Swift Training help

Very true... Should have said sad but true

 

Anyone knows not to go to Swift.

 

Except that 15,000-truck company would suck. The company with 15,000 trucks has about 100-125% percent turnover. That's 15,000-18,500 drivers quitting that outfit each year. Yeah, that company would definitely suck in my mind, but that's just me. I'm a guy who has reasonable expectations of a company. Imagine that. A person expecting a company to have low turnover.

 

Going with a good attitude is the best thing....Attitude is 90%....
conditions 10%.........best of luck & post it all......

 

I find it very interesting to read Tips posts on here. What he posts usually makes a lot of sense,especially about the Swift organization. Tip as well as myself,have both driven for this piece of crap company. I have noticed that if Tip and me were ever to discuss politics we would be at each others throats pretty darn quick. However he and I seem to have the same opinion of Swift,and it aint very good. When I post something negative about Swift,it comes from having driven for them and realizing that they have no idea on how to treat drivers and keep them employed for a long period of time.Just one point here,I made much more money driving for Roehl at $.38 a mile than I did at Swift for $.40 a mile.

 

It's too bad we even have to post what happened to us at Swifty here at this site. I wish I could have had a much better experience at SwiftQuit. But nope. Swifty chose to treat me like a doormat, so I quit. Simple. Then I went to another outfit, acted the same way I did while at the Quit, and did great. I won't say one will definitely fail at Quit, England, or JoBHunt. I WILL say his odds aren't good at those outfits, so he should go someplace where he has better chances. That's the sensible way to look at reality.

And trucking turned me more or less into a socialist, even near-communist. Well, trucking and Howard Zinn's history books. So, Dog, we'd definitely be at each other's throats if I started posting my political views.

 

3,000,000 truckers on the road (minus Jevic who just closed down today, so thats 1500 trucks less now, oh and the 40,000 trucks that went out of business the first 3 months of the year also). That represents the industry. When the industry is 120% + on turnover, and represents almost every trucking company out there, how do you relate turnover to a company as they are doing something wrong? Second part to that, here is Swifts turnover from November last year up to today. This is operational numbers (Non trainee's): November 07: 85.2%, December 07: 82.7%, January 08: 104.6%, February 08: 87.5%, March 08: 86.5%, April 08: 89.9%, May month to date: 81.9%. Looking all the way back to April last year, I see many 80% months, and only one other 100% month. So if you want to use turnover as a the measuring stick compared to everyone else...

Problems that I see daily with people coming into the industry.

1. No matter how little oversight you have on you daily, its still a job. That means rules need to be followed, policies need to be understood and followed.

2. Unless you own the truck, your not an owner operator. You can't get into a company truck and pick and choose what loads you want. Deadhead anywhere you want. Go grocery shopping with the family in the truck, expect extra days at home all the time. You can always work with your DM anytime if you don't like the loads, or need something special on occassion, but in the end if we have no choice's we have to roll.

The reality: I work with drivers once a month on some of these. You can't fire your DM, they are your manager. You can request a different DM if your personalities just don't match up good. I grant those all the time, but I deny if I find out the DM was enforcing policies and the driver does not like it, so wants a different DM. Trucking is lonely, if you are a family man, do not go into OTR trucking. You will be extremely homesick, you will worry all the time if your spouse is faithful while your gone, you will miss your kids growing up for a time. It is tough, and those drivers that attempt it will usually not last (That is why the industry has such high turnover...). Trucking is a thankless job where you definately don't get recognized for everything you do as often as you do it (thats all companies). It's not like the old days where everyone helped each other, it was a brotherhood, now its wolfpacks.

What I look for as a manager from my drivers.

Ontime delivery.
Low idle
Good fuel stop compliance
If we are getting you home ontime, I expect you to leave ontime.
Average miles
Good attitude
No citations or violations
No log problems
Safe!
Takes 99% of the loads given to you that you can run legal and deliver ontime and does not interfere with hometime. (The customer does not want to hear that we can't cover their freight because the driver doesnt like the state/region/weather etc.. of where the load delivers.) They pay us to haul the freight.

I have a new driver with about 5 months experience that comes to my office everytime he comes in for hometime. He wants me to review his miles, look at how he ran and see if he utilized his time wisely, check his service and fuel and just ask how he is doing. He impresses me, I have many that come in and see me monthly for this and just update me on whats going on with them, but every two weeks. Guess who I am going to talk with if I have a dedicated opening or even office position (Hint Hint for any drivers out there on how to get recognized). He honestly cares, and that makes people he interacts with want to help him at every level including the customers.

Each company is different, and has different expectations. Some people come in and want to run everything their way, if that is how you are, your probably not a good match then. If you want to make the company better, add value, and be valued then any company would love to have you.

Wes

 

I would argue, but I know you're right. One can not argue with the truth.

Too bad about Jevic. I've heard nothing really negative over the years about those guys. I wonder if the Jevic drivers saw that coming?

I have done some research, and it seems Swifty's turnover has indeed dipped into the 90s, on average. That IS impressive. However, I wonder if this improvement is really driven by uncertainty in the current economic bad weather? When a driver may not be able to find a new job as easily, he will tend to stay put instead of quitting. A bird in the hand.....

I'll say again--I'm glad I'm not a trucking company recruiter, dispatcher, or DM. There are too many whining drivers that want a free ride for my blood. Good thing unions have declined. They'd not be able to survive the demands of all the freeloaders one finds today. Make union new hires first work on docks huffing freight so they can prove themselves, yes sir.

You mean I, a true outsider, can simply work hard and have a good attitude to be invited into the fold at Swift? I thought you had to be a fresh college grad and of a certain religious persuasion at JerryCo to have a chance.

 

The turnover due to the economy definately could be a factor. I would like to think the changes we have made is a factor.

Yes will hire anyone that is a true go getter and can get the job done. Pedigree's mean very little to me.

Wes

 

Thank you markgel43, and I'll post it all.