My first run was in August, but since I’ve just done my first Cat.C run, I thought I’d get off my [zb] and type this up.
So…
The tail lifts which fold underneath the back of the truck need to be folded out by hand. I spent a while trying to work out why it hit the floor, and wouldn’t fold out…
The speed limits for 7.5t trucks are 70/60/50, not 60/50/40, as I had been doing all day. I found this out whilst checking the Highway Code at the end of the day…
The most difficult part of the job is finding the destination. It’s especially difficult when the place isn’t in the A/Z (or equivalent). I drove past one shop twice, before finding it on the 3rd attempt…
When you’re given an A-Z with the destinations marked, don’t assume that the one cross marked in a town is the one you have to go to. I was delivering stuff to Woolworth’s stores in the West Midlands, and had a drop in Kidderminster. I found the Woolworth’s store in the city centre quite easily (and felt quite proud of myself, since I drove straight to it), but as I went to start unloading, I realised that it was actually supposed to go to a shipping company on the outskirts of Kidderminster, to be shipped to a Woolworth’s in Guernsey.
The loading/unloading area of a shop will always be on the opposite side of the one at which you arrive. Getting to the other side of the shop will take at least 15 minutes, spent in traffic jams and 1-way systems.
Loading/Unloading time doesn’t count towards the 4.5 hours driving time.
Ludlow town centre is a real pain in a truck.
No, the clutch pedal isn’t stuck, you’re just not pushing it hard enough.
The loading/unloading area of a shop will always be on the opposite side of the one at which you arrive. Getting to the other side of the shop will take at least 15 minutes, spent in traffic jams and 1-way systems.
amen to that first time i went to our store in darlington i was looking on the wrong side of town and that was with a detailed map
one of our drivers parked his truck and walked around oxford city centre because he couldn’t find the store
Jonboy wrote:
amen to that first time i went to our store in darlington i was looking on the wrong side of town and that was with a detailed map
one of our drivers parked his truck and walked around oxford city centre because he couldn’t find the store
Walsall was the worst. I eventually found the place, and parked within 20 m of the front of the shop. Unfortunately, the loading bay was the other side of the shop, and there was a pedestrianised street inbetween. I had to drive for at least a mile (probably closer to 2) through Walsall city centre at rush hour just to travel 50 m…
Gurner wrote:
Are you working out of swindon DC for deliveries then?
in my job at the moment, we have some big contracts with Barretts homes…
however new your A-Z is and however up to date your knowledge of the area is, you will still not be able to find the road or the estate you are looking for!!
because it isn’t been registered until someone moves into the Houses!
Oh how I can relate to all of that…at times I’ve felt very alone in a big world trying to find what seems like an oasis in a desert…you can see where you need to be but how…
And whlst its fun bombing along on the motorway what happens when I hit a hill…it almost stops and everything passes me back on the inside, oh I love it all really.
I always thought I knew Great Yarmouth untill I spent a few weeks doing multi drop there & if anyone thinks finding a house/shop/office is difficult, they should try finding a ship. (Its easy once you know how.)
Yeah, can sympathise about the Barratt job! I used to work for a company that supplied all the kitchen units and work-tops for most of the big house builders all over the country and whilst the road names on the delivery notes were most descriptive, rarely any of them were in the map books. It was either a case of looking for the little yellow signs they put on the streetlights which often point you in the direction of the big new house sites or look for the company ticket eg. Redrow and follow the direction arrow on the ticket. As a last resort, phone the site up and ask them where they are. However 9 times out of 10 they’ll be out of the office and the answerphone will be on.
You’re okay if you do the same route week in week out as you get to know where they all are but I feel sorry for the agency lads who are on a different run every week. Must be so frustrating.
Speedy:
You’re okay if you do the same route week in week out as you get to know where they all are but I feel sorry for the agency lads who are on a different run every week. Must be so frustrating.
Yes, it is…
It’s really annoying because the routes are all laid out based on how long the usual driver takes; If you’ve got 10 drops, and you take an extra 6 minutes per drop (not exactly difficult), that makes you an hour late at the end.
Then you start getting people complaining at you for being late, plus you end up missing the last few drops because you were so late that they gave up and went home.
At the end of the day, you go away thinking you’ve done a really [zb] job, even though you’ve tried your best.
And then the boss gives you a drop list which expects you to get from Worcester to Ludlow in 30 minutes (including Worcester tipping time), and it’s about 35-40 miles on winding A-roads…
I deliver furniture to private addresses all over the south east of England and I come across a lot of new housing estates.A good tip i’ve picked up is to use Estate Agents for directions.They often give you a map of the area with the new estates marked on them but don’t always expect it.Another good scource of local directions can be the local fire station.They need to be notified of all new adresses for safety reasons but I have ended up telling them how get somewhere on more than one occasion!
Yeah, can sympathise about the Barratt job! I used to work for a company that supplied all the kitchen units and work-tops for most of the big house builders all over the country and whilst the road names on the delivery notes were most descriptive, rarely any of them were in the map books. It was either a case of looking for the little yellow signs they put on the streetlights which often point you in the direction of the big new house sites or look for the company ticket eg. Redrow and follow the direction arrow on the ticket. As a last resort, phone the site up and ask them where they are. However 9 times out of 10 they’ll be out of the office and the answerphone will be on.
