I was reading something on here about firms which pay poor money. It would be interesting if one of Commercial Motor’s journalists could do a proper piece of insightful writing into the good wages vs. bad wages conundrum. In fact I would do it myself were I available for freelance commissions…
On the one hand employers can pay wages around the £7 ph mark and end up with a yard full of ‘drivers’ who upset customers, damage vehicles (and loads through not securing them properly), have plenty of short-term time on the sick, use too much diesel through not driving economically and cause premature wear to clutches, brakes and tyres.
I am sure most have worked with these bottom-of-the-barrel idiots at some point. I found them often ID’able as being the ones who reverse under trailers at a rate of knots and with a huge bang as the pin engages, then give it a bootful of revs on the tug test and nearly drag the trailer across the yard with the wheels locked solid.
On the other hand, you could pay a good wage and attract quality drivers who don’t damage things, don’t upset customers, turn in every day and drive economically and sympathetically.
I wonder if the net cost to a business of having either working for it is much different at all.
I have always held the belief if the employee is treated right they will have a pride in their company and treat the equipment and customers accordingly in any industry.
+1, Some of these bosses who just want take the pish basically ,at almost every level deserve it when the driver plays them at their own game, then the rattle gets thrown out the pram,lol
problem is there are too many pish takers out there these days
Its all about short termism.The accountant wants to see a low wage bill this week,the damage bill wont show for a month or two.The old adage ,pay peanuts and get monkeys.
Thing is a good wage will not always attract a good driver. Few firms round me pay good money but the drivers just milk it for all its worth. Washing off 3 times a week to get hours in, hanging the bag out to avoid parking up early.
Where I worked before I went on my own we were the worst paid in the area by a long way but none of us were work shy. If we were on a job which involved other hauliers we ran rings round them, sometimes doing an extra round trip for example.
Alot of people now just have no work ethic, no conscience. They think haulage is a licence to print money and take the ■■■■ out of their employee. I see it everyday, big yard to get turned round in (3 point turn) and what do they do? Screw every last mm of rubber off the tyres and then laugh about it. Makes me blood boil. No one has any respect left nowadays, regardless of how much they’re paid.
This will only get worse as the old boys, the true professionals shall we say, retire and we are left with the proverbial ‘steering wheel attendant’. Im 28, a country lad brought up on a farm and im not shy of a long days graft. Unfortunately the majority of people in my age bracket arent the same. No respect, no loyalty and no professionalism. They will do what they want, when they want regardless of how much money theyre earning.
I really don’t think wages have a great deal in the quality of drivers but its the way an employer looks after employees that counts.
As an agency driver i’ve worked for a few firms and you can instantly tell who’s got the worst driver-office relationship just by looking at the wagons usually they are damaged,poorly maintained due to lack of defect reporting/bosses not giving a ■■■■ unless a driver refuses to take it out, not been washed and dirty inside.
A few companies i’ve had the pleasure of working for (even though the wages are the near enough same) you can tell the wagons are kept clean and have very little damage, the drivers and office staff are generally happy and helpful, give you a sensible workload and at the end of the day they say you’ve done well and thank you for your effort, it’s the little things that make the difference to morale and result in lower damage, drivers less likely to ■■■■ customers off and drive more considerately.
xfmatt:
This will only get worse as the old boys, the true professionals shall we say, retire and we are left with the proverbial ‘steering wheel attendant’. Im 28, a country lad brought up on a farm and im not shy of a long days graft. Unfortunately the majority of people in my age bracket arent the same. No respect, no loyalty and no professionalism. They will do what they want, when they want regardless of how much money theyre earning.
Matt
I’m in your age bracket mate and we have no reason to talk ourselves down. Just as many disrespectful unprofessional scruffy buggers trumpeting themselves as ‘old pros’ as their are bad younger drivers.
Professionalism in the industry has gone to the dogs because of poor wages attracting monkeys, don’t think it has anything to do with ‘todays youth’.
xfmatt:
This will only get worse as the old boys, the true professionals shall we say, retire and we are left with the proverbial ‘steering wheel attendant’. Im 28, a country lad brought up on a farm and im not shy of a long days graft. Unfortunately the majority of people in my age bracket arent the same. No respect, no loyalty and no professionalism. They will do what they want, when they want regardless of how much money theyre earning.
Matt
I’m in your age bracket mate and we have no reason to talk ourselves down. Just as many disrespectful unprofessional scruffy buggers trumpeting themselves as ‘old pros’ as their are bad younger drivers.
Professionalism in the industry has gone to the dogs because of poor wages attracting monkeys, don’t think it has anything to do with ‘todays youth’.
All generations are guilty - simple.
However, the standards being accepted by employers are the main issue along with poor pay and conditions they offer.
They need cheap labour to ‘aim’ their truck down the road, doesn’t matter who hence importing of cheap workers from the Eastern Bloc et al. The combination of great pay (for them) and new trucks to play with is heaven. Down the line the damage being done by this cheap labour and poorly trained endemic populace is beginning to show and as the job market improves there will be a shortage of decent quality employees to have. These cheap outfits will inevitably continue to suffer as well as the so called blue chip outfits that see damage and mayhem as a price worth paying and absorbing in the search for even bigger profits.
Long hours and low pay will be here for a long time yet.
xfmatt:
This will only get worse as the old boys, the true professionals shall we say, retire and we are left with the proverbial ‘steering wheel attendant’. Im 28, a country lad brought up on a farm and im not shy of a long days graft. Unfortunately the majority of people in my age bracket arent the same. No respect, no loyalty and no professionalism. They will do what they want, when they want regardless of how much money theyre earning.
Matt
I’m in your age bracket mate and we have no reason to talk ourselves down. Just as many disrespectful unprofessional scruffy buggers trumpeting themselves as ‘old pros’ as their are bad younger drivers.
Professionalism in the industry has gone to the dogs because of poor wages attracting monkeys, don’t think it has anything to do with ‘todays youth’.
I’m the same age too and one of the youngest at my place, if I’m on a day run I’ll either give the motor a rinse down at the beginning or end of the shift (depends how bad it is when I start as we have different motors every day), if I’m out for a few day or all week I’ll wash it before and again when I return and every time I’m washing it on the return some ‘old boy’ will say to me “are you only just starting?”, so I reply “no”, to which they all say “■■■■ that, all I’m doing when I get back is going home”. I aways polish the mirrors up and make sure there is no ■■■■ on the windows too when parking up.
A lot of them don’t even bother filling it back up with diesel or add blue, I definitely feel it’s more the ‘old boy’s’ who couldn’t give a toss attitude.
Also same age bracket as yourself, I can confirm (at least in my place) “senior drivers” are absolute lazy tossers. We mostly have our own wagons i.e dont cab hop. And the state of some of the “senior” drivers units are disgusting inside and out. Pure laziness. I clean mine daily, and its not just state of the wagons, its general attitude. Because they have been doing it donkey years they really do think they are better than the rest. Its ■■■■■■■ annoying. Don’t get me wrong, we have a few who are absolutely spot on. Help out the new guys always are immaculate wagon and person. Drive the thing like they paid for it. Some old timers need to get their head out of their ■■■. SOME new folks coming into the industry wipe the floor with old timers, they need the job, it costs alot of money now to get licenses and with people needing DCPC before taking you on its a huge investment. Dont knock the younger generation, more often than not inexperience does not outweigh ■■■■ attitude and laziness.
This is a huge generalization purely based on MY experience. I know for a fact some old timers are spot on. As I have helped out of certain awkward situations:) So respect to the decent old timers. And respect to new drivers. And for you lot who think they are just a cut above the rest. ■■■■ off
Now on topic. Higher wage attracts more people. So its really up to the company who they take on. Higher wage doesn’t guarantee a decent employee. He might be awesome on paper, but ■■■■ on the job. Just more a pool to choose from
jobseeker:
I really don’t think wages have a great deal in the quality of drivers but its the way an employer looks after employees that counts.
As an agency driver i’ve worked for a few firms and you can instantly tell who’s got the worst driver-office relationship just by looking at the wagons usually they are damaged,poorly maintained due to lack of defect reporting/bosses not giving a [zb] unless a driver refuses to take it out, not been washed and dirty inside.
A few companies i’ve had the pleasure of working for (even though the wages are the near enough same) you can tell the wagons are kept clean and have very little damage, the drivers and office staff are generally happy and helpful, give you a sensible workload and at the end of the day they say you’ve done well and thank you for your effort, it’s the little things that make the difference to morale and result in lower damage, drivers less likely to ■■■■ customers off and drive more considerately.
+1 makes all the difference. As they say, a happy worker is a productive worker.
Where I work there is a “Old Timer”, ■■■■ attitude, won’t do certain runs, won’t work past his finish time, goes in a huff if he doesn’t get home early. In his mind, he has done it all, is sick of the job and can’t wait to retire, has to do something for the next few years. Myself, being 26, I am still new to the industry and I’m eager and keen to learn and work. A old boy was in our yard last week (Stobarts driver), he was brand new, gave a few tips on operating a curtain sider, told a few stories, couldn’t ask for a nicer guy.
Supply and demand… Until haulage companies struggle to get drivers the wages won’t go up… Its so simple even a monkey could understand it and theres plenty of them in here, normally banging on about how great they are at the job …
xfmatt:
This will only get worse as the old boys, the true professionals shall we say, retire and we are left with the proverbial ‘steering wheel attendant’. Im 28, a country lad brought up on a farm and im not shy of a long days graft. Unfortunately the majority of people in my age bracket arent the same. No respect, no loyalty and no professionalism. They will do what they want, when they want regardless of how much money theyre earning.
Matt
I’m in your age bracket mate and we have no reason to talk ourselves down. Just as many disrespectful unprofessional scruffy buggers trumpeting themselves as ‘old pros’ as their are bad younger drivers.
Professionalism in the industry has gone to the dogs because of poor wages attracting monkeys, don’t think it has anything to do with ‘todays youth’.
I’m the same age too and one of the youngest at my place, if I’m on a day run I’ll either give the motor a rinse down at the beginning or end of the shift (depends how bad it is when I start as we have different motors every day), if I’m out for a few day or all week I’ll wash it before and again when I return and every time I’m washing it on the return some ‘old boy’ will say to me “are you only just starting?”, so I reply “no”, to which they all say “[zb] that, all I’m doing when I get back is going home”. I aways polish the mirrors up and make sure there is no [zb] on the windows too when parking up.
A lot of them don’t even bother filling it back up with diesel or add blue, I definitely feel it’s more the ‘old boy’s’ who couldn’t give a toss attitude.
I’m not saying their attitude is right. But you often find that they have been in the business long enough to have worked out that you very rarely get appreciated for all the helpful little touches. Most places these days (small family firms aside) don’t give a toss.
So they do the bit they get paid for. Sometimes, it’s more cynicism than anything.
xfmatt:
This will only get worse as the old boys, the true professionals shall we say, retire and we are left with the proverbial ‘steering wheel attendant’. Im 28, a country lad brought up on a farm and im not shy of a long days graft. Unfortunately the majority of people in my age bracket arent the same. No respect, no loyalty and no professionalism. They will do what they want, when they want regardless of how much money theyre earning.
Matt
I’m in your age bracket mate and we have no reason to talk ourselves down. Just as many disrespectful unprofessional scruffy buggers trumpeting themselves as ‘old pros’ as their are bad younger drivers.
Professionalism in the industry has gone to the dogs because of poor wages attracting monkeys, don’t think it has anything to do with ‘todays youth’.
I’m the same age too and one of the youngest at my place, if I’m on a day run I’ll either give the motor a rinse down at the beginning or end of the shift (depends how bad it is when I start as we have different motors every day), if I’m out for a few day or all week I’ll wash it before and again when I return and every time I’m washing it on the return some ‘old boy’ will say to me “are you only just starting?”, so I reply “no”, to which they all say “[zb] that, all I’m doing when I get back is going home”. I aways polish the mirrors up and make sure there is no [zb] on the windows too when parking up.
A lot of them don’t even bother filling it back up with diesel or add blue, I definitely feel it’s more the ‘old boy’s’ who couldn’t give a toss attitude.
I’m not saying their attitude is right. But you often find that they have been in the business long enough to have worked out that you very rarely get appreciated for all the helpful little touches. Most places these days (small family firms aside) don’t give a toss.
So they do the bit they get paid for. Sometimes, it’s more cynicism than anything.
I work for a small family firm & they don’t give a toss about the drivers or the vehicles.
G6Bob:
Where I work there is a “Old Timer”, [zb] attitude, won’t do certain runs, won’t work past his finish time, goes in a huff if he doesn’t get home early. In his mind, he has done it all, is sick of the job and can’t wait to retire, has to do something for the next few years. Myself, being 26, I am still new to the industry and I’m eager and keen to learn and work. A old boy was in our yard last week (Stobarts driver), he was brand new, gave a few tips on operating a curtain sider, told a few stories, couldn’t ask for a nicer guy.
Good and bad in both generations.
Guys like him were probably ourswholes when they where your age too.
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