My Swift Experience

Good luck in your journey with Swift!

Too many times i hear horror stories from swift drivers on here, I have a few months before i take the plunge into trucking and I am hoping this thread will be different from the rest as swift has not been crossed off my list YET!

good luck.

 

If you go into it with a positive attitude and work hard, you will get a positive experience in the end. It may not be "The Dream or Ritz Carlton" right away, but it will close to it. I was told by Injun if you have a bad trainer, call Swift right away and ask for help.

Newbies: Do you your homework and get as MANY pre-hires as you can. Do your research not only on here but at the truck stops as well. The only way I know how to do explain is script style/ role play so be patient:

Me: Excuse me sir or mam, I am a new driver looking for a decent company to start out with and would like advice on to go with for my year. Would you be willing to answer some questions I might have??
Trucker: If hes nice; He'll say yes or give you a company to look into.

If you have a bad encounter; move on to the next trucker. I have had truckers say buzz off. I have had others welcome me into their cabs and show me their sleeper or what they are hauling. I met most of my trucker friends at the Walmart rest area at MM191 off I-95.

It took me a bunch of phone calls and placed an ad out on Truck Paper to land my first OTR gig. That was teaming going coast to coast reefer. I turned down a teaming position with Swift in order to do this. I drove a ex Trans Am Freightliner Columbia with a 10spd Ultra shift. Do I regret it?? Heck no. Was I scared?? More times than I can count. You learn and move on.

KH

 

KH, Good luck with Swift, I will be calling there tomorrow or next week myself to see home time, pay, bennie's etc from the Ocala Term myself. I live closer then 3 hours so I feel it might be worth it to call.... All of the posts on the different threads have given me a different outlook on them, I too have seen/heard the horror stories but every company has good and bad. I look forward to hearing how you like it!

 

I wouldn't mind Swift, but you gotta be 23. I'm only 21. I may have to go with CRE.

 

I do not want to hear those words out of you again. You have other options sir.

FFE
Trans AM
Western Express
Con Way
Schneider National

KH

 

Can anyone give me details on the 'Work Well' portion of orientation. The more detail, the better. Thanks

 

Pagginng Nana or Injun. Customer Service assistance needed in my thread. Thank you.

Hunter

 

Have they started the work well again ??

 

Not sure if its the same as what they have at Central - but Central's 'work well' involves monitoring your heart rate/BP while you do different tasks. Carrying a crate with 25/50/75 pounds a length of 53' three times. Lifting said crate from floor to a waist high shelf three times. Lifting a crate with 20/50 pounds from waist to eye level three times. Stepping up onto a 24" step and back down 3 times. Push a bar 100 pounds worth of force and pull a bar 100# worth of force. All the while maintaining a HR/BP within a normal range for your age. The test is to simulate possible work conditions and if you have any physical problems doing them.

 

Actually, I think some of our newer team members could answer the work well question better than I could. I didn't do any real sort of orientation this go-round. All I did was watch about 2 hours worth of films and sign a bunch of paperwork.

Ask Oldnew, Fewe, TruckerDragon or Grnberet31. They have more current information than I do on Company orientation.