SWIFT TRANSPORTATION, PHOENIX, AZ Swift, Swift Trans, Swift Trasnport, Swifttrans THINKING OF BECOMING AN OWNER/OPERATOR WITH SWIFT... DON'T DO IT!! DO NOT DO IT!!! Phoenix, Arizona

Walking into any terminal you'll see signs that boasts how, if you lease a truck, Swift will be a "Partner For Success".  Well my story is a pure nightmare!  I started out with Swift as a company driver.  I began to see posters in every terminal boasting Swift as a "Partner In Success".  I began to talk to Swift owner operators that I would meet at the terminals to get their perspectives on leasing a truck.  The drivers that seemed to be doing well spent an above average amount of time out on the road.  With no real obligations at home I began to ponder the success I would have if I were to give up my apartment, move my belongings into storage and take to the road full time.  The numbers made sense.  They made even more sense after I sat down with the owner operator recruiting rep at the Memphis terminal.  Ultimately I executed my game plan and signed a lease.  Things started out well.  The four week payment free initial term got me hooked and I thought I was on my way.  What I didn't realize was I was on my way to a nightmare.  After my initial term the company switched my DM against my wishes.  I was partnered up with a DM that ran me in the ground on a slow boat to China.  First my loads started getting increasingly heavy.  For nearly an entire month my loads averaged 40k lbs plus and my profits dropped like a lead anchor!  My initial feeling was "If I ride it out without complaining things might normalize".  NOPE, WRONG ANSWER!!  The heavy loads started taking more difficult routes.  Now, to get directly from point A to B, my routes involved highways packed with steep inclines, hills and mountains!!  Each one siphoning profits as I drove.  More often than not I found myself breaking even on loads and, at times, going in the RED.  With no end in sight I brought my concerns to my DM who responded as if I asked her for a divorce.  I made my point respectfully telling her that I would start to decline consistently heavy loads and she tried to make it seem as if they were the only loads available.  Little did she know I had already began to question other owners who willingly showed me invoices of recent loads with weights as little as 3-4k lbs!!  So I already knew her claim was a lie!  Reluctantly she told me she would advise the "planners" to lighten up my load assignments.  Now here comes the twist... In less than two weeks my loads went from Extremely Heavy To Extremely SHORT!  Loads lightened up but my dispatched miles began to suffer.  Over time the routine became something like: Drive A Load - Sit A Day to Drive A DAY - Sit A Day - So On And So On.  PURE RETALIATION FOR DEFENDING MY RIGHTS TO MAKE A LIVING!!  FOR TRYING TO BE "SUCCESSFUL"!!  Trust Me... YOU WILL BE TOLD, IN SOME SHAPE, FORM OR FASHION ''If you turn down this load you'll sit cause that's all I have".  You Will Get No Choice... You Will Get No Options!!  As an owner your suppose to be able to decline loads.  DECLINE LOADS AND THEY WILL GET RID OF YOU!  Slowly, Painfully Swift Will Break You Financially!  Now Comes The FUN Part!! Let's Get To The Actual Nightmare Portion Of This Story!  In the entire year I was a self-employed swift employee... the truck grossed over 100K... of which I took home far less than 20K *(before taxes).  Swift made sure the fuel and truck was paid for *(BELIEVE THAT!).  Like many of the male drivers on the road today, I have child support obligations to the tune of about $400 per month.  My trucking career came to a screeching halt when I crossed a scale house, with all of my paperwork in order, only to find out my CDL had been suspended for lack of a complete support payment!  I spent the night in the county lockup after which I immediately canceled my lease.  And after all this; Swift, Being the "Partner In Success" that they are, was eagerly willing and waiting to put "Fired" on my DAC.  Sign The Lease... But Know, You've Been Warned!!