Pros And Cons Of Swift

Ok everybody, AdkMatt's report is another example for you to see of how a rookie doesn't really understand the whole protocol of how you get things done

I totally agree and what stood out to me was this:

the truck shakes violently around 55mph or so....I told them what was wrong with it, but nobody was interested in getting any of it fixed

This right here is a good example of how an ordinary situation for an experienced driver can be a nightmare for a rookie. Drivers are responsible for making sure the truck is safe and legal before driving it. It would be nice if every mechanical detail of the truck was perfect, but it won't be. So you will have to tolerate some issues from time to time until you can get them repaired, but you don't compromise on safety.

The truck shaking violently at 55mph is obviously a safety issue so believe me, a ton of people at your company would be quite interested in getting that fixed. I don't know who you spoke with or what they said, but if they weren't interested in having you get the repairs done then you were speaking with the wrong people.

An experienced driver that has a truck with safety issues simply doesn't drive the truck until they are fixed. If you speak with someone and they try to get you to drive it anyways, then speak with someone else. There's no reason to get upset about it. There's no reason to draw crazy conclusions about a company with 40,000 employees because one of them doesn't understand your immediate need to get repairs done. You simply say, "I'll be ready to roll as soon as the mechanics make this truck safe for the highways" - simple as that. No big deal. Not everyone is going to care, nor will everyone understand. But as a driver you aren't worried about those people. You simply speak with the right people and insist that things get done the right way.

As a rookie we're all totally clueless when it comes to pretty much everything about our jobs, our company, and the industry we work in. It's brutal. You really just have to focus on surviving each day and learning all you can.

Old School talks a lot about learning how to get things done in this industry and that's probably one of most difficult (or nearly impossible) things to teach a rookie. Learning how to get repairs done, how to get loaded and unloaded ahead of schedule, how to talk your way out of tickets, how to get better runs with more miles, and things of that nature are critical to your happiness and success out there. Learning to be a creative problem solver and an efficient operator out there is going to have a major impact on your wallet.

There are a lot of drivers out there who are great at handling a rig but not so great at handling everything else. At some level they are often lacking in people skills, motivation, discipline, and creative thinking and it has a major impact on the miles they get and the money they make. There is no shortcut to learning how to handle life on the road. It simply takes a lot of time, hard work, and tough lessons along the way.

I emphasize this a lot and I need to emphasize it more - as a rookie, try to reserve passing judgments about anything related to the trucking industry until you understand it better. Things like company policies, operations, load planning, dispatching, mechanical repair procedures, and things of that nature - you don't know squat about any of that in the beginning. Instead of thinking, "This company sucks" every time something doesn't go as you expected it to, tell yourself, "Well maybe this makes sense on some level but I can't figure it out at this point" and try to go with the flow. If something is confusing or doesn't seem to make sense then ask a lot of questions. The best thing you can do is come here and ask because we're experienced drivers but we're neutral in our assessment of situations. We have no interest in taking sides. We'll evaluate the situation and give you our honest opinion about what's going on and how to handle it.

I'm going to sprinkle a little bit of pessimism into the mix here. I attended Swift's driving academy in Memphis this past November, went to orientation and 200 hours behind the wheel with a mentor in December, and now I've been solo with for a little over a week. So since you are going to do 3rd party training, I'll leave that part of the experience out.

The mentorship was alright. I actually kind of enjoyed it for awhile. However, my trainer was different from most. We didn't drive teams like most students do after the 50 hour mark. Because I was the only one that drove, there was a lot that I didn't get to do because he wanted to keep running as much as possible. He did all the trip planning, he dealt with almost everything on the qualcomm , and he seldom let me back the truck on my own without some kind of input. The bad part is that now that I'm solo, things are rather scary for me at the moment because I never really got to do anything on my own.

So speaking of going solo... well, it's not going great to be honest. Firstly, I'm technically running without a driver manager at the moment, because I was told that there "aren't enough DM's" to handle anyone new at the moment. What? If that wasn't bad enough, they didn't have a truck available for me at the terminal when it was time for me to go solo. So they gave me a bus ticket to Jackson, Mississippi, and gave me an address of where I'd find my truck. I wasn't informed of it, but this truck has been abandoned by the previous driver. Garbage everywhere, reeking of cigarette smoke, batteries drained, all the permits were out of date, equipment missing, broken vent in the sleeper (so freezing cold air bellows in all night). You name it, there was something wrong with it.

So I got a load and took it back to Memphis (also finding out that the truck shakes violently around 55mph or so). I told them what was wrong with it, but nobody was interested in getting any of it fixed (comfort nor mechanical issues). So all I have to work with is a filthy truck that's falling apart and my mentor's DM to help me with some issues if I need him. Just yesterday, I was given two loads: one delivering in Philadelphia tomorrow, and the other going to Atlanta. This load had an issue and couldn't be delivered today, so I declined the next GA load. I was sent a message back basically forcing me to recommit to the load, even though I KNOW it was going to be late. So I contacted my interm DM and he told me that I was being played by the load planners and to re-decline the load.

So at this point, I'm not really sure who I'm supposed to trust at this company (besides other drivers, they're pretty good people). I didn't want to write a whole topic on this because I know the other forum users would look at it as another Swift-bashing post. I'm not ready to say that I hate the company, but this first impression has certainly made things sour for me so far. I'm going to stick with it though. I know how important getting that OTR experience is to getting new opportunities.

So if you made it this far and still want more information, ask away, haha.

(By the way, Errol, congrats on the 1 year at Swift! Yes, I saw your name on the anniversary board, haha)

AdkMatt- Thanks for posting- I sincerely hope you keep posting. Isn't that a main purpose of TT- to help rookies?

Small update on my situation. My new DM just called me to introduce himself. Told me that he drove for 25 years and had no problem answering every stupid question I might have for him, haha. Definitely get to breathe a sigh of relief now, haha. He even has a conference call every week so his drivers can chat with one another.

That sounds awesome, Matt. I have heard fine things about Swift.

old school you are very helpful I just want to say thanks from all of us rookies thanks a bunch

Ok everybody, AdkMatt's report is another example for you to see of how a rookie doesn't really understand the whole protocol of how you get things done. We had Christine give us a similar experience just the other day.

He's appalled at the condition of a truck he had to "recover" and considers it as a sign of how bad the company is. But any experienced driver knows that they're likely to find feces smeared all over the inside of an abandoned truck or even worse. Pristine tractors don't ever need to be recovered - it's the whacko drivers who leave their tractors somewhere odd and then quit and go home. They've usually failed badly and target their misguided frustration at the company by leaving them a ridiculous cleaning job.

Errol pointed out how to use the proper macros to communicate successfully. Most rookies want to talk about things with their managers, but soon you learn that electronic communications usually do not get ignored due to the fact that there is a written record of how the communication went.

There are things like what these two "new to the industry" folks are experiencing that turn many away at the beginning of their careers, but if you hang in there long enough and learn from the kind of folks who are here at Trucking Truth you'll find out how to get yourself to a level of experience in this business that is both rewarding and very satisfying.

It's tricky at best when you first get started, but being humble and teachable will go a long ways toward helping you lay hold of success in your initial trucking job.