need a good mentor!

I posted this in your other thread, BigBusMan, but I don't know if you saw it. Ask about Hurley Snell out of Decatur. He is great dude. Very mellow. A great teacher and he will teach you things you will remember forever. He is a strict teacher but very easy to get along with and he has a great sense of humor. He never once raised his voice at me...ever.

Good luck, dude. Hope it goes well.

 

and maybe it would be more fair to start the newbies at the top of the payscale.i mean,maybe they would be better students.maybe they shouldn't have to drive when the roads are wet,or when the wind is blowing over 2 miles an hour.and maybe the trainees should have a mandotory 2 hour tea mid afternoon to alieve all that stress you have.and maybe the trainers should whisper there directions to prevent stress.so now the trainer has to tryout for the student?your money is on the line,but it's my life.unbelievable.

 

No, someone with the ability to train someone else in an intelligent manner is good enough. Someone that is impatient, sarcastic, inconsistent, or lazy and wants the extra money for being a mentor but can't or won't make an honest effort to earn that money should not be training anyone.

 

**Someone that is impatient, sarcastic, inconsistent, or lazy and wants the extra money for being a mentor but can't or won't make an honest effort to earn that money should not be training anyone.**

Dang Dude, you just eliminated everyone from the Northeast. And 2/3rd of the rest of the population as well.

 

Ive just submitted all my tests, paperwork and talked to my dm on becoming a mentor, just waiting on next phase of the process.
Now I've trained people in the past in various aspects of contruction, from driving the forklifts, building a 8,000sqft home, etc one thing that I've always noticed, you have to get to know the person your training, know how to best show them what you want them to do. Yes yelling works if your dog craps in your boots, but not if a student does something wrong.

Yes 99% of mentors at swift are in it for the $. If they tell you they arent, ill show you a liar.
I wont lie, im going into mentoring for the $, and help new students get a fair shake at learning to drive. That and I hope it helps prevent me from sitting and waiting on loads, I like to keep rolling and, well here we go, make money.. why not teach a student along the way.

When I was on my mentors truck, we got along great, he bought me food when I needed some $, he even bought me a cb when I got off his truck. Unfortunitly, nice doesn't always teach you.
I ran the target fleet for 6 weeks and I got good at that, but when I went solo otr, I was lost. No not driving wise, but on how to do things like the QC macros, what to do at shipprs, things to ask, how to get items for my truck, oil, def, etc. Load loacks, I thought I had to buy my self, hell I could go on. I wasn't shown crap, nice didn't teach me anything.
so if your mentor jumps on you a little, take it with a grain of salt, suck it up. Not saying yelling or treating you like an idiot is ok, heck no, just man up and learn the skills. If you screw up, expect a lil tongue lashing, with in reason, and move on. After all, your new, learning and most of all.....there is no crying in truck driving...

 

you didn't whoop anyone's butt!you went home and cried to mommy because you where homesick instead of just getting on another trainers truck.i got 1 negative comment from my trainees.he was mad because i kept him from his family. he wanted to be home most weekends and i had the audacity to take him to the northwest so he could get some mountain driving in.i would love to hear your trainers side of the story.somthing tells me we are not getting the whole story.

 

Swift may not let the students "interview" the Mentors...but they do (did) have the potential Mentor call the student and allowed each to have a "get together" before assigning the student to the truck. It is (was) a give and take from the "meeting"....each had a chance to decide if the other sounded like a decent match. If they still do this I don't know...left Swift in 2008.

Along these same lines, at the end of training, the student is given a questionnaire to complete regarding the Mentor and his/her abilities. The problem is....when the students just fill in the blanks with "OK" Swift has no way of determining if the Mentor was/is actually doing the job they are supposed to be doing. Many times, the bad Mentors use threats and intimidation to have the student make them sound good. Convincing the student that the Mentor has the power to control the students future....so wrong on so many levels. Mentors have no power over what will become the students future!

14 years I trained/Mentored for Swift...if you are going to become a Mentor for Swift for the $$$....don't bother! You will be one of those cranky, unsatisfied types who need everything only as you say...you probably don't have the capacity to take what you found you didn't receive and turn that around for what you should be giving....a good, planned, and complete training package above and beyond what Swift has you check off the list for each student.