Hello all you professional people on here 
A bit of a whinge I’m afraid 
The company I am on for,have no pride whatsoever in their fleet,(tractors and trailers). As we are a food carrying haulier,you’d think they’d at least try,but alas NO! I am sick to the back teeth of starting my shift,only to be confronted with a 59/10 plate unit covered in more 5th wheel grease both inside and out,than what there is on the actual 5th wheel itself(metaphorically speaking).
I have always taken pride in my personal appearance and vehicle,but now I’m fighting a losing battle. It’s costing me £5-6 a week on Flash wipes(other brands are available),air freheners etc,as most of the drivers who have the lorry for the 4 days before I get it,lack even the most basic standards of personal hygiene.
Over the past few weeks the teddy AND dummy have been flung from the pram,as I am sick of having to clean the damned thing before I start.The company don’t give a ■■■■,and are a total waste of space(and they wonder why they struggle to keep the little contracts we have,and can’t get new ones). Before anyone says…“get out then”,as we are all aware jobs are few and far between. Why could I not have found a company that actually take pride in their fleet,and not the dirty,stinking lot I am on for.
That’s better 
needed to get that off my chest. Does anyone elese feel that they are p155ing in the wind,with regards to cleanliness?
P.S I hope everyone is well
The fact the vehicle is being used by so many people is the problem. If its a food company i assume it takes an AIB audit, well in 2011 these audits will also include company vehicles so im told by my gaffer, aswell as our warehouses and factories.
Im lucky that im in the same unit everyday and share it with a decent night guy.
The last place I worked had this problem, then after a bit the van drivers which I was one of got there own van as we couldnt drive 7.5t so we never swapped around. Then some bright spark realised that the vans were being looked after a lot better apart from the couple of spare vans that were used by any of the other drivers if the run would go on a van. So the 7.5t drivers got there own motors as well and all of a sudden things went the opposite way they would check the vehicles over every week for any damage and to make sure it was clean and tidy and you got marked for them.
My van was always clean and tidy and never caused any damage to the motor apart from a fork lift truck driver was a bit eager one day and caught the step and cracked the plastic but the company was notified straight away and left it up to the two companies to argue over.
That said though when a new vehicle comes onto any fleet it is usually clean weather it is hired or what ever so if every one left it the way they found it there would never be a problem. I dont understand why some people like to work in a ■■■■ hole often makes me wonder what there homes are like.
I also dont get companies that let driver wreck their vehicle and allow them to drive around in them as it cant be good for the company image. I dont think washing the motor once a week and giving the dash, windows and floor a wipe over when you are sat waiting somewhere.
Hexenhammer:
Hello all you professional people on here A bit of a whinge I’m afraid
The company I am on for,have no pride whatsoever in their fleet,(tractors and trailers). As we are a food carrying haulier,you’d think they’d at least try,but alas NO! I am sick to the back teeth of starting my shift,only to be confronted with a 59/10 plate unit covered in more 5th wheel grease both inside and out,than what there is on the actual 5th wheel itself(metaphorically speaking).
I have always taken pride in my personal appearance and vehicle,but now I’m fighting a losing battle. It’s costing me £5-6 a week on Flash wipes(other brands are available),air freheners etc,as most of the drivers who have the lorry for the 4 days before I get it,lack even the most basic standards of personal hygiene.
Over the past few weeks the teddy AND dummy have been flung from the pram,as I am sick of having to clean the damned thing before I start.The company don’t give a ■■■■,and are a total waste of space(and they wonder why they struggle to keep the little contracts we have,and can’t get new ones). Before anyone says…“get out then”,as we are all aware jobs are few and far between. Why could I not have found a company that actually take pride in their fleet,and not the dirty,stinking lot I am on for.
That’s better needed to get that off my chest. Does anyone elese feel that they are p155ing in the wind,with regards to cleanliness?
P.S I hope everyone is well
wear your gloves when driving and at the end of the day just wipe around with a bit of fresh GREASE
This was one of the reasons i left the co-op. A really easy job but i just couldnt get used to driving a dustbin.
The state some of the animals left the cabs in was beyond me.
So yes i fully sympathise with your plight.
Some drivers treat the motors as work horses, which of course they are but would you let your house or car look that state no. Therefore I tend to keep mine clean whenever I am back in the yard, I give it a good wash.
Get a cheap air freshener spray and give it a good blast just before you lock it up at the end of your shift. It may get the message across or at least smell a bit sweeter for a while.
I got banned from nyk in avonmouth for refusing to drive a tractor unit that was smeared in grease. You could actually see the hand marks where someone had got grease on their hands and then dragged them down the door and on the seat.
That’s why I used to hate working agency, I always seemed to get the dirty ■■■■■■ wagons.
Have you spoke to some of the other drivers about this? Maybe if you get together you can aproach the management about it, or at least single out the dirty zbs and get em to clean up their act?
where i work we keep our own units and mines kept up together,but we do have late runs go out so other drivers use them and if i get in it next morning and theres coffee spilt every where and rubbish in the cab .
i make a point of confronting them in front of other drivers or transport office staff when i get back from my run.if it happens again i go to the TM,cos we have a section on our defect report sheet about cab cleanliness,they tend to clean up after themselves after that.
However having said that when mines been off the road and ive had to use someone elses ive got in it and some you cant adjust the seat or the mirrors wont work on the electrics or heated mirrors dont work .or the steering wheel height adjuster dont work,its just some drivers cant be bothered to report defects in their own motor cos theyre lazy ■■■■■■■■■
if ive a defect i report it straight away and even take it to the workshop myself and its sorted for next morning,
i just wonder what sort of state these blokes own cars are in on the inside and what sort of squalor they must live in at home …mingers!!
i too work for a convenience store delivery depot by the way!!
I can be a bit lazy when it comes to keeping the inside of my car tidy but have always left cabs as tidy if not better than I found it. A couple of times I’ve forgotten something like a pop bottle that fell into the passenger footwell or similar - even my mobile once 
I hate driving mobile bins just because someone’s too lazy to take their rubbish to a bin, never refused to drive a truck because I generally need the money but come on - is it really so difficult!?
want to try working for Palmer & Harvey nearly 90% of there vans are like a ■■■■ hole in side and out get a prize if you see anybody wash one
and they are a food company to boot.a disgrace 
Do what I do …
leave a threatening and intimidating note on the dash say you will inflict pain upon any persons not leaving the cab the way it was found .
works for me , still got the cleanest unit in a fleet of 56 units .
I think this is always going to be a problem when sharing vehicles, especially on these 4 on 4 off shift systems. Someone’s clean is another man’s squalor. I would suggest having a word with other drivers and mentioning it to the fleet engineer or the guy responsible for purchasing the or at least speccing up the vehicles.
DHL at the airport shared trucks but generally it was between two “mates” so if one left it in a state, the other one could expose him as a filthy minger to the other guys 
. I was in the fortunate albeit shortlived position to have a different truck every shift, or at most every week as I was taken on as a permanent relief.
In this role I saw how some drivers treated trucks and we had to sleep in them during the day. A lot of the time I would be sweeping the floor or scraping tobacco smoke off the windows. My opinion of myself is that I am not excessive or moronic about cleaning, but it doesn’t take anything to use a waste bin placed next to the fuel pumps and gloves should only be used for refueling and outside the cab.
Grayham:
Have you spoke to some of the other drivers about this? Maybe if you get together you can aproach the management about it, or at least single out the dirty zbs and get em to clean up their act?
There are about 5 of us that take pride in our appearance and motors. However,because we do 4on 4off tramping(I think some drivers take it literally),we never get the same unit,and the management really don’t give a ■■■■,their response on several occasions has been…“they’re tools,get on with it or there’s the door”. I appreciate that they are bought to do a job,make money etc; but this coming from the bosses son 
.When I see other food carriers at rdc’s e.g Davies Haulage,Robert Burns et al I could cry through sheer embaressment. Why,oh why!
My unit is a bit old n a bit knocked about, due to us having ‘temps’ in for at least 18 months before taking a jam-roll on…he looks like he’s crawled from under a hedge instead of coming from home,dirty git!! We did have one for a while and when i was told by TM to show him how to do the paperwork etc i told him that i didn’t like dirt n he was happy to give it a wipeover when he was on a bay…he left it clean for me n vice versa. When i start at night now, the 1st thing i have to do before turning a key is clear up the remains of his lunch from the dash,the bed,that little bit behind the steering wheel thats always a pain to get at and sweep the floor and bin the bottles but i cant remove the grease from the bunk and that really cheeses me off because,unless i carry a seperate sheet or something,i have to have my breaks in the passenger seat because i dont wanna kip in grease n i certainly dont want it transferred to my car or furniture at home (and breeeath 
) I get the impression (even though i’ve moaned to the TM and the driver) that he likes to climb into a nice,clean,sweet smelling cab but aint arsed about who cleans it up…which is always me. Think the time has come for me to start doing the same n just let it pile up over a month n just build a nice fly infested heap in the passenger footwell n when thats full up,use the bin provided ie the bunk!!
Hexenhammer:
Grayham:
Have you spoke to some of the other drivers about this? Maybe if you get together you can aproach the management about it, or at least single out the dirty zbs and get em to clean up their act?
There are about 5 of us that take pride in our appearance and motors. However,because we do 4on 4off tramping(I think some drivers take it literally),we never get the same unit,and the management really don’t give a ■■■■,their response on several occasions has been…“they’re tools,get on with it or there’s the door”. I appreciate that they are bought to do a job,make money etc; but this coming from the bosses son .When I see other food carriers at rdc’s e.g Davies Haulage,Robert Burns et al I could cry through sheer embaressment. Why,oh why!
simple way to sort it out is the lads who are clean and tidy change so that you share a unit with one of them and leave the pigs to walla in there own ■■■■
ask for a check tick box on your daily sheet to be added taht the driver has to tick to confirm cleanliness…
■■■■■■00:
ask for a check tick box on your daily sheet to be added taht the driver has to tick to confirm cleanliness…
Hi ■■■■■■00. Believe it or not,we do have a book that we have at the beginning and end of our shifts,stating via tick boxes,that the unit has bee fuelled…tick…yes,actual…quarter-empty,clean exterior and interior…tick yes…actual…have a guess. The company just don’t give a ■■■■,they know whats going on and these books are a waste of time and effort! A complete farce. Never mind once things pick up,I’ll start looking for a company who takes pride in their motors.
You don’t work in cross hands by any chance do you hexen??