Newbie dropped by Mentor and now on his own and not happy

But you have to say it in the most manly voice you can, then say GOOD BUDDY.....

 

So did he finish his training? Was he upgraded and given his own truck? If he feels he is not ready to be on his own then he needs to speak up before something happens! Especially this time of year! If he isn't comfortable driving then he shouldn't be driving. He needs to go to safety and tell them exactly what went on and how he was trained. If they don't listen to him then he needs to go elsewhere. His CDL is his bread and butter and should not do anything to risk having it taken away!

 

Great attention to detail!

Mentor = Swift

 

All is not lost!

Next time you talk to him...just tell him to approach any other Swift driver and ask him/her for some help with what is confusing him. It is not strange to be assigned your own truck and then basically forget just about everything that the student was doing during the previous 6 weeks. Actually, that first group of dispatches are very intimidating...even to the student who was lucky enough to have a good Mentor who taught all he/she could.

Two days from Olympia? Is he down in the L.A. area....Fontana or Mira Loma? Freight is a bit "ify" right now with Christmas so close...all the Christmas rush was moved to stores a few weeks/months ago...so the volume is in a bit of a decline. But he should get moving either over the weekend or on Monday. And they do try to get him a load taking him through his home terminal ASAP...to get his truck situated with his needed comforts...and some home time.

Let him know you are just as anxious to get him home as he is to get home...and this is a standard situation, his concerns about what he should do for every little thing involved in this business. It takes some time to get comfortable and have a decent understanding of Swift and their way of doing things. Especially with all the updates in their dispatch system.

The best advice is for him to talk to other drivers...they will help him with what he needs to be doing. BTW...getting upset and raising his voice at dispatchers or office clerks won't help..will actually make things worse.

Good luck to both of you...just remind him patience is a virtue...as irritating as this industry can be!

Otter

 

one thing to remember also. he is using you as a sounding board and thats great I've been married almost 34 years and my wife catches heck from me but she knows I;m not upset with her its the situation. and he is really scared and worried because those first weeks out ! Man they can freak you out. My first day was windy real windy I was empty and deadheading to Az from Ok. you talk about scared, But I'm alive no one was hurt and I started moving just fine and so will he. it just takes time.

 

Thanks to all for the replies, I have definitely told him I am proud of him for doing this, that most people wouldn't have made it through the crap he did, and he rocks for getting through the last 7 weeks. He is working for Swift, heard some good and some bad, but that goes with any job. I think the last 7 weeks of not being able to make a decision of his own has sapped his psyche. I told him that he is very capable and intelligent, and once he is able to strike out on his own and be in charge of his own destiny he will realize just how much he did learn, and how much he already knew and will feel much more confidence in his abilities. I will also tell him I don't have any panties on, hopefully he will let me in on the joke! Whatever works! I know this is going to take a lot of work to make a marriage survive a man on the road, but I am in it for the long haul and will do whatever it takes. Any more advice is appreciated, I have no experience with this and it helps to hear from those that do!

 

If he's unsure of the joke just have him listen on cb and he'll figure it out. Good Luck and Merry Christmas!

 

Advice from a Swift driver? Thats a sure recipe for disaster.

 

Oh GEEEBUS.... look, ignore the crap about ripping on swift drivers.

I am a mentor for swift, I learn somthing new every day. One of the first things I learned is that for all swifts bad, there is some good.

Have him talk to a terminal manager in his home terminal, explane the situation and say "Any chance I can get another 50 hours with a new mentor, one that wants to TEACH me?" You might be suprised.

I have a student right now, or I would offer to hire him on at swifts pay rate for a month or so to let him get the hang of it, and i would give him whatever knowlege I could. (Including how to spell as good as me!)

The long and short is, I can learn from newbies and old hats a-like, and they can learn from me. Have him talk to a term manager. and if stuff is still screwed up, send me a PM and Ill see what I can wrangle up, what terminal he run out of?