Againts my better judgement I took a shift today. Turned up wagon had very little fuel.
Only had a bp fuel card. I didn’t realise how quick it would go through it. Had to google bp garage and was taken 20 miles off route.
Got back and was interrogated about it. Also questioned all my stops for breaks etc. I’m fuming - felt like they were insinuating I’d done something wrong.
Im meant to be there tomorrow at 3.30. I won’t let agency down by not showing , as it’s not their fault. But I’ve been told “I need to leave at 3.30 and out the gate”. I’ll be doing very thorough walk around checks.
If that’s normal don’t know how you blokes put up with it. Disgusting way to treat someone. At pub watchig rugby now so it’s not a totally awful day.
sammym:
Againts my better judgement I took a shift today. Turned up wagon had very little fuel.
Only had a bp fuel card. I didn’t realise how quick it would go through it. Had to google bp garage and was taken 20 miles off route.
Got back and was interrogated about it. Also questioned all my stops for breaks etc. I’m fuming - felt like they were insinuating I’d done something wrong.
Im meant to be there tomorrow at 3.30. I won’t let agency down by not showing , as it’s not their fault. But I’ve been told “I need to leave at 3.30 and out the gate”. I’ll be doing very thorough walk around checks.
If that’s normal don’t know how you blokes put up with it. Disgusting way to treat someone. At pub watchig rugby now so it’s not a totally awful day.
All depends where you work as to how you get treat. It is par for the course though at a lot of places and not unusual to be made to feel the way you describe though. After a while you tend not to listen to them as it goes in one ear and out the other. I just do the job and collect the pay and don’t let them interfere too much with the way I do my job. They soon learn to leave you alone once they have confidence in you.
sammym:
Againts my better judgement I took a shift today. Turned up wagon had very little fuel.
Only had a bp fuel card. I didn’t realise how quick it would go through it. Had to google bp garage and was taken 20 miles off route.
Got back and was interrogated about it. Also questioned all my stops for breaks etc. I’m fuming - felt like they were insinuating I’d done something wrong.
Im meant to be there tomorrow at 3.30. I won’t let agency down by not showing , as it’s not their fault. But I’ve been told “I need to leave at 3.30 and out the gate”. I’ll be doing very thorough walk around checks.
If that’s normal don’t know how you blokes put up with it. Disgusting way to treat someone. At pub watchig rugby now so it’s not a totally awful day.
It’s not normal. Possibly if you made one mistake it was that you could have said “The truck has got hardly any fuel in it, what do you want me to do?” before you left the yard, and that would have put the ball squarely in their court. There’s probably a BP place they use locally which is why they have a BP card.
As for taking breaks while being unloaded, I’m flexible on this. If I’m genuinely having a break then that’s fine. If I’m expected to open and close curtains etc while tipping then it’s not.
But if you don’t like a client, don’t be afraid to turn down shifts working for them. They can’t be too ■■■■■■ off with you or they would have told the agency not to send you back tomorrow.
blue estate:
Just remind them it’s your licence not theirs and you’ll take all required brakes etc
Apparently it’s “company policy to only take breaks when being unloaded” have asked them to get their transport manager to put that in writing for me. WTF! policy one thing !but the law is what you go by
Apart from their attitude it was a great job. No surprise they need agency drivers with that attitude. Great trucks, great runs, [zb] people.
Well I’ve made a decision. Rather than be an Internet coward im going to do the best job I possibly can tomorrow. And I’m then going to tell them why I’ll never work for them again.
It’s a shame - location is perfect, trucks are top notch, and run was amazing (seeing sunrise through welsh countryside). But I’d rather flip burgers than have uneducated morons speak tome in an aggressive and obnoxious manner.
I’m not a ‘snowflake’ as I’ve been called before. I did my time in the army. I put up with being treated like dirt. But I’m not doing it whilst driving a truck. I do my best and will always do anything reasonable is asked politely. I’m just glad this isn’t normal.
blue estate:
WTF! policy one thing !but the law is what you go by
Yes, this is true, but there are grey areas. I’m deducted 45 minutes a day for breaks so my argument is that I am perfectly entitled to spend that in some transport cafe somewhere, even if I’ve just left a customer’s premises where I’ve been waiting two hours to tip. In practice though, if I have been genuinely not working in that time, for example by being able to spank one out while watching the ladies figure skating from Pyann Yong on my laptop then I might be prepared to consider that to be my break. It all depends on the client’s attitude and whether I like them or not.
20 miles off route then presumably 20 miles to get back on. 40 miles out of your way or the best part of an hour depending on traffic. Quick call to the office would have sorted it.
harrawaffa:
20 miles off route then presumably 20 miles to get back on. 40 miles out of your way or the best part of an hour depending on traffic. Quick call to the office would have sorted it.
Phone records showed I tried. It was 4am and no one was answering. Got given keys and paperwork by a factory guy who didn’t speak English. Mobile number to duty guy was ignored. Got a text a 6.15 asking if everything was okay. Could have parked up for over 2 hours instead.
I wasn’t trying to pull a fast one. I’d rather be watching the rugby than earn another £14 which is an hours pay on a Saturday for me.
harrawaffa:
20 miles off route then presumably 20 miles to get back on. 40 miles out of your way or the best part of an hour depending on traffic.
Maybe he fancied a cup of his favourite brand coffee
OP Start at 3:30 card in, put it on “other work”, do your checks and out the yard at 3:45 or 15 mins after you put your card in. When you get back round up your finish time to the next quarter hour
They only do that to people who they know won’t speak up for themselves
They can’t tell you when or where to take your break
If its such a handey job then you must have fuelled up before as you have done work before for them
If it’s not fuelled up at start then you have to inform office its going to take more than 15 minutes with walk around as well
harrawaffa:
20 miles off route then presumably 20 miles to get back on. 40 miles out of your way or the best part of an hour depending on traffic.
Maybe he fancied a cup of his favourite brand coffee
OP Start at 3:30 card in, put it on “other work”, do your checks and out the yard at 3:45 or 15 mins after you put your card in. When you get back round up your finish time to the next quarter hour
just like what I did this morning due to having to run back in , card in 6am left 6:15 am got back to yard 7:30 am , moved a rigid out of a trailer space and then parked trailer in it , uncoupled and filled up diesel and adblu ,washed truck and then last but not least coupled up to Mondays trailer and filled time sheet in and took card out at 9am managed to get 3 hours OT in for an 11/3 hour drive back
nick2008:
A break is where the driver is able to recouperate as long as YOUR not doing ANY work you can be asked to have your break anywhere.
I said pretty much the same earlier in the thread, but the fact remains that if I am automatically deducted 45 minutes pay during my shift then I will spend that 45 minutes at a place of my choosing, not that of the agency or the client.
As I also said earlier, what I do in practice depends entirely on the general attitude of the client.
nick2008:
A break is where the driver is able to recouperate as long as YOUR not doing ANY work you can be asked to have your break anywhere.
I said pretty much the same earlier in the thread, but the fact remains that if I am automatically deducted 45 minutes pay during my shift then I will spend that 45 minutes at a place of my choosing, not that of the agency or the client.
As I also said earlier, what I do in practice depends entirely on the general attitude of the client.
I know Harry but some just can’t distinguish between the break and rest .
I was always the same as you but then if it was a cross dock load you could understand that the load was being split for onward delivery so where you had drivers having breaks on the way up it caused delays on the onward loading.
Always took my breaks after the 1st part of the journey was done
and you’ll take all required brakes etc
policy one thing !but the law is what you go by 
managed to get 3 hours OT in for an 11/3 hour drive back 