Swift (disagreement with company)

200 miles a week is an outrage. I wouldn't keep driving for swift if that was on a continual basis. (Small Tip) If your pplan miles are very low when you get them, try asking a for additional pplan on top that low mile pplan u receive. I hope this helps some.

 

That is a good tip. Along with the one about asking for a low mile PP to go along with the low mile PP i already have. HOWEVER, how the heck do i go about even knowing who the planners are? I'm still trying to figure out the process it takes for the load to hit the drivers Q-comm

 

I do have one suggestion right now. If you can help it avoid the GEorgia area. Freight is down right now and alot of drivers are sitting here. Luckily I have a load going through and don't have to sit. One thing I live by is take some of the crappy runs for some terminals that other drivers don't want and you more then likely will get a decent run later on.

 

There's a planner that called me from Decatur, Ga terminal wednesday with a load to get out of Ga. His name is hank if that helps any swifties out there. I'm still trying to build a good rapport myself im shy under 7 months of driving. I think there is a planner out of Memphis,Tn named Amanda I've received q comm messages from her for loads.

 

is April a planner or just an overnight DM? I think she is based out of memphis, too.

I would really like to find a planner anywhere, and get on his good side. problem is, i dont know how the process works, from the planning of the load, to the driver actually getting the load.

 

im not sure about april. but i'm sure about Hank cause he called me.

i believe process is this...

driver needs load > DM looks in load pool (which the planners give them)> sends load offer (pre plan) to truck>. driver accepts (gets load)/ driver declines (load goes to load pool or another truck).

OR

driver needs load> DM messages planner> Planner sends load to driver to accept or decline.

if I'm wrong please correct me

BTW there is a user "vickw" that posts quotes throught these threads he's office personel for Swift ( I think Houston,TX) ask him about the process. m sure he's a I'better the source than me.

i hope this helps

 

Thanks. Yeah that was a help. I read somewhere that a planner sends a preplan to all the drivers qualcomm's in the area, and the first one to accept it, gets the load. I am not sure how accurate that is, but i'd HATE the idea of getting nor not getting a load is based upon a "fastest fingers" question like how Millionaire use to do things. =)

 

yeah, i know what you mean.

 

I woke up this morning about 40 miles from Columbus, OH where my Final drop is. I check the weather and see there is a slow moving cold front inching its way thru Indianapolis. I see there is alot of rain ahead of it, and then it slowly turns to rain/snow/ice mix, then plain snow. So i head to my Final ahead of when i planned, and drop/hooked an MT and headed back to a truck stop. Here i sit....with most of my 14hr clock left...i wonder how long i will sit before i get a load.

Your DM is just that...a MANAGER. If he dont see a load on his computer till the driver accepts it, and he KNOWS you are sitting MT.....my question is, why does he not hit up planner after planner for his drivers who are MT? It might be because of slow freight, it might be because i've got a lazy ### DM who just wants to put in his 8-9hrs a day and just do what he needs to earn a paycheck....or maybe he is looking out for me, and there is just no freight. or maybe i've anoyed him enough, he dont care if i sit. =)

 

Alot of the problems mentioned here have to do with the current freight situation in the east. I run southwest and freight is okay here. Had a load to SLC then a preplan for a load back to Laredo, TX four hours before I was due in SLC. Got that load and headed but, because of mechanical issues I had to tcall in Alb. Just as well, from what I hbere getting out of Laredo could have been a problem.

Another thing to keep in mind is a driver is part of a team. Many who have problems with Swift or other big "bad" companies fail to understand the team concept. They feel like they are the only one so the DM needs to service them right away. Our DM's at my terminal are handling about 35 drivers. That means I have others who need to be helped besides me. A team player limits complaints and does what they can to make the team succeed. I suggested tcallng the Laredo load as I had a concern about being able to service the customer's time needs within HOS. After doing so I found there is a much needed repair that needs to be done, and should have been found when they went over the truck before asssigning it to me last week. Someone missed it. Rather than complain and make a big issue I let my DM know of the issue and it is in the process of being repaired.

Professional drivers understand that they are a part of a team and do their part to help everyone else do their job. Complaining and impatience, especially in the slow freight season, only let others know a person isn't a team player and that moves the compaliner to the bottom of the list. I learned this the hard way in the past and when I changed my attitude and became a team player, my life and miles improved.