Complaint Review: Swift Transportation - Phoenix Arizona

Run regional? What mileage you give regional? 1800 miles? 2100 miles? My one round trip is 4220 From Minneapolis MN to Phoenix AZ and Los Angeles CA. By the time I get to LA I have a flip-flop back, picks up the same day in Holtville, CA and goes back to the cities. That is 4220 miles a week at average $2.30 a mile. About $9700 a week. Can You beat it? I think not. Your slow truck can not make that many miles anyway. (Will break down twice before it gets to Phoenix) What do you pay O/O? Peanuts? $0.86 or so? I think Yes. We get 86% off the load. (Company drivers $0.32 / $0.34 / 0.36 DOE) And the load pays anywhere from $1.80 to $3.00 a mile depending on the load. Stay out. I do. Ask my boss. I stay out three month and take 3 days off. Then I go out and do that again. I was out the whole time with swift and never broke 9,000 miles a month. And I was begging for miles, taking every load no matter where it goes. But I was fixing your shabby equipment for the most part. So there went my mileage. Ask to go home and you get it? Really? I was not aware of that. It took me looooooong time to get to Minnesota when I needed to. After a while I resorted to things I have never done before or since: refuse loads that take me anywhere else. I bet that is on my record too. Check it out. But! READ my messages in the Q-comm!!! The response was I put a note for planners for you to get you to St. Cloud Minnesota. Well The loads I was getting were going elsewhere but not to Minnesota. I was getting NY and AZ and CA and whatever else. Staying in touch with the manager Well I do not have a manager. I have the dispatcher and the broker. (Which are the same two guys). I call them on the phone in the morning and when I pick up / drop off load. That works out nice. Nothing beeps in my truck. Nothing tells me I am going too fast when I am in Arizona going 75MPH on the highway. (For those who do not know, yes speed limit for all vehicles on the interstate in AZ, NM, CO, WY and UT is 75mph. Me Empty on fuel? Where did you get that idea? I never run a truck out of fuel. I am not that dumb. My Swift X-employee number is 137750. Read my records on your computer. Where do you see me running the truck out of fuel. Check your facts, slick, before your post them on the net. Also It was brought to my attention that my X-manager at Swift posted on DAC that I abandoned the truck in the middle of nowhere while under load. That is a dirty slander. Perhaps I can sue Swift. The owner of the company I work for today followed me to the terminal in Inver Grove Heights MN where I took the 97610 truck and EMPTY trailer. He then gave me a ride to where the truck I am driving now was being loaded. I do not care much for DAC anyway since I have no plans to leave the company I am with now. Nevertheless it better not be anything on it. I have three reliable whiteness that I did not abandoned your equipment. The owner of the company I work for and the two dispatchers. Optimized Idler. Have you driven a truck? How about in the middle of winter in Montana when it is 5 F? You want your trailer run out of air and set the brakes? Perhaps you do not know but they will lock up and you will be sitting there for a long time glued to the spot. I have seen Swift pulling out of truck stop in Miles City MT this winter and his tandems were dragging behind. But I guess he was good to go since he had his fog lights on. How about 98983. See the history in the computer, that is if it was kept. See the messages I was sending to my DM over Q-comm (employee number 137750) about the opti-idle on 98983. It is hard to sleep when this thing works half the time and then you wakeup in sweat in the middle of summer heat somewhere in Florida and it is 120F in your cab. I have taken that thing to Detroit dealer, to numerous Swift shops and to Freightliner dealer and at last I was out of that truck. The problem was not fixed. Probably still is not. Just that whoever poor soul have to drive it now also have bills to pay at home and does not want to sit at the dealer waiting for them to tell him that there is nothing wrong with it. The beep you get used to? Well I pull a rifer and I am used to it starting up and shutting down. However I do not sleep in the rifer, nor am I tempted too. When your truck shuts off and starts on it not only beeps, the air alarm comes on. The 97610 had an air leak and I was complaining about it. I bet it is not fixed to this day. So now the truck starts, shakes, the Icon alarm comes on and then the low air alarm comes on. That is what you call a good night sleep? You have got to be out of your mind, if you are not you're a staggeringly callous. Pretrip. Yes. We do that little thing. But you have been sitting in your office for too long. Get out and drive a truck for a year or two. Load has to get there. Customer is pissed off. Trailer is movable (all though it really should not be) onroad takes at least 14 hours to get there. With the kind of trailers you have if I call onroad for every little thing I will make about 500 miles a week and no loads will get anywhere. Get real here for a moment. YOU HAVE A PROBLEM and you blame your drivers for everything. That is typical for Swift. Yes it is my job to check out equipment I get to use, but it is your job to maintain it to the standard. Here is how equipment problems handled in a real company, for instance the one I work for right now. If I have problem with my trailer or rifer unit I call the dealer. They send me help and it arrives within 3 hours. Not 14 hours. If I have a problem with my truck, same thing. I call their number and a repair truck arrives in 3 or 4 hours max. Similar situation at Swift takes long time. Take a trip across the nation. What trucks do you see on the side of the road the most? Swift trucks. I am with this company since October 2005 and I run hard. I only had one problem with my rifer and that was taken care rather quickly, and one problem with tractor. A blown steer tire. That was fixed in less then 4 hours. Why? Because we maintain our equipment. Just to give you a hint: I am authorized to do truck wash, engine, trailer and trailer washout once a week. And company drivers actually get reimbursed for it. Truck goes for service to the dealer every 15,000 miles. And the service is done by guys who know their craft, and know it well. By the way, they know me by name, which is nice. Speaking of reimbursement. I actually get all the lumpers and tolls reimbursed which I can not say about Swift. Anyway. I got to go to bed now. I have some real driving to do tomorrow and get to the house. Have fun with your q-comm and guide lines, keep up the good job on pulling the shroud over everyone's eyes. You are NUMBER ONE in my book. You know what I mean. I have people to see and money to make. Cheers.

You are missing the point. Me and Swift do not get alone. I do not want to be your puppet. I do not want to be told what roads to take and where and how much to fuel. I do not need to be told to drive or go to bed. I do not want your spyware in my truck. I do not want to drive a truck that can not keep up with the traffic in western states. I did not ask for another truck? I had before. With my second truck at Swift. That was a Freightliner Columbia 98983 that had a faulty Optimized Idler. I was asking for many month and at last got that Volvo. Well after taking the Freightliner to shops twice a month on average and loosing mileage the last thing I wanted to do is to get another piece of crap truck and take it to shops all over the nation. I wanted to fix one and keep it. 600,000 miles truck you do not keep? How about 15307. Look it up in your computer. When my team partner and I got out of it some new driver got to drive it. A black guy. I met him. Ocala terminal. Check it out. 21 Day in at the terminal. Yes Kansas City terminal where mechanics are dumber then sh** because that is how long it was to get the AC thing fixed. Truck 97610 Look it up. The optifuel plan is only a suggestion with the maximum amount of fuel you can purchase at that location that doesn't mean that you have to put in every gallon If I do not put every gallon I will not have enough to get to my destination. I will have to burn my hours sitting somewhere and asking for some 50 gallons. To get my another few miles. Like I said before. You hire puppets not drivers. If you could make your qualcomm drive the truck you would not need to hire humans. Trailers? Again your are missing the point. I am not a mechanic. If I see something wrong with the trailer I notify onroad. Now that you know truck numbers I have driven you can get my employee number too Check how many trailers I have brought to the shop. But sometime I do not see the problem with it, again I am not a mechanic. Today I drive a REAL truck and have REAL trailer I make REAL money. I never drop it so I know what goes on with it at all times. I plan my own routs, fuel when I need to fuel and I make 13,000+ miles a month. You want me to fax you a copy of my paycheck too? Last week I made $2603.70 and a week before 2810.97. Give me your fax number and I will fax you a copy of my pay stub. And get this. On may 5th I have ordered a T-600 Kenworth with 550 Cat, 3.36 rear 2100 transmission 13 speed and 86 sleeper with everything in it. ProHeat system for idle time. By the way, it goes 85 MPH, (not that I would take it that fast). My payment is less then for your piece of plastic T-2000. You want a copy of the spec? I will fax it to you as well. Yes I run Coast to Coast since that is what I wanted. Yes my trips are on average 2100 miles. The shortest trip is 800. We do not bother with anything shorter. Be smart. Yes definitely. The smartest thing I have done was to ditch your monstrous corporation that has the worst reputation among the drivers. I am doing great here because I am a man in mans world doing a man's job I am a driver not a number. Have a nice day.

wOW, now that's alot to say: How about let's get real sitting for 21 day's how insane is that. I like to make money and sitting is not it. The company isn't makeing money and neither are you.. How about asking for a loaner truck or even a local truck or how just asking for another truck they be glad to send you to another truck. ALL YOU HAD TO DO WAS ASK. Sweltering in heat of a truck how about just shutting it off if was that hot in your truck. The best FUEL OPTIMIZER is you, the driver. I know the beep can get to you at times but after awhile you get used to it and tune it out. Try driving with a reefer unit sometime, it's no different. And driving a truck with 600,000 miles on it I personally didn't know we kept truck's that long. and I have seen alot of truck's in our fleet. And last but not least: The company has 17,000 trucks and you wanted to keep that one WHY? The optifuel plan is only a suggestion with the maximum amount of fuel you can purchase at that location that doesn't mean that you have to put in every gallon. You are the driver you are the responcible party to that load and at all time's be safe and legal that also include's weight. That's your ticket, your fine, your baby until you deliver it. you the driver know's how much fuel you can add to be legal and remain legal the optifuel system doesn't know this. Knowone is twisting your arm to top the tank's. And as far as being empty on fuel. HUH? why would you allow yourself to go that far. That is a direct violation of the employee handbook. Why didn't you call your terminal and ask for extra fuel? SERVICE FAILURE'S only occur by not being in touch with your driver manager and explaining what is going on. The Dispatch system is only a computer by which information is placed it is up to the driver to read and interpet that information for accuracy and to inform the driver manager as to what can be accomplished legally. If you can't do that what is asked of you on that perticular load then why didn't you place that information in the comment section of your pre plan. that is why there is a comment section. USE it for what it's there for. The trailer's ohh the trailer's well now let's see ahhh a terminal that the trailer can be taken to so that it can be fixed. or a simple phone call to ONROAD or even a qualcom msg. hey there is even a safety department what could you have done hummm.... I know let someone know that the trailer has an issue remember you are the driver that is apart of your scope in the operation of the vehicle it's called a pretrip inspection. I have a feeling that all you wanted to do is get it loaded, get there and let another driver deal with the issue's of the trailer some team member you are.. Thanks alot for passing that issue of to me or someone else I really appreciate your thoughtfulness and courtesy. you are ACE's in my BOOK. Last but not least getting home. USE YOUR QUALCOM, DRIVER MANAGER, FLEET MANAGER< TERMINAL MANAGER. YOU want to stay out stay out , you want to go home go home, you want more hometime run regional. these choices are up to you the driver. As ALWAY'S THINK SMART, BE SMART, AND BE SAFE

wOW, now that's alot to say: How about let's get real sitting for 21 day's how insane is that. I like to make money and sitting is not it. The company isn't makeing money and neither are you.. How about asking for a loaner truck or even a local truck or how just asking for another truck they be glad to send you to another truck. ALL YOU HAD TO DO WAS ASK. Sweltering in heat of a truck how about just shutting it off if was that hot in your truck. The best FUEL OPTIMIZER is you, the driver. I know the beep can get to you at times but after awhile you get used to it and tune it out. Try driving with a reefer unit sometime, it's no different. And driving a truck with 600,000 miles on it I personally didn't know we kept truck's that long. and I have seen alot of truck's in our fleet. And last but not least: The company has 17,000 trucks and you wanted to keep that one WHY?