Veriha, Swift, Or Prime

Liz I am not going to offer anything that should influence your decision. I could easily sell you on Swift, but it's not "who I am" or what I stand for.

Your thought process on this needs to shift from an outward focus on the company to more of an inward focus on Liz. Every company represented that offers Paid CDL Training Programs provides a great opportunity for any motivated and focused driver to learn and eventually succeed.

I am going to leave you with this thought...the same things Rainy (Kearsey) loves about Prime are likely similar if not identical to the things I love about Swift. Does that surprise you? She could be wildly successful with Swift, as I could be wildly successful with Prime. It's not usually about the company but about the driver; their character, their work ethic and their moxie.

Good drivers can be successful with most any company. Please think about that for a bit and when I have more time I'll provide the details of "why" I continue to drive for Swift.

Liz I am not going to offer anything that should influence your decision. I could easily sell you on Swift, but it's not "who I am" or what I stand for.

Your thought process on this needs to shift from an outward focus on the company to more of an inward focus on Liz. Every company represented that offers Paid CDL Training Programs provides a great opportunity for any motivated and focused driver to learn and eventually succeed.

I am going to leave you with this thought...the same things Rainy (Kearsey) loves about Prime are likely similar if not identical to the things I love about Swift. Does that surprise you? She could be wildly successful with Swift, as I could be wildly successful with Prime. It's not usually about the company but about the driver; their character, their work ethic and their moxie.

Good drivers can be successful with most any company. Please think about that for a bit and when I have more time I'll provide the details of "why" I continue to drive for Swift.

Thank you for the clarity G-Town. I think what you just said helped immensely. I believe that I fell into the overthinking trap. I do tend to be an over thinker. Lil late here will fill y’all in a later.

Thanks again

Prime has high starting pay and longer training. We have much better terminals and amenities than most companies, and bonuses/rewards that many companies do not. Not even G Town can argue with that.

But not everyone cares about those things. If your idea of success is get trained and get rolling, you will do well anywhere by managing your time and trip planning. If you want "perks" along with that.... for example I have a $200 bonus i can spend in the terminal , so i'm getting my hair done and a massage tomorrow for free in our terminal's spa. Donna on another thread just got the first of 3 jackets as a reward for Safety.

Our owner is on site and walks around the terminal talking to drivers and plays basketball with them daily. we have a ton of info at our fingertips. And we have one of the highest percentages of women drivers... so no need to feel weird talking to mechanics or other drivers. they are used to us.

I am a snob. I want an APU. i want my cat on board (many companies only allow dogs). I want a company that pays for my truck to be washed regularly (i was shocked not all companies do this). I love having an Oasis at the terminal to break up my month out. I love having a detail shop that will clean the inside or install anything i want such as refridgerators, TV or shelves.

and i love the "family" feel as i walk through the place.

i know drivers who never go to the terminals and just run run run. I drive hard, play hard lol

Terminal:

A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.

HOS:

Hours Of Service

HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.

APU:

Auxiliary Power Unit

On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.

Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.

Prime has high starting pay and longer training. We have much better terminals and amenities than most companies, and bonuses/rewards that many companies do not. Not even G Town can argue with that.

Most of the larger carriers have performance bonus pay. Swift has a tiered bonus structure that can pay up to 6-8cpm if the higher plateaus like Platinum or Diamond are achieved.

Update: I’m starting in 10 days with Prime. I listened researched and looked inside me to figure the best match for me. All the choices I narrowed down to were all close. We all find our place and this is the one for me.

So now that I am settled on my company choice, when do the nervous jitters dissipate? Asking for a friend. 🤔🤣

Are you going to Pittston?

Please, keep us informed about ur journey. Im curious to hear how it goes.

Good luck!

Update: I’m starting in 10 days with Prime. I listened researched and looked inside me to figure the best match for me. All the choices I narrowed down to were all close. We all find our place and this is the one for me.

So now that I am settled on my company choice, when do the nervous jitters dissipate? Asking for a friend. 🤔🤣

Are you going to Pittston?

Please, keep us informed about ur journey. Im curious to hear how it goes.

Good luck!

Update: I’m starting in 10 days with Prime. I listened researched and looked inside me to figure the best match for me. All the choices I narrowed down to were all close. We all find our place and this is the one for me.

So now that I am settled on my company choice, when do the nervous jitters dissipate? Asking for a friend. 🤔🤣

Yes going to Pittston will keep y’all updated!

Prime has high starting pay and longer training. We have much better terminals and amenities than most companies, and bonuses/rewards that many companies do not. Not even G Town can argue with that.

Most of the larger carriers have performance bonus pay. Swift has a tiered bonus structure that can pay up to 6-8cpm if the higher plateaus like Platinum or Diamond are achieved.

I correct my wording.... "Not even G Town can argue Prime has longer training and better terminals" Agreed?

I know this for a fact as I have seen not only other company terminals, but our Salt Lake City terminal was indeed a another major carrier's terminal and Prime knocked it down completely and is building a replica of the amazing Springfield MO terminal.

And MANY companies have a "productivity bonus" and no safety or fuel bonus.... some have one or the other.

What G Towm just described as Swift's bonus structure is indeed true, and i am well aware.. However, that is Prime's fuel bonus alone. In addition we have Safety bonuses at 1cpm, On Time Delivery bonuses at 1cpm, plus quarterly bonuses, Top Driver of the Fleet bonuses, bonuses for filling out surveys, and a reward point system for fueling at the terminal. We also get bonuses for passing DOT inspections and random bonuses for handling certain situations properly. (I once got $100 for insisting I bring a reefer for repairs. It could have damaged products).

Some companies without APUs do not give fuel bonuses because they expect people to idle the trucks. Some only do quaterly bonuses for productivity.

So my point is that every company will have a different bonus structure and some have more bonus opportunity than others. Prime is one of those companies with more opportunities than some others.

And this thread is a great indication how drivers will vehemently defend their own company.

He loves Swift, I love Prime.

Do not base a decision on accessory pay. I was simply answering a question.

Terminal:

A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.

DOT:

Department Of Transportation

A department of the federal executive branch responsible for the national highways and for railroad and airline safety. It also manages Amtrak, the national railroad system, and the Coast Guard.

State and Federal DOT Officers are responsible for commercial vehicle enforcement. "The truck police" you could call them.

CPM:

Cents Per Mile

Drivers are often paid by the mile and it's given in cents per mile, or cpm.

Reefer:

A refrigerated trailer.

HOS:

Hours Of Service

HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.

APU:

Auxiliary Power Unit

On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.

Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.

APUs:

Auxiliary Power Unit

On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.

Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.

Congratulations on making a decision Liz!

Good luck at Prime and let us know how you are doing.

For the record;

I am not arguing with anyone here or debating on a point for point basis the merits of going with Swift vs. Prime vs Other. However I will "call-out" when anyone (including a moderator) paints an inaccurate or incomplete picture of any company, including Prime.

My reply to your post Kearsey, was about providing complete information on what I know about Swift, in this case their performance/safety bonus structure. It accounts for up to 14% of my annual pay, so it's significant and highly relevant to this thread.

Since I will never claim to know much more than superficial information about any company other than Swift, I will only represent that which I know (usually void of opinions), and not offer a comparative "value" analysis between Swift and other competing companies. I made that very clear in my initial reply to Liz that "I will not try to sell her on Swift". Further to the point, I will not compromise objectivity when someone is trying to make a decision like this.