Your worst/best agency job?

I’ve noticed that there’s no thread on this forum so far about the best or worst job you have sent to via an agency. Here’s mine so far:

Best:
Delivering pork pies out of a well-known company based in Leeming Bar for two days in August. Basically job ‘n’ knock. Deliver to two Morrison’s RDCs (Wakefield and Stockton) and that was basically your lot for the day. :grimacing: :smiley:

Worst:
Working for a well-known Teesside-based furniture retailer, supplying their stores in Battersea, Crawley and Hove. Arsey managers on a power trip and their weird way of loading the truck. Firstly, they load the furniture for one store at their Riverside Park warehouse, and then you have to drive a few miles to another warehouse at Cannon Park to load accessories for the same store. Then back to Riverside Park to load furniture for the next store, followed by another trip to Cannon Park to load accessories. You’ll be doing FOUR trips shuttling between the two warehouses before eventually setting off on your run South! :imp: :cry: :smiling_imp:

What are yours?

Best,

G.L Baker Silvertown, drive rigid to Neasden reverse on bay go to sleep, be woken some hours later & drive to M&S Brent Cross, reverse on bay and go back to sleep, be woken some hours later & go back to Silvertown & then go for another shift somewhere else.

Worst,

LRC (Durex) Chingford, Collect van from their yard with about 45 timed deliveries around Kent which were booked in the most bizarre order, up and down the M2 all day long.

Dave…

dave docwra:
Worst,

LRC (Durex) Chingford, Collect van from their yard with about 45 timed deliveries around Kent which were booked in the most bizarre order, up and down the M2 all day long.

Dave…

Is that like the rhythm method? Timing and up or down

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Best:summer trunk to Inverness, lorry taken off you at the gate given directions to the canteen with free food & drink, shouted when truck ready loaded at gate for you. I did ask if any jobs were going, surprisingly not.

Worst: I only lasted 15 mins truck had no working windows,couple of bulbs out. Got told ask forklift driver what trailer you’ve to take asked the forklift driver got told ‘ don’t ask me any ■■■■■■ questions’ walked out go into car went home had 5 missed calls begging me to come back when I arrived home

Now in FT employment & glad about that.

Best, without a doubt, driving a concrete mixer back in the early 80s. Tacho was JUST making an appearance, but no big deal.
If a customer wanted 6 metres of concrete we used to give em 5 and 3/4, save the rest in the hoppers. Saturday morning was bonus day, selling it to local farmers. Used to double my wage. :smiley:
Just me, the manager/batcher, and another driver, in a quarry, all on our own :smiley:

Worst, 40 years later (4 months ago), builders supply merchants, agency job.
Lots of single manned handball, godawful trucks, godawful managers and forkies and loaders and warehouse staff and ■■■■■ route planning, had to use me own phone, …well, you get the picture. I walked out on the morning of the 3rd day.

As a generic thing, the “Best” agency job - will always be the one that started out paying top dollar, and then offers you temp-to-perm after 13 weeks.

The worst agency - will be the one that pays low rates, but their clients “always ask for you by name” and yet never offer a job at parity pay, if that rate is higher.

Both best and worst agencies - might be putting staff into the same client of course. You might find that happening among those agencies putting bods into Stobarts, for example… Agencies down sarth - are paying rather different from “Stobart Standard Rates of Pay” than oop narth agencies are… It is the same job, on what I thought was a national pay scale??! How on Earth do the northern agencies get enough people to be put into Stobarts - if they are paying lower rates than Stobart agency workers get in other parts of the UK■■?

Best, A K Worthington nightshift Trafford Park to Lichfield every night

Worst,Stobarts,most ignorant shower of office staff ive ever met(Warrington)

Best: 10 years ago for HMS agency in Bellshill, working for HM2 who delivered pallets of paper throughout central Scotland. Decent wage & decent people. That`s all I ask for…

Worst probably too many to remember so my worst recent experience was for company delivering Herras Fencing. Arrived at yard early given my run( 4 drops) & vehicle details only to be told 10 mins later vehicle had been in for repair all previous week & wasn`t back.

So took crew cab pick up van to Banff, Aberdeen from London Road, Glasgow. 400 mile round trip. Didn`t leave yard to 10am despite 7am start. All for an hourly rate of £8.75 ph!!!

Worst was calor gas, they tried overloading my truck every day so their full time guys could have it easier.

Best was tanker work, the hours were terrible but having a second man you can chat ■■■■ to and have a laugh with made the day go by a lot quicker.

steviespain:
Best, without a doubt, driving a concrete mixer back in the early 80s. Tacho was JUST making an appearance, but no big deal.
If a customer wanted 6 metres of concrete we used to give em 5 and 3/4, save the rest in the hoppers. Saturday morning was bonus day, selling it to local farmers. Used to double my wage. :smiley:

That’s why I was about 2 ft short on an important floor job in the 70’s, caused all sorts of problems :imp: …and it wasn’t my measurements!!

The best agency job, working as a driver at RAF Mildenhall, did it for nearly a year, interesting work, different kit which you were trained to use before using it, some days never left the airbase, some days sent off to deliver or collect goods from other airbases and no tachograph.

Worst the probably being sent to Turners and doing RDC jobs.

oops double post

DF40:
Best: 10 years ago for HMS agency in Bellshill, working for HM2 who delivered pallets of paper throughout central Scotland. Decent wage & decent people. That`s all I ask for…

Worst probably too many to remember so my worst recent experience was for company delivering Herras Fencing. Arrived at yard early given my run( 4 drops) & vehicle details only to be told 10 mins later vehicle had been in for repair all previous week & wasn`t back.

So took crew cab pick up van to Banff, Aberdeen from London Road, Glasgow. 400 mile round trip. Didn`t leave yard to 10am despite 7am start. All for an hourly rate of £8.75 ph!!!

There must have been no tacho to worry about on your Heras job. Still, an appalling rate.

About a month ago, got sent up to a decorators merchant up at Newcastle with only an hour’s notice. 13 drops around Tyneside and Northumberland in an SWB VW Crafter.

All for £7.83 per hour!! :imp:

DF40:
Best: 10 years ago for HMS agency in Bellshill, working for HM2 who delivered pallets of paper throughout central Scotland. Decent wage & decent people. That`s all I ask for…

Worst probably too many to remember so my worst recent experience was for company delivering Herras Fencing. Arrived at yard early given my run( 4 drops) & vehicle details only to be told 10 mins later vehicle had been in for repair all previous week & wasn`t back.

So took crew cab pick up van to Banff, Aberdeen from London Road, Glasgow. 400 mile round trip. Didn`t leave yard to 10am despite 7am start. All for an hourly rate of £8.75 ph!!!

You must have been working at HMS around the same time as me then. Worked with Alex for about 8 or 9 months till he shut up shop. Was my only time working for an agency and never had any complaints. He was a decent guy, paid quite well too and never had any problems getting my money. Was never out of work with him, although the downside was he had me either in GCN Wishaw or Nightfreight Cambuslang. [emoji23][emoji23] I was offered full time jobs at these companies, but like I said, money was far better working for Alex, so was quite happy to stay with him. He phoned me up a couple of years later to see if I was looking for work. Can’t remember he started up again or was working for an agency though.

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Carlsberg and K&H must be pretty bad. See them all the time in tiny like 20ft trailers or rigids with some with no tail lift and have to lug kegs up and down cellars.

matamoros:

steviespain:
Best, without a doubt, driving a concrete mixer back in the early 80s. Tacho was JUST making an appearance, but no big deal.
If a customer wanted 6 metres of concrete we used to give em 5 and 3/4, save the rest in the hoppers. Saturday morning was bonus day, selling it to local farmers. Used to double my wage. :smiley:

That’s why I was about 2 ft short on an important floor job in the 70’s, caused all sorts of problems :imp: …and it wasn’t my measurements!!

Nope, your measurements were perfect, it was mine that were just a bit off :laughing: :laughing: :laughing:

adam277:
Carlsberg and K&H must be pretty bad. See them all the time in tiny like 20ft trailers or rigids with some with no tail lift and have to lug kegs up and down cellars.

I had an interview last July at LWC Drinks at their Stockton depot. They mentioned that there could be occasions that I would be doing dray deliveries on my own (i.e without a driver’s mate). Sometimes, it must be a nightmare offloading 50ltr kegs, especially in the height of summer with 30+ degree heat.

Somehow, during that interview, my brain locked up when they asked me to describe myself! :blush:

Best - Pick up already loaded and sealed lorry, drive to hub, drop trailer, sleep, pick up trailer, drive back, put on bay, go home. Easiest job ever for 15.50 an hour and 18.25 after 8 hours. I love it!

Worst - I lasted 20 mins if that. Took one look at the unit, did a walk around check and went home. The comment from the agency was ‘some of our guys love it there’!

Best ?
Xmas 07,£4996 Xmas week
Worst?
Never really had one,always worked three or four CO’s that we’re ok,paye at mo,might change in new year

damoq:

DF40:
Best: 10 years ago for HMS agency in Bellshill, working for HM2 who delivered pallets of paper throughout central Scotland. Decent wage & decent people. That`s all I ask for…

Worst probably too many to remember so my worst recent experience was for company delivering Herras Fencing. Arrived at yard early given my run( 4 drops) & vehicle details only to be told 10 mins later vehicle had been in for repair all previous week & wasn`t back.

So took crew cab pick up van to Banff, Aberdeen from London Road, Glasgow. 400 mile round trip. Didn`t leave yard to 10am despite 7am start. All for an hourly rate of £8.75 ph!!!

You must have been working at HMS around the same time as me then. Worked with Alex for about 8 or 9 months till he shut up shop. Was my only time working for an agency and never had any complaints. He was a decent guy, paid quite well too and never had any problems getting my money. Was never out of work with him, although the downside was he had me either in GCN Wishaw or Nightfreight Cambuslang. [emoji23][emoji23] I was offered full time jobs at these companies, but like I said, money was far better working for Alex, so was quite happy to stay with him. He phoned me up a couple of years later to see if I was looking for work. Can’t remember he started up again or was working for an agency though.

Yeah seem to remember him being with someone else. (Jark?) not sure. Alot of agencies are poor but he was really good. Shame they not all like him.
GCN Wishaw is a definite downside :open_mouth: had a few shifts with them recently. Major accident waiting to happen in that place :exclamation:

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