SWIFT

There are several training companies that pay lower. Carolina Cargo pays $0.10 a mile, Covenant starts you at $0.14, CRST pays $0.18. Swift paying $0.25 a mile for someone with zero experience isn't bad at all. After 30,000 miles you go up to $0.26. Also, there is a sliding scale for pay. If you do a short run you can get up to $0.32 a mile. I think I even saw $0.42 for a really short load I did a while back. Also, they should be re-instating the $0.01 they took off of everyone to help weather the economic storm. It's just a question of when it will be re-instated.

You should know how to drive a truck before you get to orientation. That's what the mandatory instruction time in order to get a CDL is for.

Home time requests are to be made two weeks in advance. There is no guarantee otherwise. I haven't had a problem getting home at all. Then again, I prefer to $tay on the road, so I've only been home twice in three months.

That's really old news and only related to their school out of Tennessee. A lot of drivers got screwed over when DOT invalidated their CDL's. It was only that one Swift school though and it was run by a bunch of #### morons. Nothing like what went on there is going on now.

I'll have to agree with you somewhat on this one. They do have new trucks, but there is no guarantee that you'll get one. I'm driving a well aged Volvo, but they keep it in great shape. As long as you report problems and are willing to turn the truck into the shop for repairs, they'll keep you moving.

Agreed again. I just came home from being out for a month and a half I didn't even have time to do a 34 hour break. It was go go go go go and the checks certainly aren't light. I hear so many drivers whining and complaining about how they don't get any miles. So it's no surprise when I see the same drivers staying up all hours of the night bs'ing in the terminal or truck stop and then still asleep when I'm rolling out at 0730. Alot of guys set their PTA (predicted time available) for like 0900 or 1000 or even later. Early bird gets the worm.

 

Don't be naive. They push some kids through. I watched one gentleman back up into another trailer on the Swift Terminal Lot during road testing and they gave him a brand new truck to drive afterwards (with super singles!!!).

No guarantee if you do give two weeks notice (I always did) ... I personally experienced delays and so have others.

Old news? http://www.thetruckersreport.com/tr...p/65412-swift-academy-licenses-suspended.html

 

I've noticed something on this board. The drivers who like to bash any given company are ones who can be lumped into one of 3 catagories. 1) Quitters, 2) whiners or 3) the ones who got fired.

I said this on another thread. You work for the company, the company dont work for you. You are hired to be a team player, and to haul freight from point A to point B in an on time and safe manner. Can't hack it? then you need to quit. But please dont come on here and start bashing the company you quit from just to make THEM look bad in some desperate attempt to divert the attention from the fact that you were a sub-standard employee for whatever reason. (i.e. like having 3 accidents in 6 months, etc.)

You go into a few places and see what i like to call "the fast food generation". You see all these kids who take these jobs, and they do just barely what they need to do to squeek by and earn a paycheck. Then when they're asked to do a little work, they think "this isnt what i get paid for" and start their whine about it.

Like i said, your job is to haul freight. if you expect the company to not think of yourself as a number, or think you should stand out or get a pat on the back, and you're not 'getting your way', what do you think you should do?? cry about it??? Be a team player.....keep your trap shut, dont whine, and trust me, you will stand out.

I drive for swift. Been doing so for almost a year. At first, my miles sucked. would struggle to get 1500. Then had a conversation with my DM and got on the same page. Now i average 2500. Some weeks even push 3000. I am happy with the company, though they do some stupid things or try to get away with something, but guess what.....THAT IS EVERY COMPANY. I get the miles, and i get them because my DM knows i'm a team player. I'll take that 100 mile run, when every other driver wouldnt touch it because its not a 600 mile run. Meanwhile, they still sit in a terminal or truck stop and whine because they arent getting miles.

i have to agree with Paw Paw. you see the same complaint over and over and over. most of the time posted by someone who has never worked for them, just someone who wants to jump on the swift-bashing bandwagon.

 

So, you say people who don't like their company should keep their traps shut, then admit you didn't and things got better?

How many companies have you worked for that you have such experiece?

This is true, and one thing that did really bug me about many of the drivers for Swift. Anytime I didn't have a preplan when I rolled into a terminal, or one that kept me sitting a day or two (and I wasn't trying to squeeze a reset in) I'd go talk to the TM or local DM and see if they had anything they wanted me to do.

You know what all the gung-ho attitude got me? I made a little over 9 grand in 5 months with Swift. Part of it was due to breakdowns with the truck, but a major factor was my DM saw that I always took any short loads they put on me so I would always get stuck doing short Sears loads out of Wilke-Barre. When I finally asked for something more I was told freight was slow and sat for 2 days before I started getting more Sears loads. At no time did I whine, or complain. I was honest and straightforward and even courteous with my DM at all times. I never refused a load unless it was for HOS reasons. I took care of my truck. And it got me nothing but an average of 1400ish miles a week.

I was going to stick it out for a year, though, until they tried to force me to stay out over Christmas by saying I never asked to be home on the 23rd. When I got back to the terminal the TM brought me in and showed me on the computer where my hometime was set for the 27th. I then asked him to go back to just after Thanksgiving on the QC messages and showed him where I asked my DM to be home for the 23rd since it was my son's first Christmas and he replied saying "You bet! I just entered it." The TM's excuse was that I must have called in and changed it after that.

Anyway, I've talked to plenty of drivers who work at smaller companies because they are NOT a number. They walk in and are called by name, the dispatchers WORK with them to get them miles and get them home. If there is a problem, they work as a team to get them resolved to everyone's advantage. Companies where you will stand out simply because you got hired (because they hire only good drivers), not because you kissed ### or took one for the team. And where not only the drivers are well treated and expected to be true proffesionals, but everyone who works there, including the owner/CEO/president.

To bad those kinds of companies are becoming fewer and further between these days, and that the big companies have brainwashed people into thinking they are SOOO lucky to have a job! Here's a newsflash for you, you don't. You can actually live without a job. It is definitely not a luxurious way to live, nor is it easy. But it is the companies who need YOU, not the other way around. The only thing you need a job for is to maintain your current lifestyle.

But I do agree if you are being paid to do a job, it is up to you to be the professional the company expects you to be, even if people make it hard for you.

 

Im glad to see that the drivers with less than a year have the answers.

 

does it really take a driver with 5-10 years experience to know you get out whatever you put in?? Garbage in, garbage out. does it really take having to drive for 3-4 different companies to have an opinion?? Sorry, but i hate the feeling of being fired or being so fed up with a situation where i quit, then whine about it on a truckers message board.​

Sorry, i dont kiss tail. If you want to look at taking that 50-100 mile load as kissing but, you can, but i call it 'wanting to keep rollin'. ​

What i'm saying is that if you dont like a situation, you dont cry about it. If you dont like it, you work to fix it, or get it fixed. if you dont get it fixed, you have two options....and one of them is finding another company to work for.​

What is so hard about 'doing your job...and the reward is you get to keep it' dont you understand?? You must think that after two seasons as a new head coach of a NFL team, and your record is 2 and 28 you should get to keep your job. you arent doing it, so i'm going to look for someone to do it for you 'as the owner'. ​

i really wish i was the owner of businesses i've been to. where you can just tell waitresses dont smile, you can tell they arent happy and have this piss-poor attitude about the company who is employing them. I'd walk in, close the place, ask everybody to be candid about what needs work. if it was something i was doing or something with the atmosphere of the place making them unhappy i'd fix it. and once it was fixed and they still exhibit those same 'i dont care' attitudes, they'd be looking for work. Next time you're in a fast food place, and its slow, see just how many employees are actually working like cleaning, etc. And see just how many are 'sitting around' or not being a team player.

Case in point...Was at a Burger King in Columbus, OH. Stopped there for a breakfast after shopping at Wal-Mart nearby. I walk in, there are 3 hispanics working the prep area and fryer. Manager working the window and i could hear someone on her cell hiding around the corner. after a minute waiting, the manager finally turns to me from the window, and says "we'll be right with you". To me, being on the cell, that would be a clue to go WORK. No....another minute goes by, and finally she comes to the register. Just before that, someone got their order messed up at drive thru, and walked up next to me. Who do you think the gal chattin' on the cell helped first?? you guessed it. the gal who just walked in from drive-thru, like i was invisible. Now you tell me, had you been the owner, why you wouldn't have fired the girl chattin' on her cell phone on the spot? The manager would have got a repremand for letting it happen, and not 'managing'.​

those are your options. Don't like 'being just a number'? dont like how many miles you're getting? dont like the rag of a truck you are assigned to drive?? think you should be given brand new equipment as a 'reward'? then quit. There are other drivers who are willing to do what it takes, be a team player (especially in this economy) who would love to have your seat behind the wheel. But the problem is there are drivers who think they are the only ones on the road, or they are the only ones who think they are the best in the company, and so then that gives them the right to drive new equipment, and the like. ​

My problem is drivers who whine about a company, whine about not getting miles, whine about just being a number...then when they DO get loads, they turn them down, and hold it against the company, hating them more, and make up stories about how they want them to sit. You're a number because you dont stand out. And you stand out by doing your job. you do your job by hauling freight safe and on-time, not by turning down loads because its not enough miles, not going where you want to go...etc. You get noticed by not crying. and that has nothing to do with only working for a year......that has everything to do with my work history. ​

 

Okay...so tell me, why did you wait 5+ months to speak up about your pay?? I first started, i was getting 1300 miles, and bringing in $250-300 paychecks. Know how long that lasted?? about 2-3 weeks. I spoke up and said that i cannot stay out here making that, i need to roll, i WANT to roll. (and no, i was not crying. asking for change once isnt crying. had it not changed, and i keep on asking for change, day after day and week after week and not getting it....now that is crying) Things looked better over the next few months. I had a spurt where i saw 1 or 2 sub $350 checks, and again stated that i felt i was reverting back to the early days. I then asked about getting a dedicated or regional, and i got it. Why? probably cause my DM knew i was a good driver, and have shown that over the past 6+ mo.

Okay, then go work for them. Funny how you said 'they work as a team', but from the sounds of most of the posts on here about Swift (or other companies where the driver is 'just a number') they DON'T work as a team. and whos fault is that??? According to the posts, its Swift's fault....when it isn't. If the driver isnt going to help with the solution...if the driver is just going to stand there saying, 'well it isnt MY job'....then by all means, i hope you get ran out of the company.

again, then go work for them. You don't 'stand out' just because you get hired. and to expect that, then you're no better than the casher at Burger King or anywhere else. You have that "do what it takes to just get by to earn a paycheck" attitude. If you get hired by that company because they only hire good drivers...well you must have stood out enough to show you were a good driver, huh. If the problem is, you AREN'T being noticed as a good driver, arent being noticed by such companies who hire good drivers, then maybe you should look in the mirror instead of pointing fingers first.

Yeah i can agree with part of that statement. My brother, who worked for NASA up till Jan. 1st of this year has been without a job since. His unemployment is more than the jobs he's been offered. So you're right, you dont have to have a job to live. BUT the problem i have with that statement is where you say 'companies need you'. No...they need employees who dont whine about who employs them. they need team players. they dont need just anybody with a pulse to fill a position. And if you want to call it 'brainwashing', i think its the other way around. You've read enough on message boards, have adapted so well to the 'fast food' attitude, that you think you are some rare comodity. you arent. there are thousands of drivers in every state, looking for work. if you're so unhappy where you're at, step aside and give them a shot. i'm willing to bet that they'd to a much better job, and end up rolling with more miles a week than you.

haven't i been saying this ??

 

You think you are getting a good deal starting out at .25 a mile? because some other carriers are even worse? I started in Feb 91 at .22 a mile at KLLM and I think Swift was starting at .18 per mile. That was almost 19 years ago. Subtract for inflation and the change in logs, Swift pays a trainee far less then they paid a trainee 19 years ago .

By the way, May trucking cut their training pay to .30 and it is still a nickle more then Swift. How long will you have to hold out at Swift before you make .30?

If you pop tall and pack your bags for the first carrier that bites, then you like this poster will have to justify low pay. Do your homework and sell yourself to a carrier and you will be rewarded in the pocket book. Don't and you will be like most Swift drivers and pushing the pedal to the floor and doctoring your log book to feed yourself.

Unless all you have to look forward to is a career in fast food, Swift is to be avoided at all costs.

 

again, typical swift-hating. get your facts before you spout off and prove you dont know anything. actually you admit you dont know anything saying "...i think swift starts at...". They actually start at .26cpm. Is that great? NO. But some have to start somewhere. Some get lucky and have a backround and a little driving history to get on with someone making .40cpm. Some have the ability to walk into a bank and get a personal loan to pay for a $5,000 school. others don't. But you've gotta cut your teeth somewhere.

get the facts before posting. i love it all the swift bashers get on here, knowing full well they start at 26, but want to make them look as bad as possible, so they say 16. hell...why dont you just say their drivers start out making "FREE". I've been with them for 9 mo.....and i'm making .34cpm. And why do they start out so low? cause they are a training company. congrats if you start out making 40. dont bash a company just because your friends love to bash em. every company has their pros and cons. you might get with a company that pays 40, but you might get some POS truck, or get a company with a poor maintence program.

as far as only having a career in fast food, there are drivers out there who should only be doing fast food, and have no business behind the wheel of a big truck. But if you're new to the industry, have no experience or training, and want to look on this board for 'bad' companies, then by all means, if you see their name on here, scratch them off your list. Do that, and end up with no list at all, cause i am sure EVERY company worth driving for (aside from the mom and pop companies who ill be bankrupt in a year or two anyway) has been listed as a 'bad' company at one time or another.

What you NEED to do, is take drivers opinions who have worked for any given company, and then gather all the info you can......THEN find out which company best suits your needs at this time. While you're waiting to 'sell yourself' to a company and start making a whole .05cpm more, ill be truckin down the road earning a paycheck while you wait months and months waiting for that perfect company to come a callin'. Oh...and once you happen to get on with them, you can stick your chest out and pretend like you are so wanted....but in the long run, the odds you will have got on with a company with 'issues' is far greater than running into a former trucker serving fast food.

 

actually you admit you dont know anything saying "...i think swift starts at...". They actually start at .26cpm.

Well since you are a stickler for accuracy here is the actual quote you failed to use

starts at, and was starting are different and taken in conjunction and not out of context with going back 19 years , not the present please forgive me for not calling swift corp and asking them what they paid 19 years ago for a trainee.

You erroneously believe that Swift pays you squat because they have good trucks and maintenance facility's? I bet you bought their more miles and less pay spiel as well.

They start out low because they can, because you, like so many others popped tall when your number for the driver mill was called . But I applaud you for your loyalty and I am sure Swift will give you a big patch to wear on your arm or a decal on your truck or some other meaningless gratuity instead of just paying you what other newbies like the ones at May or any number of other training company's pay in 2009.

You will like most Swift drivers see the light in the future and go to another company or give up driving a truck like my cousin did after we had to come get her after Swift stranded her in NJ after she got off her perverted trainers truck.