Do your 13+s early in the week so only got a 13 for Friday! Anyway thought you couldn’t be routed for more than 13. The 15 is at your option to get you out of the doodaa or to earn more money but still at your choice
Dipper_Dave:
dozy:
He’s given me a 9.30 collection , 1/2 hr away , so can start till 8.30 am , so that will be a 8.30 start fri as hell run me too max hours wed/ Thursday , so be out there till 11.30 fri night
I can sympathise to a degree here doze as when starting late its not irrational to consider the max time you will be ‘expected’ to work to.
If your on a Mon to Fri shift pattern and planned on running in Sat anyway then its not always a bad thing to have some late hours in your pocket to run with outside rush hour.
However I presume your contract of employment is around the 50 hour mark with ’ reasonable’ amounts of overtime expected, in which case come Friday you would have completed your ‘reasonable’ overtime requirement and could finish at 6.30 (10 hours per day).
What appears to be happening is your in a zone of the more you do the more they want you to do and you comply up to the unenviable position of feeling you have to work max hours. This vicious circle needs to change and you have to change it for reasons of not only a better work life but also an improved home life as like it or not a crap week at work will bleed into your quality time with your loved ones.
In my 20’s and 30’s I would lube up with the best of them and do as many hours as possible and then some but now im in my 40’s my experience with planners trying to make a name for themselves has allowed me to put my foot down a bit with no fear of job loss.
The first thing you need to do is slow down, this makes very little difference in time on the road but a massive difference to stress levels, I believe running 2mph under the limiter should be taught when taking HGV lessons.
The next thing is to pull your week in a bit by not running your time out, say 13 or 14 hours max, park up early.
Also let your planner know you want to finish early on Friday if that is the case.
Other things like dont worry about being late, if the jobs finished quick dont be to quick to inform your planner, take a breath.Only you can end this circle of doom (ironically thats my nickname for the wifes ringpiece), take your life back, see how working 3 to 5 hours a week less makes very little difference to your pickup.
Im not fond of the impression ‘man up’ as im sure you can be a man when needed. Perhaps try reminding yourself of why you work by placing a picture of your loved ones in your truck then think to yourself if I carry on like this oneday they wont be there or there will be a different bloke in the picture.Just my thoughts…
Well said!
Beau Nydel:
Do your 13+s early in the week so only got a 13 for Friday! Anyway thought you couldn’t be routed for more than 13. The 15 is at your option to get you out of the doodaa or to earn more money but still at your choice
Hahaha. The big ‘logistika solutions providerski’ plan their work to within an inch if 15 hours. Gregorski, Wincantonski, Stobartski, et al need to screw every minute out of their drivers, to make the job they just undrcut, pay.
Hey War-It sounds like you have heard the same jungle drums beating as I have.
Word is that the £15 per day tax free meal allowance (in cash terms) is coming to an end. I have heard of a ’ credit card ’ type system so that you can purchase food with it…
I agree with Dipper Dave: Slow Down. I’ll make a guess that you end up filling in your timesheets and sorting paperwork after you’ve pulled the card at the end of a rush about day.
For a start you don’t have to drive for four hours plus at a stretch. Your planner and the management just won’t be sitting at their desks for four hours solid, so why should you? Compare what they are doing in their day. Start at 8, cup of tea at 10.30. lunch break at 12.30. cup of tea at 3 finish at 5. Add in a two toilet breaks as well and their day has been well broken up. Maybe they have a longer day, but the principle is the same. So why are you any different? A toilet break at an MSA is going to take 15 minutes at least, if anyone starts saying you should have used the facilities where you loaded or delivered challenge them to prove that they only do so on their recognised breaks. So stop every 2 1/2 - 3 hrs regardless, get out of the cab and walk around . If they complain just bring up the subject of the risk of deep vein thrombosis from sitting still for extended periods of time. If you do start getting any flak relating to the need to stop for a few minutes ask them to repeat what they said and tell them : “Thank you I just need to write down exactly what you said.”
Don’t ‘jump’ out of the cab as soon as you arrive at a delivery , have a stretch and a yawn , sort out the paperwork, fill in your timesheet etc. Then whether you need it or not, ask for the toilet before you start unloading. After tipping hygiene means that you need to wash your hands. Attend to timesheets etc before you leave. Doing that is not wasting time it is doing the job sensibly.
On the road knock the cruise back a couple of mph or maybe more. If it’s raining most definitely do so. Perhaps most important of all, don’t end up in some scabby layby overnight because you chased around to do one more delivery or collection and got stuck. If a particular MSA or whatever looks like the best place for YOU, tell them you are making for Rugby or wherever for the night. If the job is that urgent the planner can do his job and arrange a trailer swap, all you have to do is drop the trailer and park next to it.
I recognise all the different types of driver from my time as a TM. I only has a dozen, but they were a good mix:
One guy was a plodder - he always took longer and insisted that everything had to be done “properly”. However he was 100% reliable and his truck was always immaculate. He was the one to send on more difficult jobs. When we started deliveries in NI, he was my first choice.
Another was a moaner - whatever jobs he was given he would moan about them, but he would still do it. Give him Aberdeen on a Thursday and off he would go, grumbling. He worked more hours than anyone - partly to keep him out of my office, and partly because he never said no.
Then there was Mr helpful. The branch managers all loved him because he was always happy to help them out, even though it made him late for the next job. He was a right pain in the neck, although likeable.
I shall have done twice Hat-Pev on Sat but they sent me second Run to Oakthorpe which is 3 Times if you do that in your Shift, Doing once Hat and twice Oak gets you easely over the Time and the old Man hates letting you earn Overtime, So just once Hat and once Oakthorpe. Rest of Shift in Restaurant waiting if any Work comes up. Same on Sunday. No Nite out in Mind but some do.
If such a lazy Job is for You,…well
its just a thought really beaver - if they are stopping agency bods claiming meal travel and any other ‘benefit’ its not going to be long before they look at all these ‘extras’ used to top up wages.
dozy - I agree with dipper as when I worked at jewsons on hiab years ago, it took me about 1 week to be doing more than there own guys, did it stop there? not a chance they just kept putting more and more onto the day until I slowed to their own lads pace - got questioned and told to get my ‘run’ done, didn’t stay much longer after that.
work to live don’t, live to work no one on their death bed wishes they had spent a bit longer at work.
Just one of the reasons why I have curtailed my limping War, and gone back to full time. The fuel allowance(45p per mile), allowed me to recoup some of the dough being robbed from me by Nova.
I think that all this LTD driver or umbrella Co stuff is slowly coming to an end.
Immigrant:
I shall have done twice Hat-Pev on Sat but they sent me second Run to Oakthorpe which is 3 Times if you do that in your Shift, Doing once Hat and twice Oak gets you easely over the Time and the old Man hates letting you earn Overtime, So just once Hat and once Oakthorpe. Rest of Shift in Restaurant waiting if any Work comes up. Same on Sunday. No Nite out in Mind but some do.
If such a lazy Job is for You,…well
■■■■ will always not without underwear. Drink is not problem. No problem.
Thank you please.
They can’t get drivers or keep them.They’ve now taken to advertising on their own trailers and have basically set up their own in-house agency to get drivers through the door,man up and tell him you need to be done for 1700.They need you more than you need them.
halewood:
They can’t get drivers or keep them.They’ve now taken to advertising on their own trailers and have basically set up their own in-house agency to get drivers through the door,man up and tell him you need to be done for 1700.They need you more than you need them.
Any employer and I mean any employer who has to advertise on their own fleet is to be avoided like the plague, I did some work for them on the agency some years ago out of Newport and how they turn profit is unbelievable not to mention how they speak to there drivers, go and get proper for goodness sake the company is a joke.
Goole is so bad that they’re having to try to get drivers from as far as South Lincs now. Last week at HJ we had a couple of wagons do some traction work for them as it seems Stobbies were getting so desperate they started ringing around firms who had their own motors and it was quiet so some got volunteered. HJ wanted a couple of agency drivers to go do it and out of all of them only one would do it and they ended up sending in one of their own drivers which caused a right uproar especially when they ended up doing store deliveries in the North East.
Basically if you work for any agency within 40 miles of Goole then as long as you’re happy to go to Stobbies at Goole Tesco RDC you’ll never be short of work because Stobbies has ■■■■ on so many drivers at Goole, both those employed by them and from agencies, that nobody wants anything to do with the place. This is the company you’re working for dozy regardless of what it says on the cab. Leave mate.
halewood:
man up and tell him you need to be done for 1700.They need you more than you need them.
This. Tell them you’re going home whether they plan you for something or not. I used to do that at Reed Boardall who at the time were as bad as Stobarts. I’d do a Warrington tip on a Friday teatime (was on 10am-10pm), drive over the M6 and see the summer weekend car park on the M6 and just go home, didn’t even ring in because I knew that it would be going up to Leyland for a load to take to Boroughbridge and it’d be a 15hr day.
My advise … just say no ! explain why, set your stall out and stick to your guns surely no job is worth all this agro lifes far to short for this kind of crap if they dont like it turn it in and move on any half decent driver wouldent be out of work long times have changed there was a time work was short but not these days plenty about you just have to get out and find it knock on doors put your self about
Just wrap it around a tree Friday afternoon. You’ll be home before the wife.
merc0447:
Just wrap it around a tree Friday afternoon.
It may be in jest, but this or similar is going to happen to him unless he gets out of there. He’ll either kill himself by rushing around and coming off the road/rear ending another wagon/etc or he’ll have a heart attack from all the obvious stress that he puts himself under.
People are giving you some good advice, Dozy. But all you seem to do is ignore every letter of it, and then a day or two later post another thread about the latest instance of you being ■■■■ on from a great height. You need to leave before you end up doing yourself some serious damage, or worse.
Conor:
Goole is so bad that they’re having to try to get drivers from as far as South Lincs now. Last week at HJ we had a couple of wagons do some traction work for them as it seems Stobbies were getting so desperate they started ringing around firms who had their own motors and it was quiet so some got volunteered. HJ wanted a couple of agency drivers to go do it and out of all of them only one would do it and they ended up sending in one of their own drivers which caused a right uproar especially when they ended up doing store deliveries in the North East.Basically if you work for any agency within 40 miles of Goole then as long as you’re happy to go to Stobbies at Goole Tesco RDC you’ll never be short of work because Stobbies has [zb] on so many drivers at Goole, both those employed by them and from agencies, that nobody wants anything to do with the place. This is the company you’re working for dozy regardless of what it says on the cab. Leave mate.
halewood:
man up and tell him you need to be done for 1700.They need you more than you need them.This. Tell them you’re going home whether they plan you for something or not. I used to do that at Reed Boardall who at the time were as bad as Stobarts. I’d do a Warrington tip on a Friday teatime (was on 10am-10pm), drive over the M6 and see the summer weekend car park on the M6 and just go home, didn’t even ring in because I knew that it would be going up to Leyland for a load to take to Boroughbridge and it’d be a 15hr day.
I’m in Liverpool,I’ve been offered a hire car,b&b etc to go to Goole.I’d rather cut me own ■■■■ off with a rusty giro.
Well me collection in the morning has been put back from 8 am- 10.30 , so I give up , it’s going too be late finish on Friday whatever I seem too do , but Mrs said my girl has been told she’s doing too many hours , so they’ve knocked her nightshifts on the head and put her on 3 pm - 3 am , so I said I’d pick her up , don’t fancy her coming out into hospital car park on her own , so doesn’t really matter now as long as home too get her .
It does make you wonder , she’s doing too many hours but they keep ringing her up too cover as there short of nurses , think she does 7 - 7 on a night , so not sure how 3-3 is going too bring her hours down 
Might just log on at 4 and go back too bed till 9 
Olog Hai:
merc0447:
Just wrap it around a tree Friday afternoon.It may be in jest, but this or similar is going to happen to him unless he gets out of there. He’ll either kill himself by rushing around and coming off the road/rear ending another wagon/etc or he’ll have a heart attack from all the obvious stress that he puts himself under.
A guy I work with at the same agency as me was telling me a story about his transport manager days. He told me about one driver who died on the job whilst he was on the phone to him. Apparently this guy was sent on a delivery that was in a pedestrianised shopping area and the time he was sent there was halfway through the day. He phoned the TM to have a go at him and was ranting and raving down the phone, calling him all kinds of names and then the phone just went dead. TM assumed that the drivers phone battery had gone flat. 10 minutes later the store manager is phoning him up to tell him the driver had just died. Turns out he was so stressed out he just had a heart attack and died behind the wheel of his truck in the middle of a shopping precinct a couple of hundred miles from home.
That is where you’re heading dozy.
Hang on the in house agency is charging what per day I take the is double 00’s after the 5 and ther paying you how much per day ? Something doesn’t add up here. As others have said just walk or learn to say no.