Here’s one for you boys,after exhausting all other options, you ask a driver to run a 15 iot pick a trailer up enroute back to base he moans a bit tells you you no nothing about transport and puts phone down then when he gets back you try to have a word to clear the air! and you get some verbal back and then storms off.
What would you do!
Did he fail to carry out a reasonable instruction?
no.
I guess after a day you could ask him what it was about, assuming you’re the supervisor. It could just be the driver was having a bad day you know!
quork:
no.
maybe ask him for an apology for his “abusive” actions
a 15 iot
Don’t understand this!
If I understand the gist of the message, a driver was tasked to do something he didn’t agree with but which was legal.
He refused.
When queried about it he became abusive.
If the person who tasked the job and who he was abusive to had the company authority to issue instructions etc. then I think the driver could well be looking at a disciplinary at the least.
Assuming that because he didn’t do the job he was asked to do and assuming the company had to send a fresh driver miles out of his way to do the job, incurring extra costs etc then I wouldn’t be too surprised if he was shortly looking for another job!
I’m sure that we have all been asked/told to do something that made no sense to us but not knowing the full facts means that we can’t make a good judgement on if it is actually a sensible request.
when he comes back , dont say anything about ‘clearing the air’ just say ‘can we have a couple of minutes chat pls’
pull him into a quiet office and find out why he couldn’t do what you asked of him. ignore the ‘you know nothing about transport’ you’ll always get that , water off a ducks back really , you have the big picture , he doesn’t. once you 've gone over the reasons , you can then decide what to do, on this one just an informal private warning i would think. however if this a repeating problem , you need to go down the correct DP route.
in this case where he’s stormed off , i would have made sure i saw him the next morning before he went anywhere, even making sure his start time was changed to ensure i saw him and sorted it out before he went anywhere. dont let it fester, it’ll just happen again and again.
He done what Quork asked but he was a bit arsey with him when he got back to base is my understanding?
I’d just ignore it Quork, he done the job, if he wants to let off some steam let him get on with it, we’re all grown men as long as he did the job then that’s the main thing. You can’t expect the bloke to be sweetness & light after a 15 if he didn’t want to do it.
If it becomes a habit you could say something to him then, depends how good the job is really.
As SS says but 15 is what’s available to a driver not a target that has to be reached .
We have blokes that lose it if you change their run as they’ve planed something after work or in the morning etc before work…
I’m not the type to take verbal abuse from anyone for no reason. If the driver had a problem, bad day etc, then that’s not my fault or problem. He would be pulled prior to next shift and asked to explain himself. To me anyone in this game that does not know finish times cannot be guaranteed is in the wrong game. While most of the time you finish on time, or earlier, occasionally you get asked to something that will stretch your shift.
quork:
Here’s one for you boys,after exhausting all other options, you ask a driver to run a 15 iot pick a trailer up enroute back to base he moans a bit tells you you no nothing about transport and puts phone down then when he gets back you try to have a word to clear the air! and you get some verbal back and then storms off.
What would you do!
fight like a MAN! 
or stand to attention, and say " yes corporal, yes corporal! Please may I kiss your ■■■ corporal! 
" sack the lazy driver, two a penny 
get another who’ll do it! 
no wonder this industry’s DONALD DUCKED! 
listen to the driver, he knows best!
quork:
Here’s one for you boys,after exhausting all other options, you ask a driver to run a 15 iot pick a trailer up enroute back to base he moans a bit tells you you no nothing about transport and puts phone down then when he gets back you try to have a word to clear the air! and you get some verbal back and then storms off.
What would you do!
I wouldn’t of tried to clear the air in the first place. I’d of just said thank you to him. You sorted out getting the trailer back didn’t ya? Jobs a goodun, looks like you know what you’re doing.
Op is the the one with the title of supervisor, driver doesn’t seem to accept or respect that.
What happens next time driver is asked for " a late collection"?
?
Me. would have thanked himfor doing it that night…then left it until next day when tempers had cooled a bit,then had a word and explained that I have a job to do just like him, and sometimes it means upsetting folks who already have their "going home " head on, don’t like doing it as much as they don’t like receiving it, but that is the nature of the job and while a bit of upset is understood at the end of the day both of us are doing our jobs and the abuse is not needed- will let the rant and rave go this time, but next time please remember I am a colleague not a family member and venting your frustration on me isn’t appropriate or even called for
I feel lucky to work where I do…
We all have bad days and at my place we (the drivers) and our direct supervisor are at each others throats sometimes, insults are thrown around in anger but y’know what? After work we’ll still grab a pint in and be joking away because we understand that work is work, and it makes you feel ways that you wouldn’t normally. And we know that there are misunderstandings (and different job roles have different agendas, which can clash) that are unreasonable, but it’s only because of work. And there genuinely isn’t any tension as soon as we’re off shift, we’ll take that moment before heading off to shake hands or have a laugh to clear the air, and job done.
It’s a large help that the hierarchies at my place haven’t let the power go to their heads. We all respect one another and each boss knows that the guy or girl below him or her isn’t going to take the ■■■■, and we work a lot better like that.
I don’t know whether we’re doing something right that others aren’t… Or maybe we just have a lucky bunch of people who happen to work well together. My supervisor and I have been at the point of wanting to swing for each other but I sit here typing this with no work related stress whatsoever. It’s like rugby (the game), man up, shake hands and get on with it.
And to clarify, it sounds like the OP is being the man here and the driver is acting like a whinging little kid, but that’s based on what you’ve told us
quork:
Here’s one for you boys,after exhausting all other options, you ask a driver to run a 15 iot pick a trailer up enroute back to base he moans a bit tells you you no nothing about transport and puts phone down then when he gets back you try to have a word to clear the air! and you get some verbal back and then storms off.
What would you do!
Remind him what your position is and tell him next time its an official written warning. Unless of course he does this a lot in which case its an official written warning.
Some great replies there lads,anyway finished work for the day and not seen him,he’s tramping out,after a lot of thought i went for the non discplinary but logged everything that was said in case it happens again,btw i would never talk that way to a work colleague no matter how much i was ■■■■■■ off 
there’s enough stress around as it is sometimes i wish id stayed a driver
I don’t think the supervisor can “take this on the chin”. Yes everyone has bad days but at the end of the day there are expectations of how people should conduct themselves at work. I would wait till the next day and have a word, the man in question has to realise it is not on to disrespect his supervisor or any other colleague for that matter.
If it happens again, disciplinary route
I think you should have said nothing and give him the crap work for a week or two andif he does it again tell him your giving him the crap work as a reward for his cheek.if the above fails to work give his truck to a agencey driver and give him the crapiest truck there.failig that then go through him like a dose of the runs
quork:
Some great replies there lads,anyway finished work for the day and not seen him,he’s tramping out,after a lot of thought i went for the non discplinary but logged everything that was said in case it happens again,btw i would never talk that way to a work colleague no matter how much i was ■■■■■■ off
just a quick one ex driver! did you lose your COMMON SENSE once you hung up your keys and drove a desk? I only ask as THE DRIVER MAY REDUCE THREE TIMES A WEEK! 15 hrs are limits not targets after a lot of thought, you should get back on the road and slog yourself to death for 71 hrs or 84hrs for less than minimum wage! merry Xmas old beam!