Hi all, does anyone work for Brakes here and, or have any (up to date) information on the job?
As I’ve been invited in for interview, however, I’ve heard since that the work is ball breaking, and a pain in the arse. 29k apparently, 5 days out of 6, no Sundays I believe, sounds good but would like to know a little more. Cheers…
You’ll earn your money. £29k isn’t bad for the Tamworth area though.
I thought the money sounded good too, but as you said I can imagine it to be real graft, what makes it more of a difficult decision is that my current job is OK and I’m worried that I’ll regret the move even with the extra money…
My very first driving job was on multi drop as part of the brakes group.
It was very hard work,had to collect cash at some drops too.
■■■■■■■ stock up flights of stairs down alleys etc.
Some rude horrible customers but also some nice ones,get on with some of the canteen staff and you won’t go short of a brew or a bacon sarnie.
This was 16 years ago and some of the blokes are still there.
Money is good for the hours I was nearly always done For 4pm.
I nearly went back in to it a couple of years ago but got a good job just before my interview with brakes…
Good luck what ever you do
yorkshire terrier:
My very first driving job was on multi drop as part of the brakes group.
It was very hard work,had to collect cash at some drops too.
■■■■■■■ stock up flights of stairs down alleys etc.
Some rude horrible customers but also some nice ones,get on with some of the canteen staff and you won’t go short of a brew or a bacon sarnie.
This was 16 years ago and some of the blokes are still there.
Money is good for the hours I was nearly always done For 4pm.
I nearly went back in to it a couple of years ago but got a good job just before my interview with brakes…
Good luck what ever you do
Thanks mate, how many hours did you work on an average day? The start times according to the ad are between 4am and 7am.
Do you pick your own load? Or is it all on the truck ready to go? Also, I heard something about bonus pay which can top up the wages up to a couple of grand over the course of a year according to the bloke over the phone…
Did 3 years at tamworth on food service 2008-2010 before I did my class 1.
Yes it is hard work you have a cage in the freezer and have to find a small box in a cage with over 100 boxes in,chilled can be a pita sometimes but get a regular route and you will know where free food and drink are on offer and plan your day to suit lol.
Cash will be collected sometimes lads came back with £10k plus at christmas time.
Started at 4.30 am everyday with upto 30 drops and mostly done by 4pm it’s all picked for you usually same truck everyday check cages are locked in having them roll about crushing food as it goes isn’t funny and ■■■■ messy and a ball ache in paperwork.
You get to put the run in drop order you want so your free to choose your best route.
Iandrummer81:
yorkshire terrier:
My very first driving job was on multi drop as part of the brakes group.
It was very hard work,had to collect cash at some drops too.
■■■■■■■ stock up flights of stairs down alleys etc.
Some rude horrible customers but also some nice ones,get on with some of the canteen staff and you won’t go short of a brew or a bacon sarnie.
This was 16 years ago and some of the blokes are still there.
Money is good for the hours I was nearly always done For 4pm.
I nearly went back in to it a couple of years ago but got a good job just before my interview with brakes…
Good luck what ever you doThanks mate, how many hours did you work on an average day? The start times according to the ad are between 4am and 7am.
Do you pick your own load? Or is it all on the truck ready to go? Also, I heard something about bonus pay which can top up the wages up to a couple of grand over the course of a year according to the bloke over the phone…
It was all picked on an afternoon shift and loaded on night shift.
Used to start between 5 and 7 and be done between 2 and 4…the hours are some of the best you can get in driving.
No bonus payments when I was there though.
Thanks for the replies lads, that’s been helpful. I was told I’ll have in the region of 20 - 25 drops, from what I’ve heard then so far it sounds tough work.
I think they’ve got some new trucks from what I’ve seen…
I’m currently doing the laundry on class 2 work (like sunlight), which can be graft at times but this sounds like it’s harder but better paid it seems, decisions, decisions… Lol
Tough call and I feel sorry for you having to make this decision.
Could you get near the place and actually speak to a driver doing the job now?
The grass isn’t always greener but sometimes it is - tis a gamble. We’ve had drivers who left and regretted it because of the grass and my gaffer won’t have them back. Some good drivers too but as he says he pays for loyalty every week, the bonus comes every month.
He states that once the loyalty has gone it will never return and previous employees re-employed are only temporary and not good enough.
dri-diddly-iver:
Tough call and I feel sorry for you having to make this decision.Could you get near the place and actually speak to a driver doing the job now?
The grass isn’t always greener but sometimes it is - tis a gamble. We’ve had drivers who left and regretted it because of the grass and my gaffer won’t have them back. Some good drivers too but as he says he pays for loyalty every week, the bonus comes every month.
He states that once the loyalty has gone it will never return and previous employees re-employed are only temporary and not good enough.
I know mate, I’m really stuck with this one, I’m supposed to have the interview later today. I may try to have a word with a driver like you said. We’ll see!
Iandrummer81:
yorkshire terrier:
My very first driving job was on multi drop as part of the brakes group.
It was very hard work,had to collect cash at some drops too.
■■■■■■■ stock up flights of stairs down alleys etc.
Some rude horrible customers but also some nice ones,get on with some of the canteen staff and you won’t go short of a brew or a bacon sarnie.
This was 16 years ago and some of the blokes are still there.
Money is good for the hours I was nearly always done For 4pm.
I nearly went back in to it a couple of years ago but got a good job just before my interview with brakes…
Good luck what ever you doThanks mate, how many hours did you work on an average day? The start times according to the ad are between 4am and 7am.
Do you pick your own load? Or is it all on the truck ready to go? Also, I heard something about bonus pay which can top up the wages up to a couple of grand over the course of a year according to the bloke over the phone…
You’ll come on duty in the morning around 4am, your wagon is already loaded, but still open and on the bay. You’ll make sure your load is secure, stow the stillages etc, stick some wheels on back if need be, and maybe get yourself a barrow for some of the heavier boxes. Pull it off the bay, close it all up, complete the remaining walkaround checks, and off you go. A long procession out of the yard around 6am is normal around this way.
The “Rounds” tend to be better if you’re taking a lot of stuff to fewer drops rather than “one box each for some really hard-to-get at pubs down country lanes” or something similar.
Pubs, Schools, Government buildings, Hospitals, and of course Restaurants are the bread and butter of these deliveries.
The pay for Tamworth was £25k not long ago, so I’d argue that the pay for Multidrop C2 work seems to be on the up - at least at Brakes.
£29k is the basic wage for the artic drivers as well btw. The work is easier of course, but you are no longer being paid the old “premium” over C2 like one used to get. Further north, the pay drops back down to £25k, but it was only a couple of years back when Tamworth was considered to be “one of the northern ones”, so it seems as if the north-south divide is shifting further north all the time now… Dunno what they pay at Grantham - but I’m sure you’ll bump into a driver from there sooner or later that’ll fill you in. 
Iandrummer81:
Thanks for the replies lads, that’s been helpful. I was told I’ll have in the region of 20 - 25 drops, from what I’ve heard then so far it sounds tough work.I think they’ve got some new trucks from what I’ve seen…
I’m currently doing the laundry on class 2 work (like sunlight), which can be graft at times but this sounds like it’s harder but better paid it seems, decisions, decisions… Lol
When it’s 20-25 drops, you really want to be delivering ice cream - since it’s a single box that one can access from the side door. In, Open door, out with box, shut it all up, and off you go to the next drop - less than 10 minutes per drop.
You don’t want 20-25 drops where each place gets a single box of something like baking spuds, and you’re delivering all around some shopping centre somewhere, re-stocking all the eateries… 
That’s bloody hard work that one… “Spud you don’t like” 
I’ve done a similar job for 11 years and in a class one for the last 7 years of that,it is a job where you will graft but the pay reflects that…a “normal” class 2 job would see around 20k a year so think of it that your getting paid an extra 9k a year for that but of graft you’ll be doing which doesn’t sound much but in reality you’ll be grafting for probably 5hrs a day max and the rest spent driving between drops and back to depot ect.
Suits some people but not others. I went from class 1 to Brakes class 2 multi drop. Lasted 6 weeks. Hated it. Hard work. Encouraged to work through your breaks by supervisors (else your 10 hour day would become 11). Very rare you got overtime pay, it was discretionary by management. 5.30am starts. Ultra rarely would be done by 1pm…usually 4pm, occasionally 6pm. One poor lad in our depot (Hemsworth) ended up with the Hull round. He was doing 5am to 7-8 or even 9pm at night, dont know how he kept legal! I wouldnt do that job again for £35k. Happy back on artics now
Swordsy:
Suits some people but not others. I went from class 1 to Brakes class 2 multi drop. Lasted 6 weeks. Hated it. Hard work. Encouraged to work through your breaks by supervisors (else your 10 hour day would become 11). Very rare you got overtime pay, it was discretionary by management. 5.30am starts. Ultra rarely would be done by 1pm…usually 4pm, occasionally 6pm. One poor lad in our depot (Hemsworth) ended up with the Hull round. He was doing 5am to 7-8 or even 9pm at night, dont know how he kept legal! I wouldnt do that job again for £35k. Happy back on artics now
■■■■ that! 
Winseer:
Iandrummer81:
yorkshire terrier:
My very first driving job was on multi drop as part of the brakes group.
It was very hard work,had to collect cash at some drops too.
■■■■■■■ stock up flights of stairs down alleys etc.
Some rude horrible customers but also some nice ones,get on with some of the canteen staff and you won’t go short of a brew or a bacon sarnie.
This was 16 years ago and some of the blokes are still there.
Money is good for the hours I was nearly always done For 4pm.
I nearly went back in to it a couple of years ago but got a good job just before my interview with brakes…
Good luck what ever you doThanks mate, how many hours did you work on an average day? The start times according to the ad are between 4am and 7am.
Do you pick your own load? Or is it all on the truck ready to go? Also, I heard something about bonus pay which can top up the wages up to a couple of grand over the course of a year according to the bloke over the phone…
You’ll come on duty in the morning around 4am, your wagon is already loaded, but still open and on the bay. You’ll make sure your load is secure, stow the stillages etc, stick some wheels on back if need be, and maybe get yourself a barrow for some of the heavier boxes. Pull it off the bay, close it all up, complete the remaining walkaround checks, and off you go. A long procession out of the yard around 6am is normal around this way.
The “Rounds” tend to be better if you’re taking a lot of stuff to fewer drops rather than “one box each for some really hard-to-get at pubs down country lanes” or something similar.
Pubs, Schools, Government buildings, Hospitals, and of course Restaurants are the bread and butter of these deliveries.
The pay for Tamworth was £25k not long ago, so I’d argue that the pay for Multidrop C2 work seems to be on the up - at least at Brakes.£29k is the basic wage for the artic drivers as well btw. The work is easier of course, but you are no longer being paid the old “premium” over C2 like one used to get. Further north, the pay drops back down to £25k, but it was only a couple of years back when Tamworth was considered to be “one of the northern ones”, so it seems as if the north-south divide is shifting further north all the time now… Dunno what they pay at Grantham - but I’m sure you’ll bump into a driver from there sooner or later that’ll fill you in.
That’s some great info mate, cheers. And everyone else.
Bit of a disaster today couldn’t make the interview at the agency recruiting for them, (13 week trial period then company takes you on) I was down Oxford today multi drop on laundry, always a killer, so got back late, so I’ve arranged it for Tuesday instead.
I’m really in two minds about this to be honest - the money is tempting me, but the work seems like it’ll be a nightmare Someone at work told me today that he did it years ago and lasted two weeks. Oh dear!
I’ve also applied for warburtons Wednesbury but heard nothing as of yet.
If your looking at wednesbury there’s also Allied Bakeries by the Albion ground in west brom.
Or if you don’t mind being out with someone all day there’s Currys (know how) in wednesbury aswell,or pallets there’s Sheldon Clayton in wednesbury or Culina in bilston or Spar in willenhall or Blakemores in darlaston.
Daytrunker:
If your looking at wednesbury there’s also Allied Bakeries by the Albion ground in west brom.
Or if you don’t mind being out with someone all day there’s Currys (know how) in wednesbury aswell,or pallets there’s Sheldon Clayton in wednesbury or Culina in bilston or Spar in willenhall or Blakemores in darlaston.
Yes I passed there the other day, (allied bakeries) I might consider that if all else fails.
I never thought of spar, don’t they put some of their employees through class 1 training? Any idea what the money is like? Thanks for the suggestions.
Iandrummer81:
Daytrunker:
If your looking at wednesbury there’s also Allied Bakeries by the Albion ground in west brom.
Or if you don’t mind being out with someone all day there’s Currys (know how) in wednesbury aswell,or pallets there’s Sheldon Clayton in wednesbury or Culina in bilston or Spar in willenhall or Blakemores in darlaston.Yes I passed there the other day, (allied bakeries) I might consider that if all else fails.
I never thought of spar, don’t they put some of their employees through class 1 training? Any idea what the money is like? Thanks for the suggestions.
Not worked at any of the above,but talking to blokes who have…Spar,Blakemores,Sheldon & Clayton…AVOID ! Allied Bakeries not too bad apparently,I used to bump into their drivers when I worked for Hovis,and they were always less rushed than I was
My advice,avoid delivering anything that can be eaten or drunk 
If you’re not into keep fit - Might I suggest going for PM, evenings and night work?
If your shift is nights - you cannot legally work over 10 hours as it stands. If you are days - there’s nothing to stop you having your basic 9.5 hour day pushed out to 12-15 hours on occasion.
Overtime is paid for “extra shifts” rather than “extra hours on the base shift”. Effectively “job and knock” - so the last thing you want is an awkward round! 