Gregorys

[newmercman]

The way things are today, there is little or no manufacturing in the UK. The days of working direct from a local factory have long gone.

So for an O/D the choices are pretty much limited to sub contracting for a large haulier or ‘logistics provider’ now that could be on general, on the boxes, or on the tippers.

There isn’t much else around really, the niche markets are either sewn up or disappearing fast.

A company like Gregorys is probably one of the better options, you won’t earn much more than a well paid employee, there’s not much in the way of glamour, but if you have that burning desire to be an O/D then you could do a lot worse.

They’re a long established haulier with a good reputation, they pay their bills and they’ll keep you running, they just won’t make you rich.

[shuttlespanker]

newmercman:
The way things are today, there is little or no manufacturing in the UK. The days of working direct from a local factory have long gone.

So for an O/D the choices are pretty much limited to sub contracting for a large haulier or ‘logistics provider’ now that could be on general, on the boxes, or on the tippers.

There isn’t much else around really, the niche markets are either sewn up or disappearing fast.

A company like Gregorys is probably one of the better options, you won’t earn much more than a well paid employee, there’s not much in the way of glamour, but if you have that burning desire to be an O/D then you could do a lot worse.

They’re a long established haulier with a good reputation, they pay their bills and they’ll keep you running, they just won’t make you rich.

that can be said of most companies that run subbies

[harry_monk]

To sum Gregory’s up in six words, I’d say “the best of a bad lot”.

[puntabrava]

newmercman:
The way things are today, there is little or no manufacturing in the UK. The days of working direct from a local factory have long gone.

So for an O/D the choices are pretty much limited to sub contracting for a large haulier or ‘logistics provider’ now that could be on general, on the boxes, or on the tippers.

There isn’t much else around really, the niche markets are either sewn up or disappearing fast.

A company like Gregorys is probably one of the better options, you won’t earn much more than a well paid employee, there’s not much in the way of glamour, but if you have that burning desire to be an O/D then you could do a lot worse.

They’re a long established haulier with a good reputation, they pay their bills and they’ll keep you running, they just won’t make you rich.

Chip chip chip

[truckertang]

Harry Monk:

truckertang:
0
And he even gets time to fuel up…the driver did look in a rush tho

You must have taken that photo about five minutes before I took mine, I was just walking back from paying when Baz turned up. We had a long chat, Renault Magnums, TruckNet, Life, the universe and everything etc. About six this morning I’d guess?

You should have stopped, with three of us we could have “cancelled” and had a party instead, like the old days!

Indeed it was just before 6am mate and I was on a mission to get to Ipswich by 9am. nearly made it

[monarch_of_the_highway]

newmercman:
The way things are today, there is little or no manufacturing in the UK. The days of working direct from a local factory have long gone.

So for an O/D the choices are pretty much limited to sub contracting for a large haulier or ‘logistics provider’ now that could be on general, on the boxes, or on the tippers.

There isn’t much else around really, the niche markets are either sewn up or disappearing fast.

A company like Gregorys is probably one of the better options, you won’t earn much more than a well paid employee, there’s not much in the way of glamour, but if you have that burning desire to be an O/D then you could do a lot worse.

They’re a long established haulier with a good reputation, they pay their bills and they’ll keep you running, they just won’t make you rich.

totally agree and if you do find that niche market decent paying return loads are non existatnt
every body now wants things done as cheaply as possible and the biggest killer is not weather to buy a old shed of a lorry or new one its the price of fuel and tyres to which we or your big logitics provider have no control over as i said to somone today id be no better off if the market did pick up again as the more i do the more fuel i use so i just try n draw a happy meduim of not doing to little n not doing to much
some are happy on boxes some on ferry trailors others bulkers theres no perfect scenirio
its a verry big pie n all we are ever going to get is small portions but if your happy with small portions and it pays the bills why do ypu want bigger portions you may just get indegestion

[silver_surfer]

True enough, if you buy a motor for 10-20 grand, like tramping all week & are happy pulling an above average drivers wage then Gregs is golden.

If you want to make some bank, forget about it.

[intercityspud]

Obviously each to their own but I can only go on my own experience. Gregory’s are by far the worst company I have worked for in 17 years of driving.

Ask why they can afford to take over companies, invest in new equipment, offices and infrastructure. They don’t get paid better rates by the companies they haul for, it’s because it comes out of your pocket as an employee or O/D.

At first glance all seems respectable and focused on you as an employee with company newsletters, promotions etc “oh how wonderful we are” but the reality is you’ll be pushed to the legal limit and spend the bare minimum at home for pathetic wages but if you don’t want a life that’s up to you. Keep your newsletters and the wages paid to the people to produce them and pay drivers at the front more.

The way they abuse POA to pay employed drivers pathetic rates for what is in reality overtime is a disgrace. The traffic planners live in the dark ages and the company is full of “yes” men. Do everything they ask without question and they will like you, of course. Question methods, pay, procedure anything about the Gregory way and you’ll be deemed trouble.

Your meant to be a “professional” asked to perform and act in a professional manner yet paid and treated as an unskilled worker but with a thin veil of decency. The trouble is, as ever, we as drivers just take the terrible conditions and pay because we don’t stand up for ourselves.

[the_kaiser]

InterCitySpud:
Obviously each to their own but I can only go on my own experience. Gregory’s are by far the worst company I have worked for in 17 years of driving.

Ask why they can afford to take over companies, invest in new equipment, offices and infrastructure. They don’t get paid better rates by the companies they haul for, it’s because it comes out of your pocket as an employee or O/D.

At first glance all seems respectable and focused on you as an employee with company newsletters, promotions etc “oh how wonderful we are” but the reality is you’ll be pushed to the legal limit and spend the bare minimum at home for pathetic wages but if you don’t want a life that’s up to you. Keep your newsletters and the wages paid to the people to produce them and pay drivers at the front more.

The way they abuse POA to pay employed drivers pathetic rates for what is in reality overtime is a disgrace. The traffic planners live in the dark ages and the company is full of “yes” men. Do everything they ask without question and they will like you, of course. Question methods, pay, procedure anything about the Gregory way and you’ll be deemed trouble.

Your meant to be a “professional” asked to perform and act in a professional manner yet paid and treated as an unskilled worker but with a thin veil of decency. The trouble is, as ever, we as drivers just take the terrible conditions and pay because we don’t stand up for ourselves.

Mmmm, I’m beginning to see why you and Gregory’s didn’t quite hit it off.
It’s pretty simple really, there is a ceiling on the level of earnings that an owner operator can achieve from a haulier on a sub contract basis. If the haulier’s pay less than most others, no none will work for them, or those that do will fail and go bust. If they pay more than the others, they themselves will go bust and leave the subby with a £25k debt, Simples !
How hard can it be ?
As far as Gregory’s goes, they seem OK to me, apart from the turd brown kit !

[harry_monk]

InterCitySpud:
At first glance all seems respectable and focused on you as an employee with company newsletters, promotions etc “oh how wonderful we are” but the reality is you’ll be pushed to the legal limit and spend the bare minimum at home for pathetic wages but if you don’t want a life that’s up to you. Keep your newsletters and the wages paid to the people to produce them and pay drivers at the front more.

There is a weekly newsletter, but I doubt it takes more than an hour or two to put together, mostly just notification of a certain customer’s new requirements re paperwork etc, upcoming road works affecting places we go to, maybe some news about the death of a long-serving employee of the birth of a baby to one of the office staff, somebody has a motorbike for sale, that sort of thing. Anyone can sign up to receive it through the GDL website if they want to see it for themselves. I do read it, it probably takes about a minute.

Perhaps it’s different for employees, this thread was started about sub-contracting, but I’m certainly not “pushed to the legal limit”. I’m out all week, through choice, on Thursday night I had 10 hours 50 minutes off and that was the shortest rest period I had all week. The earliest I started all week was 0530 and the latest I finished was 1930 and that was a fairly typical week.

InterCitySpud:
Do everything they ask without question and they will like you, of course. Question methods, pay, procedure anything about the Gregory way and you’ll be deemed trouble.

Well maybe that’s true but then again if I employed someone then I would employ them to drive the truck, not to tell me how I should be running my company.

Most of the employed drivers do seem to have been there for years, I spoke to one a few months ago and he said “I’m one of the newer drivers”, and when I asked him how long he’d been working there he said “nine years”. Ditto the subbies, and in fact I don’t think the OP would get taken on as a subbie if he is West Country based, I’m told there is a long waiting list locally. They take on subbies based in other parts of the country where they need to have vehicles based, but not in sufficient numbers to make it worthwhile opening a depot.

As has been said, it wouldn’t suit everyone, nothing does.

[newmercman]

Gregorys do have the luxury of being in Devon, there’s not a lot of work down there, so it’s a case of the balance of power being in their favour.

They don’t have a problem getting drivers to work for their pay rates, so it would be stupid of them to pay above the rates the market dictates.

That’s business 101

A simple fact that seems to elude many is that Gregorys (& everyone else) are in business to make themselves money. They have to pay drivers and subbies in order to do this, but if they could get them to work for free they would

[silver_surfer]

So they operate like every other haulier in the country intercity spud except they actually bother to have a veil of decency?

That’s transport mate, low pay for your life. Get a job driving for Tesco if you want free time…

[silver_surfer]

Oh & it’s the governments fault hgv wages are so low for letting loads of unskilled immigrants in to the country who will bite your hand off for a HGV job at carp money rather than break their back picking sprouts in a field all day.

They pander to business owners who want cheap labour not to the common man.

Weather this policy will benefit the country as a whole in the long run remains to be seen.

[newmercman]

Britain is becoming Europe’s Alcatraz

[the_boys_own]

[

As for the £320 per day rate nobody could make that work mutterings on here. Let me tell you now. There is a company in MK now doing work for a well known furniture company on a rate of £300 day rate.

Well who could that be …

[ovlov_jay]

The rates are crap because someone has to subsidise the load from highland spring blackford, to tesco goole… VIA AVONMOUTH