Is This TRUE About SWIFT?

While I agree that things such as breakdown, drop and detention pay are minor in the overall scheme of the trucking pay system, they are still a part and should be considered. If I am unable to make money turning miles for reasons beyond my control and can be compensated for it at one company and not another that is something to consider. As a prime driver if I am on time for an appt and customer takes more than 2 hrs beyond appt time to unload, I am paid for that time, I have been paid over $100 to basically take a 10 or split while truck next to me is in same boat, making nothing. All that is required is a simple stamp, with times filled out. As a matter of fact, my dispatcher sends regular fleet wide msgs noting the amount of detention time missed out on by drivers failing to do such a minor thing, costing drivers, himself and the company thousands of unpaid minutes on a near weekly basis. When truck goes into shop, I also can count on paid hotel and $100/day for missed time. Again there may be another driver with truck in same shop for same amount of time who got nothing. This money could cover a bill or at least be something for the time I am unable to spend rolling or am sacrificing away from home. In the grand scheme of what I make annually, these little bits aren't settimg me up for early retirement but to imply one should not take them into account is ludicrous to be honest. These smalll gestures by a company can be an indication of how a company overall values it's drivers and the sacrifices made as ee spend lsrge chunks away from home and loved ones. My time out here is valuable to me.

As the old saying goes, "time is money"

One of the most misunderstood and misused statements is "time is money". Time isn't worth anything. Time itself is not worth money. Time is what you need in order to produce something that has value. "Time is money" is really a condensed version of what the expression should be, which is "Time used productively is money". But most people misconstrue the statement to mean that they should be paid for their time. No, you shouldn't. You should be paid for the value of what you produce.

Well to be honest, the difference between people who are successful in business and in life, and those who are not, comes down to the way they handle issues like this. As I demonstrated in another recent conversation using actual revenue numbers produced by a couple of different trucking companies, detention time amounts to less than 1% of revenues for a trucking company, and it's almost certainly going to amount to less than 2% of a driver's pay.

So while you guys are spending your time worrying about the 2% you're going to make sitting around doing nothing, I'm spending my time on the phone with dispatch and operations trying to improve the miles I'm getting which is the 98% of my pay that's going to come from getting more work done. Maybe I'll get some detention pay along the way, maybe I won't, but I'm certainly not going to spend 5 minutes thinking about it and I'm certainly not going to be discussing it with dispatch or operations. I'm going to be hounding them about more miles, more miles, more miles.

And while you guys are hoping to get your fragile egos stroked with dumb things like:

These small gestures by a company can be an indication of how a company overall values it's drivers

I'm never giving that a thought. In my opinion, that statement is total baloney. If my company wants to reward me they'll do it by keeping my average weekly mileage about 3,000 miles. That's how I'll wind up at the top of the payscale. The measly few bucks I might scrape up while waiting to get loaded doesn't amount to a piece of gum stuck to the bottom of my shoe. It's petty stuff.

You've heard the expression "step over a dollar to pick up a dime" - that's how I see this issue. Except instead of a dime, we're literally talking about a penny - about 1% or maybe 2% of your pay.

Here's how I see this kind of thing. My entire life I've watched tons of people flounder and fumble their way through life and no matter how hard they work they never seem to get anywhere. They stay broke, they never advance in their career, they never earn top pay, they start businesses that go nowhere - they just spin their wheels. If you analyze their situations, one of the most common problems these people have is that they're focusing their time, money, and energy on all of the wrong things.

They're quitting jobs because their sensitive egos aren't being stroked with tiny gestures. They're buying old broken down cars that need tons of money and time put into them. They're running their businesses based on the principle that if they're not spending any money they must be making money (a common misconception).

If you want to get anywhere in life you need to focus your time, money, and energy on the important things. Detention pay is not important. It's trivial. It's 1% of your pay.

Mileage pay is critical. It's 99% of your pay.

So when you get your dispatcher or the operations manager on the phone, are you going to waste that time worrying about that 1%, or are you going to take advantage of that opportunity to push for more miles or a newer truck that's going to spend less time in the shop?

What you need to focus on if you want to get anywhere can be summed up with two words - being productive. Worry about being productive. That is the biggest difference between business owners and employees. That is also the biggest difference between wealthy people and poor people:

Wealthy people and business owners tend to focus on how productive they are. Employees and poor people tend to focus on how much time they're putting in.

You don't create wealth by putting in time. You create wealth by producing things of value.

In trucking I've always been very hardworking and efficient. I always got a ton of work done in a short amount of time so I was always at the top of the payscale. I didn't waste my time or sully my reputation hounding people for money I felt I deserved for taking a nap. As a driver I wanted my company to give me the opportunity to be productive. If they put the miles on me they knew I would produce, so they kept giving me opportunities and I kept producing. I stayed at the top of the leaderboard for miles and pay and I never once worried about detention pay. I'm sure I got it sometimes, but that was trivial to me. Give me the miles. That's what I wanted. That's what I focused my time on. That's what I lobbied for.

Not to beat a dead horse,but Brett is on point. To make it simple, when you are a safe, productive, efficient driver, you will find your company tends to throw money at you. Example: I was getting my truck worked on. Marc Wolding came into the drivers lounge to ask if anybody wanted to do him a favor. I volunteered since it beats sitting around. I was given a loaner truck and ran 5 miles down the street to pickup 2 canned good loads. I didn't need a reset and I didn't want to sit around. I ended up getting paid $50 "zone pay" for each load, short haul premium on those loads and $20 for Detention because the second run took over 3 hrs to load. I didn't ask for any of it. I just didn't want to spend the day in the drivers lounge. I literally made $140 just because it beat twiddling my thumbs. I would of made $50 if I took the day sitting on my hands.

Brett wrote:

If my company wants to reward me they'll do it by keeping my average weekly mileage about 3,000 miles.

^^^This times 1,000^^^

Keep me moving and keep me doing what you hired me to do.

FWIW, my current company automatically pays detention after one hour if the driver is on time, but I never worry about it. I’m more concerned with how many loads I can pull a week, which is where the real money is at.

A few weeks ago when I had my truck in shop for repairs, instead of sitting around getting breakdown pay, I took a loaner or spinner, if you will, and earned a lot more money than just sitting.. and they still put me in a hotel every night, even though the spinner was a sleeper truck.

On my pay statement I received today, I was paid a huge chunk of detention time, extra pay (whatever that means lol) and extra drop pay for ?? I often have mysterious amounts added to my pay. My dispatcher takes great care of me with extra money and lots of miles. I don't expect it, ask for it, or question it.

George I think you are mixing attending Swift Academy with Employment. Not the same. While attending school you are not an employee. Once you graduate the academy, pass the CDL test and receive an invitation to attend orientation; at the point you are an employee and considered a trainee moving to the 200 hours of mentoring (road training).

I could go on...but I suggest investing time in the diaries forum. There are two active Swift diaries, both are well written and factual. Prime is also very active...

Second...take a real good look at these links:

• Truck Driver's Career Guide
• Brett's Book: The Raw Truth About Trucking (free online version)
• High Road Training Program

I will try to help you, I've been a Swift driver for over five years. Went to their school and road trained with them. There are so many, many things you have no idea of (yet) that are far more important and critical to financial success than detention pay.

Good luck and try to see the big picture as to what you are entering into.

You really need to watch yourself when you're at ground zero, and starting out in school, provided for by Swift, is ground zero. Ask the right questions.

Swift has no idea whether or not you're even going to be able to pay back what you owe them, after all is said and done. Unless they can predict the future, which I'm thinking that they probably can not. They can look at your work history, and your credit to see if you have been paying your bills. But, the burden is still all on them, when it boils down to it.

This is why I quoted what G-Town said, even though I do agree somewhat with everything else that has been said here. But, I was still looking for the answer to the question. Why wouldn't they answer the question in regards to detention pay. Well, you have your answer, 'You are merely a student at the beginning, not an employee. You're applying for school at this point, not employment. If you actually had a Class A CDL and had experience and were applying for a job with them, then I could see maybe asking this question. '. You are merely there on their dollar, at this point.

Seeing how we're shooting out old sayings here, I think this one is appropriate, ' Putting the cart before the horse. ' Don't get ahead of yourself.

Right at this moment in my life, I think I'd be getting down and kissing feet, if I even had a chance at attending school and obtaining my class A again, and having the chance presented to me to get a job with a major Trucking Company like Swift. Anyway, that's my input.

Be grateful, another good saying.

George no like y’all answers. Him go away and Swift no get driver. But your answers are spot on. But I’m just a noob that blindly signed on to a company, started working hard and after my second month volunteered to run east coast when they were short. Have told them the wife works Sunday so I’m available to leave early if needed or I’ll deliver on Saturday morning with notice. Guess what? Never had to worry about detention pay and If my truck is down and don’t have a temp to drive then every day that goes by & I don’t make drop that day I get breakdown pay and have never had to ask or remind them.

The answer really is black and white. If you're on time you will get detention after two hours. You may need to get signatures for arrival/depart times, but usually you'll get it.

People are correct that you shouldn't be worried about it. As a reefer driver I do end up getting detention pay about once a week, but that is part of pulling reefer. These grocery warehouses are not known for their speed. Instead of worrying about detention though, I plan my trip so that I can do an 8/2 split or a full 10 off at the customer. A quick phone call will let you know if they allow parking or not. As you get to know customers you will learn where you will get held up and where you wont.

If you're a top tier driver your driver manager will take care of you. As MC1371 pointed out in another post, distinguishing yourself at a megacarrier is not hard. Prove yourself and the incidental pay becomes irrelevant.

Remember if you're getting detention, layover, or breakdown pay you aren't rolling. To get break down or layover there is usually a 24 hour wait before it starts. So you have to be down for two days to earn the first $50. How much more would you have made rolling during that 48 hours?

That's exactly what I did. Thanks G-Town, that would have been a costly mistake on my part.

George I think you are mixing attending Swift Academy with Employment. Not the same. While attending school you are not an employee. Once you graduate the academy, pass the CDL test and receive an invitation to attend orientation; at the point you are an employee and considered a trainee moving to the 200 hours of mentoring (road training).