Hi thinking of putting a couple of units on the road and was just wondering if anybody pulling for gregorys , and what they are like to pull for
Ask Harry Monk. Pretty sure he subbed for them.
yea I no harry was on for them but I think he sold up got to say I think he gave good advice and told you how it was. I was hoping someone was on there now and could give a bit of advice thanks
I sold my truck about a year ago, largely because I had moved onto my narrowboat, a long-standing ambition, and wanted to go down to working six months a year, cruising the canals for the other six. Because work is so plentiful where I over-Winter (between Rugby and Coventry), because of the problems of employing a driver and running things when I was so far away from the operation and often without a mobile phone signal, and because it wasn’t economically viable to own a truck which was parked up for six months a year, I packed in.
As for Gregory’s, when I started old man Gregory was still running the place, he was quite elderly (in his 80s I believe), nothing much had changed for decades and the atmosphere was of a small West Country family-run firm. When he retired, the next generation took over, they were far more profit orientated, there was downward pressure on rates (at the time the cost of diesel was coming down but the reduction in rates far outstripped the fuel savings) and the atmosphere changed too, it felt more like Stobart or Wincanton or any of the other major players. They got rid of two long-serving traffic planners who had been favourable towards subcontractors and replaced them with new planners who were more focused on maximising profits for the company, parking a subbie up if it was quiet, and getting one of their own trucks to do the work with an agency driver for example. Perhaps that does make financial sense from their perspective, but subbies do have to cover their costs, and many other subbies pulled off about the same time as I did, if only partially for the same reasons.
I’m not in touch with anyone still subbing there so I really wouldn’t know if it has got better, worse, or stayed the same. They always paid on time, and like all subbing there was a living in it but not a fortune. Most of the people you encounter there are thoroughly decent. All you can do I suppose is have a few weeks at it and see how it goes.
As sort of mentioned by Harry Monk - for years you used to see the same subbies day in, day out pulling Gregory trailers.
Certainly I can remember seeing the same units usually one man bands, from the south west constantly on Gregory’s work for as long as I could remember.
Simply put - you don’t now.
Something must have made them stop.
Hi again just to say thanks for replys , not sure what to do may be just buy a truck and show it just bored sat at home any way thanks again.