AGENCY DRIVERS....

[malone]

I am guessing there are a lot of Agency drivers on this website…i am also guessing there are a lot of drivers here with full time jobs with there respective companies. What i wanna know is…do all Agency drivers have a complete lack of respect for the vehicles they drive when they come into out depots to do there days work. I have never ever seen an Agency driver use the vehicle wash at my depot [DHL Godmanchester]. I understand they dont know how it works etc…but all they need do is ask?

Im not having a go at Agency drivers just asking is there any decent ones out there? If so theres plenty of work at our depot as we have no end of [zb]s who cause damage leave the trucks in a right state…also most dont speak english?!

Just thought id post a little subject…please forgive me if this has been discussed i havent checked through the last few threads.

[coffeeholic]

Personally speaking, I leave the vehicle in the condition I find it but regardless of whether it is a tidy vehicle or a slum to begin with I leave nothing behind in the cab that I took in with me and that includes any rubbish such as empty cups, sandwich wrappers etc. However, I don’t generally eat in the cab anyway because then I don’t have to clean up any crumbs. I also don’t mess with any stuff that belongs to the regular driver, apart from removing any flags or other stuff stuck in the windscreen.

I’ve never used the wash at DHL Hatfield, mainly because you can’t usually get near it for parked vehicles and I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a DHL driver using it either. Other places I work such as Asda or Woolworths I do use the wash because apart from anything else it adds a bit of time to your shift and time equals money in your pocket.

[teddy_0781]

malone:
:oops:

I am guessing there are a lot of Agency drivers on this website…i am also guessing there are a lot of drivers here with full time jobs with there respective companies. What i wanna know is…do all Agency drivers have a complete lack of respect for the vehicles they drive when they come into out depots to do there days work. I have never ever seen an Agency driver use the vehicle wash at my depot [DHL Godmanchester]. I understand they dont know how it works etc…but all they need do is ask?

Im not having a go at Agency drivers just asking is there any decent ones out there? If so theres plenty of work at our depot as we have no end of [zb]s who cause damage leave the trucks in a right state…also most dont speak english?!
Just thought id post a little subject…please forgive me if this has been discussed i havent checked through the last few threads.

yawn yawn same old same old tar peole with the same brush weather agy or full time it,s all down to ur ■■■■■■■ hygene look at the cab,s and look at the people driving them say,s it all

[jessicas_dad]

teddy_0781:

malone:
:oops:

I am guessing there are a lot of Agency drivers on this website…i am also guessing there are a lot of drivers here with full time jobs with there respective companies. What i wanna know is…do all Agency drivers have a complete lack of respect for the vehicles they drive when they come into out depots to do there days work. I have never ever seen an Agency driver use the vehicle wash at my depot [DHL Godmanchester]. I understand they dont know how it works etc…but all they need do is ask?

Im not having a go at Agency drivers just asking is there any decent ones out there? If so theres plenty of work at our depot as we have no end of [zb]s who cause damage leave the trucks in a right state…also most dont speak english?!
Just thought id post a little subject…please forgive me if this has been discussed i havent checked through the last few threads.

yawn yawn same old same old tar peole with the same brush weather agy or full time it,s all down to ur [zb] hygene look at the cab,s and look at the people driving them say,s it all

for a change carl… well said.

lets change the record.

[bananaman]

I had the same problem last week, although it wasn’t an agency driver that used my van. I had a weeks holiday, so another 1 of our drivers used it for the week. Before I left work the previous week, I spent about 45 minutes tidying and cleaning the van, only to have to do the same again yesterday morning. He had used the van as his “personal” dustbin. Not only had he left it in a state, but he had taken the polish, window cleaner, and spare rags I keep in there to keep the van tidy, and both my (nearly) brand new rachet and straps had gone…

[coffeeholic]

Bananaman:
he had taken the polish, window cleaner, and spare rags I keep in there to keep the van tidy,

You keep a Polish window cleaner in your van? That doesn’t seem vary fair on the good old British window cleaner.

Oh, sorry I didn’t see the comma after polish.

[hitch]

some places state on boards nr wash
NO AGENCY or OUTSIDE CONTRACTORS TO USE WASH

[driver-once-more]

hitch:
some places state on boards nr wash
NO AGENCY or OUTSIDE CONTRACTORS TO USE WASH

not in our depot, but then again the wash appears to be broken most days

[mrreliable]

"If you haven’t been inducted driver you can’t use the wash , it’s all this health and safety tosh ! "

[mike-c]

malone:
I understand they dont know how it works etc…but all they need do is ask?

Maybe they need showing/telling?

[gezt]

malone:
:oops:

I am guessing there are a lot of Agency drivers on this website…i am also guessing there are a lot of drivers here with full time jobs with there respective companies. What i wanna know is…do all Agency drivers have a complete lack of respect for the vehicles they drive when they come into out depots to do there days work. I have never ever seen an Agency driver use the vehicle wash at my depot [DHL Godmanchester]. I understand they dont know how it works etc…but all they need do is ask?

Im not having a go at Agency drivers just asking is there any decent ones out there? If so theres plenty of work at our depot as we have no end of [zb]s who cause damage leave the trucks in a right state…also most dont speak english?!

Reply
Having been on both sides of the fence(currently im on angency) we all know how some fulltime drivers look down on agency drivers as just something they trood in . After all we all hold the same licence and do the same job.I have as a full time driver seen a few company employed drivers do some damage to a vehcile or trailor the promptly blame the agency drivers. Its about time we all treated each other with a certain amount of respect and help all drivers wether agency ,newbies or regular company drivers. I have always approached agency drivers and offered any help or directions and generally had a good response from them(even when i was a shunter).If that offer was rejected out of hand by “I KNOW IT ALL” THEN FINE NO WORRIES .
Please also i don’t like the influx of foriegn drivers taking our work but can anyone honestly blame them for trying to better themselves.
NO OFFENCE INTENDED TO THE AUTHOR OF ORIGINAL POST OF ANYONE ELSE

[conor]

malone:
Im not having a go at Agency drivers just asking is there any decent ones out there? If so theres plenty of work at our depot as we have no end of [zb]s who cause damage leave the trucks in a right state…also most dont speak english?!

Just thought id post a little subject…please forgive me if this has been discussed i havent checked through the last few threads.

Yeah you are having a go. And as for not speaking English, perhaps you should look a bit closer to home. Talk about illiterate. Did you actually go to school? There is this little thing called an apostrophe. You should learn to use it. Stops you looking like a clown.

Agency drivers get rubbish jobs in the worst motors and get plenty of attitude from fulltime drivers so why should they give a toss about washing your motor?

As for fulltime drivers, I’ve lost count of the number of fulltime drivers wagons that I’ve got in and found it with no oil, no screenwash and with a list of defects a mile long.

[paul_midway]

It’s coming to light at my place of work now who leave crap in the cabs and don’t wash them down .
The brand new vehicles are only given out to employed drivers as the “agency” drivers where blamed for leaving crap in the old fleet .
Plenty of these new vehicles coming back with rubbish left in them , not washed , defects not done . etc etc etc …
Don’t deserve them .

[mrflibble]

Well…

I always aim to leave the cab in the same state as I found it (or better). I certainly don’t leave rubbish in them or anything like that.

But…

I don’t always wash the unit. If it looks dirty, I’ll wash it, but if it still looks quite clean, I normally don’t. Partly because I don’t want the client thinking that I’m trying to increase my paid hours unnecessarily (although maybe I’m being a bit over-cautious here), and partly because it’s a waste of water and electricity to wash a truck that’s only been out for a single shift on dry roads.

[flying_fenman]

I think you get good and bad drivers. Agency and staff. Full stop.

I know several agency drivers that are top blokes and if I were once again in a managerial position, I would be looking to take on my books.

However, due to a few recent experiences, I can understand where Malone is coming from.

As my truck is one of our better ones, it generally goes to a staff driver at night, and I’ve never had any problems. Nothing has ever been removed, and the night drivers often give it a muck-out. We only have about 16 trucks, so most of us know each other.

One night last week, an agency driver had it.

The following morning I found a roll of blue tissue paper, a half-full bottle of Flash, and nearly full pack of wet-wipes were missing.

This was particularly confusing because he had left the interior in a right mess, so why he stole them I’ll never know. Doesn’t appear he knows how to use them.

My Severn Tag had also vanished.

I know his face - sooner or later our paths will cross and I’ll have the thieving ■■■■■

I suppose staff drivers tend to be better behaved because they are more accountable due to their attendance being more regular. It is also far easier to chastise a staff driver, than a driver you are only using on a temporary basis who is actually paid by a third party.

I do acknowledge that we employ some really crap drivers also.

Agency drivers are vital in today’s climate. And I think the good ones will prosper, leaving the poor ones at home without work - or at least forced to take on the crap jobs the good blokes don’t want.

Just my thoughts…

[coffeeholic]

During my shift today I crossed paths with three agency drivers I know very well and who regularly work at DHL Godmanchester, I mentioned this thread to them, which wasn’t difficult as they all have English as their native tongue, even the Irish one. You may be surprised, or happy, to hear they didn’t disagree with what you said and pointed out just as there are good and bad employed drivers in that depot there are good and bad agency going in there as well.

[qhunter]

I spent the last 10yrs of my driving working for the same agency and turned down many many offers to go full time (I used to enjoy telling them “you can’t afford me”!). I stayed with the agency for a variety of positive reasons. I almost always earned considerably more than than the full timers in the customers employment. I enjoyed the variety but don’t misunderstand that to mean instability. I usually went into customers for months at a time and quite often for more than 12months at a time. Because I’d shown the agency loyalty, reliability and professionalism I was treated similarly and don’t recall any downtime during the whole period I was with them.

As as been said above, there are good and bad drivers everywhere. If I was presented with a clean, tidy vehicle I kept it that way. If it was obvioulsy a vehicle that was cherished I treated it with respect. On the other hand, if I was treated as ‘a dummy agency driver’ as did happen from time to time I responded accordingly. In, do the job, then out with as little effort on my behalf as necessary. That said, it doesn’t mean that I ever mistreated vehicles or left them filthy. At the other end of the scale, if I was presented with either a dustbin or the fleet deathtrap (Excel Logistics Mars Slough tried this and when I demonstrated that the unit only had three working brakes I got banned from the site although I was backed to the hilt by the agency) I would have no qualms in refusing to drive it. On more than one occasion have I stood and watched a member of office staff cleaning out a vehicle before I would use it. It’s a question of mutual respect isn’t it? They expect respect from me and I expect the same.

One of the most amusing things I encountered regularly when I went into somewhere new was the attitude of customers own drivers. Like somehow, because I worked an agency that meant I was no good. That my 20yrs on driving for a living counted for nothing. I used to enjoy beating these morons at their own game by showing them and their employers just who was the better driver!

Yes, there are agency drivers out there who do not act professionally, who steal drivers private possessions from vehicles, who are careless, cause damage, who can’t do the job, who can’t drive even, but to tar all agency men with the same brush says more about those doing the tarring than the agency men as a breed.

If you look down your nose at the role of agency driving then you’re missing the point. I enjoyed it enormously.

[flying_fenman]

Got my truck this morning.

My front kerb mirror was gone. Not cracked - the whole assembly is missing.

Culprit?

Agency driver.

Funny - no mention of this on a defect form.

Not saying a staff can’t do damage to a truck - we all can.

But I am CERTAIN that one of our own blokes would have owned up to it.

Now I have got to mess about at a M-B dealer to get it fixed. As if i don’t have enough work to be getting on with.

I’m going to get a regular staff night driver to use my truck if I’m not in it. I can’t be doing with all the hassle of replacing bits of it.

[fozzie]

I think there is good and bad every where you go andf if i do agency i always leave it the same as i found it if not cleaner

[aposhark]

Hello,

I’d like to raise some points about this.

I have only been on C+E agency work for a couple of months after passing the test and in the main, it has been sink or swim. Nobody ever shows you the switches and knobs in the unit, for example.
It has been a very steep learning curve for me. I have been on so many different units and gear boxes, that the first thing I do is find out where the switch for the interior light is ! Everywhere I go is the same thing: “There’s your paperwork and keys, the unit is somewhere in the yard, so is trailer xxxx”.
We are all supposed to do the daily walk around check, but I’ve not seen anyone to even show me how to open the unit’s front to check the oil, coolant and washer liquid. If you try to take time doing these things, some people rush you into getting down the road.
It all seems like rush, rush, rush which I am not averse to, but most of the drivers who work for companies on a salaried basis don’t seem to have any idea the problems agency drivers face. After all, from our point of view, we have to appear as competent as possible to get the loads delivered in good time, and get the vehicle and trailer to their respective places in one piece with no damage done.
Still, I suppose as in life - nobody has the time to teach you anything. You have to keep your eyes open, brain switched on and ask questions if you don’t know.
On a side note, I have been heartened by the drivers who compliment you on getting out to check during blind-side reversing onto tight bays, yet try to forget the idiots who rush up and say “hurry up, I want to get home”. I for one realise the damage that these things can do and I don’t want to be in that brigade.

Flying Fenman, I would like to suggest something about how agency drivers feel.
Got my truck this morning. My front kerb mirror was gone. Not cracked - the whole assembly is missing.
Culprit? Agency driver. Funny - no mention of this on a defect form.

Perhaps the bloke has only just started artics like me and he’s ■■■■-scared of not getting more work. He could be only getting minimal hours/days and was really relying on your company to get him more days to feed his family?
Sure, he could be a bad driver and an ■■■■■■■■ but he may be a top bloke who is doing his best.
No-one has ever shown me where a defect book is, I always had one when I was salaried.

Not saying a staff can’t do damage to a truck - we all can. But I am CERTAIN that one of our own blokes would have owned up to it.
I have known salaried drivers try to pin damage on an agency driver because they were going to lose their bonus.

Also spare a thought for us agency drivers who don’t smoke. We often have to keep BOTH windows open in the cold weather so we don’t gag at the smell, or sometimes of the day user whose hygenic standards are weak to say the least. Granted it could work the other way, an agency driver who fouls up a clean cab.

Thanks for reading,
aposhark