Actually, Swift has tall ones, short ones, big ones, fat ones...hmmmm...sounds like a song from days gone by! This thread isn't getting much attention....maybe we should hijack it to different topic?
I haven't heard of one yet, but the downturn of the last 3 years has thinned out the ranks of mentors considerably. Lower turnover, coupled with fleet downsizing, greatly reduced the need for mentors. As the economy improves I suspect that turnover will increase and Swift will try to increase the number of units running, leading to a shortage. As a different opinon, I think the kind of things that mentors need to do are business related, how to find the shipper, what to do with the papers, how to use the qualcomm etc. The driving part needs to be learned in a driving school, and the experience of driving doesn't really start until the driver is solo. Just an opinon.
Perhaps, maybe they might rehire me if I come back as a mentor...Even though my rehire was approved..once they looked up my zip code was told I live too far north of New Boston Terminal...But if they are so hard up they are setting 6 months as the minumum requirement, with me having 3 yrs in all 48 states...perhaps they might reconsider....Not having much luck with anything else...
There seemed to have been a mentor shortage, at least in Edwardsville, earlier this year. This past year they went from having orientation every 2 weeks, back to weekly. They were suddenly swamped with new hires and not enough mentors to train them. I believe there was also a truck shortage, for those who had completed their training and was ready to go solo. That was earlier this year. It may be different now.
been asked this morning if i'm interested to be a mentor... i'm on my 7th month driving a truck me: hell no!! guy: why me: if i do it it will last a week... after a week i'll put the cruise control on, open the door, grab the student then throw him out of the truck... guy: oh i see your point end of discussion
I haven't heard anything about it officially. Usually when a terminal needs mentors, they send out a plea over the QC. I guess Jonestown has enough, or else they don't want any of us Jonestown drivers to be mentors. They have been doing a lot of pestering over our accident rate (apparently we're one of the highest in the company for preventables). Any mentor shortage is going to depend on which location you're at. If you do run into a problem, maybe they would give you an available mentor from another terminal? Be worth asking anyway. I know when I started, I got a truck from a different terminal because Jonestown didn't have any.
I was wondering if I would be able to opt out of Memphis, if necessary, to get the show on the road, so to speak, once I'm finished at the academy. I guess I'll find out soon enough. I'll be able to propose the question directly after the 24th. Thanks for the info!
Sonny, the problem for you would be there aren't any terminals close to you. Aside from Memphis, I guess the next closest one would be Houston. Then maybe Atlanta. I lived near Erie, PA when I started, so I was able to choose between Jonestown and Columbus. But when you live somewhere farther away, they may be less willing to let you choose. I'm not sure why it really matters, and as I said earlier, it's worth asking. I now live a whole lot closer to Columbus, but I'm still based at Jonestown, and they haven't pestered me about it, so maybe there is some flexibilty there.
