Ghosting Your Company

I highly suggest you stick it out with Swift and look into switching divisions if needed. I thought Costco was very efficient in their loading and unloading? Kearsey did an article Are drop and hooks better than live loads?. Some places I go to are drop and hook and it actually takes me longer to get going than if I was live loaded. You need to do inspections on both trailers, track down loaded trailer and you may pick up a trailer that is unsafe because the previous driver was too negligent or lazy to inspect and report defects. Now you're sitting there waiting on roadside assist for several hours. Ask Packrat how that goes, i cant remember if it was with Knight or CFI but he had 3 out of 4 trailers I believe in ONE WEEK that he needed to get fixed before he could get rolling. There's no guarantee your load will be ready on time either. Looking at your post history you have roughly 8 months of experience and you're looking at leaving your 2nd job in that time. You haven't proven yourself in this industry YET and definitely not at swift. You're becoming a job hopper and it will affect you negatively even if you go back to an office.

Another member, Harvest, had decided to go back to Prime to finish the training after deciding trucking wasnt for him. He recently decided to give it another shot and Prime sent him home. His previous employer said he isnt eligible for re-hire due to how he quit and that's a red flag for most companies. I highly doubt that Schneider or Swift would re-hire you if you handle things this way.

I agree with the previous answers but will throw in my two cents anyway.

1) Have some integrity and do the right thing with a proper notice

2) Call to find out how you can get what you need with the company your at. Swift is huge, I’m sure there’s something for you there. I didn’t like the miles I got my first week solo. I talked about it with my FM and got a 1200 mile load followed by an 800 mile load. Managers can’t fix it if you don’t communicate

3) stick it out a bit. Two weeks of tenure is not enough time to decide on a career. It’s not even enough time to get the seat adjusted to your liking.

4) Take a look in the mirror. If you didn’t like “the office” and a very short stint at Schneider and Swift didn’t suit you, what makes you think you’ll like the next job any better. I think the problem may have more to do with that person staring back at you in the mirror than it does with anyone or any company.

I highly suggest you stick it out with Swift and look into switching divisions if needed. I thought Costco was very efficient in their loading and unloading? Kearsey did an article Are drop and hooks better than live loads?. Some places I go to are drop and hook and it actually takes me longer to get going than if I was live loaded. You need to do inspections on both trailers, track down loaded trailer and you may pick up a trailer that is unsafe because the previous driver was too negligent or lazy to inspect and report defects. Now you're sitting there waiting on roadside assist for several hours. Ask Packrat how that goes, i cant remember if it was with Knight or CFI but he had 3 out of 4 trailers I believe in ONE WEEK that he needed to get fixed before he could get rolling. There's no guarantee your load will be ready on time either. Looking at your post history you have roughly 8 months of experience and you're looking at leaving your 2nd job in that time. You haven't proven yourself in this industry YET and definitely not at swift. You're becoming a job hopper and it will affect you negatively even if you go back to an office.

Another member, Harvest, had decided to go back to Prime to finish the training after deciding trucking wasnt for him. He recently decided to give it another shot and Prime sent him home. His previous employer said he isnt eligible for re-hire due to how he quit and that's a red flag for most companies. I highly doubt that Schneider or Swift would re-hire you if you handle things this way.

Funny thing is Schneider still sends me emails asking for me to come back. I’ve tried to take them up on their offer. However, now they say the Target dedicated account I was on requires one year of experience now rather than six months.

This abandoned equipment example comes to mind:

At Millis, if you ditch your truck like a spoiled child, the ex-employee is charged something like $1.75 per mile to have the equipment recovered. The mileage is calculated round-trip, and calculated from the headquarters in Black River Falls, WI.

After that, THEN it goes on your DAC report, too. Don't want to pay it? They get a judgement which goes on your credit report until it's paid in full, plus interest.

Sure, go ahead and abandon the truck some place, That'll show 'em!

I think it’s time for me to realize trucking isn’t for me.

Steve, do you understand any of the core principles we teach here? Do you understand performance-based pay? Do you realize how easy it is to make yourself stand out in this business? I mean if a person just does their job halfway efficiently they ought to be able to get a grip on how this stuff works.

Look, we completely understand the difficulties of starting this career. We've all experienced those rookie frustrations. That's why we teach people to make a commitment to staying at their first driving job for a minimum of one year. Personally I like to see people give it two years. You're already fed up after only two weeks at Swift!

You're complaining that the companies have made statements that enticed you in, but then they aren't keeping their word. Do you realize how many times we've heard that? Typically those kinds of comments come from new drivers who aren't cutting the mustard. They're frustrated because they're going broke yet working hard. They simply don't understand how to make a go of it, and it's no wonder they think jumping ship is the solution.

Why haven't you been asking us how to manage your clock and your hours so you can be effective? Why haven't you asked us for some advice on how to build a relationship with your dispatcher that benefits both of you? Why haven't you just said, "Help me out guys - I apparently don't know what I'm doing - I need some advice!" We would have been all over that, and you might have learned something helpful.

No, here's where you decided to go. You wanted to tell us the two companies you've worked with lied to you so you're gonna quit. You see, we all know better than that. You are working for companies that are well represented by drivers in here. We know they treat people great. They especially treat people well who show some inclination and drive to succeed at this.

There's a big hole missing in this story. Of course, I know what it is. You chose to tell us all about the dishonesty from the trucking companies but you never got around to telling us about your paychecks or your clock management. You see, a driver's paycheck tells him how he's doing. If he's doing a great job then he's making money and he's happy. When a greenhorn is going broke then he's convinced he's getting cheated and lied to. It's an age-old story repeated for generations.

I know you had a specific question about "ghosting," but it was pretty bold of you to ask it. No professional conducts himself like that. Even your needing to ask the question speaks volumes about your approach to this career. Go find something you can do that doesn't require you to be good at it. Don't waste your time trying to compete in this environment. It's kind of obvious you don't have the inspiration to improve your game so you can compete. You'll fit in better where you can blend into an office environment and not really be counted on for much.

It's a good thing that Steve doesn't like trucking because after reading all this I wouldn't hire him and neither would anyone else.

Trucking is not for everybody, Steve. Good luck with your life.

I think it’s time for me to realize trucking isn’t for me.

Steve have you been understanding any of the core principles we teach here? Do you understand about performance based pay? Do you realize how easy it is to make yourself stand out in this business. I mean if a person just does their job halfway efficiently they ought to be able to get a grip on how this stuff works.

Look, we completely understand the difficulties of starting this career. We've all experienced those rookie frustrations. That's why we teach people to make a commitment to staying at their first driving job for a minimum of one year. Personally I like to see people give it two years. You're already fed up after only two weeks at Swift!

You're complaining that the companies have made statements that enticed you in, but then they aren't keeping their word. Do you realize how many times we've heard that? Typically those kind of comments come from new drivers who aren't cutting the mustard. They're frustrated because they're going broke yet working hard. They simply don't understand how to make a go of it, and it's no wonder when they think jumping ship is the solution.

Why haven't you been asking us how to manage your clock and your hours so you can be effective? Why haven't you asked us for some advice on how to build a relationship with your dispatcher that benefits the both of you? Why haven't you just said, "Help me out guys - I apparently don't know what I'm doing - I need some advice!" We would have been all over that, and you might have learned something helpful.

No, here's where you decided to go. You wanted to tell us the two companies you've worked with lied to you so you're gonna quit. You see, we all know better than that. You are working for companies that are well represented by drivers in here. We know they treat people great. They especially treat people well who show some inclination and drive to succeed at this.

There's a big hole missing in this story. Of course I know what it is. You chose to tell us all about the dishonesty from the trucking companies but you never got around to telling us about your paychecks or your clock management. You see a drivers paycheck tells him how he's doing. If he's doing a great job then he's making money and he's happy. When a greenhorn is going broke then he's convinced he's getting cheated and lied to. It's an age old story repeated for generations.

I know you had a specific question about "ghosting," but it was pretty bold of you to ask it. No professional conducts himself like that. Even your needing to ask the question speaks volumes about your approach to this career. Go find something you can do that doesn't require you to be good at it. Don't waste your time trying to compete in this environment. It's kind of obvious you don't have the inspiration to improve your game so you can compete. You'll fit in better where you can blend into an office environment and not really be counted on for much.

Thank you for taking the time to respond. Your insight is helpful.

Steve, I sometimes fear I'm sounding harsh. I'll tell you what it is. I really get frustrated with myself for not communicating well when trying to help people with this career. I deal with people every day that are struggling with trucking. It frustrates me that they are exposed to so much misinformation. I think you're in that camp.

You've probably listened to other drivers complaining and thought, "if this is as bad as these guys say then I'm just going to switch companies." That never solves the problems. Honestly, I know drivers who've been switching trucking companies for twenty years. They can never figure out why they are struggling so badly in their career.

I'm determined to come up with something to help you guys figure it out. I'm inspired by your struggles. Your struggles are real, and they can be demoralizing. One of these days I'm going to have some sort of influence that helps some of you new guys get a grip on how to make it out here. I'm hard at developing some things to assist new drivers. I look forward to being influential in an effort that will ease the learning curve and help newcomers get themselves established at this rewarding career.

Old School... I will be looking forward to to what you come up with as I will be starting this venture as soon as my wife is fully recovered from her procedure (this spring)

Although the formula seems pretty straight forward its most likely harder to accomplish then it sounds, maybe not for the right kind of person. I believe it goes. absorb as much as you can during training, Be safe, don’t hit anything, be on time, stay in touch with dispatch, don't complain, stay away from the rats.

What do you all think about ghosting a company? It would seem in this day and age with companies abruptly shutting down makes ghosting a more tenable thing. Ghosting is where you just up and leave the company with no communication etc.

I left Schneider with a text message to my DBL after raising concerns about raises that I was told I’d get but never did. Didn’t mind that job on the Target dedicated account the pay just wasn’t there.

Now I’m at Swift and considering ghosting them. Was told it was 90% drop and hook but it’s been 100% live unloads/loads on the Costco account.

I think it’s time for me to realize trucking isn’t for me. Guess I’m stuck going back to the office :(

Don't know if you go the Costco in Monrovia but they are one efficient operation.

I don't go there often but when I do it usually is a 3 hour procedure to live unload/load me. And that's from getting in the gate, getting to the door and getting back out.

They are sticklers for appt times so if you get there early you'll sit. But at least they give you a place to sit :)

Most DCs really suck. Today I went to P&G. Good lord. Total Charlie Foxtrot.

In my little LTL world, Costco rules.