I can't wait to work for Swift...

It is that same "terminally unique" attitude that keeps drunks drunk longer than they need to be.

 

Well I just currently started with swift, got my truck on saturday and go out solo on thursday. The only reason I went with swift is because they are the only one who would touch me with a two year gap in my otr driving exp which was only six months with schneider. So far I ran two weeks with my trainer, he had been with the company for five years, great guy great trainer. The only thing that I have noticed that is bad about the company, is if you turn down a load or send a message requesting a good load the trip planners will tend to play games with you. Making you wait 6 hours, or even more. We had to wait almost a day in florida, mind you it was 110 degrees and we just got a message over the qualcomm saying we needed to reduce our idle time as it was at 55%. But obviously we didnt reduce it I mean come on its 110 outside. But so far so good no other gripes with the company, I also run out of the minnesota terminal which is a small terminal of 15 people, so I dont know if the smaller terminal runs smoother than the larger ones with say 500 people working in it. But I will keep you updated. Oh and I am only gonna run with this company till my uncle's insurance company says I have enough "recent" otr exp then I will run good miles good pay with a company of only 20 trucks.

 

I'm sorry, but this is the internet. Heck, that dont even matter, because people in real life will bull$#!T you just the same when asking for truthful answers or want information.

Why do people hate swift so much? MOST of the people doing the complaining didn't even work for them, but just forwarding someone elses experience. They are one of THE BIGGEST shippers....so obviously they are going to be hated the most.

People think everybody's situation is exactly the same. Everyone thinks student driver needs are 'cookie cutter'. HARDLY.

Why am i going to Swift? Why not? Am i going to base my choice upon someone elses opinion, when their opinion is more than likely a 'flawed' opinion? One that is made without all the facts or with misinformation?

Here is why i am going to Swift. Because i have 2 suspensions in 3 years, and that is aparently too many for Schneider, because i've never heard from them. There is another company i looked into, who want you to live within 100 miles of one of their training centers, i dont. MCT wants you to have a CDL permit, AND if you leave before working for them a year, you have to repay the ENTIRE $4,000 tuition bill. Werner wants you to already have a Class A CDL, so does TMC. Swift will accept students without doing a credit check. My credit sucks. I couldnt get a loan to put myself thru a truck driving class at the local community college...let alone, i dont have the $4k for tuition. I already know $$ will come out of every paycheck to cover my half of tuition. for the first year. I know i will be 'slaving' (according to some) because i will start out making $.24cpm not $.28. (who else will put you thru training, without any permits or anything, and pay you $.30cpm+ as a newbie driver with ZERO experience)

I've said in other posts, if you dont like your job, then quit. there are 100 other people who would just DIE to have a job. Don't talk down or discourage student drivers who are going in a direction you THINK is the wrong one just because that is your opinion.

I can hear it now..."oh you are just a number and nobody cares about you..." blah blah blah. I am not going to care if someone dont know my name. All i care about is getting miles. As long as i get the miles, who cares if someone knows my name.

I will post my experience with Swift. So far, I have no complaints. My recruiter has kept me up to date, answered all my questions, and has NOT promiced me anything.

 

24 cents per mile?

you guys get paid to do this? hell im just in it for the glory. someday ill be in the trucking museum in walcott.

but seriously, you do realize at 24 cents per mile a 3000 mile week is gonna be a gross of 720 bucks right?

and up until about oooooh your 6th month or so when you finally figure out how to run so you can make money, youre looking at 22-2300 miles a week, maybe. (552)

oh and winters coming, those random 1300 mile weeks are fun (312)

and theyre going to take tuition out of that regardless of whether you can afford it or not, and be for ###### sure if you didnt make enough on that check to cover it, theyll take it all and make you pay the remainder out of your next check.

want to know why theyll put you through school? because its cheap labor for them. they can treat you like a complete piece of crap for however long you make it, pay you nothing, and when you quit... make money on it!

they win, you lose.

 

It's always the Wannabes or the Students that seem hellbent on defending a company that they have never worked for. Granted, I have never worked for Swift, but I have been out here long enough to see the kind of company they are. You get what you pay for, and Swift sure doesn't pay much. To you guys that are set on working there, best of luck, really. But please don't get mad when I bang on your sleeper to let me out of my parking spot or blow my air horn to keep you from ripping my bumper off during a blindside back.

 

And it is always someone who has never worked for them (least they dont say they have) who is always out to complain about the negitive, though they aren't directly related.

just answer the question then, seeing how you two are 'know it alls' after working for a year. tell me, where am i to go, with ZERO training, and ZERO miles, go thru class, then work for whoever puts me thru class, and make $0.30cpm+....who? You guys just love to complain and spout off about the negitive, but you don't ever answer the simple questions. $.24 is just the first 3 months. by the end of the first year, i'll be making $0.32cpm. But who really cares, the first year is when you REALLY get the experience that you can take to go elsewhere, Yes or No?? Maybe you got lucky and were able to put yourself thru a CDL class, then go somewhere where you can say "ive already got a CDL, just need a job" and you get something for 40cpm. That is great, but guess what, nobody is you. Maybe you got lucky and mommy and daddy helped put you thru class, because they both make $100k a year as business people. That is great, and you are LUCKY....but nobody is YOU.

I will be a little smarter than a rock not to park somewhere, that i will block someone in. But please dont be that driver that parks in the pay lane at a truck stop, goes in to pay, then does his grocery shopping tying up the pump for 30 minutes. Please dont be that driver that forgot he reached his fuel limit on his ComData card that morning, and trying to fuel another $800 that night.

I will be sure to let you know of my experience. And should you ever see a Swift driver, regardless if they are in the right or wrong, knock on my sleeper because you need more room to pull straight out of your spot, and i just might want to knock on something of my own.

 

Its not luck
It takes character to pay your bills on time and have good credit
Or hard work to save up and pay for it your self

 

Really think that I will ever get 146 miles in a week? that is what it comes out to, to just cover their weekly tuition payment. I laugh if you think any driver EVER doesn't break 150/week. If they do, it is because they were off for 6 and a half days.

Isn't it the point of any business to make money?? Sorry, but if i own a company, I could care less if i know your name or not. I want to run a sucessfull business....and it is only that, if it is making money. Cheap labor? why do you think many american companies are sending their jobs to mexico, or china...because people there WANT the jobs, but we americans want everything NOW, and want to make $30/hr starting out at a job.

if you cannot read, ill make it a bit easier for you........I AM GOING TO SWIFT BECAUSE THEY WILL GET ME A CDL. THEY WILL GET ME EXPERIENCE IN A YEAR, WHERE AFTERWARDS, I CAN GO SOMEWHERE ELSE, AND MAKE 10-15cpm MILE MORE THAN WHAT I WOULD MAKE THERE AFTER A YEAR

hope that helped. First year will be hard, i know that, and i could care less if anybody else agrees with WHY i do what i do. I wont lose sleep because someone dont like Swift, and i am going there. oh my...i will be treated like a number...so what. You get what you make out of it. You go into a new job with a negitive additude, good chance you wont make it 3 months. Go in with an open mind, and no expectations, and you just might make it.

See you on the road in 3 years, when i am hauling cars.

 

Never said it was 'luck' to pay your bills on time, i said it was LUCKY if you had parents making $200k a year and could afford to put a kid thru a school, or it was LUCK, to not have anything come up that sucks your savings dry, that would allow you to pay for school out of your own pocket. My credit sucks because I was out of work, being in the hospital, and ended up having a judgement on my credit for said medical bills. Guess what, it IS 'lucky' to go thru life, without having major problems crop up, that just ruins you financially. But i bet, as a kid, you should already have $50k saved up before you reach the age of 10.

Sorry, not trying to cop an additude, but i get SICK of the BS where everybody thinks they know your situation, or tell you 'YOU'RE STUPID" for choosing to do something. Maybe i am wrong, well guess what.....wouldnt be the first time.

 

Guess what? we all go through life with troubles
Some are able to deal with it better than others
Every person has a story to tell
Some are able to make the best of things
You seem like a good guy, just slow down a little and listen and learn
Not every successful person was given a golden spoon when they were born, they worked real hard and smart to get where they were