My Personal experience with Swift Transportation

bigblue19 · Feb 5, 2009

At that time as a recent CDL school grad with no experience i did check these forums to narrow my list down of trucking companies that i would like to drive for. Most of the post i read on here about Swift were not positive, but i decided since they were the company that stayed in constant contact with me most, i would choose them in the end. (I liken this to recruiting a kid in college sports)

That's why they kept in constant contact with you as someone with no experience. Because most people with experience would not even consider driving for SWIFT.

You don't even need to look at Swift as a good or bad company to know you should not accept such a risk to your sucess that such a large company can present. There are simply to many ways to get swallowed up and spit out on the street by such a large company.

Why anyone would want to compete with so many other drivers for their livelihood is beyond me. But I take my hat off to those that try.

Lets face it, when you drive OTR and are paid for the most part by a piece rate, why would you want to compete with so many others even if they where a good company?

Mr Morgan · Feb 5, 2009

Punisher1985 said: ↑

Thanks!!! What terminal are your from???
Click to expand...

Don't really want to reveal terminal location or any names at this point. I'm sure you can understand why.

CMate · Aug 18, 2009

wow! just wow!

telcobilly · Aug 19, 2009

TruckDriver23 said: ↑

I was lucky with my first driving job. I never see a check less than $1300 dollars for one week. I am home 4 days a week. I deliver grocery products.

Sorry for your bad luck. I am sure you will do better in the long run. We all make mistakes. I'm not saying it was your mistake because it sounds like that company, Swift, is a P.O.S.
Click to expand...

I agree, Swift is a POS! I still drive for them on an o/o truck, but when my year is up in 4 months, I'm gone! I was a solo co. driver for 2 months, but turned in my truck after almost starving to death. They are a bottom feeder co!

I accidently left a folder with logs and documents on my dm's desk in Oregon, she Q/C'ed me asking me what to do. I asked her to send it to Fontana and would get it there, guess what? gone forever, never to be seen. They don't give a #$%^& about the drivers...

sacman · Aug 19, 2009

Mr Morgan said: ↑

First off let me say that i am not here to try to sway anyones opinion of Swift as a company one way or the other. I'm only here to give you my very own personal experience as a Swift Transportation driver. I'm sure some of you will question my post while others will jump at the chance to jump on the Swift bashing bandwagon. Nonetheless, here it is. And please excuse my spelling.

At that time as a recent CDL school grad with no experience i did check these forums to narrow my list down of trucking companies that i would like to drive for. Most of the post i read on here about Swift were not positive, but i decided since they were the company that stayed in constant contact with me most, i would choose them in the end. (I liken this to recruiting a kid in college sports)
I'll start with my first trainer. My first trainer/mentor didn't have alot of patience at all and he seemed to be annoyed most of the time while out on the road even when talking on the phone to whoever it was he was talking to. It seemed like everything i did was reason for him to get upset. Almost everytime we stopped at a truck stop to switch drivers and grab a bite to eat i had to eat my meal while i drive because he was always in such a rush. After just 5 days out with my trainer we started driving as a team where he would sleep while i drive. I thought this was a good thing at first because it meant he trusted me to drive while he slept. The whole time i was in his truck he never said one positive thing about my driving, only negative things which wasn't that big of a deal because as a new driver i know i have alot to learn.
He had just became an owner operator that was with the company for i think 2-3 years. Why i mention that you ask? Because one day we were taking a load to a northern state and he had been riding me all day/night for apparently no reason at all. Finally after being his student for less than two weeks and constantly listening to his rants i let him have a piece of my mind. AFter that he he threaten to kick me out of his truck in the middle of nowhere in a different state with all of my belongings even though we were already dispatch on another load that would take me through my home city. And after speaking with the dispatcher at my home terminal i was told that my trainer/mentor had a right to kick me out of his truck because he was an owner operator(lease purchase through Swift). The Dispatcher finally calls me back and tells me he talked him into dropping me off back at my home terminal where he picked me up at.

I was assigned a new trainer/mentor a few days later. And to my surprise the new trainer was excellent. He was almost exactly like me and it made things easier and i learned a heck of alot to say the least during my 6 weeks of training.
After i finished my training it took about just over a week to get assigned my very own truck. I was immediately sent to the northeast(which my second trainer told me to expect). What i didn't expect is to average less than 1000 miles a week when during orientation they give you papers expelaining that the average new driver will get between 2250-2500 miles a week.
I asked my DM(driver manager) if their was anyway i could get more miles and that person said that they have no control over the mileage one gets, because they were not the planner. And not only did i get very low mileage, i was also only given live load and live unload runs which means i spent most of my time waiting to be loaded or unloaded. And the $105 a week company advances that i received were used to eat/drink while out on the road at truck stops and they were taking out of my paycheck the very next week leaving me with a net profit of $0 every week. My net paycheck was so low that my child support and vehicle insurance wasn't paid during some weeks. I was pretty much working, sleeping, eating in a truck for NOTHING. I also had to pay for scale tickets out of my very own pocket and had to wait a week to be reimbursed which i never received because it went towards paying for my benefits. I asked my DM one time for a advance to pay for my scale tickets which already accumulated to over $30 for that week and i was told that they could only give me $25. Why so many scale tickets you ask? Because the only loads i got were 40,000 plus loads. Now as a rookie driven after reading these boards for many months i expected to get the crap loads until i gain the neccessary experience. But how long should i allow my wife and kids to not eat and have their bills payed before i say enough is enough?

Finally i reach my home terminal for my hometime and i tell one of the fleet managers that i am not making a profit, in fact i'm losing money driving for this company and my bill at home need to be taken care of before i return to work. This person mentions to me that we are in a slow period and things will pick up. I tell this person that i need some time off to get things in order at home. They tell me that we cannot have 1 of our trucks sit for more than 3 days so i'll just have to re-assign you another truck when your ready to go back out. I said fine and he gave me 3 days to collect my belongings and return the keys. Well 2 days later i goto retrieve my belongings and my truck is not in the same spot that i left it. I then was told that my truck was cleaned out by company employess and my belongings were in a storage room in boxes. Well i retrieve my belongings and when i get home a go through the boxes i noticed some items missing which were pretty expensive items and some missing paperwork. I called that same particular fleet manager and he now changes his story and says he doesn't remember giving me 3 days to get my belongings out. I tell him their are several missing items, and he tells me to refer to the company hand book and it explains that stolen or missing items from your truck are not the companies responsiblity.
One of the missing items were a box with my copies of all bills of ladings, scale recipts, log sheets and transflo receipt copies. I started using transflo to scan my BOLs, sclae tickets and logs just to be sure that i get paid for my loads because apparently when you drop them in the silver drop boxes at the terminals they get lost every week if you work for Swift which delays your pay sometimes up to 2 weeks if not 3. Well my last trip was scanned using Transflo but my receipt was in the box that was misteriously missing from my truck. Needless to say that i haven't been paid for my last trip and i have yet to receive my belongings that were missing from my truck.

As my first trucking job and hopefully not my last. It's these kinds of experiences that turn new drivers into former drivers. If i didn't visit this site and read the forums i would probably think that ALL trucking companies are this way. Again i am not trying to pass judgement on Swift as a company because i'm sure others could/have shared far different stories with a positive ending. But my personal experience was not a good one. All i'm trying to say is do your homework BEFORE you choose a company especially as a new driver.
Click to expand...

9 weeks of training?? What the hell for? I could see maybey one week but 9? is that so you can figure out how to raid the flying j buffet?

Cheesehead28 · Aug 21, 2009

Great post! The advice on this board is awesome and valuable. I am soon enough going into a trucking company as a rookie and already know what to watch out for due to the good people on this board that don't want other people to get screwed. I am surely gonna watch my ### out there! Thanks again for posting your story.

druid2874 · Aug 22, 2009

I guess its hit or miss with Swift. For me i do well been with them going on 5 years. I was on a dedicated account where I was home on weekends and home nights every other day for the most part. Then we lost well in the process of losing ends Sept 4. all drivers getting on the account average 2800 some weeks would be 3200ish. Never realy have a pay problem if I do I talk to payroll get it straighten out . But there is days that the company P^%$ me off. And sometimes ask my self do they even look at my macro 10. Which is my ETA and PTA for my next load. It's a big company some people are going to get screwed over. Drivers like Mr Morgan yes its a shame. But its not just Swift any big company or organization people get F#$# over. Plus each terminal has its own little politics its a shame some are better then others. Just to bad Mr Morgan did not get it in writing that he could pick up his stuff. Is a dam shame that he would even have to do that.

ChipnChair · Aug 25, 2009

Yep I heard that story from others ... a friend of mine just quit Swift for the same reasons ... there is a bright side, he got on with another company quickly and will earn more per mile, better benefits, bonus pay, and get home time weekly.

Swift is not the only fish in the sea.

son got them hate n · Sep 2, 2009

TruckDriver23 said: ↑

I was lucky with my first driving job. I never see a check less than $1300 dollars for one week. I am home 4 days a week. I deliver grocery products.

Sorry for your bad luck. I am sure you will do better in the long run. We all make mistakes. I'm not saying it was your mistake because it sounds like that company, Swift, is a P.O.S.
Click to expand...

where do u work ? that sounds like some thing i will like being home 4 days a week o did u ever hear about p.a.m

Jram0001 · Feb 13, 2018

Mr Morgan said: ↑

First off let me say that i am not here to try to sway anyones opinion of Swift as a company one way or the other. I'm only here to give you my very own personal experience as a Swift Transportation driver. I'm sure some of you will question my post while others will jump at the chance to jump on the Swift bashing bandwagon. Nonetheless, here it is. And please excuse my spelling.

At that time as a recent CDL school grad with no experience i did check these forums to narrow my list down of trucking companies that i would like to drive for. Most of the post i read on here about Swift were not positive, but i decided since they were the company that stayed in constant contact with me most, i would choose them in the end. (I liken this to recruiting a kid in college sports)
I'll start with my first trainer. My first trainer/mentor didn't have alot of patience at all and he seemed to be annoyed most of the time while out on the road even when talking on the phone to whoever it was he was talking to. It seemed like everything i did was reason for him to get upset. Almost everytime we stopped at a truck stop to switch drivers and grab a bite to eat i had to eat my meal while i drive because he was always in such a rush. After just 5 days out with my trainer we started driving as a team where he would sleep while i drive. I thought this was a good thing at first because it meant he trusted me to drive while he slept. The whole time i was in his truck he never said one positive thing about my driving, only negative things which wasn't that big of a deal because as a new driver i know i have alot to learn.
He had just became an owner operator that was with the company for i think 2-3 years. Why i mention that you ask? Because one day we were taking a load to a northern state and he had been riding me all day/night for apparently no reason at all. Finally after being his student for less than two weeks and constantly listening to his rants i let him have a piece of my mind. AFter that he he threaten to kick me out of his truck in the middle of nowhere in a different state with all of my belongings even though we were already dispatch on another load that would take me through my home city. And after speaking with the dispatcher at my home terminal i was told that my trainer/mentor had a right to kick me out of his truck because he was an owner operator(lease purchase through Swift). The Dispatcher finally calls me back and tells me he talked him into dropping me off back at my home terminal where he picked me up at.

I was assigned a new trainer/mentor a few days later. And to my surprise the new trainer was excellent. He was almost exactly like me and it made things easier and i learned a heck of alot to say the least during my 6 weeks of training.
After i finished my training it took about just over a week to get assigned my very own truck. I was immediately sent to the northeast(which my second trainer told me to expect). What i didn't expect is to average less than 1000 miles a week when during orientation they give you papers expelaining that the average new driver will get between 2250-2500 miles a week.
I asked my DM(driver manager) if their was anyway i could get more miles and that person said that they have no control over the mileage one gets, because they were not the planner. And not only did i get very low mileage, i was also only given live load and live unload runs which means i spent most of my time waiting to be loaded or unloaded. And the $105 a week company advances that i received were used to eat/drink while out on the road at truck stops and they were taking out of my paycheck the very next week leaving me with a net profit of $0 every week. My net paycheck was so low that my child support and vehicle insurance wasn't paid during some weeks. I was pretty much working, sleeping, eating in a truck for NOTHING. I also had to pay for scale tickets out of my very own pocket and had to wait a week to be reimbursed which i never received because it went towards paying for my benefits. I asked my DM one time for a advance to pay for my scale tickets which already accumulated to over $30 for that week and i was told that they could only give me $25. Why so many scale tickets you ask? Because the only loads i got were 40,000 plus loads. Now as a rookie driven after reading these boards for many months i expected to get the crap loads until i gain the neccessary experience. But how long should i allow my wife and kids to not eat and have their bills payed before i say enough is enough?

Finally i reach my home terminal for my hometime and i tell one of the fleet managers that i am not making a profit, in fact i'm losing money driving for this company and my bill at home need to be taken care of before i return to work. This person mentions to me that we are in a slow period and things will pick up. I tell this person that i need some time off to get things in order at home. They tell me that we cannot have 1 of our trucks sit for more than 3 days so i'll just have to re-assign you another truck when your ready to go back out. I said fine and he gave me 3 days to collect my belongings and return the keys. Well 2 days later i goto retrieve my belongings and my truck is not in the same spot that i left it. I then was told that my truck was cleaned out by company employess and my belongings were in a storage room in boxes. Well i retrieve my belongings and when i get home a go through the boxes i noticed some items missing which were pretty expensive items and some missing paperwork. I called that same particular fleet manager and he now changes his story and says he doesn't remember giving me 3 days to get my belongings out. I tell him their are several missing items, and he tells me to refer to the company hand book and it explains that stolen or missing items from your truck are not the companies responsiblity.
One of the missing items were a box with my copies of all bills of ladings, scale recipts, log sheets and transflo receipt copies. I started using transflo to scan my BOLs, sclae tickets and logs just to be sure that i get paid for my loads because apparently when you drop them in the silver drop boxes at the terminals they get lost every week if you work for Swift which delays your pay sometimes up to 2 weeks if not 3. Well my last trip was scanned using Transflo but my receipt was in the box that was misteriously missing from my truck. Needless to say that i haven't been paid for my last trip and i have yet to receive my belongings that were missing from my truck.

As my first trucking job and hopefully not my last. It's these kinds of experiences that turn new drivers into former drivers. If i didn't visit this site and read the forums i would probably think that ALL trucking companies are this way. Again i am not trying to pass judgement on Swift as a company because i'm sure others could/have shared far different stories with a positive ending. But my personal experience was not a good one. All i'm trying to say is do your homework BEFORE you choose a company especially as a new driver.
Click to expand...

The main problem they are facing now is retaining drivers and Owner Ops, almost every company is paying their drivers 25 to 30% more and they offer better benefits and treat they drivers like human beings and not like slaves in the case of swift, the largest trucking company is about to fall because of their greed and for not training office personal in the right way, it will be very hard to correct their mistakes, plus the law suits and other facts, i worked for swift in the past as an owner op and i am independent now and .97 cents per mile is crap, now i average $2.80 for every mile i run. Is just pure greed

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