Can social media be the demise of bottom feeder companies?

Yeah, I can agree about people speeding through work zones and tour buses, but do you really think your 62 MPH truck is safe on a 75 MPH road? I'd argue that it impedes traffic, and creates a very dangerous situation. Especially since Joe RVer, Joe 63 MPH truck, Joe Geriatric Motorist, et. al. are going to hit that left lane to pass you at .5 MPH over your speed, and none of the aforementioned groups are particularly prone to checking their mirrors, using judgment, or even using their turn signals before they come on over. So yeah, as I'm doing 75 on a 75 MPH road (which is driving the speed limit and maintaining the flow of traffic, not speeding), I have to be particularly wary when I come up on, say, a CRST truck looking to overtake a Swift truck, because it seems like I could never lose money expecting the snail patrol drivers to do something stupid.

 

Social media has been around for awhile. Everyday we see new drivers come on here asking about one of the megas or a lease purchase or whatever. After all of us give our input they put those down as being haters. They still think they will be the one who can make it work. The ones smart enough to listen to advice and follow it are successful, the others? A statistic

 

Yep. This is the number one reason that these bottom feeder companies are still around.

Screw social media, screw the public, screw everything else... It's a combination of stupidity and ignorance.

 

Perhaps you should try talking to some experienced drivers who actually drive for Swift.

About two years ago, I made the decision to go to Swift Academy, and drive for Swift for the six months needed to join the company I *really* wanted to drive for.

I'm still a Swift company driver. What happened? I found out first hand that Swift wasn't nearly as bad as I had heard.

If Swift was so horrible of a company to work for, how do they manage to keep 15,000+ trucks on the road? Many of those drivers have a million miles or more with Swift.

Yes, they have a high turnover rate. All starter companies do. A lot of new drivers quit trucking within the first few months because they didn't realize that it was so difficult to be out on the road alone for weeks at a time. Cell phones and video chat only go so far. And then there are the ones that do what I had planned to do; jump over to the company they really wanted to work for as soon as they have enough experience.

Am I saying that Swift is the best company out there? Oh, heck no. My five year plan has me owning my truck and team driving for a specialized carrier. My best friend will be joining me on my truck in a few weeks, and we will stay with Swift for a year for her to get her experience, and to pay off her Academy bill. At that time, we will evaluate our options. However, I *will* say that Swift is not a bad place for a new driver to get their start. They can certainly do worse... a LOT worse.

 

Who says i am riled up over that. i only got that way being mis quoted and called a liar about what i said. I made a statement about speeding trucks and the reason lower lever truck companies will never be put out of business because of that. I laugh at idiots who speed. Not through work zones because that's just not right at all. Trust me, i speed in my 4 wheeler, How can i complain about trucks speeding. I speed because i want to, not because i really believe im getting somewhere. Lots of truckers are idiots, i see it everyday. Just like 4 wheelers are idiots. No job is wroth losing your life over,no job. Or killing anyone doing that said job either. Be safe out there and i know you said 65 and not 55, fat fingers.

 

I swear I wasn't calling you a liar either. Promise!

Theres a difference between, "you're a liar," and, "that's hard to believe."

Its possible. People are stupid. Regardless of what you do or don't drive. I thought of a way to help the trucking industry clean it's act up...but I swear nobody is going to like it.

Getting a job that requires you to have a cdl now also requires a college degree by law. It doesn't have to be in anything worthwhile. Could be farting 101. But it also shuts down the industry to good drivers and doesn't promise good results. Educated idiots are still idiots.

 

I almost lost lost my job for posting a complaint about waiting to deliver at a customers location. I turned my FB settings inside-out after that. I started using it so sparingly that I eventually shut it off.

 

Just set it to friends only. Then DO NOT LET ANY of your co-workers be your friends. There are rats at every job.

I think some people actually deserve the BS they get, for posting TOO MUCH information. What is so important that everyone on the face of the earth has to know that one has a new coat, or dress or went to a fancy schmancy eatery?

If one has enemies, one makes it SO EASY to be found or tracked!

 

How do you "shut it off"? I've tried, but Facebook makes it difficult. I haven't posted a thing in years.Even IF you only set it to only allow your Friends, there's still a chance that a disgruntled "friend" can send a screenshot of any of your posts to your employer. Far better to be as anonymous as possible while discussing issues about the job, such as TTR.

 

You have to request to permenately deactivate your account. I was in there years ago and saw the dangers. I had to follow a link after googling "how to permenately deactivate Facebook account". Once you follow the link, in 24 hours your account is completely gone. Sure, Facebook still has your account but it's not on display and no one can ever find it. Unless FB reposts it.