Werner or Swift?

Look at the author of that page and look at me....

 

KE5, I feel real bad that you were treated the way you were. But that's one recruiter not all of them. And it doesn't mean the entire Swift company, every fleet, every fleet manager, every DM, every trip planner and ever driver suddenly over night became dishonest, runs illegal, logs illegal and is a jerk.

I'm sorry you didn't get hired by Swift. I'm also sorry that you quit your job and were then not accepted by Swift. I wish the problem had been caught prior to your quiting your job. I hope you get a good job.....a better job quickly. In fact I've not only got you on my prayer list but my entire family has you on their prayer lists and you're on our church prayer chain.

I hope things get better for you very soon.

 

Thanks.

I'm headed up to Kansas City this week to get on with Butler Transport. So it ain't gonna hurt too bad. Was just looking on getting with a good dedicated account. I know Swift has plenty. I'm over it.

Thanks.

 

KE52DP = I totally believe ya..

I am looking for a Company with a school to go through and pretty much settled on Swift - after really checking out company's = but now am having second thoughts because I can not trust their recruiters.

And do not want to end up far away from home and no paid return ticket and have to pay my own way back if I am not accepted for only God know why.

I have a perfect history all the way around. Perfect DMV from time I learned to drive. No tickets, nothing. I even had a souped up race car and did the ocassional race from one red light to the other as a 18 to 22 year old; but never got a ticket.

Never did illegal drugs or drank more than 2 drinks a year at Company Christmas party or at a wedding or two and that was in my younger years. In fact my last beer was 3 years ago, I just never liked taste of alcohol of any kind either. But love my coffee. Use to smoke cigarettes but also gave that up years ago.

Perfect credit history, perfect background with top secret clearances, etc. No blemishes ever. But had some wild friends. ha ha. Single with no kids, family members passed on and only 4 relatives I like are still alive and not close to any other cousins, etc. Pets have also passed on and I never got any other ones to tie me down. Home, vehicles and everything I own are paid for.

Just need to renew my passport. I have dated same 4 people for years with 2 being from the 1970s and they have the means and would fly to meet me anywhere in USA if I decided to take days off. We were all career types and all were married in the past; but never wanted kids due to working all around country for months on end for years.

Personally, I want to stay on road as long as I can at a time without going home, like I did in a previous driving job. I literally want to live in the tractor. I want to be OTR from coast to coast and as a team if possible; but of course will drive anywhere, anytime. Just love the work, doing good job for company and interfacing with all the different people and company's all over country. Will take any job even if short miles just to get the job done for the company.

I mean I am too much of a company person.? Never disclose all this of course; but that is what I want and person I am.

Another thing = was told that Swift does not have or allow inverters in their trucks. Was told whatever will run on 12 volts through cigarette lighter is allowed. I know my cord for laptop and cell phone would probably be ok but I want to be able to use my rice pot and crock pot, etc. And I know how these company track all watts used and they know each time the radio, dvd player, CB or cigarette lighter is used.

Anyone have the skinny on that for me. As far as if that is true about Swift and what company's out there allow inverters to run your own TV, dvd player and rice pot or crock pot. I have a coffee pot that runs on 12 volt with a cigarettee lighter plug so I am good there.

RECRUITERS - etc = Each company I called = I first called straight to HR and got the low down on my specific questions and had them transfer me to a recruiter.

Personally, So far - I have been lied to by 3 different Swift recruiters. Flat out lied to. And I would never call anyone a liar unless it was true.

FIRST Recruiter = Was edgy = like on crack or meth, etc. ( I am ex law enforcement and can usually tell these things). Talked really fast and said I had too many questions and they were only allowed to talk to people for 5 minutes and they either mailed out packaged info by email or they had to cut us loose to go to another company.

Said she would be fired immediately if she did not meet her quota of taking calls each day and I either had to give her my email address immediately or she would have to take another call.

I said, really, then please give me the full name of the person who directed you to conduct business like that and I will call them personally. Click - she hung up on me. Not remembering I had her name and location. Duh.

Now the thing about losing her job for not taking quota of calls - that could be true. I have friends who are telemarketers and they must meet daily quotas.

Remember people = Recruiters are really just telemarketers and many recruiters can be hired off the street with no prior experience and many do come from the telemarketing and or timeshare marketing backgrounds and will tell you anything and everything to get you to fill out the paper and show up at orientation and get hired so they make their money.

They all get paid for recruiting. Not just company employees working on a regular salary. Caught too many lying about that.

Recruiters also know that by just sheer numbers they will make more money = then by spending the time to weed out and make sure you will make it through orientation and be hired.

Besides, I do not think they are legally allowed to make any decision at all. Period. It is all a numbers game. I think their only job responsibility is to get an email address and send you the info and you get it back to them and they just forward it to the next person in line to review it.

Legally, in most States of USA only HR can make the decision to hire you and that is only after you show up for orientation, have passed their physical, and behavioral tests = yes most do watch you all through orientation to see how well you interact with others and your deameanor, etc. No cussing or grabbing others body parts or saying anything off color or lurking, etc. ha ha.

The entire time you are there and even at lunch, during breaks etc. They watch if you smoke and how much and what you eat and drink etc. and if you are taking tablets, etc. that could be meds even though they might only be vitamins. Never take vitamins or supplements while on company property. Cameras are everywhere nowadays.

I know what I am talking about here with company's I worked for in the past as what I call a plant. I was told to get people to open up and find out specific answers about all kinds of things personal and not even job related. And to try and annoy them to see if they were short tempered and would cuss and scream around, etc.

I might be giving these trucking companys more credit than due; but I was a very highly paid job applicant for a top Fortune 500 company for a couple of years until it dawned on me that it was trickery and what I considered unethical. Even though the company did get the best of the group as far as behaviour and political correctness, etc. = it did not mean they got the best of the employees or the hardest working or most honest and ethical, etc. I went back to my previous job at same salary but was not as much fun.

SECOND Recruiter = I called right back and got someone who was very calm and so nice that they almost put me to sleep. Went through the script like they should. Actually read from the application as far as criminal activity, driver's record, etc. and when I answered questions, they challenged me on all since I had perfect records.

Finally she said she was sorry; but she just did not believe me and felt I was holding back and not being truthful. I laughed and said, sorry I am not a convicted felon, under house arrest, a wanted criminal, a pedophile or under a restraining order for domestic violence. But I am telling the truth and it would all come out in any background checks.

Then she said, oh, I just checked the computer and we are no longer hiring from your State. I said really, but that was the first question I asked you and you said you always hire from my state. She said, I do not remember you asking me that but that is not true and we have not hired anyone from your state either to go to our driving academy or as a new hire or experienced driver for months and then she hung up.

Well now I knew I was being played and lied to and was not happy about it. So the next day I went to a neighbor and had them call for me. I had them call and ask for each of those recruiters.

They both said no blocks are ever put on the State we are from. (which I knew was true) And he said that First Recruiter was wired and he had done all kinds of drugs in his lifetime and he thought she was high on something or just plain hyperactive, etc.

He told the truth, with his 3 dui arrests and various arrests for battery (he was some fighter growing up) leaving him in county jail for up to 3 months at a time; and traffic tickets up the caboose. But they were all over 20 years ago so they both said he was fine and none of that would count against him. He has the worse credit of anyone I know and declared bankruptcy twice with the last time being 11 years ago but they both said none of that counted either. Which is true.

But they were so nice talking to him and never short etc. In fact the first one, with the 5 minute time limit or she gets fired. She talked to him for 22 minutes.

Then he said he had to be home at least every other week for 2 days and they both said, no problem. Now we know that is not true especially when you are straight out of school and have to report for training after that. He asked if they could guarantee that and they both said that the company always works with their employees and home time and they have not found anyone who had a problem with that yet.

I believe that someone will listen to you wanting time off = but that does not mean the answer will be yes. Even he said he felt they were just telling him what he wanted to hear to get him to complete the paperwork and all and get to orientation.

THIRD RECRUITER = Was nice, very professional and just made you feel great about calling and wanting to go to work for Swift. Sent all paperwork to me within minutes and told me to just get it back in whenever I could, no hurry, etc.

I did all paperwork and got all my stuff together, etc. No problem, except I realized I had to send off for a certified copy of my birth certificate. I only had photocopies of my certified one.

So I called this recruiter back on day 9 and said I could fax all I had but I was waiting on my certified copy of my birth certificate to get to me and it would be a couple of more days. (which is only needed at orientation anyway).

Well she said that was unacceptable and because I did not get my paperwork back to her in 5 days, she said that now she could not accept it because Guess What = yep = Swift was not hiring from my state at this time and not for at least 6 months to a year so I needed to look elsewhere. I said ok, no problem. Then after she hung up, I remembered I had my expired Passport which is allowed as a substitute for a birth certificate.

Now I have been lied to by other Recruiters =

CRST = 1 recruiter flat out told me that they do not have idling rules = so you can not be fired for something that does not exist. True - but I know that is a lie as I have a good friend who has worked for them for years and he is always telling me the number of employees fired each winter for idling to run the heater and in the dead of summer for idling to run the air conditioner.

A 2nd CRST recruiter said yes, they did have idling regulations but if you continued to violate the limit allowed, you would only be called in by your driver manager and talked to and that is as far as it ever went and no one was ever fired for violating the company policy.

US XPRESS = one of first recruiters I called and really threw me for a loop. I was standing right in front of a 2 week old poster - like approx 24 in. by 30 in. and reading from it to ask them questions and they lied about everything. Said a hiring freeze was on. I called back and found out it was all lies. And marked them off my list.

Give me a Break. What is with all this lying by these recruiters. Are they all this greedy.

Sorry for the long post. But this is my actual - personal experience.

I am fully packed and ready to report to any driving school as soon as I finish their online courses and fax the paperwork.

So what gives..

And just in case you wondered = they all track your name and email addresses and phone numbers. And even though I say I am a honest and ethical person, I believe in fair fighting and tit for tat so to say. I have called from different people's cell phones and or pay phones in different cities around the State and used different email addresses. I have used my real names, first, middle and also nicknames so no company can track and or put any of it together. I figure why should I be penalized for these recruiters lying to me. Of course all my paperwork and identification is perfect but I have not faxed any of it off yet. So remember to not use your real names or phone numbers or the same email addresses.

And for sure - due not make any username, account name, email address etc. out of your initials or your real name or your birth date, etc. If you have something to hide, these company's will find it. I have nothing to worry about but still take the precautions.

Peace and happiness to all.

 

you sure they dont have somebody tracking you right now---quick--look out the window--see that white van---i bet they are listening to your every move--make sure you get a decoy if you leave the house today and good look defeating CHAOS

 

hey, why dont you swing by the edwardsville swift terminal, i'll take you out for wings at Hooters. =) heck, maybe even a nice imported handrolled cigar.

 

hey sockit2me,

dunno what to tell ya about the recruiters. Its too bad that there are some people out there who base the whole company on one or three recruiters, and then think the whole company sucks. Kinda like seeing a few swift drivers who cant back up without causing $1000 in damage, then saying "all swift drivers suck, and cant back".

When i went thru the whole process, going thru the recruiter, school, orientation, and then the 6 weeks on my mentors truck, i treated it like the whole process was a job application/interview. You wouldn't give someone giving you an interview face to face any attitude or be crass, would ya?? If you did, then i'd expect not to get the job.

that being said....inverters. I was told during school AND orientation, that anything that can be run off the cigarette lighter can be used......even the little inverters. I have 2-100w inverters, and one thats 400w or something....it has two outlet plug-ins. Unless they're out there, TVs draw too much power for a plug-in inverter....least the ones i've looked at or tried. Heck, when i first got my truck issued to me, i tried taking a microwave on. EEEEEHHHHHHHHHH .... nope...not even close. Only inverters that will run your TV/Microwave/etc. will be the ones that are 1000w-2000w, and those have to be hard-wired onto the batteries. If you're caught with one of those in a company truck.....automatic termination. Thats why i'm looking to find a truck 3rd party and lease it on....cause i want a microwave, fridge and a disco ball. =)

 

So no mini's or anything in a swift truck? Bummer.

Wonder if its enough to run my laptop o.o

 

Not to bring up old stuff, but this is inaccurate. With the Werner logs, if you keep the truck under 35 mph, it doesn't register. The company will swear up and down if you even breath wrong on the truck they will know about it. There have been plenty of times when I moved my truck in the parking lot and even took it out on the street without setting it off. Now if you happen to pass over one of their grid lines (highly unlikely) while doing it, then you're screwed. You just have to learn how to play the game. There are lots of ways to manipulate your logs and most Werner drivers know this...

 

Sock It To Me: I'm normally not one to do this but your post has just striked me in so many ways. Ex Law Enforcement or not....how in the world do you decide a person is a drug addict/user just because they talk fast? I talk pretty fast and I know first hand that I dont do any drugs that aren't prescribed by my doctor. You make so many assumptions as to the person's character based off a phone conversation. That is LUDACRIS! In my opinion...like I said MY OPINION....you are full of it. If you have all these top secret clearances, exp with LE & fortune 500 companies.....why are you now looking into a trucking career? I do believe I would have stuck it out with one of the other companies. Now don't get me wrong...I don't speak anything negative on the trucking industry because I don't personally work in it, but that seems like a big gamble to leave that background to drive a truck.

If all the talk about recruiters is true (ie: bringing TONS of people in because they are paid by the bodies entering the door) why in the world would they find any and/or all reasons to keep you away from coming? If the company doesn't offer you any promises of being hired (on paper) if you attend orientation, what is the gamble they are taking? I do believe if everything else I have read on recruiters is accurate then they will pass any person through the door that applies.

Sorry for calling my bs card here but a lot of the info in your post raises big red flags in my head