So I’m going to tell about my day. Mostly I want those thinking of driving for a living to see the negative side of it all. For whilst I mostly love my job, its not all roses.
My wife is a teacher and due to my job she also drops our son at nursery and picks him up most of the time. The exception being when she has to work a parents evening. Then either myself or in an emergency her dad picks our son up.
So I got caught out last parents evening, thought I’d be on my usual short Thursday run and instead was in Northampton on a multidrop route I didn’t know.
So yesterday I asked the planner if I’d be on my burton short run today. Got told i would be and I explained the need to get my son.
Get in this morning and I’m on a huge run i don’t know in Rugby. Try my best. End up bringing back 2, did a 13 hour day. Got home 20 minutes ago. Wife ends up collecting our son from grand dad and got in 5 minutes after me. She’s been stressed all day. I’ve been to and feel totally ■■■■■■ over.
So now gonna book every parents evening etc off as holiday. But I hope newbies coming to this job appreciate it isn’t always a good fit with family life and well planners are ■■■■■.
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I fully understand the frustration. But this is exactly what I had to do when I was a driver over 40 years ago. So not much changes. The transport industry is very unpredictable and no-one should make any plans that rely on getting home.
That’s the truth of it - - though there are some exceptions, no doubt.
Pete 
Peter Smythe:
I fully understand the frustration. But this is exactly what I had to do when I was a driver over 40 years ago. So not much changes. The transport industry is very unpredictable and no-one should make any plans that rely on getting home.
That’s the truth of it - - though there are some exceptions, no doubt.
Pete [emoji38] [emoji38]
Very true Pete.
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Thats bad news, The biggest reason for me taking half the week off to drive is to spend more time with my family, My last week off was when we got married 4 years ago might of had 2 week ends off since 
I would like to do tipper work. (dump and go) good motto for life.
Farmer Trucker:
Thats bad news, The biggest reason for me taking half the week off to drive is to spend more time with my family, My last week off was when we got married 4 years ago might of had 2 week ends off since I would like to do tipper work. (dump and go) good motto for life.
Yeah I kinda fancy tippers. Thinking of getting hiab and working for a builders merchants. Hear their hours aint bad.
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It’s the life we accepted when my husband started training. Worst day he’s had so far was when he had a 5 hour delay before even leaving as his truck hadn’t turned up, then he still had to do a 4.5 hour drive each way. This was on a Saturday aswell.
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Should’ve PM’ed me mate I’d have had you flying around Rugby on the grounds I’ve lived here for 25 years lol
But on topic that’s why anything like that I always book it off. Don’t get me wrong if I said to my firm I need an early finish they’d do their bit but then there’s the what if I breakdown or get delayed so it’s safer to book it off.
toonsy:
Should’ve PM’ed me mate I’d have had you flying around Rugby on the grounds I’ve lived here for 25 years lol
But on topic that’s why anything like that I always book it off. Don’t get me wrong if I said to my firm I need an early finish they’d do their bit but then there’s the what if I breakdown or get delayed so it’s safer to book it off.
Was hitting all the rugby school houses.
And yeah booking it off from now on, lesson learnt and I’ll get a day with my son so win win.
I know how the job can be. Just annoyed cuz I’d asked, been told I’d be on my usual run which woulda had me back at depot by 2pm. If when i asked I’d been told I’d be on what i was i could have made plans that evening.
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IronEddie:
toonsy:
Should’ve PM’ed me mate I’d have had you flying around Rugby on the grounds I’ve lived here for 25 years lol
But on topic that’s why anything like that I always book it off. Don’t get me wrong if I said to my firm I need an early finish they’d do their bit but then there’s the what if I breakdown or get delayed so it’s safer to book it off.
Was hitting all the rugby school houses.
And yeah booking it off from now on, lesson learnt and I’ll get a day with my son so win win.
I know how the job can be. Just annoyed cuz I’d asked, been told I’d be on my usual run which woulda had me back at depot by 2pm. If when i asked I’d been told I’d be on what i was i could have made plans that evening.
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Plans 
I ended up on four nights out this week. I was only planned two. Just one of them really in this line of work.
No offense Eddie and I’m sorry you missed your parents evening but just to provide some balance driving is far from the only job where things change. I used to work in retail and if the manager I was handing over to was late or rang in sick I was waiting for the next person. That could easily be 3 hours.
My girlfriend works at a college but had someone have an accident 30 minutes before she was due to finish and she had to stay an sort it.
By all means go on the builders for the the hours but a puncture on the way back to the yard will still make you late.
This isn’t intended to have a go.at anyone but there are a lot of posts on here that make you think drivers are the only workers who do long/anti social hours for “low pay” (thats a separate debate) but we are not. Yes we have more variables due to traffic, breakdowns etc but we are far from the only ones who can’t be sure that just because we should finish at x time we will
I never plan anything in my current job, things change every 5mins it feels like. This week my rest days were Monday/Thursday/Saturday. Im back in tomorrow and at the moment im off Monday and the working Tuesday - Friday and Saturday/Sunday off but I still wont agree to any plans for next weekend just in case
Most local waste jobs are better for planning family life .General etc forget it …
Good example for today… My husbands agency didn’t assign him anything for the weekend. So we all went out to ikea, kids too. Agency calls up, ask if he’s available within 2 hours for a job. Saving grace was we’d taken two cars so me and the kids weren’t stranded!
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kcrussell25:
No offense Eddie and I’m sorry you missed your parents evening but just to provide some balance driving is far from the only job where things change. I used to work in retail and if the manager I was handing over to was late or rang in sick I was waiting for the next person. That could easily be 3 hours.
My girlfriend works at a college but had someone have an accident 30 minutes before she was due to finish and she had to stay an sort it.
By all means go on the builders for the the hours but a puncture on the way back to the yard will still make you late.
This isn’t intended to have a go.at anyone but there are a lot of posts on here that make you think drivers are the only workers who do long/anti social hours for “low pay” (thats a separate debate) but we are not. Yes we have more variables due to traffic, breakdowns etc but we are far from the only ones who can’t be sure that just because we should finish at x time we will
Actually I missed picking my son up from nursery. My teacher wife had a parents evening on which is why she couldn’t pick up our son. She usually does.
I was a supervisor in a restaurant inside a department store previous to driving. So yeah i know its not just trucking where spanners get thrown in the works. Not bothered about the unexpected more so that i thought I’d confirmed my short day with the planner.
I don’t plan things for in the week, because of the job. The exception being the rare few times my wifes job forces it.
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IronEddie:
kcrussell25:
No offense Eddie and I’m sorry you missed your parents evening but just to provide some balance driving is far from the only job where things change. I used to work in retail and if the manager I was handing over to was late or rang in sick I was waiting for the next person. That could easily be 3 hours.
My girlfriend works at a college but had someone have an accident 30 minutes before she was due to finish and she had to stay an sort it.
By all means go on the builders for the the hours but a puncture on the way back to the yard will still make you late.
This isn’t intended to have a go.at anyone but there are a lot of posts on here that make you think drivers are the only workers who do long/anti social hours for “low pay” (thats a separate debate) but we are not. Yes we have more variables due to traffic, breakdowns etc but we are far from the only ones who can’t be sure that just because we should finish at x time we will
Actually I missed picking my son up from nursery. My teacher wife had a parents evening on which is why she couldn’t pick up our son. She usually does.
I was a supervisor in a restaurant inside a department store previous to driving. So yeah i know its not just trucking where spanners get thrown in the works. Not bothered about the unexpected more so that i thought I’d confirmed my short day with the planner.
I don’t plan things for in the week, because of the job. The exception being the rare few times my wifes job forces it.
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You need to stand up to them.
I’ve heard all about brakes. And you are a better man than me. I’d probably not make it out of the yard before I handed them the keys back.
But if they promised you an early finish - and then went back on it, you should have either refused to take it out OR brought it back when you felt you’d done enough hours.
I know you will say you have a mortgage etc… But there are a ridiculous number of jobs around where we are based. And your family should come first. If you do it once they will think they can keep doing this to you. And frankly you are worth more than that.
sammym:
IronEddie:
kcrussell25:
No offense Eddie and I’m sorry you missed your parents evening but just to provide some balance driving is far from the only job where things change. I used to work in retail and if the manager I was handing over to was late or rang in sick I was waiting for the next person. That could easily be 3 hours.
My girlfriend works at a college but had someone have an accident 30 minutes before she was due to finish and she had to stay an sort it.
By all means go on the builders for the the hours but a puncture on the way back to the yard will still make you late.
This isn’t intended to have a go.at anyone but there are a lot of posts on here that make you think drivers are the only workers who do long/anti social hours for “low pay” (thats a separate debate) but we are not. Yes we have more variables due to traffic, breakdowns etc but we are far from the only ones who can’t be sure that just because we should finish at x time we will
Actually I missed picking my son up from nursery. My teacher wife had a parents evening on which is why she couldn’t pick up our son. She usually does.
I was a supervisor in a restaurant inside a department store previous to driving. So yeah i know its not just trucking where spanners get thrown in the works. Not bothered about the unexpected more so that i thought I’d confirmed my short day with the planner.
I don’t plan things for in the week, because of the job. The exception being the rare few times my wifes job forces it.
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You need to stand up to them.
I’ve heard all about brakes. And you are a better man than me. I’d probably not make it out of the yard before I handed them the keys back.
But if they promised you an early finish - and then went back on it, you should have either refused to take it out OR brought it back when you felt you’d done enough hours.
I know you will say you have a mortgage etc… But there are a ridiculous number of jobs around where we are based. And your family should come first. If you do it once they will think they can keep doing this to you. And frankly you are worth more than that.
I did bring two back as it was. And yeah tbf wish I’d left rugby earlier with more back but I’d got Grandad to pick small up at that point.
Not that I have much comparison but Brakes haven’t been as bad as some of the stories I’ve heard. I think they’re trying to improve but like anywhere some people are idiots/pricks. And there’s no getting away from it being a tough job to do anyway. Especially food service.
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