I've had it

No worries there, bud. I'm pretty confident with the dimensions of my tractor and I hate wasting paint like you suggest.

Running a shorty over to Clarksville so I can have the trailer.

 

Robertsmith , dont listen to that guy , WTF does he know? I do the same thing , most of the drivers on here know what there talking about . I use this forum in the same way . hey if ya need advice this is the place , screw the naysayer, he'll find out soon enough whats up out here on the road.

 

I have to say from what i have seen on the forum for past few weeks--there is a lot of support from fellow swift drivers. That seems to be unusual in most company's. It don't matter whether they are company drivers/LO's/OO's--it seems that most are happy to jump in and give you a hand. That is truly nice to see in this day and time. Sure you are going to have a few that try to bash you but for most part I see other's trying to help out and that is a plus in my book.

 

The only reason I can think of you being out for 2 months is your home time request. Send it in and decline loads with HT as the reason.

I here newbies from a couple terminals complain about being out that long. No frikken excuse for why they can't get you home. None.

AFA shop? Make sure they put you in shop status! As soon as you do the paper work check your status on the kiosk! If you aren't make them do it while you stand there.

Then when the repairs are done check the kiosk again to make sure you are listed as available! Message your DM and let them know you are ready to roll. Do a Mac10.

I have a few "students" at Swift that I talk to. Even though I won't mentor. I had 3 drivers to call with questions. 2 Swifties and one friend I have known since 1980.

I don't know all the answers. I do know more than I did yesterday!

Some DM's will lie. Tell you they can't get you home etc. They get paid by how much you run. I wonder if they get paid extra to get drivers to run on Christmas?

If you want, get my number. I can't answer some things. But can make a call to a veteran Swifty that can.

Sounds like you had a crap mentor if you can't call him.

My DM commented to a friend that of all her newbies she never heard much from me, didn't have problems from me. I had a great support team behind me! She didn't know lots of times I was in panic mode!

 

As suggested before, have a face to face sit down with your Dm and get some issues aired out. From what I can see of your posts, he isn't doing his job very well. 6 Days in the shop? Did he know you were gonna be in the shop for 6 days? I had a Volvo that needed the front springs replaced. Shop said it would be 6 days before they would even get to it. I told my DM at the time and he got me a new truck.

If things don't improve after a conversation with your DM, talk to your FM and politely request a new DM. Don't badmouth him or anything and don't take no for an answer. It took a week and a half to get my second DM replaced.

Basically, it's time to stand up and take charge.

 

The part highlighted is completely false...it is merely a "rumor" started by drivers! DM's lost mileage bonus back when Jerry took the company back...and actually before he did his "thing" that cost him controlling interest in Swift. When Cunningham took the helm as CEO he re-instated the "performance bonus" to DM's and FM's...but it was the 1st thing Jerry did away with upon his return.

As for running over the holidays...that has been a traditional bonus offered to all drivers since Swift started...with achievable miles to qualify for the bonus. But none of the numbers from drivers translate to the "holiday " bonus the management level employees receive.

 

Most problems in trucking are short lived. Deal with them one at a time and don't sit there and dwell on them to veins are popping out. Next week you'll have a whole new set of problems and forgot about most of the past ones. As a driver in a high stress world you have to learn to handle everything cool and calm.

Your DM can be new or overworked. I would talk with them and say hey, this is bothering me and I would like to get it taken care of. Try to stay professional and avoid tempers. If you just can't get along, then yes, request a new DM.

As far as the battery thing goes, the shop says they are okay and they are probably right. I would say you have a short somewhere that is draining youir batteries. That's what I would tell them.

 

Phone calls are great and can get things done, however, send messages and macs on quallcom so it is in writing and someone can't forget about your phone call.

 

I work for swift. I share the same frustrations.

There are no excuses for:
1.Overworked DM's that have 50-60 drivers = absolutely no attention per driver.
2. Constantly having to return my (expletive) P.O.S prostar to the shop, 5 times in 2 weeks, the mechanics don't want to replace the egr valve. Instead they regen it.
3. Giving me a run to a dollar tree DC, to p/u a trailer, then come to find out 4 of the available trailers are ALL EXPIRED. I refuse to take an expired trailer.
4. Sending MAC55 to Onroad, about the EXPIRED trailers, any response? NO.
5. Yesterday, ran 76 miles trying to find a trailer, asked DM "are you paying me these miles?" NO RESPONSE.
6. Swift pay advance rejects if you are not on a dispatch. Trust me, at .25 cents a mile, you need $$, so to add insult to injury, not only are we (swift) going to reject your advance, we'll not pay you also for the miles you spend all day trying to find a trailer.
7. My DM answers 10% of the questions I ask him, neglects the other 90%.
8. It is almost WAR with my DM in honoring my (expletive) hometime. For Gods sake, where is the respect?