Swift Sucks

Hey, Newbies, here is another bit you can put in your pipe and smoke:

As I mentioned in a post somewhere along the line here, I did have a DACcident while driving with Swift. Understand that a DACcident is a nit-picky incident Swift will bust your DAC for just to keep you from going to another outfit. Mine was a small backing incident that I (foolishly) reported because I'm an honest guy and do the right thing.

On another run a few weeks later I came up short two bags of styrofoam cups on a load that had over 17,000 bags. A few days after that, I got a letter of warning stating that I'd be suspended on the next occurrence of such a shortage. I never got suspended, as I quit before Swifty got the chance. I figured if they had that kind of attitude while at the same time they were begging for drivers, I'd just walk away.

Nice, Swift. Tell me again your driver-shortage lie.

Nothing like the nice, secure career that is truck driving. Go learn how to drive a dozer. Do NOT get that CDL.

 

Yeah, have known several Swift drivers who said exact same thing---keep you 'trapped' there!!

 

I had some dirt bag outfit in New Jersey pull the count the pieces on me. They wanted me to sign stating I verified the piece count. I crossed it out and wrote down 22-pallets. They said you can't do that, you must sign for the piece count. I said I didn't count the pieces and that for all I knew the center of the pallets were one big empty box.

They insisted I had to verify the piece count. Again I said I can't do that because I counted pallets not pieces. They then stated they would unload the trailer, break down the pallets, let me count the pieces, shrink wrap again, and reload. It was a Friday about 3:30PM, Newark, NJ area so I really wasn't going to get anywhere very fast. Being a dick, I said lets do it. They looked at me like I was nutz. We unloaded, broke down every pallet, and counted every piece!! I got out of there around 7:30, traffic had lightened, and I motored down the highway.

Now mind you. This shipper was a bunch of greaseballs, only one guy in the warehouse could speak a little broken english. The sleezy gal running the joint looked, dressed, and acted like one of the "Ladies" u see on the NYC side of the George Washington.

I was surprised that Linens-N-Things would use such a dirtbag vendor. Their supply chain must run from China through Haiti and into Newark! Christ, I didn't know if I was gonna get shot, knifed, or stuck with a case of the HIV.

All in a days work

 

I don't quite understand how these trucking companies just churn drivers. In all my business experience, employee turnover was the single biggest impediment to accomplishing goals. Whenever I hired someone that was competent and reliable, I did whatever it took to keep them. Whether digging ditches, or building rockets - competent and involved employees are the key to success.

It boggles the mind the bureaucracies these companies create to continually find replacements for the current employees they have disaffected, alienated, ostracized, and otherwise estranged. Seems to me the industry is ripe for a new pardigm.

 

Actually, the bigger companies want turnover. This is because the government helps cover driver training costs at schools through grants and such. This may seem straight foward until you realize the more drivers that pass through a school, the more a particular company makes in grants. See, some companies will hire newbies who graduate from only certain schools, which is no surprise. This is because these companies have their hands in these schools (they're at least part owners).

Then you realize that it's in a company's interest to get rid of you if you are an experienced driver working there and replace you with a newbie from a training school. The newbie costs less, and he comes with his own grant money if he's gone through a particular company's training meat grinder. Sure, his insurance is higher, but the minute the newbie has an accident, he's out the door. I'm not even convinced a newbie's insurance is that much higher than an experienced guy's. It's probably low compared to the risk. It's just that if the newbie screws up and has an accident, well..........This "understanding" is why insurance companies cover newbies when they first start out. Insurance rates don't go up at companies who kick their newbie screw-ups to the curb. If companies kept their newbies who have accidents, their insurance rates would go through the roof, especially at an outfit like SwiftCo.

It's funny how a green driver with no experience can be favored over a vet with a year's experience at some outfits.

 

Just so I understand you, you had an accident, you had a moral dilema on reporting it (but did), since it was an accident that means there was some type of damage involved, and so your mad at Swift for reporting what you did? A DAC is just like a credit report. If you pay late, its going to hit your credit report, if you abandon a truck or trailer, have an accident, its going to hit your dac report. If you are tested positive, its going to hit your dac report. If it happens, take ownership for your actions.

As to the rest of your post, that is something new, or rather old. I have not heard this done recently but I will find out for sure. I agree that would not be the correct way of handling it.

 

Tip as I have said before your way off base on this still.

Training costs money, trainee's default constantly on loans. Just between these two things we barely break even on training. Swift gets no above and beyond tuition grants. We get either the regular amount of tuition, or they only pay a partial and the student has to fund the remainder. If this was the case we would downsize the company and just open up hundreds of schools instead of the handful we have.

Swift is self insured because of how expensive insurance is for new drivers. To even suggest that any new driver within the transportation sector is not a higher risk (ie higher cost) is like saying 16 yr olds with licenses are all safe and don't cost damages.

I would take 100% experencied drivers any day that I could, we call them Pro's and they are coveted. We work with what we have which is trainee's and a mix of experienced (mostly returning ex Swift drivers). Goal is to make everyone happy, of course we can not do this, but we try our hardest. That is why I am on this forum, to listen to and respond to complaints, and if I see something that I can make a change at my terminal, then I will. The best idea's have not even been thought of yet.

Wes

 

Swift sucks. I hate them and hope they go under. #### jerry moyes, I hope he gets hit in the head by a golf ball and dies in convulsions. They blackballed me on dack because I didn't want to drive for 2 months straight.

 

I can tell you first hand that with a prevent being reported on your DAC record by swifty, if you find anyone who uses DAC that will hire you for the next year you will be one of the blessed few. If any injury was reported forget signing on with anyone who uses DAC for at least a year if not longer. I ran for a month after my accident before IDC decided to terminate me even though deemed not my fault in a police report. Since I cleaned truck out prior to getting to terminal and left my keys and badge in the truck they did not have a chance to fire me. But this only saved me from having to list reason for leaving company as termination, not why I know longer worked there.

As far as hiring on with carriers that don't use DAC they still want to know why you were terminated from your last employer and many will skyhook your application into the trash as soon as the word accident is mentioned unless you are planning on not saying why you were terminated.

I spent a 1 year sentence driving part time for some 2 bit outfit for low pay while going to dozens of interviews and filing um teen applications before anyone would even let me come to a orientation let alone hire me.
And I have far more then a few months experience like you.

I had many carriers tell me outright that they would hire me with my level of experience and safety record prior to a fender bender , but since I left my prior job due to a D.O.T. reportable prevent reported by the company within the previous year, their insurance bosses would not allow it from anywhere between 1 to 3 years depending on the carrier.

Then after a year you have some carriers who won't hire you because you have not driven OTR the previous year and want someone else to take a chance on you first. Heck the company I work for now made me take a trainee skills test before giving me a truck and my probationary period is 6 months instead of 3. So any incident that cost money to fix will get me a pink slip for 3 more months.

Even most quality local company's in my area use DAC because they have some other company do their background work for them.

You might find someone to hire you but if they are any good why would they hire you over a newbie with a clean record?

Never say never but it will be a uphill battle to say the least. Good luck