Swift Transportation can kiss my gluteous maximus!!!

May I ask how many times did you draw a month in cash advances?

Why would you draw against your check if you had savings?

If what you say about the shop issues is true, sorry to hear that. I've seen some messed up looking swift trucks still on the road. What were your issues?

How did you talk to those driver managers? Why didn't you go to the fleet manager with your problem or talk with your planner? What terminal are you out of?

I didn't go home for 6 months after I met my DL and the only reason I went home was to do taxes befor the 15th. I made a lot of money during that second half of months. When you get in a lane it's money to be made. 5 days in 7 months and even with those problems with trucks didn't go home but that few times?

I pay all those things to swift and still brought home more than 100 a week. I'm sorry this still doesn't make sense to me.

They gave me a t700 kw when I first started and I drove it for 8 months before they gave me the international I currently have. Why would they hurt themselves by not giving you miles? Have you tried switching terminals?

I had a few large bills I needed to take care of and even when I started catching up on my past due bills for going to academy I still had money left over to at least do that, eat and have fun with it. Got rid of 3 bills amounting to 2300+ dollars with interest. Plus the money i owe swift and the hotel amount. That's why I tell new drivers to save what they can before coming out here and taking care of debt as fast as possible.

 

When I did home time 11/2 weeks ago I spent 4 days at home. It ate in that weeks pay check by a lot! Not to mention I spent that previous mon-thursday at mentor class. This week I did just 4 loads, just looked at my weeks pay and although I only did 4 loads I racked up 2608 miles.Last Friday my DL went to be an onsite manager somewhere. Though she helped me get miles week after week, the team that's still there makes it their goal to get the team as a whole miles a week.

Each truck on the team has improved their miles by a lot per week. It could be your DL, it could be your planner, it could be your terminal. But it also could be you. Evaluate yourself and be honest and see if you can improve somewhere personally.

I remember there was a span of 2-3 weeks that I was lazy on myself and my DL, my pay check suffered but I still made at least 300 those weeks. I knows exactly what the problem was, it wasn't swift it was me. And when I buckled down they were right there to give me pre plans and miles and my checks jumped up from 3 to 500+ a week. Constantly.

Anything they ask I do it as long as I have the time and or it's safe. I've turned down loads, but I knew the repercussions of doing that. I explained the situation and they worked around it got me a new load and we all are happy today. When I sit, if I sit, it's because I did what I'm supposed to do and I do take breaks to recup my batteries. But when I'm running, I stop for 10 hours, after that 10 hours I run again. I don't take longer than 10 hour breaks if I'm on a load. Especially if there's a window for deliver or pickup. I get to either as soon as possible not at the last second or minute. I keep my logs up to date, i approve them every morning and also do my mac 10s everyday. I've also learned that when I get a load get the majority of the miles out of the way that first day. I burn the oil if I have to so that I don't have to work so hard the next day. I drive a lot at night and I love it, hardly any traffic, and because I drive as much as I can that first day when it comes to city driving I shoot through it at night when everyone else is sleeping. I love it.

Sure sometimes I want to park when I see all those lights lit up of trucks at rest stops and truck stops but I keep on going because that's how I like to do the job. I never have to rush to get anywhere. When I first started, lol, it was a mess, but I made it through. It's hard sometimes but I never gave up. I'm not looking to either.

 

If you ask 10 drivers of any 10 companies, you will get 10 different stories on how they were treated. Some here were treated well. I was treated badly. You, the reader, have the option of believing my story or not. But know this, I am no liar and the story I tell is the truth as I see it. Yes, there is another side to it. There always is.

Below is a copy of my resignation letter:

 

Out standing sir... Very articulate and to the point..

 

Wow, I don't know why anyone would work for swift, but I don't think you made some good decisions either, you did not write your name or Id # on receipt? Bad idea

 

No one forced you to run illegal...if you did.. That was your choice...I'm so sick & tired of people who blame others for thier own actions...

start taking repsponsibilty for you actions...

 

I was not aware at the time that this was necessary. You would know this if you had actually read the entire post. I had not been told this by anyone at the academy, Mentor, or in Orientation, and I was not given a copy of the driver's manual until after the incident.

 

When you are brand new, you do what you are told or you get fired. You were not there so get off your high horse and learn to spell.

Instead of taking the time to realize what wrong has been done, you have consistently and persistently sought to find fault for and in my posts. I strongly suggest that you sit down, have a coke and a smile and stop sounding like a Swift Recruiter. Go troll someone else.

 

I have worked for swift for 2 and a half years. Of which i have run 13 months solo and the rest as a mentor with a few solo weeks in between. My solo average net pay is 644 dollars and my average net pay as a mentor is 964 dollars. I feel there is a misconception about loads and how people are planned. You do not have a personal dispatcher. There are separate planning areas each served by their own teams of planners. Customer service reps deal with the customers, planners take those loads and dispatch them to your truck. Driver managers are the go between for you and any other department. I was on a dedicated fleet for part of my time at swift. My DM on that fleet informed me that the otr loads that are planned out are not necessarily planned by people, but primarily by computer. Also on top of that there are separate fleets. 48, regional, mentor solo expedited, mentor team expedited. I agree that continued education of mentors and drivers is an issue. I hear the horror stories from students i take over after being on another mentors truck. I find it difficult as a mentor even in my 240 hours with a student to have them comprehend the whole system. If a new student has come from a truck driving school with no previous experience, they have been taught one thing, how to pass the test. There is no comprehension of load planning, maintaining logs, and maintaining the vehicle. It is very easy for these new drivers to say "they never taught me". That is the answer i get from almost every student. My follow up question is "have you researched the subjects you feel deficient in?" Inevitably the answer is no. I am torn between finding them personally responsible for not knowing the basics, or finding schools responsible for inept training programs. After all it is difficult to ask questions about what you don't know if you don't know. So I'm left with finding both students and schools responsible. As a mentor it is difficult to manage the pull between the company wanting to push miles on you and having the time to teach a student. But as a mentor that is your responsibility. As for swift asking me to run illegal. Not once in 2 and a half years have i ever been put in a spot where it is "run illegal" vs "Job security". It is the responsibility of the driver to look at the load and decide if he can run it legal or not. If you were your own trucking company would you accept a load from a broker that requires you to run illegal? I hope not. And the same should apply if you work at a large company. There are many loads on our boards, and many trucks. There are times when i have felt pressure by a dispatcher or csr who has the responsibility to make sure they plan out those loads and get them there on time. But ultimately that is a decision you have to make and if there are problems inform your DM. For the most part i have had no issues with pay. I understand the pay policy and have not been cheated. Sometimes there are loads in which you need to contact your DM and let them know the discrepancy and they can get with payroll or adjust it. Over my time of employment i have been polite with everyone i have spoke with in the company, but that does not always mean i see eye to eye. Everyone is different. I tend to not like to argue or raise my voice. In instances where i have followed instruction i have been told i did the wrong thing. One example is a minor issue with my truck. I called to ask onroad what they would like me to do. They sent me to a dealer 13 miles from my location instead of 60 miles to the terminal to get it fixed. Turns out the part was not going to be in that day and i would have to wait till the next day. I called onroad informed them of the decision and they said get a hotel and wait that the repair is under warranty. I called in to the terminal to let a DM know that i was going to be in a hotel etc. at which time i was informed that i should have called the shop at the terminal since i was so close. I fail to recognize how it is my responsibility to tell onroad how to do their job. I even informed onroad that i was only an hour from the terminal. Still the DM i called was upset with me stating the cost would be greater because i went to the dealer as if it was my decision to do so. Of course these things happen with such a large company and a lack of communication between departments. Knowing what you are getting yourself into before you start can cure some frustration. There are ebbs and flows, managing your attitude, developing good relationships with co workers, and having a positive attitude can make your time at swift much more pleasant.

 

There is a clear difference from doing what you're told to do that is Legal from being told to do something that is illegal for example someone tells you to go rob a bank are you going to rob a bank use some common sense you're going to Have problems no matter where you go because you don't have any common sense.