After 3 months of Class 2 work, I recently passed my Class 1 and after 3 weeks working for a well known firm, and my 1st week tramping, I handed the keys in yesterday after the week away and told them not to bother planning anything for next week as I won’t be back next week.
The reason being the planning manager spoke to me like I was an idiot whilst out and about and I wont stand for that. Unfortunately both the planning manager and transport manager had gone home by the time I had finished.
So rather than get arsey and stressed out by it, I continued with the day, ended the shift professionally, handed in the defect sheets for some of the trailers I had pulled and the unit.
I then contacted the transport manager thanking him for the opportunity and how much I had enjoyed the job however I couldn’t work with this chap.
He responded in a dismayed manner saying he would speak to the planning manager however, I’ve been in business long enough to know that people rarely change their characteristics and I can work anywhere.
Also, this planning chap is the transport manager’s son and so that might create issues that I’m not interested in getting inbetween.
I’m in my late 40s and have had a career change from selling workflow solutions to Directors and board levels and so I’m not exactly a mug but had had enough of the stress and appreciate a working environment where people respect each other. No need to be a bell-end and disrespectful.
Got an interview and assessment with a large family run outfit on Tuesday which I’m sure will go as planned as I will be an asset to any haulier.
Oldhairpin:
What a stress-free job driving is and I love it!
You ain’t been doing it long enough then - stressfree…defo not!
Welcome to the jungle - getting treated like crap by planners, gatehouse, warehouse and car drivers is part of the life. Not everyone will of course but theres always a few.
This isn’t nice corporate land where you can play buzzword bingo, these people are often playing with their own money and understand deadlines, have customers directly on the phone and don’t go for drinks down the local winebar.
Unfortunately there are little ■■■■■ usually family members who act the same as spoiled corporate directors and they need taking down a peg or two, but you often get that in family businesses or corporate bs in larger ones like supermarkets.
Best ones are medium businesses with a few depots and dont work for the main one.
PS: don’t ever tell anyone you work with that you used to sell “workflow solutions”! You’ll get laughed out the office or warehouse.
Oldhairpin:
What a stress-free job driving is and I love it!
You ain’t been doing it long enough then - stressfree…defo not!
Welcome to the jungle - getting treated like crap by planners, gatehouse, warehouse and car drivers is part of the life. Not everyone will of course but theres always a few.
PS: don’t ever tell anyone you work with that you used to sell “workflow solutions”! You’ll get laughed out the office or warehouse.
The reason being the planning manager spoke to me like I was an idiot whilst out and about and I wont stand for that.
Do you mind me asking what it was that he said, which led to you leaving?
A bit of a diversion - How have you found the transition from the corporate/office world to tramping?
I was pushing back as he was asking me to do a job which would see me potentially going over my hours and he was saying they’d send someone to pick up etc. and I was saying “no” as i had to babysit that night.
From there he started ordering me to do it “Now, listen to me…” etc. and I’m thinking if he was speaking to my face like this I’d be arrested.
On that basis i felt it best i leave the firm.
The disrespect drivers are shown astonishes me and that is the biggest challenge I have faced. When some ■■■■■■■ jumped up little ■■■■ talks to me dismissively I would love to slap him and ask him to say it again pleasantly
yup I had the same attitude shown to me when I went to a large then local company …nb I had been driving for iirc 5yrs but not for local comp but on irish/uk work on drags. and the attitude shown to me was like wow!.. pick up a trailer in the yrd a flat ,you know no curtains not a box im like what!!..then go pick up a tilt for a euro load do I have to get another driver show you what one looks like !!
now ive only been there 2 days as local guy/shunter to see what they were like ……then on the third day .take this 7.5 box van to A then reload at B and take to C load at c and bring back to A soooooo I start a 6am back in about 6pm unload and head to office with paperwork ……HEY NEEWBIE what you think your doing says the office boy ([zb] younger than me) you have a night trunk/changeover to do (I knew it took 9ish hrs to do).I say I started at 6am cant do it …well [zb] me the night transport guys starts shouting and swearing at me that I should be gratefull that they gave me a job as I had worked for cowboys in the past and I should do it no question…………………………
After I told him the “cowboys” treated me very well and would never speak to a driver like that and that he to go [zb] his self and his bumboy as well , I got banned for life …long story not even allowed on traction hehe they even told my mates there that I was a persona non gratis and I was not allowed even a lift to a motor. so you see it just isn’t a new problem it happened in the 80s
