Going with Swift....Good or Bad opinions please

Thats how I look at it. You have to start somewhere. And this is my start

 

Well day 1 of my Swift orenitation is in the books.....And I will definitely say this, I willl not be with this company for long and I see why there turnover rate is so high. There were nothing but attitudes and frowns ALL DAY LONG from the staff, any question I asked was answered with a smart ### answer. For example I asked the student driver manager if I have a problem with the mentor and needed to change what should I do? The answer I got was you are two grown men you need to work it out and make the best out of the situation you are not on the truck to make friends you are there to learn. ummm Im not stupid thats kinda obvious that you are supposed to try and talk it out so I asked again whom would I contact if Im not being taught what Im supposed to be learning? Then the answer was Oh that would be me smdh seriously. Next the first thing we did this morning was....you guessed it physicals and drug tests, drug testing wasn't so bad but the lady doing the vision test was yelling at everybody like they were children which pissed me off and had me a little shaken up by the time I got to her she took my blood pressure and it was high so she asks if I was nervous I said yes she asked me why I said because she was mean and yelling at everybody. Her answer was thats because people dont listen to what Im saying well Im sure they were nervous as well. Then when all of that was over the woman running the orientation came in telling the class that we had all falsified federal documents but would tell us later what document it was. People again were on eggshells. Come to find out she was talking about when you signed your paper at the dmv to obtain your license it said that you had read the fmcsr and she knew no one had read it. So we falsified that document. I responded that out of all the truckers I knew and I know alot of them none of them or anybody that I met has read that green book from cover to cover. She snaps back well I have read it cover to cover. So I became a smart ### back and said well I dont know you, so I still dont know anybody that has read the whole book. And the final thing that I will talk about that rubbed me the wrong way is that she is going to tell us how long Im supposed to have a phone conversation while Im on my off duty time. You should only have conversations that last 3-4 min long, because you are supposed to be sleeping when you are not driving...Who the hell are you does she start paying my phone bill when I leave for training I have three kids and alot of family as well as several lady friends and if I want to talk to them for 6 hrs and sleep the other 4 thats my #### business I can do whatever the hell I want to on my off-duty time. I understand that she was saying this is a lifestyle change but at the same time I have a life and family Im just going to completely cut off because Im out on the road. If I cant be home I need to be as close to home as possible thats why I have a video phone app so I can at least see my kids and the can see my face. If its doing my off-duty time and my kids are having a school play that there in I can be there via Skype and that for me makes life on the road a little easier. If im driving thats a different story. Overall the impression I got with the people In the gary terminal is that they are full of ego's and attitudes. If its starting like this all I will say is that it can only get better because it couldn't be much worse than what Im dealing with now.

 

I've never been to orientation that gloomy before it was like a funeral in there usually someone of cheery the best part was the road instructor

 

Thanx moosetek, I hear everything that your saying and I expected some bad before good however I just didn't expect it on the first day of orientation the first day of out in the real world of trucking YES. I never went to the military because I dont take orders very well and I dont like authority but I understand that you have to take your lumps I just didn't expect pencil pushers to be so rude and nasty I'm asking questions to so I can be a better driver and in return represent the company as a whole better. I don't like being talked to like a dummy when Im asking a valid question I expect a valid straight forward answer not a sarcastic answer because I can be sarcastic with the best of them. It just was kind of odd to me that nobody looked happy in there job, drivers, office people, nobody to me that is unusual. Im going back tomorrow with the attitude that things will be better maybe because it was monday people were a little edgy. Plus after I get to my mentor I will probably never see these people again. That is why I came on the forum to vent because I wasn't going to vent to anyone in my class or let the instructors that they were getting to me after reading the responses and having some time to think it's all apart of the process and it is what it is. I take the good with the bad like Im blogging from home and just left my best friends house having a few beers and enjoying my friends. While the rest of my class is in a hotel room. I will enjoy my bed and 900 channels for another night or so and take joy in that. And like you said once I go solo and gather experience under my belt I can write my own ticket which I will do. Again guys thanx for the sound advice and constructive criticism and I will see you guys out there on the road very soon