Swift Took Me In!

So the last two weeks have been... Interesting, to say the least. Starts off with getting a call from C.r England, they set me up with some info and started the process of getting ready to head to Utah at the end of the month. I knew C.r England was what alot of people consider a nightmare company but I was ready to jump into whatever I needed to so I could get into the industry and get my career started. After starting the process with CRE my recuirter said he set up an appointment to get my DOT physical done the following Monday, so I called Monday morning when they opened and asked to verify my appointment time. They notified me that the payment authorization had been sent but there was no appointment setup and that I wasn't able to do it myself, that CRE had to set it up. Obviously I was a little frustrated but with the amount of people one guy at a company like that has to have under them I figured it was an understandable problem and there's no reason to be frustrated, that I had been given an opportunity and needed to stay positive. I managed to get in contact with my case manager, he apologized and told me again that he had set it up for the following day, I thanked him and kept going on with my day. I didn't call the clinic first, figuring the manager had fixed the problem, drove 40 minutes to the clinic and was greeted by the nice woman I had spoken to the previous day (who warned me that they get alot of frustrating students and drivers coming through there from CRE) and she checked the schedule, I wasn't on it. Again.

This time I was kind of angry with the situation, at this point I'm stressed about getting things in order to leave, studying for the CLP and trying to ignore the warnings and stories about CRE from drivers I know, previous students, etc. I immediately called my case manager when I got to my truck, he didn't answer (I called him several times over about a 45 minute period) but I finally got a call from him about 3 hours later after stewing in my probably unjustified frustration. I understand people in jobs like that have a frustrating situation and probably not all the information they need so by no means did I want to unload any frustation on this guy who had been polite to me, so I told him the situation, and he started arguing with me... He put me on hold after the back and forth of telling him what the clinic receptionist told me, and him denying it and telling me I knew my schedule better than he does and that I was responsible for my appointment. After getting off hold he sounded very annoyed and told me that he did in fact need to set it up. At this point I've gotten pretty worried about what I'm doing with this company, if I'm making a bad choice and potentially messing up my career before it even gets started... I know it seems to be common to talk bad about CRE and I really tried to just be excited about it. By no means do I want to sound like another frustrated student talking bad about a company before earning their salt, but if this is already what's going on before I've even started my drive to Utah, what's beyond it?

That same day I got in contact with swift, which I thought wasn't an option after not hearing from them (I applied for them the same time I applied for knight) but I got in contact with a very nice recruiter who found my application and went through the first interview process. She ran everything and told me I was good to go (I'm beyond happy with this news) I signed and filled out some tax forms and school packets.

Again, I know swift doesn't seem to be one of the companies that's looked upon like gold by hopefuls or people already in the middle of their career like prime is. But swift looks like a pile of gold to me at this point in my career, and I've heard alot of good things from drivers both previous and current. From all the information I've found on companies in this process, swift really isn't bad, and the pay, opportunities, and lack of what seems like trapping in some cases is really appealing (the ridiculous interest rate and cost of schooling from CRE, pay, saftey, training, restriction on your license right out of the gate).

I'm set to go to a local school with swift for about 4 weeks and then get into otr training, I'm so excited about swift. I'm really glad I'm going to get a good 4 weeks of quality training, and from a school only 40 minutes from my house. Trying to get info from swift on what I need to do to get into the flatbed division as well.

This has been a long winded update, but a few weeks ago I was really bummed about getting turned down by a few companies. Knight had filled their training when I signed the conditional letter (I can't remember who from knight was in that thread but I'm glad he had his input). So I ended up going down a route that I was thankful for but worried about. I didn't stop with that and ended up getting a much better offer. Things are really looking up and I'm very excited about starting my training and getting into my career, I've wanted to do this for a long time.

Not to say CRE is bad and that no one should spend their time there, I'm sure many people enjoy it there and make a great life for themselves. By no means do I want to put any drivers down.

I'll try to update my schooling and otr training as best I can, in case there's anything helpful hidden in the rambling.

Swift is the next chapter in my life and career and I'm going to make the most of it. I feel really lucky.

That's great news, Pyle! About to start your journey and I can hear the excitement in your writing.

That’s awesome Pyle. I’ve been with Swift 7 years now. They trained me and I am very happy driving for them.

Don’t believe the negativity you hear or read, its BS.

Good luck.

Thanks guys! I start school next Monday, so hopefully in about a month i'll be on the road. Another plus I didn't previously know is swift allows pets, so I could take my dog with me and that sounds like a really big plus for the mental aspect and would probably keep me out on the road for longer periods at a time.

Pyle,

Congrats on being accepted to Swift.

In reading your post a couple of things jumped out at me regarding frustrations and driver professionalism as they relate to carrier reputation. You seem to suggest that you will experience frustrations at a "bad" carrier, but not at a "good" carrier. And you suggest that Prime is the "gold" standard.

I'm in TNT at Prime, flatbed division, and in my short time I can tell you how frustrations can arise BECAUSE of Prime's gold standard.

When you arrive at a Prime terminal , you go through "inbound," where they inspect the truck and trailer. One of the first times we came through with a loaded trailer, I came back from the bathroom and the trailer is jacked up with the wheels off. I asked if they were putting new tires on. Nope, just rotating the tires from the rear axle to the drop axle, to get the most thread life out of the tires. They don't ask permission to do this, or even ask about your load timing. They just do it.

Now one time, we dropped by the terminal in Salt Lake that was about 30 miles from our 90 (our last stop). They said that the steer axles brake pads were on the edge of DOT minimum standards and that they would not let us out of the terminal until it got fixed. The earliest tractor shop appointment was 2:00 a.m. It was 7:30 when we came in and we had to deliver at 9:00 a.m. that day. Not gonna work. After a three way call with dispatch and the tractor shop, they agreed to let us deliver the load is we pinky swore to go straight to the TA afterward to have the brake pads replaced. Do not pass go, do not collect $200.

So you are going to deal with frustrations at any company. I have had many frustrations during my time at Prime, Are they a great company? Yes. But I have had frustrations and its been my attitude in response to those frustrations that have made the difference. As you encounter frustrations at Swift, and you will, I would recommend that you try not to let those frustrations get to you.

And about driver professionalism, and I'm gonna sound like Old School here. You determine your level of professionalism, not the carrier reputation.

In the flatbed world, people will judge you based on how you secure your load. Western Express is considered a **** carrier, to be frank. And to be honest, most of the tarp jobs I see on a Western Express load look like 10 pounds of ****, in a 5 pound bag. But I saw this one Western Express tarped load that was wrapped like a Christmas present. The folds were all going the right way and the edges were sharp as a knife. And tight? It was pulled against the load tighter than a well diggers ass.

Yesterday, at the Springfield terminal, we were dropping our trailer and I see this brand new shiny Cascadia with a brand spanking new tarp dumped in a heap on the catwalk and ratched down with a four inch strap. The back edge of this heap was touching the front edge of the fifth wheel.

I would worry less about the quality of the carrier and more about your own driver professionalism.

Good luck and It would be nice if you kept a training diary so we can see your progress.

Pyle, I understand and agree it’s most of Andy’s (Rob) point.

My only counter to what he suggested is that all of the carriers found in this list; Paid CDL Training Programs are all high quality and profitable companies. That’s important for you to realize.

That said; Swift-Knight (Knight-Swift, nox-mix) generated well over a Billion Dollars in revenue last year (1.2). I can vouch for Swift’s training as being extremely high quality. Although selective; it adequately prepared me to pass the CDL tests. Their ability to road-train (mentor) and support entry-level drivers through the trials of the first year is also top notch. Their trucks are typically three years old, and very well maintained. They are not perfect, no company is but if you learn your craft, you can make an excellent income with Swift.

Highly profitable, large companies have huge volumes of customer freight and a great variety of options for drivers to choose from. Swift has numerous dedicated accounts and millions of tons of freight moving through their system. If they were nota high quality carrier, their numbers would not be at the very top in every category.

I maintain the premise that good drivers; professional, efficient and safe drivers can be successful with any of the top US carriers, including Swift.

Focus on being the very best you can be. Take it one step at a time. The rest will fall into place. Good luck.

Pyle, I understand and agree it’s most of Andy’s (Rob) point.

My only counter to what he suggested is that all of the carriers found in this list; Paid CDL Training Programs are all high quality and profitable companies. That’s important for you to realize.

That said; Swift-Knight (Knight-Swift, nox-mix) generated well over a Billion Dollars in revenue last year (1.2). I can vouch for Swift’s training as being extremely high quality. Although selective; it adequately prepared me to pass the CDL tests. Their ability to road-train (mentor) and support entry-level drivers through the trials of the first year is also top notch. Their trucks are typically three years old, and very well maintained. They are not perfect, no company is but if you learn your craft, you can make an excellent income with Swift.

Highly profitable, large companies have huge volumes of customer freight and a great variety of options for drivers to choose from. Swift has numerous dedicated accounts and millions of tons of freight moving through their system. If they were nota high quality carrier, their numbers would not be at the very top in every category.

I maintain the premise that good drivers; professional, efficient and safe drivers can be successful with any of the top US carriers, including Swift.

Focus on being the very best you can be. Take it one step at a time. The rest will fall into place. Good luck.

Totally agree that paid CDL training is the way to go.

Thanks for making that point G-town.