Settling In At Swift

"I also get the impression that I get the jobs nobody else wants.....if you could enlighten me on that one I would appreciate it. The reason I say this is that if I do refuse a job, it keeps coming back at me until I accept it. Usually the short distance ones with no miles and no money attached to them ;-)"

That's because you're a rookie. Sounds cruel but its true. You still need to prove yourself. To prove that you're a safe and reliable driver and that you can always be on time. The miles are always short when starting out and it didnt get much better for me until about 6 months.

Do not ever refuse a load. Seriously. Take what they give you and take it with a smile and say "thank you". Now is not the time to be picky. If you're refusing loads then its not helping your cause, it's actually making it worse.

Overall you're getting good miles. Just remember that you're still a rookie in their eyes and YOU need to prove yourself to them. They aren't going to give a critical load that must deliver on time to someone who isn't trusted with it yet. Some loads are customers who absolutely want it on time and if its late they aren't happy with the company. So if you're in your load planners shoes, would you rather give it to the rookie or a driver you know will make it on time. Why risk an important customer. That's why you get the "scraps".

It happens to everyone when they're just starting out. Be safe and deliver on time always and things will gradually get better for you.

"I also get the impression that I get the jobs nobody else wants.....if you could enlighten me on that one I would appreciate it. The reason I say this is that if I do refuse a job, it keeps coming back at me until I accept it. Usually the short distance ones with no miles and no money attached to them ;-)"

Unless you are a lease op or owner op then the reason you keep getting the same loads given to you that you are refusing is because your a company driver. You have to take the loads that are given to you. Northeast? Tough. Florida? Tough. Downtown LA during rush hour? Tough. Company drivers are forced dispatched.

Sounds like you have refused more than one load. Now THAT would be the reason why your dispatch is stand offish with you. Refusing loads can and will be the death of your driving career if you are not careful.

Yeah, as far as refusing loads - remeber that every load has to be moved by someone. If you don't want em, chances are nobody else does either. So dispatch gets in a spot where they have a list of loads everyday that nobody wants on top of all of the other work they have to do.

The driver-dispatcher relationship is really about trading favors. You run some lousy runs, they'll reward you with some great ones. If you never want to do any of the dirty work then they never want to give you any of the gravy runs.

Take the approach that you'll do whatever they ask but then you'd like to get a favor in return soon after. And don't be shy about reminding them because we're all human and sometimes they'll forget or lose track. You might run two short runs in a row without complaint. Before they even give you the next assignment, just drop a polite note to dispatch sayingL

"Hey, I don't mind running these short ones sometimes but can you throw a dog a bone and get me a nice one so I can have a solid paycheck this week? Thanks!"

Simple as that. And also keep in mind they're not magicians. They can't just pull a rabbit out of their hat on cue. It make take a couple of runs before a gravy run becomes available. But if you show them the willingness to do the dirty work without complaint they'll definitely be willing to reward you in return. That's how a good driver-dispatcher relationship works.