Nighthawk.:
I can’t change the world by any means but there should be a law on advertising jobs to lure you in that don’t exist.
Don’t you dare bring logic into this agency slagging mate! 
Just get cynical and join Krusty’s club… 
(That’s Juddian for the Newbies that don’t know, and I’m a paid up member! 
)
Sadly you have to bend over and take it, and in a way you shouldn’t blame the agencies.
It’s the game and not the players that’s at fault…
So blame your governments! 
As daytrucker points out, you can play them at their own game a bit, and even build up trust with the rare one that’s got some grey matter.
But most importantly you get to move around and hopefully impress the real people in power. The Transport Managers!!!
Imagine this; a firm has 6 limpers being supplied by agencies, and next week they need 8. The agencies then all get a chance to sell their next best limper to the client ™ in a hope they’ll get the business, and potentially expand on that. So what exactly goes through the agency goon’s brain at that point? Well after getting said brain out of waste bin, the goon probably flicks through it’s memory banks and picks a limper. Sound reasonable?
And before I go in to what that means for a Newbie, what if one of the agencies has a trump card that can guarantee them the business? The firm’s TM is going to go with the agency that can give them someone who’s known to the TM and suitably impressed them… So if your agency goon has managed to retrieve a sufficient amount of its cranium contents, they should recognize the importance of these trump cards. If only! But the point I’m making is that the agency is not the boss, the firm’s TM calls the shots! So once you’ve impressed them, the agencies power over you is diminished! 
And it’s even better if you can strike up direct contact… 
But that doesn’t help the Newbies who first have to impress the initial barrier, the goon going through the waste bin…
Newbie’s may not have experience or a track record to impress waste basket man (Or woman), but that’s not the only we judge or influence others. Things like attitude, presentation, professionalism, general competency, ability and persistence are just a few. So when you go to sign up with a waste of space, treat it like an interview. And I purposely put persistence at the end of that non exhaustive list, as the goon with nothing between it’s ears is going to get fed up and give you a shot, if you KEEP calling them…
In my analogy of 6 drivers, I might be giving the impression that you’ll get a shot when demand increases, which initially doesn’t sound great to a Newbie, as clearly that’s a very slow turnover. But be happy Newbies, as in my experience that’s not what governs turnover, it’s competency which is often defined by damage. I’ve yet to see a Newbie get the boot for being slow, and the tracker not give them away… 
I’ve seen one sacked for not answering his phone all day, and at the other end of the scale an English guy that had already have a couple of incidents, then go all out one day and damage 6 cars in 3 separate accidents. I understand why the firm didn’t want to give him another day to see if he could improve that tally! I also thought be was a bellend anyway, and that’s the bonus factor in this game, plenty of screwdrivers out there, and maybe a good reason why those are limpers leaving a trail of destruction in their wake. A transient being so I’m told, but DieselDog’s your man on the ‘Greater Damage Limper’ species and its habits…
Hopefully from that, Newbies are thinking don’t hit anything.
Be late or behind, but not even later because those accident forms are being a ball ache. I know! 
It can’t be denied that accidents, or ‘a safe pair of hands’ is what governs a limpers Aldi bag rating.
It isn’t the be all though, as TM’s know that accidents and bumps are part of the job, so if you’re presented yourself well, you might get a second chance on the other leg. I’m stressing the hell out of Newbies not rushing in the hope they’re start out expecting to initially always be late, or behind the schedule. As it’s experience that tells the rest of us that rushing, taking your eye off the ball, or just being plain lazy is what costs you…
Fire and forget is what all employers are looking for, they want to think of a driver:
“I’ll forget him and check in with the normal muppet crew, that particular driver will call me if there is anything I need to know.”
A Newbie is bound to be watched like a hawk by the office when they first start a limp, and as long as that Newbie can do the job, avoid playing bumper cars, and communicate effectively with the office. The office will probably stop checking in after a while and let them get on with it. Clearly there are specifics to each job, and with pallets there are generally collections in the afternoon. So if you are struggling as a Newbie, you should be telling the office this, as that way the office can strike you off the list in regards to the collections plan. The office may not like this, but it’s better they get the warning and plan accordingly, and playing your Newbie Card saying you want to be safe and do it right, should cut the mustard with them in your Newbie infancy…
And don’t fear Newbies, there will still be plenty of mistakes without you rushing! Whether they’ll be viewed negatively is down to what they are, how serious, or how frequent. With pallets you could get a reputation of damaged goods, and the forkies having a good laugh every time you pull your curtains, as to start with you’ll need to be restacking your load… Clearly this probably comes down to your experience, along with your choices of load security and driving style. And whilst you can have a bit of a crack with the forkies about being a Newbie, the TM is formulating their assessment of you. And I doubt the TM will compensate the damaged good, against you being the first one back. I think they’d prefer you to get back without the damage a little later…
When I was on pallets I knew I could probably do my daily round 30 mins faster if I wanted to. But why?
We’re mostly paid by the hour as limpers, so we only get paid less by being faster, and faster increases the risks of negative things happening. So it doesn’t even make sense drive aggressively and speed, as you’re increasing your risk of points, fines, and the sack from the TM for being a liability. To start with I was often late back, and instead of that TM moaning about me, he told the agency he liked my commitment to getting the job done. Thankfully I didn’t develop the nickname ‘Sloth’, as I got quicker and before too long I could keep pace with the full timers. And Newbies, that’s as fast as you ever want to get…
Some days on pallets you might be bringing undelivered drops back, but a Newbie may not know this when they start, and as such feel under pressure to complete the round. The Newbie doesn’t know that workload on pallet delivery erratic, and some days your run sheet may be speculative, the Newbie doesn’t know why the regulars are either laughing with the planner, or calling him a C… The regulars though, won’t be feeling the pressure a Newbie probably would, as they are more than happy to bring pallets back and basically tell the TM that workload is unobtainable or unsustainable. The green Newbie could be going like a loon to get it all done, leaving a path of devastation in it’s wake, unaware they are their own worst enemy! The TM is thinking you must have driven like a nut, thrown the goods at the customer, and probably maneuvered without as much care as you might, so they’ve got the accident forms on standby for you!
Does it sound like as a green Newbie, there are many positives to rushing?
Only negatives when trying to impress a TM…
Good, as I’ve got a bit of a special reason for all this waffle. A green Newbie just hit my motor maneuvering, and it was very clear he felt under pressure to get through his drops on a schedule. Which considering he was green and currently couldn’t drive for toffee, rushing was the last thing he should be doing…
Rant over, your turn Krusty!
