Supermarket home delivery

Yeah I know I’m likely to get pelters for this but instead of coughing up money for training and going straight into the world of trucking I thought it would make sense to dip my toe in as I come from an office background. So for the last few months I’ve been home delivering for a supermarket.

Call me deluded but only having driven a car no bigger than a family hatch, I reckon it’s a ■■■■ good initiation.
The vehicle itself is pretty large, and takes a fair bit of skill to manoeuvre down tight streets and park in small spaces.
There’s quite a bit of admin involved, there daily van checks, adding ad blue, jet washing, making sure chiller and freezer temps are fine and a schedule to stick to which can change frequently though.

Also head office to deal with and narky customers too. There’s loading bay and warehouse rules to adhere to so in my humble opinion for someone with literally zero experience in transportation it’s been a really good insight.

Long story short I’m glad I’ve done it and I think it’ll stand me in good stead for taking the c and c+e tests in the not too distant future.

I am pleased it has worked for you and you have found it helpful. I am guessing that you wear a blue uniform? Their vans are usually bigger than the others I have seen.

A word of caution for the future though from someone who spent nearly 20 years in retail before starting driving last year. Supermarkets are very “by the book” with rules and policies. Some haulage companies, particularly ones who take new passes can be “less so” so just be ready for that.

Good for you mate, its definitely good experience all round and will help you both with handling a larger vehicle, and getting a taste of life on the road

Supermarket delivery driver is ideal training for either Bus or HGV driving.

To go from a 3.5 tonne box van or even a 3.5 tonne Mercedes Sprinter type van to a HGV Class 2 is only a small step.

It will make it much easier to pass first time especially if you go with PSTT as I did.