Big Roy:
Oh and just to add, you don’t need to take a sleeping bag with you if you’ve got your head screwed on
What, no unplanned nights out then!!
Conor:
Hauling 80 cages off 4-6 at a time and then reloading the empties either on the tail lift or a fixed scissor lift at most drops you work for your money but as mentioned, you’re not being rushed to do it.
Its not that hard, just raise suspension and they’ll half unload themselves!!
Yes then the 2 sided cage of wine goes flying down the trailer ,hits the dock ramp and you’ve a niagra falls scenario of red wine pouring down the drain .
Or that dolly of coke hitting the tail lift,summersauting over the top and you’ve bottles of fizzing coke spraying all over the place ,whilst the poor back door bloke gets drowned .
Big Roy:
Oh and just to add, you don’t need to take a sleeping bag with you if you’ve got your head screwed on
What, no unplanned nights out then!!
Conor:
Hauling 80 cages off 4-6 at a time and then reloading the empties either on the tail lift or a fixed scissor lift at most drops you work for your money but as mentioned, you’re not being rushed to do it.
Its not that hard, just raise suspension and they’ll half unload themselves!!
looks like its time to add this one again? most watched and posted vid sofar methinks. youtube.com/watch?v=j83zZD41PIA everyone else has uploaded it,and I don’t want to be left out.
and when I had the severe misfortune to have to unload trucks for Tesco,then the rule is 2 cages max on the tail lift.even if one has one box,and one has bogroll. 2 cages on the lift max at any one time…the cowbitch bootfaced manager wifey at lisburn road reported me for telling her to ■■■■■■■ when she dug me for putting on 3 at a time,even when the 3 cages were basically empty. this was the same manager who in her infinite wisdom refused a delivery and rejected the load because the fridge reading was 1 degree more than the set temperature.but that’s the brains of Tesco for you.to be fair,the traffic office told her to ■■■■■■■ also so no harm done there. so perish the thought that some of the holyholy agency plobbers on here have been commiting the heinous crime of putting on more cages at a time than required,though mabey the rules vary throughout the uk for Tosco. who knows/cares?
I only put 2 cages on tail lift if it’s heavy stuff like beer ,wine etc ,if it’s crisps ,fresh then 3 at a time goes on ,unless it’s one of the newer 10 m ,s where you can only get 2 on most
commonrail:
I’m not looking for a job atm.was just trying to get the “low down”
One for the future…maybe
I’ve done both and tipping and reloading 200 lorry tyres by hand ( you double stacked them when loading by rolling them up a plank ) ,unloading you pulled the top stack off by hand ,ok at first but after 100 super singles it took its toll ,I ended up under the tyre / tyres on more than one occasion ,the help you got was some bloke sending them up onto tri on a lift ,zb hard work and you were filthy when you’d done .
To compare that I did 3 x double deckers full of beer/ wine etc over Xmas in a shift ,pulling nigh on 200 cages off beer wine off on your own ( when you can’t get the tri right how ever much you adjust the suspension is no fun ) ,not helped by back door who won’t / can’t come on tri due to hss,then you’ve the empty 2 sideas too reload ,
Zb heavy stuff with cages over full,boxes falling off hitting you on head etc .
in might sound good ,undo door ,adjust suspect,let it roll of the back while you sip your tea but in reality the zb docks levers ,docks are all over the place ,having too put clips of straps in them too try and level,them etc etc .
Try the shop where you can’t get it level ,every time you undo straps you’ve 3 cages ,4 dollies wanting too run you over and you’ve not enough hands ,arms to stop them all at the same time .
Isn’t it 30 mins from entering dc to leaving ,ring fences round shops etc ,why have you took that route etc etc .
Horrible job ,general can be ■■■■ but I can’t remember having some spotty kid sat there watching your every move shouting he’s STOPPED ,ISO tracs flashing up every time you stop ,general for me every time ,zb the money not that I think the figures quoted on here for supermarket work are anything special ,you can earn that working for a buttons ,peanuts company
Dozy.
you do make a very valid point, some of these RDC type operations are run on ‘‘lowest common denominator’’ lines, where the driver is assumed to be a blithering idiot who unless he’s routed to the nearest yard will get lost, drive off the road, stuff it into a bridge etc etc, and to be fair there are an increasing number of those types now at the wheel of lorries.
What is doubly galling is when these companies have a solid backbone of good drivers, they then for various reasons employ a bunch of fools and instead of training up the dross to the level of the best (or get shot if not competent enough), they instead assume that everyone is at dross level and treat them accordingly, and when you’ve been doing the job donkeys years unsupervised because your competence and judgement was trusted without question it comes hard to be treated like a green kid.
I’m buggered if i’m going to be lectured or spied on by some 19 year old college kid about a job i’ve been doing twice as long aS his bloody time on this earth, and damned if i can see why anyone else who deserves the title lorry driver should either.
Juddian:
Dozy.
you do make a very valid point, some of these RDC type operations are run on ‘‘lowest common denominator’’ lines, where the driver is assumed to be a blithering idiot who unless he’s routed to the nearest yard will get lost, drive off the road, stuff it into a bridge etc etc, and to be fair there are an increasing number of those types now at the wheel of lorries.
What is doubly galling is when these companies have a solid backbone of good drivers, they then for various reasons employ a bunch of fools and instead of training up the dross to the level of the best (or get shot if not competent enough), they instead assume that everyone is at dross level and treat them accordingly, and when you’ve been doing the job donkeys years unsupervised because your competence and judgement was trusted without question it comes hard to be treated like a green kid.
I’m buggered if i’m going to be lectured or spied on by some 19 year old college kid about a job i’ve been doing twice as long aS his bloody time on this earth, and damned if i can see why anyone else who deserves the title lorry driver should either.
A reasonable description, where I work the good guys are left alone to get on with it drive the route you have been given don’t take excessive breaks simple really.
On the subject of fools seeing is believing, see my thread on flat batteries, my estimate would be roughly 30-40% who are any good the rest hide behind the rulebook are bone idle and generally useless a brand new DAF rigid lasted 90 minutes before it had both mirror arms ripped off, £45,000 for a new 13.6 multi temp wrecked inside a fortnight I could go on, these companies make a rodd for their own back by employing these clowns then not sacking them during the probtionary period, it’s amazing how a good agency driver turns into a beligerent layabout the moment they get the gig.
Juddian:
Dozy.
you do make a very valid point, some of these RDC type operations are run on ‘‘lowest common denominator’’ lines, where the driver is assumed to be a blithering idiot who unless he’s routed to the nearest yard will get lost, drive off the road, stuff it into a bridge etc etc, and to be fair there are an increasing number of those types now at the wheel of lorries.
What is doubly galling is when these companies have a solid backbone of good drivers, they then for various reasons employ a bunch of fools and instead of training up the dross to the level of the best (or get shot if not competent enough), they instead assume that everyone is at dross level and treat them accordingly, and when you’ve been doing the job donkeys years unsupervised because your competence and judgement was trusted without question it comes hard to be treated like a green kid.
I’m buggered if i’m going to be lectured or spied on by some 19 year old college kid about a job i’ve been doing twice as long aS his bloody time on this earth, and damned if i can see why anyone else who deserves the title lorry driver should either.
A reasonable description, where I work the good guys are left alone to get on with it drive the route you have been given don’t take excessive breaks simple really.
On the subject of fools seeing is believing, see my thread on flat batteries, my estimate would be roughly 30-40% who are any good the rest hide behind the rulebook are bone idle and generally useless a brand new DAF rigid lasted 90 minutes before it had both mirror arms ripped off, £45,000 for a new 13.6 multi temp wrecked inside a fortnight I could go on, these companies make a rodd for their own back by employing these clowns then not sacking them during the probtionary period, it’s amazing how a good agency driver turns into a beligerent layabout the moment they get the gig.
I think a lot of that is because drivers that share wagons so they don’t have anything to “care” about. When drivers get something to call their own, they treat it with respect. I saw a regular driver once go divy at one of the guys in the office when he found out that someone else had taken his wagon for the day
I think a lot of that is because drivers that share wagons so they don’t have anything to “care” about. When drivers get something to call their own, they treat it with respect. I saw a regular driver once go divy at one of the guys in the office when he found out that someone else had taken his wagon for the day
You’d think so wouldn’t you, in practice there’s a sizeable minority of those with issued lorries who couldn’t give a toss, and there’s a sizeable minority of drivers who use any lorry who can’t help themselves doing as they have always done, looking after it even if the ‘‘owner’’ nor anyone else gives a toss.
There’s certain drivers who i know will leave my vehicle in decent condition, a mere handful mind, and certain wheel operatives i know will leave it filthy strewn with rubbish and possibly damaged.
Annoying, yes but it’s how it is now, the former dwindling in number, the latter proliferating.
commonrail:
I’m not looking for a job atm.was just trying to get the “low down”
One for the future…maybe
To compare that I did 3 x double deckers full of beer/ wine etc over Xmas in a shift ,pulling nigh on 200 cages off beer wine off on your own ( when you can’t get the tri right how ever much you adjust the suspension is no fun ) ,not helped by back door who won’t / can’t come on tri due to hss,then you’ve the empty 2 sideas too reload ,
Zb heavy stuff with cages over full,boxes falling off hitting you on head etc .
in might sound good ,undo door ,adjust suspect,let it roll of the back while you sip your tea but in reality the zb docks levers ,docks are all over the place ,having too put clips of straps in them too try and level,them etc etc .
Try the shop where you can’t get it level ,every time you undo straps you’ve 3 cages ,4 dollies wanting too run you over and you’ve not enough hands ,arms to stop them all at the same time .
You do tesco work for Stobarts don’t you?? Any double decker I’ve ever done at Tesco the backdoor staff always come onto the trailer to help tip it, some stores will have 3 back door staff tipping a decker and it’ll be tipped and reloaded in an hour, there are no H&S rules stopping backdoor staff going onto trailers.
I know what you mean about not being able to get the trailer level and cages moving when the straps are undone, but i presume you get store risk assessments for each store you are going too?? if you have a store where you can’t get the trailer level then it should say on the risk assessment what equipment is at that store to stop cages rolling, I know at 1 store I go to they use rubber mats with a pole attached to it and it’s perfect for the job, no cages roll anywhere.
selby newcomer:
You do tesco work for Stobarts don’t you?? Any double decker I’ve ever done at Tesco the backdoor staff always come onto the trailer to help tip it, some stores will have 3 back door staff tipping a decker and it’ll be tipped and reloaded in an hour, there are no H&S rules stopping backdoor staff going onto trailers.
Your getting lucky with the stores.
2 hours was the average waiting time for a double decker whenever I got caught behind one at a shop. Tesco Oldham managed 2 hrs 40 one evening.
selby newcomer:
the backdoor staff always come onto the trailer to help tip it, some stores will have 3 back door staff tipping a decker and it’ll be tipped and reloaded in an hour, there are no H&S rules stopping backdoor staff going onto trailers.
I did subbie work for Tesco and found at almost every store the staff were more than willing to help you. They are not technically supposed to enter the back of the trailer but I always arrived with a good attitude towards the staff and it was always recriprocated by staff helping me take cages from inside the trailer. One store I went to had the dourest,most pig ignorent staff I have ever encountered though. Refused to help me from inside trailer and I had to take it right to the edge of the platform. Then they thought it acceptable to bring the RSU to the bottom of the ramp and Id go and get it. I do go and get it to help other stores but I just told them “Im not allowed to leave the back of the trailer pal”. Two can play at that game! But as I say,99% of stores were brand new
selby newcomer:
i presume you get store risk assessments for each store you are going too?? if you have a store where you can’t get the trailer level then it should say on the risk assessment what equipment is at that store to stop cages rolling
You do get one. Tells you if you need to raise or lower trailer suspention. But I always found that it was ok when unloading but trying to put the RSU in was a tad interesting as by that time the air has been drained and the trailer is now at a downhill angle. Fun times!
Someone also mentioned the wines and drinks and catching the edge of the ramp. On more than one occasion I lost stock due to being badly stacked. But what I never understood is why the alcohol and soft drinks are put freely and unsecured on two sided cages but the toilet rolls get about 3 miles of cling film round them!
commonrail:
so what kind of money is your average employed supermarket driver draggin
The overall package will exceed any other sector, you get your pension to which you contribute a percentage you get free shares and the option to buy shares at a reduced rate full sick pay and holidays which also pay half of your shift allowance.
I am not obliged to work more than 42.5 hrs a week if I choose not to, the only issue is the shifts new starters get the least desirable times I get 4 weekends in 10
off and rarely do more than 50-55 hrs the work is constant and stable and you take your time,increments are paid for weekendsand any time after 22:00 and increase further past your contractual hrs I find it more of a hobby.
If you need further proof, look at the trainee corpses that populate the goods in side waiting room, then go across to the departure lounge at goods out the difference is remarkable.
That’s a good package Mike’s got there but I wouldn’t use it as a yardstick for every company, for instance I have just left an employed job with Home Bargains and they have no shares scheme, no sick pay, basic holiday pay and only the basic government pension
This is most places now for any new starters both general and supermarkets. Everyone is trying to take any and all costs out of their operations hence the rise of zero hours contracts. Welcome to the 51st state of the USA!
But as I say,99% of stores were brand new