[Skywalker]

CFI is also going to be 35 cpm at one year, 36 cpm shortly after then 37 probably by the end of the 2d year.

The single biggest thing about CFI and Crete (and a few others) is that they pay "Practical Miles", not HHG Short miles. Practical miles pay will net you 7% to 15% MORE pay than HHG short miles.

So, when dealing with a company that pays HHG short miles....you have to multiply the "paid miles" times as much as 115% to arrive at the actual mileage that you will be driving for the lesser mileage pay.

So..you have to be careful not to compare apples to lemons....

Originally Posted by druid2874

Swift is 36 cpm by they way so yes about same as others.

To say that Swift is in the ballbark with the other guys at .36 cpm is meaningless because none of those wages are very good for a 2-year driver. That's why those companies are constantly adverstising.

Oh by the way I get better heath care then you and i dont pay for it.

He doesn't pay for his either. VA health care better, you say? I have both and (sad to say) prefer my private insurance.

[ronjon619]

Originally Posted by feederfred

Swift can only under-cut other companies because of it's constant stream of willing, warm bodies.

Under-cut is right. I just talked to a fleet-car driver yesterday. Fleet-car took over the Range Rover account out of Oxnard, CA from Swift after they threw in the towel. He could not belive the bid Swift won for moving those cars. He said it was almost half of what he gets paid to move other cars. Oh well. Keep driving down the rate.

[Toothpick]

Originally Posted by Uturn2001

The problem is not in the schooling, it is in the OTJ training afterwards.

How much training can you get from someone with possibly 6 months experience or from some LP who just wants to turn and burn miles.

Round and round... it's not 6 months it's a year, from the date of your last preventable, etc, etc, etc.

Not only that, but service failures also, and even with those requirements you?ll have very few people that will elect to become mentors and out of the ones who do elect to try their hands at it, the vast majority of them will bug out after only just one or two trainees, leaving the vast majority of the mentors remaining in the mentor program not only with more than the very laughable and mythical 6 months of driving experience, which is absolutely absurd when you think about it, but actually with years of experience not only being a driver but being a mentor as well. You see?being a mentor isn?t for every one and especially the faint of heart and is a lot more difficult of a job than it seems.

I don?t know where this 6-month myth originates, but it seems to be highly prevalent on the Internet and institutionalized by people who never worked a single day in their life for Swift but nonetheless when it comes to the company or their infamous training program are so-called experts. This site is filled with these so-called experts!

Also?everyone who bugs out of the Swift training programs left only because they were being trained by another Swift driver with only 6-months driving experience who still needed training himself, not because the trainee himself was incompetent, incapable, or decided the job wasn?t for him, because we all know that all student trainees by and large learn to drive the big rigs over the open road very easily and always have very wonderful attitudes.

Moreover, we all know that unlike other major companies, Swift doesn?t like to make as great a profit as possible in order to make its stockholders happy. Instead, it likes to squander its profits away by only hiring horrible mentors with only 6 months driving experience and then burning as many potential drivers as possible. You see Swift?s mission is not to train people to become safe and competent drivers but instead to ward off as many potential drivers as possible or so it would seem!

[Toothpick]

Originally Posted by Uturn2001

It was that way when I was with Swift. 6 months, regardless of previous experience, with no accidents and only minor log issues and you could become a trainer.

In fact it was a major recruiting pitch when Swift came to the school I attended. The recruiter talked about how much more money we could make by "passing on what we learned".

Care to elaborate how many years ago that was? It may have been their naive policy when they first became a training company, but years of experience and many growing pains later along with millions of dollars wasted have led them into being forced to change their ways.

[Toothpick]

Originally Posted by Longsnowsm

I second what the others have said... The bad reputation revolves around the fire hose pace of the training, nasty run down training facilities and hotel(depends on location), and then the finisher training you are suppose to get with your trainer.

There are too many horror stories about lousy trainers running as teams and then letting new drivers take the fall when there is an accident or fender bender. Just watch your P&Q's and you will be fine. Just remember the goal is to get through the finisher training without problems so you are in your own truck.

The real issue revolves around how big Swift is and the presence they have on the road. One bone head driver and everyone assumes all Swift drivers are the same. It isn't fair and it is just a stigma that Swift drivers have to live with. Sounds like your getting alone well in training. BOL

Longsnowsm

Uhm...how long did you work for Swift? You seem to be such an expert!

[Toothpick]

Originally Posted by DesertRat

Try this druid


http://www.safersys.org/CompanySnapshot.aspx

Carrier Safety Rating:

The rating below is current as of: 10/11/2006

Review Information:


Review Information
Rating date: 06/19/2006 Review Date: 05/24/2006
Rating: Satisfactory Type: Compliance Review


Damn...Swift's safety rating is "satisfactory" which is the highest rating issued by the FMSCSA. With all the demonization that Swift receives by people who never worked for them or people who once worked for them but years ago, you?d think they would have the lowest safety rating.

[Toothpick]

And for those of you who might think I work for Swift, I don?t. I once did but have since left them because I found something more lucrative and out of the ordinary, but I got lucky. If I ever do lose my current gig, however, I wouldn?t hesitate to go back.

When I was with Swift I talked to numerous drivers all the time that worked for these companies who paid more per mile or paid practical miles. The vast majority of them said they still made more money driving for with Swift go figure. Not only that, but they all claimed that Swift was a much easier, less strict, and less rigid company to work for.

[Toothpick]

Originally Posted by feederfred

As far as the CPM. No, not really.... Crap wages, poor healthcare, you get what you deserve.....Swift can only under-cut other companies because of it's constant stream of willing, warm bodies. Still has the highest accident rate of any company out there.

This guy absorbs hearsay and innuendo like it's manna from heaven or something. Geesh...I really respect your opinion!

Does never believe what you hear and only half of what you see have any meaning to you?

Damn...we have the blind leading the blind here!

Originally Posted by Toothpick

When I was with Swift I talked to numerous drivers all the time that worked for these companies who paid more per mile or paid practical miles. The vast majority of them said they still made more money driving for with Swift go figure.

Hahaha...they only make more money because they're working/driving more. Typical truckdriver logic. :roll:

Crete 1-year driver: $1,000 gross = 2,524 miles per week X .41 cpm (adjusted 3.5% for practical miles)
Swift 1-year driver: $1,000 gross = 3,026 miles per week X .36 cpm (adjusted 9% for HHG miles)

The Swift driver would have to drive 502 more miles per week to equal what the Crete driver makes. If you think that's a good deal, then have at it. Has Swift stopped dispatching training trucks as teams? Nope, didn't think so.