My husband came home after finishing up 6 weeks with his mentor going back and forth to Phoenix on a dedicated run. The problem with this was that his mentor was an owner/operator and didn't teach my husband anything about being a company driver.
His first 2 weeks as a Swift Driver were hell. Pure and simple hell. His driver manager is a complete idiot. The communication (?) is severely impaired to the point that there really is none. The guy goes on 2 and 3 hour lunch breaks and no one covers for him.
My husband at first didn't even know how to fuel! His mentor was an owner/operator and the fueling procedure is completely different when you drive for the company. He was stuck for 2 hours at a gas station while he found out the policy for fueling. Again, lack of communication on the part of the DM.
The next horrible thing that happened was he was chosen for a routine drug test. Of course my husband does not do drugs and will pee in a cup on a seconds notice. However. The DM didn't tell him he had an appointment in Phoenix to get that test, so he was charged with being late to the point of REFUSING to be drug tested.
They told him he was terminated. He put up enough of a fight that they checked into it and found out that no, he was not told about the appointment and, ok, he's not fired after all. It left him shaken to the point that he was actually SHAKING.
He has been left sitting for days with no loads. He has been given wrong directions. He has been left sitting on hold for an hour at a time. He has not been told important information.
Today, after 48 hours off, he's back on the road. He goes to pick up a load in Venture, CA, and they overloaded him by 1400 lbs. He scaled at the company, and again, no one told him he had to re-scale at the next truck scale. When he finally did scale, he was cited for being over. He had to wait for a tow truck to come get his excess load. Of course neither his mentor nor the DM told him the procedure for being overloaded.
If Swift makes him pay the citation, he's quitting and getting a lawyer. The lack of training at this company is criminal. The trucks are pieces of crap and he says he finds a new screw or bolt on the floor every day. He's on his third truck in only 2 weeks. State of the ART? What a JOKE. The trailers are falling apart and the landing gear cranks are all bent.
So far, we're not impressed. We kept hoping things would get better, but instead they are piling upon the bad side! We actually thought it was just a learning curve and next week would be better. Well, a citation on the first day is NOT better.
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