Hi everyone,
I’ve been offered a job doing recover with 4 on 4 off, 24hour long shifts and would appreciate some opinions about this kind of job. Im in Scotland and not too far away from Edinburgh so it would probably be fairly busy. My only concerns are being on call for the full days, it just sounds awful if it’s really busy the whole day. Is it worth considering, or would I be better of doing longer shifts at class 1 and know what to expect?
Thanks again
Kamil
I can only speak for myself but I hated stand by.
Recovery it self was OK and with being domestic hours I could do the hours and make a good coin.
The stand bu was horrible and with being asleep and then getting called out for someone with a flat battery was not fun
If your busy the time will fly by! If your sitting around waiting for a call it can be frustratingly boring! I loved the variety of recovery butits hard graft.
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Depends very much on what type of recovery work.
If it’s RAC/AA/Greenflag contractor type work then run (don’t walk) away. If it’s specific make warranty type work, or the Police contract, then it can be a good craic. If it’s heavy recovery . . . . !
I can give you very many scenario’s where YOU may be putting yourself at much risk, but it depends on very many variable factors.
You need to realise that it’s YOU who is responsible for how YOU work. Some of these recovery companies throw the work at you & care not one jot for the legal implications when YOU have to stand up in court & explain how YOU went out on that 2hr job despite having no real sleep for 72hrs.
I’m guessing you could park the wagon at or very near home? Having to drive even a couple of miles in your car after getting back out of bed before firing up the truck is a pain when responding to an on call.
Most firms make the most of domestic rules / 100km radius tacho relaxation, so it will likely be down to you managing what you can manage when called upon. The attitude of your controller can make a big difference.
A mate of…
Mine did it for just over a year. If you’re with a good outfit and working with good kit, it’s a decent job.
The only downside he mentioned to me was having to work with the nasty things that happen with high speed impacts. I’m sure you get my drift.
Is it common to find 4-on 4-off doing recovery?
ezydriver:
Is it common to find 4-on 4-off doing recovery?
It certainly wasn’t while I was doing it
ezydriver:
Is it common to find 4-on 4-off doing recovery?
Depends on the business model of the garage & how rogue they are, but it’s not unheard of.
The outfit near to me that operates 4on 4off expect their drivers to do an 8hr+ day in the vehicle then be on call for eve’s & nights. If you think that recovery is all about hanging around drinking tea then you’ve never done it, they’ll work you till you finally drop, or fall asleep at the wheel . . . . ! When you chat with these drivers, who are slowly waking up & becoming aware to what they signed up for, you learn that they live for 4 days snatching 2-4hrs sleep here & there.
When I was on general, long time ago, I left South Somerset at 02.00. Delivered a crashed car to Newcastle and was still on call from S/Somerset from when I got back to base at 18.00 for the rest of the night.
Thanks for the replies everyone, it’s very much appreciated.
I’ve decided not to go for the job due to being liable for £1700 of any damage caused to customers vehicles and being a AA subcontractor I figured it would be pretty busy a lot of the time and I think I would struggle to get good sleep.
Once again, thanks for the replies!
Kamil
Kamiljan:
I’ve decided not to go for the job due to being liable for £1700 of any damage caused to customers vehicles
What an absolute ■■■■ take ^^^^ being a subcontractor you’ll get all the ditch work that the AA/RAC etc won’t touch, that means cars in fields etc. they’ll be in a crap state to begin with. I worked for a proper cowboy outfit but even they wouldn’t have tried that one on with us!
the maoster:
Kamiljan:
I’ve decided not to go for the job due to being liable for £1700 of any damage caused to customers vehiclesWhat an absolute ■■■■ take ^^^^ being a subcontractor you’ll get all the ditch work that the AA/RAC etc won’t touch, that means cars in fields etc. they’ll be in a crap state to begin with. I worked for a proper cowboy outfit but even they wouldn’t have tried that one on with us!
Yeah it certainly is off putting in my eyes. One mistake and your pay could be affected for a good few months cause of it and like you say it’s likely you get crap work that the AA don’t want. Money wasn’t great either as starting rate was £10.50 and after you complete all training it went up to £13
I broke down in Croydon about 11pm and after an hours wait a young bloke arrived contracted by the RAC.
Chucked the car on the back and then said where to, Guv and when I said Dorset there was this silence and then he said he’d been told it was “local”.
Turned out he had been on the go from 7am so was already 15 hours in - when he dropped me off it was nigh on 3am and he had to get back to the smoke.
He was dead on his feet - it didn’t help he was driving one of those nasty Canters or Fuso efforts.
Here is my tuppence on it, I broke down about 25 miles away from home , the guy turns up and refused to take my car back to a garage local to me saying it was a classic Volvo of which it was not a classic and it may get damaged on his lorry, i then had to wait hours for another recovery lorry which makes me think the first guy just couldn’t be bothered and wanted to go home .
My second issue was my Mrs broke down on a fast single track road about 12 miles from home .
Terrified and frightened because her car was partially straddling the live lane and some passing motorists were hooting and shouting abuse, she was told of about a four hour wait , but not given priority.
The guy arrived but couldn’t repair on site and offered to tow her back but she was too nervous to be towed so opted for him to arrange a lorry to pick the car up .
I told her that she should have over emphasised how urgent and dangerous the situation was , to the extent of white lies and not back down with any excuses .
In a way it is similar to getting a Doctors appointment when you are triaged by reception so you have to over elaborate the ailments to get seen.