This is how it started and please read all of this as it is all important!
I read an add in the paper that said some thing like, CDL driver, company paid training available, home weekends, Swift Transportation. I make the call, I spoke to a recruiter who some what knew what she was talking about. She told me this; I will be entering swift accademy of driving, 12hrs a day for 3 weeks 7 days a week, my room will be paid for all I need to do is supply my own food and what ever I need to live on, I will need a money order for $150.00 dollars which I find out later pays for all the DMV tests.
On the 4th week I will be sent home for 1 week and brought back for 3 days of orientation. (30 days total) and I will begin a 6 week on the road mentorship with a mentor. (not all recruiters will tell you all this alot you find out as you go) I gave her my info and in a course of 2 or 3 weeks I was on a bus to Memphis TN which Swift paid for.
I arrive in TN and Swift puts me up in a motel room to be shared with 3 other men (4 to a room) The room is furnished, has a small kitchen, cable TV and was kept clean, not to bad so far. The next day I go through a very extensive physical and drug test and by the way if you can't pass a drug test don't bother showing up because they won't pay to send you back home, if you fail the physical part they will pay for you to get home, fair enough. (this is day 1 and takes about 12 hours to process everyone) so be prepared to do a lot of waiting around. If you need to eat their are vending machines and some times a food truck comes at lunch not every day though. You won't be eating like at home, be prepared for long tireing days and if you smoke ciggs those who have none will begg off you and it's annoying to say the least.
Now here is where it starts getting wierd. The next day I get ready for 5:15am to take a swift bus back to the accademy after about 4 hrs of sleep and no breakfast because there is no place to get it and no time. Day 2.in class we are then told we are being taken to DMV which Swift has on thier own establishment, pretty cool, and our license will be taken and thrown away and a TN permit will be issued to us because TN law requires you to be a resident for 30 days in order to aquire a CDL license which means you become a tempory TN resident and the address used is the motel where your staying at. (note if you succeed you are required to change your license back in the state you live in when you get home and all states and fees differ, for example where I live in CT I must wait 6 months and pay about $100.00 bucks and Im not even sure that DMV employee knew what she was talking about, people don't like to work) Just expect the unexspected.
OK, day 3. This is when they explain the tuition and yes there is a contract, it goes like this. Tuition will cost a total of $3,900.00 What!!! No body told me that! Oh yes you must pay this. This is what Swift does. If you succeed getting your CDL which most do, you are then hired to work for Swift at a starting wage of 26 cents a mile which is equivelent to minimum wage and told you will get a minimum of 2500 miles a week (not true) your lucky to get 1800 do the math, after deductions you will cry. You have 2 days to think about it befor you sign on the dotted line but this is where they get you, if you decide this is not for you and you don't want to enter in to this contract you have to pay for your own way home and like me if you don't have a cent to your name you have no choice but to stay for the long run and Swift is powerfull enough to chase you down and collect. This is purposely done this way to trap you.
Be aware that sidistics claim that 70% of new drivers hired don't last more than 3 months for numerous reasons. So I sign my life away. What Swift will do once I go solo will deduct from my lousy pay aprrox. $37.00 a week and pay me back at the same time it's wierd, this is to be paid in a 2 year term so plan on trying to stay there for the time it takes to pay it off because in the contract you sign you give them the right to attatch your pay where ever you go and its for the maximum amount they can get because they want thier money, so if you think you were poor befor you started plan on staying that way for another year or so.
From there you work your butt off to get your license back oh by the way make sure you have no out standing tickets or you are majorly screwed. You go on complete the training and you are eventually hired, you might even get lucky enough to get a good driver manager I hear most suck, mine was good.
OK, I get a truck issued to me that I had to clean out because the last driver who had it was disgusting and I had to put it in the garage for repairs, durring that time Im supposed to be paid for the time the truck is in the garage but I never saw a penny and it didn't matter how much I complained, and I had to sit around at a Swift terminal twiddling my thumbs for a day or two. Some times they will give you a motel room you share with 1 other person if your tied up a few days going more broke.
This is the moral of the story; you won't make what your told you will make, you will be forced in to a contract, you will be treated like a piece of crap because nobody cares, you will starve your butt off, you won't get proper sleep and nourishment requied to drive safely and you won't be home on weekends, your lucky to get home at all. I got fed up and took the intionative to get home myself, Im married and I wasn't going to waste precious time sitting around in a terminal or on the side of the road because I ran out of hours on my log book. Im home right now writing this warrning because I had my wife drive 5 hours to come and save my a*
In 4 weeks I never made anough to bring a cent home to my house hold, I made just enough to live out there on the road. Swift never gave me the $500.00 bonus I was supposed to get when I delivered my first load which I planned on useing to buy a refrigerator for the truck, after deductions it would of been about $280.00 dollars and I planned on buying a GPS unit made for truckers to help me navigate because the directions they give you will get you lost, the directions to thier own terminals are wrong even.
The company sucks, I owe them about $3.800.00 dollars now and Im already looking for a better company to work for. Swift also will not give you your diploma you need to get hired from other companies untill that tuition is paid in full. Some companies aware of Swifts game will still consider you for employment providing you can prove you went to school, trained on the road and have at least 3 months driving experience and they will start you out around 30 cents per mile which is do-able. I hope this info was helpfull and God Bless and be carefull.
Bridgeportct
Bridgeport, Connecticut
U.S.A.
0 comments