Sept 2 Just some helpful infro about swift. I am a newbie. I know I have to do my turn in the barrel. First off you are not going to get rich working for Swift. You have to many people ruling your life. Your driver manger, the planner and of course the mother Swift in Arizona. I got my truck of course it was used with may miles on it. When I broke down which was many times or had problems; dead starter, all fuses blowing out while driving no lights at all, cracked windshield, tires with nails in the them, loaded trailer with flat tires, dead batteries. I was lucky to get to truck stops to get some of these promblems fixed. When I went to the Swift terminals to get repairs done I spent may costly hours setting and waiting to get my truck fixed. I had to wait my turn, my turn came even after other trucks came in to get repairs made after I was already on the list. But I should have looked at the list because it seemed I was always on the bottom of the list. Not to sure why but I guess because I am a newbie and I heard if you grease the hands that repair the trucks that you get fast service but on the pay I am making $13,000 to date and I was hired in Nov 06 I would be broke.
The Driver manager and planners which rule my life and helped me make my money. Yes I know my house is behind my drivers seat but per housing laws it is real small. I have these people to Thank the most for my wonderful pay. I set at times waiting for loads, and at other times I have some many loads I can not pick them up as I have not even delivered the load that I still have to deliver. So much for the infromation I send to these people to let them know what I am doing. I have recieved loads that they what me to pick up when I am doing my 10 hr restart. I get bad directions and bad information about loads and times to pick them up and deliver. I have tryed to delivered loads to places that was closed for the weekends and was sent to pickup loads after the places were already closed. I was told to pick up loads at the wrong shipper and wrong loads from the correct shipper. The directions are more then not wrong. I was being sent down small roads in New York to go around a low bridge which was higher then the bridges on the highways. I have been sent past one shipper to another shipper 300 miles away and then sent back the 300 miles to the shipper I passed before which was going on the same trailer and when I got back to the shipper I passed in the morning they already went home for the day so I had to stay overnight to pick the load up the next day. I tryed to find the shipper by that name and quess what they gave me another business name with that address and I asked people how worked there for and of course no one knew of the company. I have be given a load to T Call at one termanial and thought I would be given a load close by but no I was sent to another termanial two States away to pick up a load to go in the other direction after I just passed that termanial the day before. I quess The old rule applies " THAT THE RIGHT HAND DOES NOT KNOW WHAT THE LEFT HAND KNOWS IS DOING "
Well THANK YOU for the time and I hope this helps someone but being a NEWBIE I guess that is the way the Company runs. I almost forgot about MOTHER SWIFT we were told we are using to much fuel and they want us to use less fuel. If we were not setting and waiting for good correct timely information which include good information about the load with correct directions and delivery time and not leaving us setting in our trucks in area with temps 100 degs and they give us correct and timely information maybe we would not use all that fuel. But what do I know I am just a POOR DUMB NEWBIE diong my turn in the barrel and only hope there is a good company out there that can help me make better pay then what I am making.
Once again THANK YOU for this Site and I hope this can help some other NEWBIE to give them a heads up about the trucking outfit. I can see why now trucking is looking for driver if that is all they make in a year as you are out on the road driving in bad weather, and bad driver, bad roads and real bad bridges maybe the pay at WALMART is not bad. Thank You
Newbie
Enfield, Connecticut
U.S.A.
0 comments