Wrong! All companies are not like Swift or the one I started in this industry with four years ago. I put in my time and went to work for a small regional company that operates 50 company trucks and another 100 O/O and I can assure you it is far superior to Swift or any of the other mega companies. I run an average between 11k and 12k miles per month and am home an average of 10 times per month. The pay and benefits are much better as well. So, there are other opportunities out there and the grass is greener on the other side...sometimes.
Don't hold your breath or wait to long for the pilot program. I was on it and never got a load from it. When Swift didn't have loads neither did the brokers they are using for Pilot program. Also if you take a load from brokers expect to make much less just to keep moving. All loads in Pilot program are live load/unload and can't t-call them for any reason. You assume all responsibility and cost associated with loads that get rescheduled. Its possible to sit on load for days with no pay or down time. Pilot program is for those who want to be hero's without the pay.
I agree. I am looking at going back to reefer, and where I live in Ohio, they have a divison that runs from OH to the NW. The pay is not the greatest, but their bennies make up for it. They also have a MW/SE division. Even extra pay if take a load east of I-81. That tells me, they do not go there that often. I have lost so much this year in lost revenue, and not SWIFTS fault for all of it, but when I attend a class that they tell me that I need to attend, and not pay, but I have to log it, then it messes me up. I will admit, with MAC 30, I have done better then waiting on the planners. Also from what I have been told, as far as planners, they mostly let the computer do the work. Also this Plus 1, it was not supposed to effect the l/o, but it has.
I've run 3100 miles mt and loaded on the pilot program so far, at an average of $1.82 for all miles run ... But then what do I know, foolish me, I was actually negotiating rates, pick up times, delivery times and using the program.
That's not always true. I went to Millington for school in '09 and drove for Swift for just under a year. There are companies that treat their drivers well. I've been with Averitt for over a year. Home every weekend, started at .36 cents a mile and now am up to .39. APU and 1800 watt inverter in my truck Drive a 2012 Cascadia. Averaged 2300 miles a week last year. Out on Sunday afternoon and home on Friday afternoon or evening most weeks. Great, affordable benefits. Profit sharing. Fuel bonus is just getting started for drivers here. Nice facilities with work out equipment and clean showers. Sure...I have to wear an Averitt shirt and gray pants or shorts and there are rules about hair length and facial hair. No visible tattoos, etc. None of that bothers me. I have never been talked to by ANY fleet manager or planner with anything but great respect. You can stay out longer if you want and take longer at home if you want. Flexibility is nice. There are other companies out their that value their drivers as well. Not just Averitt. And before the chatter starts I am a driver and NOT a recruiter. LOL
Ya I'm thinking about making a jump to Sharkys but I'm in the middle of trying to get a home loan and don't wanna mess that up. they have $6k sign up Bonus with home weekends and home threw the week $900 to $1100 a week 5 state ru, Bonus, Paid Health ins,sounds good talked to a few drivers they seem happy and said Hometime and pay is real I the trucks areugly as hell but just looking to spend more time with wife n kids I have already applied and they keep calling but I told them the loan place stay where I'm at until I get the loan
Good luck on your decisions, I too made the deicision, I been with my new company a week, running regional and some local work. I decide to pathways with swift because I was on a regional account that was suppose to get me home every weekend but the dm to me it don't work like that, I get there when I get a load going towards the house. With this new company I'm home every weekend and almost everyday. Swift over all is a great company its just some of the dm's and planners give it a bad rep
Looks like after being broke down again, with the same problem that was supposedly fixed about 2k miles ago, and turns out that KW did not fully fix it, and only 15K miles since the first of the year, and the wife earning more than me this year, and she is mostly part time, she is hot and heavy about finding a new job. My DM knows this and wants to know what he can do to help so that I do not leave. Pretty much told him, we have discussed this before. I am way out of my comfort zone, and constantly running loads up and down the hills and mntns of the East, and watching every week my fuel summaries, mpg going down, and fuel cost per gal going up, I do not have a choice. She was supposed to be heading home to visit the family next month. That is not happening now. Will be lucky if she can the end of May.
Sounds like what happened to me is happening to you. Plenty of "What can we do to keep you?, but nothing good to come of it. Put me on the same runs your doing now and starved me out. Plenty of other jobs out there, don't let Swift keep you down. Not hard to get another job with experience and decent driving record. I had the choice of any of the 7 I applied to. It's a drivers market out there. Once you leave consider joining the Class Action law suite against them. You'll be happy you did.
They are not going to starve me out. Already 3 offers, and that was with 3 apps. I just have to decide which is better. I do know, going back to reefer, and play around meat packing plants. One company has already offered me .46/mi and run just MW regional, avg 2800/wk and home every 12-14 days. Just not sure about that one since the MW regional is new for them, and I know, growing pains comes with that. Yes, the DM can help in some way, but they can not control the fr8. Back some time ago when my DM was on a testing program, letting the DM be able to get into the load boards, he could book my loads seeing where I was going and what was there when I was almost there, and it worked great. Another great program that they were testing, and stopped. As far as concerned, everything went to the crapper when Plus 1 started and they put us L/O in it.
