every week since he started and he has been given fairly nice routes. A few glitches, but nothing major. The have honored his home time, on time each three weeks etc. Overall, he's enjoyed it thus far and said because they are such a big carrier, of course you'll see more whiners out there. His mentor was a very experienced driver with over 12 years at Swift and also enjoyed working for them.