AndrewG:
If its at all possible to avoid (not always possible) why would any driver even if hourly paid want to sit around in a goods yard waiting unnecessarily. And isnt that what the jobs about, getting tipped and onto the next one? Its the company a drivers employed by that pays the wages, making full use of the driver and its truck is paramount to productivity. Lost time always without fail means lost money…
As a driver, I don’t make the rules and it’s not a part of my job to question them. If it has been decided by people higher up the food chain that I am to spend three times longer doing something than I need to, then I just go with the flow and bank the money.
I love getting paid to do nothing, as long as I can do it in my cab, or go off for a wander I’m more than happy, it’s actually in my top five things I like to do.
I got my rigid licence three years ago (at the grand old age of 57 ), joined a pallet delivery firm & then got my artic licence six months later. However, having looked at the class 1 jobs around (both internally where I work and in the wider world) I’ve stuck with delivering pallets in a rigid. Why? Because of all the ■■■■■■■■ at RDC’s & delivery points. When delivering pallets, it may be hard work multi-drop but at least I am my own boss out on the road. If the customer wants to play games or delay me, they have precisely 15 minutes before it stays on the truck & goes back to the yard. And it’s kerbside delivery thx very much (but I might bring it to the door if you are polite to me when I arrive). Oh, and I get to sleep in my own bed at night - lovely
Mon - thurs I just follow company procedure and ring driver line and inform them after v45 mins of holdup and then when I leave eta ( very simple ) , fri the dumpy would get chucked out pram , my answer to it all was as last week , straight back to yard , nothing collected , 250 miles or whatever it was back from Eastbourne empty , not companies fault but I’m still not doing a night out as some idiot has ■■■■■■ about loading me thurs night
edd1974:
Think of the money if paid hourly. Plus if was in and out the only find you another job to do.
If its at all possible to avoid (not always possible) why would any driver even if hourly paid want to sit around in a goods yard waiting unnecessarily. And isnt that what the jobs about, getting tipped and onto the next one? Its the company a drivers employed by that pays the wages, making full use of the driver and its truck is paramount to productivity. Lost time always without fail means lost money…
. End day I agree . After a while sitting around get a boring rather be out driving makes the day go quicker. But not a lot you can do just grin and bear it really.
I know a few who’s be happy go to a rdc and sit there all day instead of driving
edd1974:
Think of the money if paid hourly. Plus if was in and out the only find you another job to do.
If its at all possible to avoid (not always possible) why would any driver even if hourly paid want to sit around in a goods yard waiting unnecessarily. And isnt that what the jobs about, getting tipped and onto the next one? Its the company a drivers employed by that pays the wages, making full use of the driver and its truck is paramount to productivity. Lost time always without fail means lost money…
Happened all the time on tipper/roadsurfacing/construction work. Some times an hour or more waiting to load tar if there was a queue or they were mixing a different material, then waiting at the other end to tip for what could easily be several hours. Over five or six days a whole day timewise could easily be lost (given to the customer for free!) just waiting around, and if you were paid on earnings or an O/D it made a hole in your wage when you could be doing another load or two instead! Hourly paid drivers were OK as it was only the owner who lost out then, paying a driver for doing nothing. All part of the job and you just had to accept the fact and get used to your dinner usually being in the dog when you finally got home!
Only way it will ever change is if a majority of the haulage firms make a stand. . And invoice them for waiting around for hours on end. Which technically you can after about half an hour or an hour depending on company policy. Either that or refuse the loads. Then they will soon realise. Will it happen? Never . We should learn from the French at times. Take action all out bring things to a standstill then people will sit up take notice.
edd1974:
Only way it will ever change is if a majority of the haulage firms make a stand. . And invoice them for waiting around for hours on end. Which technically you can after about half an hour or an hour depending on company policy. Either that or refuse the loads. Then they will soon realise. Will it happen? Never . We should learn from the French at times. Take action all out bring things to a standstill then people will sit up take notice.
Well of course every haulier is entitled to charge demurrage, just like the receiver is entitled to then refuse that haulier access to site which would force the supplier to then find a new more compliant haulier to shift the goods instead.
We don’t do much rdc work, just when the factory is quiet they like to keep the drivers busy. Because of that, we can be a bit more heavy handed with these places. Many times I’ve demanded my keys back from the desk because they’ve left me waiting too long. One occasion I refused to vacate a bay without paperwork because last time it took nearly an hour and a half to get it.
I like to remind them that THEY need the stuff, not me and if they don’t sort it quickly, then I’ll leave and they can rebook it.
Captain Caveman 76:
We don’t do much rdc work, just when the factory is quiet they like to keep the drivers busy. Because of that, we can be a bit more heavy handed with these places. Many times I’ve demanded my keys back from the desk because they’ve left me waiting too long. One occasion I refused to vacate a bay without paperwork because last time it took nearly an hour and a half to get it.
I like to remind them that THEY need the stuff, not me and if they don’t sort it quickly, then I’ll leave and they can rebook it.
Trouble is though that any type of willy-waving competition between Joe Bloggs Haulage and Tesco is only ever going to have one winner.
Captain Caveman 76:
We don’t do much rdc work, just when the factory is quiet they like to keep the drivers busy. Because of that, we can be a bit more heavy handed with these places. Many times I’ve demanded my keys back from the desk because they’ve left me waiting too long. One occasion I refused to vacate a bay without paperwork because last time it took nearly an hour and a half to get it.
I like to remind them that THEY need the stuff, not me and if they don’t sort it quickly, then I’ll leave and they can rebook it.
Trouble is though that any type of willy-waving competition between Joe Bloggs Haulage and Tesco is only ever going to have one winner.
And why shouldn’t it be the driver? Our company charges demurage, which encourages them to be a bit quicker any way. Because the supermarkets don’t pay our wages, it gives us power over them. I have no problem at all abusing that power. Highlight of my career was seeing a goods in suit running after my truck shouting “we’ve got a bay for you”. I’ll never get into a willy waving contest (people probably couldn’t tell if I was), but I’ll not be mugged off.
Captain Caveman 76:
We don’t do much rdc work, just when the factory is quiet they like to keep the drivers busy. Because of that, we can be a bit more heavy handed with these places. Many times I’ve demanded my keys back from the desk because they’ve left me waiting too long. One occasion I refused to vacate a bay without paperwork because last time it took nearly an hour and a half to get it.
I like to remind them that THEY need the stuff, not me and if they don’t sort it quickly, then I’ll leave and they can rebook it.
Trouble is though that any type of willy-waving competition between Joe Bloggs Haulage and Tesco is only ever going to have one winner.
And why shouldn’t it be the driver? Our company charges demurage, which encourages them to be a bit quicker any way. Because the supermarkets don’t pay our wages, it gives us power over them. I have no problem at all abusing that power. Highlight of my career was seeing a goods in suit running after my truck shouting “we’ve got a bay for you”. I’ll never get into a willy waving contest (people probably couldn’t tell if I was), but I’ll not be mugged off.
Tesco do have power over their suppliers though, if the haulier that supplier is using is causing them consistent problems receiving the gear because they keep pulling out and/or charging a bomb for demurage they will simply ask them to make alternative arrangements for their haulage or risk not having their products stocked.
For the big suppliers Tesco can’t do without, they keep control by mostly arranging the haulage themselves through their partners ie. Stobart, Maritime, John Raymond etc. who usually don’t care how long the tips take because they are allowed stand trailers on site at the RDCs to drop & swap.
Harry Monk:
I had an agency gig last Winter where I had to drive 70 miles then wait (in the cab) for four hours while they tipped me, every single day. I just looked on it as being paid £50 a day to drink coffee and look at ■■■■ on the internet.
Only 50 quid a day ? That’s disgusting pay, typical agency work, When I drove to Tesco the agency drivers earned an average of 80 quid a day and that was 1997.
Captain Caveman 76:
We don’t do much rdc work, just when the factory is quiet they like to keep the drivers busy. Because of that, we can be a bit more heavy handed with these places. Many times I’ve demanded my keys back from the desk because they’ve left me waiting too long. One occasion I refused to vacate a bay without paperwork because last time it took nearly an hour and a half to get it.
I like to remind them that THEY need the stuff, not me and if they don’t sort it quickly, then I’ll leave and they can rebook it.
Trouble is though that any type of willy-waving competition between Joe Bloggs Haulage and Tesco is only ever going to have one winner.
And why shouldn’t it be the driver? Our company charges demurage, which encourages them to be a bit quicker any way. Because the supermarkets don’t pay our wages, it gives us power over them. I have no problem at all abusing that power. Highlight of my career was seeing a goods in suit running after my truck shouting “we’ve got a bay for you”. I’ll never get into a willy waving contest (people probably couldn’t tell if I was), but I’ll not be mugged off.
Tesco do have power over their suppliers though, if the haulier that supplier is using is causing them consistent problems receiving the gear because they keep pulling out and/or charging a bomb for demurage they will simply ask them to make alternative arrangements for their haulage or risk not having their products stocked.
For the big suppliers Tesco can’t do without, they keep control by mostly arranging the haulage themselves through their partners ie. Stobart, Maritime, John Raymond etc. who usually don’t care how long the tips take because they are allowed stand trailers on site at the RDCs to drop & swap.
It won’t be Tesco who pay demurage…it’ll be the supplier.
), joined a pallet delivery firm & then got my artic licence six months later. However, having looked at the class 1 jobs around (both internally where I work and in the wider world) I’ve stuck with delivering pallets in a rigid. Why? Because of all the ■■■■■■■■ at RDC’s & delivery points. When delivering pallets, it may be hard work multi-drop but at least I am my own boss out on the road. If the customer wants to play games or delay me, they have precisely 15 minutes before it stays on the truck & goes back to the yard. And it’s kerbside delivery thx very much (but I might bring it to the door if you are polite to me when I arrive). Oh, and I get to sleep in my own bed at night - lovely 
