Just finished Swifts training academy

sweeze · Nov 17, 2007

Well, I just got home day before yesterday from their academy and finally have my CDL.

I can tell you it was not easy. Three weeks training at breakneck speed. But now that all is said and done I have to say that I am glad I went to this school rather then a community college. I feel like I got trained really well, everyone was really nice. I can't think of one bad thing to say about my experience, other then the fact that I had to get my own room because of a conflict with who I had to room with. I think that is the only drawback, having to share a room. But I only had to pay $15 a day (swifts rate) for my own room so it wasn't that big a deal.

There were 4 of us women in my class. Total number was 14. We had to do the Swift Wellness Test (lifting weights and all that) and we all passed. The only thing we didn't pass was the flatbed part. That is where you have to lift a basket filled with 75lbs up onto a shelf that is shoulder height. Noone was able to do it but no matter. We still passed for dry box.

I am so proud of myself for getting thru all of their levels of testing. Six tests in three weeks. Classroom, range, road and pretrip. I even know how to slide tandems now. The location I went to was Lewiston. I would recommend it to anyone.

Grinnbearit · Nov 17, 2007

sweeze said: ↑

Well, I just got home day before yesterday from their academy and finally have my CDL.

I can tell you it was not easy. Three weeks training at breakneck speed. But now that all is said and done I have to say that I am glad I went to this school rather then a community college. I feel like I got trained really well, everyone was really nice. I can't think of one bad thing to say about my experience, other then the fact that I had to get my own room because of a conflict with who I had to room with. I think that is the only drawback, having to share a room. But I only had to pay $15 a day (swifts rate) for my own room so it wasn't that big a deal.

There were 4 of us women in my class. Total number was 14. We had to do the Swift Wellness Test (lifting weights and all that) and we all passed. The only thing we didn't pass was the flatbed part. That is where you have to lift a basket filled with 75lbs up onto a shelf that is shoulder height. Noone was able to do it but no matter. We still passed for dry box.

I am so proud of myself for getting thru all of their levels of testing. Six tests in three weeks. Classroom, range, road and pretrip. I even know how to slide tandems now. The location I went to was Lewiston. I would recommend it to anyone.
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Sweeze,

After looking at all the negative that many a driver and outsider(myself) has seen and heard about Swift it is amazing to see a post about this company to a positive tone. I hope you have a ton of success with this company and keep the boards posted as time moves along. How extensive was the hands-on portion? It seems that this company has a lot of hoops to jump just to separate one applicant from another (Wellness Test). A friend of mine worked for Swift and left becasue he wanted to see home more but, he had nothing but good to say about them after two years regional runs up the east coast.

Grinn

Road Dog · Nov 17, 2007

sweeze,although I have nothing good to say about Swift,I am glad to hear you made out OK.Best of luck to you on your new venture.There are some drivers who seem to like Swift,and I really hope you have more good experiences with them, but they were just not for me. Keep on truckin.

notarps4me · Nov 17, 2007

I know a X- trainer from swift and I know there are others that are good drivers for them, but my problem is if you see something stupid or a truck gets hit there is a good chance that the perp is a swift. I have seen swift demolish a truck at a fuel island (and I don't mean the back of the trailer clipped the fender when coming out of the fuel island. The front of the trailer at the drives made contact with the truck beside it) I have been blocked in by swift because they pulled up to far at a rest stop. Have had them do numerous things to delay me one way or the other. They are getting worse all the time. Sometimes everyone will have trouble hitting a spot at a truck stop from either being tired or just one of those days, but when there are 3 open holes side by side and swift can't get in any of them without 40 pull ups and trucks are backed up on the road trying to get in it gets frustrating. Chances are if there is a rolling road block with a long parade behind a swift will be trying to pass snidey. It is stunts like this that give swift a bad rep.

I have nothing against swift drivers, just because they drive for swift. It is all the bonehead stunts I see them do that ticks me off. I know some of them are new and are learning, but surely they all can't be. I get out at truck stops and spot drivers if they are having a hard time hitting a hole, but if there are 2 of them in the same truck as far as I am concerned the passenger can get out and spot.

sweeze · Nov 18, 2007

notarps4me said: ↑

I have nothing against swift drivers, just because they drive for swift. It is all the bonehead stunts I see them do that ticks me off.
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I know Swift has a bad rep from all the reading I did before attending their school and believe me i fought tooth and nail trying not to go there because, like everyone else, reading the posts here really freaked me out.

But the forces that be pushed me in that direction no matter what I tried.
In the end I decided to give up and go with the flow. It became obvious to me that that is where I was supposed to go so I gave in.

I did indeed take everything everyone said here to heart tho. Not only was I in school there but I also wanted to know why they had such a bad rap so I started asking the instructors why it's so (yes they do know that swift has a bad rap) and paying attention to what people said around me.

There seem to be a few factors that contribute to the problem. Two of the instructors said they believed it was because it was such a big company. All companies have a certain amount of bad drivers but because Swift is so big, because they have such a huge amount of drivers on the road, their ratio of bad drivers are much larger.

Another factor is the lack of quality mentors. I can tell you the school I attended was first rate. I worked like hell to pass and feel well trained. But to be honest, I still know very little. The real learning comes now, out on the road with the mentor. One instructor told me that most of the time the students don't say anything when they have a bad experience, they just get thru it. That there is no way for the company to correct the problem if noone is coming to them to tell them. This person said the students need people to speak up more so that swift can have a chance to correct the problem. Because there is no other way for them to know.

I know of one student who just got off a trainer truck and told me that the trainer only let him back the barest minimum required which is 24 times in six weeks. Well that is only 4 times a week which isnt a hell of alot. Another student said his trainer would never let him drive in town, only on the freeway. Hell, most of my road training was in town. If I get a mentor like that he'll be seeing the back end of my shoe.

The other thing I was told from a fellow student is that not all schools are the same. He had came from the Phoenix school where his class was a whooping 200. He said it took them two days just to get thru the physicals. He said the students didn't get near the one on one that we here at Lewiston got. English was not his first language so it was doubly difficult for him. He finally asked to be transferred to Lewiston. Our class was only 14. The biggest has been around 30. Class right after ours was only 11. But on average it seems to be between 15 and 20. So I think the quality of personal attention varies. I think the main problem is the mentorship tho. I think some people are coming away not trained very well. Sheesh after 6 weeks on the road you should know what is up.

I know I will $h!tcan anyone who doesn't train me properly. Last thing I need is to be made fun of or ridiculed or worse hurt or kill somebody becasue I wasn't trained right. And I feel like the school I went to really cared about us. Both my road instructor and the manager who ran the school gave me their numbers and told me don't hesitate to call in case I had any problems.

notarps4me · Nov 18, 2007

I wish you the best and have nothing against you at all. I know people have to start somwewhere and new people make a lot of mistakes. So do exp hands. It is human nature. Just gets so frustrating to find swift to be the center of the problem so many times. Good Luck! Hang in there!

bigblue19 · Nov 18, 2007

I know of one student who just got off a trainer truck and told me that the trainer only let him back the barest minimum required which is 24 times in six weeks. Well that is only 4 times a week which isnt a hell of alot. Another student said his trainer would never let him drive in town, only on the freeway. Hell, most of my road training was in town. If I get a mentor like that he'll be seeing the back end of my shoe.

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Thats because A. Most of these trainers are in it for the money. And B. if the student hits something the trainer is blamed and can be kicked off of training status or worse. I had a trainee hit a jersey barrier which blew a trailer tire and bent the rim pulling into a truck stop. I was in the sleeper sleeping yet I was still held responsible and I was suspended from training for 6months , and never went back to training. Now at least some companies are actually training by running solo instead of the old days when they ran you like a team from day one.

jenbri1994 · Nov 18, 2007

Congrats, I just finished orientation Friday for Swift. I'm hoping to get the call to pick up a truck Monday. Swift does have a bad rap, but I just wanted to get back with a big company. Just remember, When your going down the highway and another driver is giving you crap over the cb about being a Swift driver, The cb has an off switch!!!!! I hope you enjoy your new adventure and after you get a few years experience your options will be endless!!!

horse-sense · Nov 18, 2007

notarps4me said: ↑

I know a X- trainer from swift and I know there are others that are good drivers for them, but my problem is if you see something stupid or a truck gets hit there is a good chance that the perp is a swift. I have seen swift demolish a truck at a fuel island (and I don't mean the back of the trailer clipped the fender when coming out of the fuel island. The front of the trailer at the drives made contact with the truck beside it) I have been blocked in by swift because they pulled up to far at a rest stop. Have had them do numerous things to delay me one way or the other. They are getting worse all the time. Sometimes everyone will have trouble hitting a spot at a truck stop from either being tired or just one of those days, but when there are 3 open holes side by side and swift can't get in any of them without 40 pull ups and trucks are backed up on the road trying to get in it gets frustrating. Chances are if there is a rolling road block with a long parade behind a swift will be trying to pass snidey. It is stunts like this that give swift a bad rep.

I have nothing against swift drivers, just because they drive for swift. It is all the bonehead stunts I see them do that ticks me off. I know some of them are new and are learning, but surely they all can't be. I get out at truck stops and spot drivers if they are having a hard time hitting a hole, but if there are 2 of them in the same truck as far as I am concerned the passenger can get out and spot.
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I SHOULD BE GOING THERE AS A TRAINER VERY SOON (I HAVE TRAINED 108 IN 11 + YRS )(HAD TO STOP FOR MEDICAL REPAIR) AND I AGREE ON SOME THINGS, ITS A 1 ON 1 EFFORT---1. NEVER BE MISTER MACHO AND DRIVE WHEN YOUR TIRED (YOUR LIFE IS WORTH MORE) 2. THERE ARE NO DUMB QUESTIONS AND DON'T SETTLE FOR A HALF ASSED ANSWER, ASK UNTILL YOU UNDERSTAND ONE WAY OR THE OTHER. LEARN TO THINK SMART & COURTESY COUNTS BIG.IT CAN BE FUN AND REWARDING IF YA APPROCH IT WITH A SOUND SENSE OF FAIR PLAY AND PATIENCE. YOU ARE PAYING TO BE TRAINED AND YOU DEMAND IT! I TRAIN PEOPLE AND BRING OUT THE BEST AND NO MATTER THE COMPANY YOUR WITH YOU WILL BE ABLE TO STAND PROUD AND SAY I COUNT AS A "PRO" TRUCKER NO MATER WHO I DRIVE FOR OR WHAT THE CB SAYS. THINK, BE SAFE, AND ENJOY "YOUR" FUTURE"

Ronnocomot · Nov 18, 2007

bigblue19 said: ↑

Thats because A. Most of these trainers are in it for the money. And B. if the student hits something the trainer is blamed and can be kicked off of training status or worse. I had a trainee hit a jersey barrier which blew a trailer tire and bent the rim pulling into a truck stop. I was in the sleeper sleeping yet I was still held responsible and I was suspended from training for 6months , and never went back to training. Now at least some companies are actually training by running solo instead of the old days when they ran you like a team from day one.
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What were you doing sleeping if you were supposedly training?

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