Santa:
toby1234abc:
Gregorys have a pay rise in May, nearly 3 %, the problem with pallet delivery on multi drop to ridiculous locations is due to the ignorance of the customer purchasing the goods on line for a cheap price.
With paying a cheap price, they expect a top rate premium service, this leads to problems for the driver who has to deal with it.
For example Mr Smith orders five pallets of stone slabs that weigh 700 kgs per pallet, the delivery is only drop on the kerb and go.
Mr Smith has a house on a steep hill, his drive way has a slope, and the drive way is cobbled or broken stones, but he insists that the driver must drag the pallets to his garage over rough terrain with a pump truck, which is not happening .
The same over weight goods are compost, horse food pellets, slabs, stones, bricks, tiles, timber, and turf.
Customers expect pallets of turf to be dragged over their lawn as do not want them left on the road all night .You ring the customer who will lie and say they get big lorries down the lane all the time, the milk tanker comes down daily .
You get back to the yard with broken mirrors, torn curtains and enough mud as it looks like you have done two tours of Iraq and Afghanistan.I spent a few years on Palletforce in the West Midlands. While it is certainly true that some (a few) customers buy heavy stuff (we used to do a lot of bricks and also rubber compound for play areas) and are astonished when they are delivered by one 70yo beardy bloke with nothing but a pallet truck and a tail lift.
I very rarely met one who did not accept that this was the price they pay for a cheap online purchase. If they did kick up, I usually found that the offer to take it back to the depot for collection at their own cost calmed them down. I always tried my best to help; “I’ll go away and come back later when you have some more men”, or if it was bags or boxes, an offer to pass then down if they carried them away. It was amazing how often, when faced with carting a tonne or more of bags, they managed to whistle up some more labour.
I used to average around £20 a week in tips too.
Santa… again, great info for any new starters to multi-drop.
It’s like any job - once you get going and into it, you learn the best way to deal with situations. And, if you are slightly switched on, that usually involves doing most of the work with what you say and how you say it.
I use exactly the same ‘tactics’ to suggest ways that are going to be easiest all round to deliver whatever goods it might be.
And, funnily enough, the people who are the most accommodating and willing to help more often than not, get more help than those who just stand there stamping their feet and mouthing off… which is when we resort to the the 2 golden words… ‘Kerbside delivery’ 
Jon