Swift Mentor program out of Lewiston

You will make more money by having your home terminal in WA. Those guys are making WA minimum wage.

 

Ok, now here comes some interesting info and not all of it positive.

We got into Lewiston on Christmas day. I'm fortunate to have family in Lewiston and even though I didn't get to see my family due to things beyond my control, I did get a hook up at the Inn America for a super price. Much less then what Swift pays at Cedars Inn. There was no one at the terminal to get me signed out on Christmas and that was to be expected.

On the 26th I showed up at the terminal by 8am. I went in and we turned in all of my paperwork. There was still no one around to give me a test drive so we waited and I was able to take the log class. After about two hours my paperwork was rejected because my mentor failed to fill out his portion. Now he knew he had to do it but felt that by leaving the spaced blank, it would slide through. He filled it out and it got sent back to Phoenix for approval.

At about 1130 a mentor showed up and I was to start my test drive. There were no empty trailers and we searched for about 30 minutes. Finally we just grabbed one that was red tagged and used it. My tester didn't know what route to take so I suggested I drive the same one I tested on for Academy. Before we left I did my backing test and it went great. It took about an hour and fifteen to complete. The tester didn't know how to fill out the paperwork and so after he signed it they sent it off to Phoenix. In the mean time I was issued a truck.

The truck was a Volvo with over 500k miles on it. The previous driver had been a heavy smoker. The smell of cigarette smoke was in everything. The truck was supposed to have been detailed...they got ripped off. The mattress looked like some very unnatural acts had been performed on it regularly.

We went in and tried to get a different truck. I was told to just tough it out and maybe that one would be turned in soon. We went back and started moving in. I almost had all of my stuff loaded when I saw something on the floor I didn't immediately recognize. I reached down and flipped it over....it was cat poop. Upon closer inspection we could see cat hair in the carpet. That was it, we went back in and rejected the truck and the powers that be finally agreed. They found me a truck at the Boise drop yard. It's now after close after 12.

We had to wait to get a key made for the truck in Boise. They driver who had it took some personal time, cleaned out the truck and never contacted Swift again.

We finally get a key and we go in to get my load lock set. They didn't have anything but the padalock. This is when I was told it was going to cost me $40 and it would be taken out of my pay. The entire set costs $85. You have to have it and there is no way around it.

We leave to pick up my mentors load and we get back close to 1400 hours. As we're fueling up we get a msg that I don't have enough hours to go solo. My mentors screams, jumps out of the truck and vanishes into the terminal. About 30 min. later he comes back out. Phoenix had made an error in math, but, the entire process had to b started over again.

I'm now headed to Boise, near Grangeville I was told I wouldn't be getting the truck today. We could go look at it, but, I wouldn't be cleared solo until sometime the next day. I almost lost my mind. I can put up with a lot of stuff. My tours overseas taught me that nothing ever goes the way you plan but this process wreaks of incompetence.

We finally get to Boise and it's now 2100 hours. We get to the drop yard and I get in the truck. It hasn't been cleaned out. The bedding on the bed looks like maybe a transient had been sleeping in it. I didn't see any cat poop, but I'll wait to inspect it when I get cleared. I finally get dropped off at my house at about 2200 hours.

I'm told that this is not the normal process. For those of you reading this I really hope it isn't. It was a long day of building up to something and then being let down over and over.

I don't recommend completing the mentor program in the manner I did. We were dispatched to over 20,000 miles in 30 days. Since I started the academy I had been home for 1.5 days. Basically I was out for two months. I had a great mentor and learned a lot, but I'm worn out and as of this writing I'm not cleared solo.

I'll return to this post if I get any questions and I'll try and answer them as best I can. I plan on starting another thread to post at least the first few months experience as a solo driver with Swift.

Good luck to all the new drivers.

 

Finally, today at about 10am MT, I got a call from my mentor and was told I was cleared to go solo. I had called Lewiston at 8am and was told Phoenix had rejected my paperwork again because of missing items from my grading sheets. I'm glad it's over and the next stage is going to start soon.

 

Now that's the kind of story I like to hear! I'm sure I was just caught up in the holiday shuffle, where people are doing many jobs they might not be familiar with.

I did manage to finally get cleared, picked up a 2013 Volvo with 120k miles. Aside from the blood spots on the pillow it's in pretty good shape. I can get rid of that mess and buy my own mattress.

 

Swift doesn't have to pay OT for drivers. I believe they are exempt in the FLSA.

I've been told that Swift will replace the mattress. I don't think they expect you to sleep in the dried bodily fluids of someone else. Just a guess. I don't know how much a new one costs, however, I'll be checking it out this weekend.

I used my cell phone for an internet connection. Many of the truck stops have free wifi but I could never get my computer to hook up.

Some of the things I would do differently:

Plan better for meals. I took food but in the end it seemed like while running as a team you just didn't have the time to fix anything. We ate a lot of fast food. Way too much. I would choose high protein foods such as tuna, cheese, salami, crackers....then throw in some fresh veggies.

Don't try and bang out the hours like I did. It's just a tough way to go. Your time is spent driving and trying to sleep. Sleeping while the truck is rolling is a challenge. I thought I could handle it. I've slept through rocket attacks and yet I had a hard time sleeping in the rolling truck.

Take some flannel sheets for the bed. They will help hold you in place and keep you warm. The heat in the back was either way too hot or nothing. The sleep area isn't really very well insulated.

Take some slip on shoes and winter boots. I wore my tennis shoes most of the time but, I wished I had a pair of slip on boots a few times. With the winter driving you'll probably need them. Don't wear your shoes in the sleeper.

Come to an agreement with your mentor right off the bat. If you need to pass gas, roll down the window. You both bath on a regular basis. Brushing your teeth is mandatory. Fighting with your significant other should be done outside of earshot of each other. There are some things you just don't need to hear.

That's about. Good luck Doc. Let me know if I can be of any help.