Afternoon I have searched the forum and have failed to find any details so that’s why I am posting.
I have applied for the job of trunk driver for Argos/dhl based in Bedford Marsh leys site, I just wondered if anybody had any more information as to how far the trunk to and the job in general I’m just surprised this role has come up as I had heard this was a very good job so just surprised to the job being advertised.
Thank you in advance if you can help and if not no worries.
Marsh Leys used to be a home delivery depot,wagon n drag inter depot work, but since Sainsburys took Argos over dont know what the set up is now. Would imagine trunks would not be that far.
Just go by the premise that in all cases across the industry distances run are being minimised wherever possible until/unless proven otherwise.
Which then just leaves the question what is expected of drivers during the resulting downtime.
Luckily very easy questions to ask but a good chance that the answers won’t be good.
Carryfast:
Just go by the premise that in all cases across the industry distances run are being minimised wherever possible until/unless proven otherwise.
Which then just leaves the question what is expected of drivers during the resulting downtime.
Luckily very easy questions to ask but a good chance that the answers won’t be good.
The downtime is spent doing nothing other than sitting in the cab.
ClassOneHD:
Carryfast:
Just go by the premise that in all cases across the industry distances run are being minimised wherever possible until/unless proven otherwise.
Which then just leaves the question what is expected of drivers during the resulting downtime.
Luckily very easy questions to ask but a good chance that the answers won’t be good.The downtime is spent doing nothing other than sitting in the cab.
My downtime is spent sleeping while waiting.
In fact I’ve never in any driving job had to routinely do anything while being tipped or loaded. Other than the odd aldi or lidl delivery.
I’m unaware of this alternative reality on which Carryfast lives. A guy who hasn’t done the job for years telling someone who does it every day what is wrong with the job he’s not involved with 
ClassOneHD:
Carryfast:
Just go by the premise that in all cases across the industry distances run are being minimised wherever possible until/unless proven otherwise.
Which then just leaves the question what is expected of drivers during the resulting downtime.
Luckily very easy questions to ask but a good chance that the answers won’t be good.The downtime is spent doing nothing other than sitting in the cab.
Great then that’s obviously what the job description will say in writing when he asks the question.Unlike the drivers on the Wincanton Argos side at least as of 2020 according to the advert.
Carryfast:
ClassOneHD:
Carryfast:
Just go by the premise that in all cases across the industry distances run are being minimised wherever possible until/unless proven otherwise.
Which then just leaves the question what is expected of drivers during the resulting downtime.
Luckily very easy questions to ask but a good chance that the answers won’t be good.The downtime is spent doing nothing other than sitting in the cab.
Great then that’s obviously what the job description will say in writing when he asks the question.Unlike the drivers on the Wincanton Argos side at least as of 2020 according to the advert.
Not sure why it would need to say it on a contract? I see it myself every night 
Don`t know what the procedure is with Wincanton these days,but when I worked for Argos (in house) they mainly did shop deliveries and inter depot trunking. The only time they where required in the back of a motor was at a shop.As for trunking, Drivers no matter who they worked for, where not allowed in the warehouse, it was on a deck and wait or swap trailers.
ClassOneHD:
Carryfast:
Great then that’s obviously what the job description will say in writing when he asks the question.Unlike the drivers on the Wincanton Argos side at least as of 2020 according to the advert.Not sure why it would need to say it on a contract? I see it myself every night
So did I until the warehouse manager knocked on the door while I was watching my good old fashioned analogue portable cathode ray tube tele and said get in the warehouse and start tipping your trailer.
Can’t actually remember what I was watching when I told him very politely to do one.
Then things got interesting.Suspended on disciplinary and written warning etc etc with the union telling me to get back to work and do as I was told within 24 hours or they would be on the side of the firm when they sacked me with immedidiate effect.
I didn’t even know anything about the agreement recently reached for drivers to be used as warehouse staff let alone voted on it.
So yes seeing the job description itemised in writing is good advice that and don’t trust unions.
Apologies if this had been mentioned already. But at my bus depot on our Unite Union board, there is an article about Argos , Wincanton up in the north west. Apparently the union has negotiated a 30% pay rise for the drivers.
The hourly rate was something like £11.50 to over £15 ph.
This pay rise seems quite remarkable.
Apparently Wincanton declined to comment.
Anyone else seen this?
Carryfast:
Then things got interesting.Suspended on disciplinary and written warning etc etc with the union telling me to get back to work and do as I was told within 24 hours or they would be on the side of the firm when they sacked me with immedidiate effect.
even the Union was against you?! Have you never questioned why everyone is against you?
> Carryfast:
> Just go by the premise that in all cases across the industry distances run are being minimised wherever possible until/unless proven otherwise.
> Which then just leaves the question what is expected of drivers during the resulting downtime.
> Luckily very easy questions to ask but a good chance that the answers won’t be good.
What CF is saying is:- Check they don’t want you to drive a dustcart whilst waiting or if you are as awkward as he is, they don’t get you to handball 10 or more Box vans in the hope you’ll fork off to another company down the road.
It never ceases to amaze me that CF never sussed that the reason they gave him ■■■■ jobs was to get rid of him, and conversely that the management never cottoned on to the fact that his reputation had gone before him and no forker would give him a job anyway unless it was handball & floor sweeping
whisperingsmith:
It never ceases to amaze me that CF never sussed that the reason they gave him [zb] jobs was to get rid of him
[/quote]
It was a collective union agreement applying to all the drivers in the hub system transhipment operation one driver obviously isn’t going to be much use for that.The difference is I refused to do it that’s why I got put on a disciplinary.
Then a while after that I was given a nice direct distance box/trailer swap trunk run for a few years.
RogerOut:
Apologies if this had been mentioned already. But at my bus depot on our Unite Union board, there is an article about Argos , Wincanton up in the north west. Apparently the union has negotiated a 30% pay rise for the drivers.
The hourly rate was something like £11.50 to over £15 ph.
This pay rise seems quite remarkable.
Apparently Wincanton declined to comment.
But they’ve obviously also agreed to drivers doing warehouse work to pay for it according to the job description which I won’t bother posting.
Carryfast:
RogerOut:
Apologies if this had been mentioned already. But at my bus depot on our Unite Union board, there is an article about Argos , Wincanton up in the north west. Apparently the union has negotiated a 30% pay rise for the drivers.
The hourly rate was something like £11.50 to over £15 ph.
This pay rise seems quite remarkable.
Apparently Wincanton declined to comment.But they’ve obviously also agreed to drivers doing warehouse work to pay for it according to the job description which I won’t bother posting.
No, they have not - you really are a clueless buffoon aren’t you. I was class 1 and used to work agency at Magna Park and then went permanent for Wincanton out of Kettering on the Argos contract and am still in contact with people still there, I have first hand experience … you do NOT!
As Lollipop says it is straight forward trunking, store deliveries and some supplier collections (usually after you have done a store delivery)
The trunking was always on the multideck trailers to Heywood (the North West depot mentioned here), Basildon, Faverdale or Bridgwater.
The store deliveries were predominantly tail-lift - although your job as a driver ended at the tail- lift, you simple pushed the cages and dollies onto the lift and sent it down, the store staff then took it from the lift into the storeroom and loaded the empties and return cages on the lift to be sent up.
The supplier collections ranged. Some were forklift a pallet onto the trailer and you as a driver used the pump truck to stack them, others were back on a bay and sit in cab/waiting room.
At no point were you then nor now expected to work in the warehouse on “warehouse duties” so give it a rest!
Apologies to the OP as you were asking about the W&D side of the business out of Marsh Leys which I have no experience of as we never got involved with the home delivery depots.
Carryfast:
Then a while after that I was given a nice direct distance box/trailer swap trunk run for a few years.
Is that before or after they crippled you?
tmcassett:
At no point were you then nor now expected to work in the warehouse on “warehouse duties” so give it a rest!
‘‘Due to the nature of the work heavy lifting is required’’ ‘‘fully flexible in relation to duties’’ .Exactly what does that mean and who would want to sign up to those requirements ?.Just using a tail lift and shifting cages from load deck to ground level doesn’t fit or need that job description.Having to stack or break down pallet/cage loads wherever in or out of a warehouse would.So quite possible warehouse ‘type duties’ required by the job description regardless of the pedantics.
truckingjobs.co.uk/2020/08/c … -1141.html
Also a ‘trunking job’ that’s also involves multi drop.
switchlogic:
Carryfast:
Then a while after that I was given a nice direct distance box/trailer swap trunk run for a few years.Is that before or after they crippled you?
The symptoms and resulting investigations had started before that point but wouldn’t call sciatica and bad back pain crippled.As I said I was eventually put out based on the H and S implications of the resulting diagnosis and what the scans showed having refused to return to hub system work.
Carryfast:
tmcassett:
At no point were you then nor now expected to work in the warehouse on “warehouse duties” so give it a rest!‘‘Due to the nature of the work heavy lifting is required’’ ‘‘fully flexible in relation to duties’’ .Exactly what does that mean and who would want to sign up to those requirements ?.Just using a tail lift and shifting cages from load deck to ground level doesn’t fit or need that job description.Having to stack or break down pallet/cage loads wherever in or out of a warehouse would.So quite possible warehouse ‘type duties’ required by the job description regardless of the pedantics.
truckingjobs.co.uk/2020/08/c … -1141.html
Also a ‘trunking job’ that’s also involves multi drop.
Regardless of the pedantics says the king of the pedants
Argos won’t give you a run down to Teheran or Kathmandu because they save those runs for the elite drivers whose faces fit. 