Profile For Drew Oswalt

Well, the grill works great. At least with a 3000w inverter.

Steak on the grill and baked potatoes in the microwave.

Looks delicious! Glad you're able to make some great food with it. How easy is it to clean the filter? And is it doing a good job with being smokeless? Oh. And does it get too hot for inside the cab/sleeper?

Amazon has it for $150 right now and I want to buy it. But don't want to spend $300-$400 for a good 3k watt inverter.

So, did you end up buying and using this on your truck?

No. Not with an inverter supposedly rated at 1800 watts, that needs the truck on to run a 700 watt microwave. All the batteries are new too. Not taking the chance for now.

Drew I have been following along but kept my big mouth shut. You are brand new. There will be days that frustrate you, I have them time to time, we all do. It’s not about not getting frustrated, it’s all about how you handle it.

Right now your expectations are high, and your DM’s isn’t. That is the way it goes. No DM has high expectations for new drivers.

You have come into this industry at a slower time. Just the way it is. You, me, and everyone else see’s the things that directly effect us. We don’t see all the other stuff going on, like your DM see’s everyday.

We all forget stuff at times. That is life. Try and be a little more understanding in your approach. Can serve you well. If after all else fails ask for a different DM. Maybe he isn’t the best, but maybe he can be. I have fired a DM before but not before spending 5 months trying my best to make it work. Don’t be too quick to judge. Sometimes personalities just don’t click. You have too have a thick skin to survive in this business.

I don’t know you but reading along I see some things. You appear to be intelligent and you assess things quickly. That is good and bad. I am getting a feeling you are also impatient and a bit stubborn. I get it. Learn to go with the flow to a certain extent. Things will get better both for your situation of being new, as well as freight picking up. Be patient. Patience is truly a virtue and will be tested in various aspects, sometimes daily.

Thanks PJ.

Spot on with everything. Copy on your advice. Been working on it. Just takes some time to adjust.

Thank you again.

People jump ship and head to "better companies" only to be disappointed. They find things the first company did better than the present company, and never see the good in the current.

When you start at a company, you only know the procedures they have. I have a friend who left Prime and went elsewhere. He mistakenly assumed he could wash the truck, trailer and washout... the way Prime would. Company denied it!!! $110 out of his pocket. After a series of drastically different policies, he came back to Prime.

When you get truly settled, you will love Swift and think the policies of other companies are crazy. Schneider doesnt allow 8/2 splits.... would.kill me. My friend at Marten has a FM who doesnt allow the trucks to drive nights, would kill me.

As for Maintenance.... is there a Road Assist department? Or ask the Safety Dept how to go about it in the future.

If safety put you down... maybe next time message the DM "my PM is due. Last time safety put me out of service. Should I be contacting them to schedule the appointment since i perhaps did it wrong last time?" That might "push him".

Keep in mind, someone in the Safety Dept is probably reaming out the DM or operations manager. 1.) the truck was "unsafe" and had to be put out of service. 2.) A driver was prevented from making money with it. Not good from a logistics stand point.

I won't be jumping ship. Thought never crossed my mind. Grass is almost never greener. I already like Swift. All the jokes and bad-mouthing aside, they are generally a good company and want you to be a safe driver and succeed. It helps their bottom line obviously.

Thank you for your help.

Drew, I feel your frustration.

What i have learned is that every company, terminal and even DM/FM does things differently. Yes, even at Prime we have micromanaging FMs... one I call "XXX the Micromanager", and even other FMs have told me he does the same to them on his vacation and they cover him. I arrange my shop time just as Turtle does, but another FM does not let his drivers do this. When it was suggested that you get to know your DM, it is not just "know the person" it is "know how he operates".

Putting everything in the QC is not just about getting results NOW, it is about documenting the stuff that happens so that you have evidence to back up the issues when and if you do need to change DMs. It is cover your @$$ stuff. If the bosses see that you asked everyday for loads and were available, they cannot possibly blame you for low productivity.

Every FM I know has different rules of his/her own. It is possible the "20 mile parking" rule is actually about keeping fuels costs down. Perhaps he got in trouble for fuel costs and he is trying to limit it. The others on your fleet may not like his rules when they hear other fleets do not do it that way. He may also be new, and he may be making mistakes...just as you admitted you have made. We all expect them to forgive our mistakes, yet we have problems forgiving theirs.

If you noticed on another thread, MANY drivers are sitting and waiting for loads. Luckily, I have not experienced this with Prime, but I would be upset too. However, I would be expecting layover pay.. and i wouldn't need to request it either.

My suggestion is to really have a conversation with your DM and ask how HE wants you to handle things. Ask him "when I need service, what do you want me to do? How can i make life easier for both of us?" explain you really want preplans to conserve fuel and save HOS.

If I heard rumors of other drivers getting stuck with the loaner situation you described, i would be asking "how can we prevent this from happening to me, im scared".

You stated you dont trust him, but you want him to trust you. Its a two way thing.... and you need to work on the communication to build the relationship... whether with this guy or another later.

good luck.

Thanks Kearsey.

I actually expected you to tear me a new one if you added to this post. Thanks for not doing so.

I have talked to him at the office a couple times and went over expectations. I told him I can run for 8-10 weeks at a time. I don't need to go home every month. I will to commit to Swift for at least 18 months and wouldn't mind sticking with them for the rest of my driving career. I know people jump ship quickly. A couple left as soon as the got their CDL. And I know people have been with Swift for over 15-20 years.

I did ask him and other DMs, what I need to do in regards to getting the truck serviced. They all said don't worry. But no one followed through. Even though I brought it up 5 times. This is where the frustration really set in.

Any way. I appreciate your advice. I dunno if this post will make it.

G-Town points out:

We are collectively trying to help you focus on what matters

I have been following this conversation since there beginning. Drew, I'm not sure if you haven't cleared your mind enough to do what G-Twin suggests.

All through this tread you have been explaining things. I believe this is the wrong tack. I started with Swift about a year less than my "Joined Us" date. As a rookie, I felt I wasn't getting the miles I was entitled to. I even ended up with one or two involuntary 34 hour breaks sitting at truck stops. Once I complained in a Trucking Truth forum post. But you know, I just kept driving. If I was late, I let my DM know, and it was never because I overslept or such. If I didn't have a preplan, a message went out with my ETA and a short "What's next?"

It did take a while, but eventually I enjoyed "go-to" driver status. I got all the miles that would fit. What matters in your career, Drew? Yes, try to figure out the "what happened" part, but only to understand what you can do better next time.

Thanks Errol. I stopped stressing over miles a couple weeks ago. I did make a post last week when I was stuck in Lubbock just to get a consensus of everyone else's experience. But, I've accepted I'll get what I get and then nicely ask for more when I'm done with the previous load. When I send my macro 10 in, it always read along the lines if:

"Done with my load. I'm ready for the next one please."

Usually get a response pretty quickly one way or another. I'm not on the bottom of their priority list or don't get a response because "they're tired of dealing with me".

Always polite. Never complain to dispatch. I just couldn't keep a level head here because people just assumed I am a constant whiner to the office staff, hate my company and can't complete loads properly. Unfortunately this thread turned into me having to be defensive of my true behavior and attitude in general. Some of you made assumptions about me, I did the same back. I just made complaints here thinking it was a safe place. But the assumptions of my behavior just doesn't help.

Drew you are not successful at this...everyone who replied to you is.

We are collectively trying to help you focus on what matters. Reread everything in this thread and you will have all the answers necessary to get through this...

Dude. Seriously? I never said I'm successful. I pretty much wrote that I have a 100% on time rate and never cost my DM any money, because of a comment someone made. What is wrong with you. This is what I mean when I said people are misreading or misinterpreting what people write on the internet. I keep writing I'm still learning and will make mistakes.

And you all assumed I complain and whine to all the DMs, planners and dispatchers. I don't do that. I only made 2-3 complaints to my DM. They were about lack of loads and him not making the appointment for my truck's maintenance.

So get off your high horse.

But it's frustrating when I am told my weekly mile average is low and I do my best to keep them up

So your company is telling you this? What did they suggest you need to do to improve it?

They said they will get me loads when they can. Only thing I had to do was keep sending in macros saying I'm available for a load. Which I do.

No. None of my mistakes have caused me to be down and cost him money.

More arrogance. Unbelievable. Only a few months behind the wheel and you're perfect, everyone else is a screw-up. That's why I won't bother helping you with any specifics. You won't learn anything. You don't think you need to.

You won't get anywhere with your dispatcher, either. If we're this sick of you after one conversation, imagine how he must feel at this point. You must be dead last on the list of people he'll make any effort to help.

How is that arrogance? It's a fact. You are entitled to your opinion and feelings as I am. I have never been shut down and couldn't run because of a mistake I made.

Am I supposed to bend over and say "yeah, everything I do is wrong because I'm new. I can't say I'm on time and haven't had a major incident? Since I'm new, I am the one making the mistake, even though it's someone else?" You are being arrogant by being stuck with your opinion and saying only I am wrong and no one else can do anything wrong. I said I've made mistakes. And I will continue to do so. As long as I don't keep making the same mistakes it's ok. it's life. It's not like I'm sitting here saying I haven't learned anything or am perfect. Never gave any indication of that. I'm finding out I followed procedures, and the other people did mess up. That's not being arrogant. I'm trying to make sure this situation does not happen again. I don't know how you are reading that I have a problem with everyone at the company and I can do no wrong. This is the problem with the internet. People like to misinterpret what's written. I am guilty of that too.

And I get along with all the dispatchers and the other DMs in the office. When I'm at my home terminal they recognize me and are very helpful when my DM isn't there. Never complained to them. I'm polite and say please and thank you. Didn't even complain to them that they didn't get me scheduled for a PM, or for a lack of loads or anything. So you can think that I whine and complain constantly, but I know my behavior.

We get it, he dropped the ball and in your eyes cost you money. I'm sure he could say the same about some mistakes you've made......

No. None of my mistakes have caused me to be down and cost him money.

Has your time management been perfect? Zero wasted hours of your own doing due to trip planning? Making every appt time? Hopefully you're right but it's quite rare rookies are able to hit the ground running that well. We are NOT being placing the blame on you, but as Brett pointed out the road you're headed down WILL NOT end well. You appear to have already developed the us vs them mentality in regards to dispatch. If you're not making money either is your dispatcher. If you truly feel you've been wronged then you need to contact your DM's boss.

Yes. I am 100% on time. No service failures. I've delivered a day early when I was able and allowed to. My trainer did a great job getting me ready for that aspect of driving. He's awesome.

As I said before, dispatch has sent me to pick up empties a couple times, to not have any there. That wasted 1-2 hours of my time. But whatever. I get the system isn't perfect. I've had to sit due to lack to loads. I send my macros and try to get loads. But if there's nothing, there's nothing.

We have DMs/DLs, planners, ECTs (dunno what that stands for) and dispatchers. I don't have issues with them all. No me vs them mentality. We all have to work together to make money. And I get the system breaks down. But it's frustrating when I am told my weekly mile average is low and I do my best to keep them up. I'm not late, no time management issues, take the trips I'm sent, do my pre-trips to make sure I have to breakdowns, send in my macros, etc. But crap happens and I guess I really needed to vent.