I drove trucks back in the 80's and wanted to get back into it. I got my CDl back(back then it was a class A) and started looking for companies. I settled on Swift bacause they offered the best deal to attain my goal of owning 3 trucks in 2 years. I have to say I was skeptical after reading posts on here but, have been pleasently surprised at the way things have gone.

I did my 6 weeks with a mentor and within a week had a truck and was on my way. I got a Georgia Pacific dedicated run and have been running hard. I don't know why some people have problems with Swift, I guess attitude has a lot to do with it. I am a go-getter so I bug the crap out of them until thngs happen. I don't have to do that anymore, I guess they realized that I would so they started doing things right.

I can say that I am on track to get my first truck in September and will be looking for a team to put in it. Thanks for reading and (if you do) responding to my post.

 

Good to hear that your doing well at Swift. If I were you though I wouldnt even think about buying a truck with todays fuel prices.

 

Jefster...why do you say that? Freight has to move and with a properly managed FSC you can manage that risk.

Here are the risks I think the chefj should be aware of:

Risk 1: getting accurate estimates on what costs will be and including ALL of them in the business plan. Examples: will the plan include the ROI of the money invested vs keeping it in the bank? How bout budgeting for a new(er) replacement truck in X years? Budgeting for large ticket repairs?

Risk 2...having your competition not know their own costs and low balling your bids. Also mega carriers having lower fixed/variable costs and being able to be profitable at a lower rate. This is not applicable if you plan to lease your trucks on.

Summary...think-plan-and run it like a business :wink:

 

I've noticed a small trend to this site. If you write a topic that bashes a company you get alot more responses. If you have a good experience with a company, you get less than half the responses. Am I crazy or does anyone else see this?

 

Or maybe no one gives a crap about your topic.

 

Maybe because you are the exception and not the rule. There's plenty of griping to be done about Swift from the refugees, but most of us move on and don't waste our time. And as Colts said most don't care about "success" at [Mega Trucking Company] as company driver. To get respect from the vast majority of the membership you pretty much have to be an O/O.

 

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

In a way you are 100% correct, though probably not in the way you intended.

Sure there are drivers who would not be happy getting 4000 miles a week at $5 per mile as a company driver, but there are a lot of dispatchers, load planners, terminal managers, etc at Swift who also have a very bad attitude when it comes to things (or maybe an "I dont give a %^&*" would be more accurate) that leads to many of the bad reports drivers give about Swift.

If a person gets lucky enough to get a Fleet Manager that actually tries to look after his/her drivers then more often than not that driver's experiences will have a more positive connotation. This usually holds true at most companies.

 

I'm interested in exactly what type of plan/deal that Swift is offering that will bring you up to speed so quickly?

Attitude generally has the most to do with it. It appears that yours' is certainly in the right place.

BOL. Stay in touch, and let us know how it all works out. Your mission has the makings of a very interesting thread.

 

Found a fantastic deal on 13 trucks Swift recently acquired . .

http://www.pegasusnews.com/news/2008...ar-dealership/