Carryfast:
Great so now all Grandpa has to do is look for one those numerous Container work ads which will obviously want to big up the fact that the most strenuous part of the job is turning the twist locks and opening and closing the doors.
Well shouldnāt be hard, thereās plenty of them. Thatās also what word of mouth and forums are for.
Could you post some of these numerous container work ads out there specifically pointing out the absence of any load handling requirements for Grandpaās benefit.
Bearing in mind the āforumā also said that my previous job now pays over 30k and definitely only trailer swaps no ifs no buts which would be news to me.
Grandpa:
In the end, it turns back onto the poster. Water off a ducks back. Guys, thereās a reason why there are so many complaints and tales of aggravation on here. Iāve seen office staff literally screaming at one another in transport offices. Iāve seen near fights break out amongst driverās queue hopping. Iāve been sent to jobs advertised as trunking that were shunting and permanent jobs that were holiday relief and two drop trunks that ended up described in the op ā¦ I applied for container work through an agency ad I came across, but went to the company directly. The job didnāt exist, but then when then I applied for it to the agency they had something else instead ā¦ āItās just up your streetā, āthe last guy said it was doddleā (I wonder why he left) - The same rubbish advertised all year around no one else will do.
How did it ever get to this state?! Donāt give me all this āknights of the Roadā and āwe can do itā nonsense, youāre all suffering and you only have to read the forum posts to see that. If you have a manageable job youāre lucky and hold on to it, because the alternative is the rubbish out here that they canāt get drivers for. Do you think these people know something you donāt?
Do I look as described in the last few posts? [emoji38] Fortunately no. Yet at nearly 65 years old I wonāt be joining you in the doctorās surgery with stress related symptoms, sprained wrists and a bad back either. We all know the job is now the pits and although Iāll hold onto my licence, Iāll also be looking for other types of work away from the lies and chaos that was once a good career choice. I feel sorry for and have all the sympathy in the world for the drivers now competing against each other and being worked into the ground just to keep themselves financially above water, but there has to be something else that you donāt come home to feeling exhausted and stressed every day. Iāve spent four months being shunted around various dead end jobs; the lies, the stress, the unmanageable killer runs ā¦ And it doesnāt get any better. Donāt keep blaming the driver, because for those out there that still love the job, youāre a small minority.
Carryfast:
Great so now all Grandpa has to do is look for one those numerous Container work ads which will obviously want to big up the fact that the most strenuous part of the job is turning the twist locks and opening and closing the doors.
Well shouldnāt be hard, thereās plenty of them. Thatās also what word of mouth and forums are for.
Could you post some of these numerous container work ads out there specifically pointing out the absence of any load handling requirements for Grandpaās benefit.
Bearing in mind the āforumā also said that my previous job now pays over 30k and definitely only trailer swaps no ifs no buts which would be news to me.
Youāll be expecting the full contact of employment in job ads next. Load handling by drivers in most sections of this industry is a thing of the past in this lawsuit happy H&S obsessed world we now live in. In all my time driving the most Iāve had to do it handball the odd pallet, normally into shops. I remember going with my Dad 30/35 years ago and heād be expected to get in back and help unload a full load of hanging meat, Iāve done a lot of meat work in my own career and almost never been expected to help unload.
But if you want a job with guaranteed no load handling do what I said earlier, go on tankers! Come join me in semi retirement
Juddian:
Grandpa, with the greatest possible respect itās possible to talk yourself into a mind-frame, iām older than you i suspect but have no trouble working blokes half my age under the table if i needed to, its attitude as much as anything, thereās blokes past retirement age still piloting car transporters about and you wonāt much more demanding work than that these days other than plant and handball shop/pub dels.
No i wouldnāt do multi drop pallet work, whether artic or rigid because imho itās bloody horrible work and the vast majority of the planners and bods behind the desks iāve met so far are āunprintableā, let alone the miserable as sin forkies, but others thrive on and seem to enjoy it, each to their own eh?
Foreigners doing all the hard work?, donāt think so mate not once they get their feet under the table, but there are exceptions in everything, some nationalities are more bolshy than others and Brits are in no position to lecture others on this subject, but some of the foreigners try to make their new work place a bit of closed shop where they rule and try to discourage others, thatās happened not just in driving by the way.
I had a very interesting Lithuanian lad who i trained up a while ago, young capable wanted to learn and very smart, one thing that stuck in my mind why he wanted to work hereā¦āāthe English work here for years, they donāt stay at rubbish companies if thereās an alternativeāā
Iāve seen lots of your posts, where DO you work? You have nothing but positive things to say about it and it sounds like one of those ādead mans shoes jobsā.
Iāve seen lots of your posts, where DO you work? You have nothing but positive things to say about it and it sounds like one of those ādead mans shoes jobsā.
Yeah i do waffle a lot, hence a lot of posts
Nope sorry wonāt say what or where it is, i was lucky enough to land a job here when i needed one badly, have no regrets.
Good jobs are out there, as said by Grandpa if youāre lucky enough to have a good one then it needs looking after by doing your best to keep it good for the company too, if it isnāt looked after before you know it thereās another bloody contract gone to the green death and then the jobās buggered.
Iāve seen lots of your posts, where DO you work? You have nothing but positive things to say about it and it sounds like one of those ādead mans shoes jobsā.
Yeah i do waffle a lot, hence a lot of posts
Nope sorry wonāt say what or where it is, i was lucky enough to land a job here when i needed one badly, have no regrets.
Good jobs are out there, as said by Grandpa if youāre lucky enough to have a good one then it needs looking after by doing your best to keep it good for the company too, if it isnāt looked after before you know it thereās another bloody contract gone to the green death and then the jobās buggered.
I wouldnāt expect you to divulge on open forum, your employer is like robroys parking spots, a great mystery. last thing you would want is your employers phone ringing off the hook and lines of blokes queuing up outside to ask for a job all saying theyāre from TruckNet. My interest was peaked when you told your story about the lad you helped reverse then said youād give him the number of who to contact for a job.
Iām guessing itās tankers, and maybe fuel. Holy grail if it is. Iāve been asking for op escalin training for a while to get a foot in the door with the big names when I leave the army.No such luck yet though. An old colleague did it and worked with shell for a week learning on their vehicles. Got a phone number then left to go work with them.
Iāve seen lots of your posts, where DO you work? You have nothing but positive things to say about it and it sounds like one of those ādead mans shoes jobsā.
Yeah i do waffle a lot, hence a lot of posts
Nope sorry wonāt say what or where it is, i was lucky enough to land a job here when i needed one badly, have no regrets.
Good jobs are out there, as said by Grandpa if youāre lucky enough to have a good one then it needs looking after by doing your best to keep it good for the company too, if it isnāt looked after before you know it thereās another bloody contract gone to the green death and then the jobās buggered.
I wouldnāt expect you to divulge on open forum, your employer is like robroys parking spots, a great mystery. last thing you would want is your employers phone ringing off the hook and lines of blokes queuing up outside to ask for a job all saying theyāre from TruckNet. My interest was peaked when you told your story about the lad you helped reverse then said youād give him the number of who to contact for a job.
Iām guessing itās tankers, and maybe fuel. Holy grail if it is. Iāve been asking for op escalin training for a while to get a foot in the door with the big names when I leave the army.No such luck yet though. An old colleague did it and worked with shell for a week learning on their vehicles. Got a phone number then left to go work with them.
Robroyās dogging spots you say
Your old colleague got a sniff, maybe a nod and a wink and fair play to him ripped their arm off.
Way back in the 80ās i spent a good few years on various haulage, tipper, rolonoff skips etc and one day out of the blue i got an offer driving vans on nights 4 on 4 off for a ā ā ā ā sight more than i was on driving artics, i too ripped the bods arm off and that led directly within 6 months to my big break, a night job on artics when the job suddenly expanded which was one of the best paid lorry jobs going at the time, never looked back after that, met some good contacts on that job too.
What iām trying to say is, you never know what will come your way, and when an offer comes out of the blue like that the secret is not to ponce about having a think, a chat with the mrs all that ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā cos while youāre ā ā ā ā ā ā ā about some other bugger has nipped in and swiped it from under your nose, where i am i now one bloke who wasnāt hungry enough or keen enough for the job, the aforesaid chat with the mrs and iāll get back to you sort of thing, well he didnāt get it and iām of the opinion that they assume if someone aināt that bothered to land a good number what are they going to be like down the line when they canāt be arsed, maybe iām wrong but thatās how i read it.
Keep whittling 'em mate, the more things youāve got experience in and tickets for the more your CV leaves others standing when you do apply in civvy street, good luck.
Donāt laugh guys, as time marches on you too are going to feel the effects of the physical labour that is now included in the job and there are no signs that itās going to get any easier. H&S was never about workload, itās about the employers safeguarding themselves against negligence and compensation claims, hence the obligatory PPE. Your physical safety means nothing as long as the employer isnāt responsible for it.
Itās taken me four months to realize that HGV driving is now a dead occupation based on maximum workload and competition, just like those poor sods in the slave labour warehouses. Itās why certain companies are constantly advertising for drivers in my area and those being whatās now on offer across all agencies. There is no container work, there are no trunks as we used to know them, or tanker jobs, but what there are is plenty of the workloads mentioned in the op. If you switchlogic think there is no physical labour involved anymore, stay put in your comfort bubble fantasy, because youāll get a rude awakening outside in the real world!
That āguaranteedā one and a half hour run that I mention earlier that turned from Royal Mail into Hermes, do you think Iāll ever hear from that agency again? Of course not, theyāll be busy trying to fool someone else instead, but another agency with the same promised nonsense will pop up shortly. Iām prepared to sit tight and wait for a job I can do to come up, or alternatively look for another line of work. Yet I genuinely feel sorry for the guys of my age who are pulling back frozen curtains five times a night, unloading with a pump truck, or speeding along at 60mph on icy roads trying to stick to a deadline, because thatās the 90% reality of it now.
Iāll wake up tomorrow morning missing Ā£100, but without injuries or stress and Iāll sleep well without worrying what the next night will bring. If a job is now so bad, Iām probably better away from it. My heyday was BT, Sainsburyās and Asda, but youāve got more chance of winning the lottery than getting back with those people again.
The work now is mostly a piece of ā ā ā ā the driving is also a piece of ā ā ā ā everything automatically
Your going on like your 75 years old and will never get a half decent job
I can see the interview
You question, do I have to lift anything or pull anything
Is it only one drop
Im old so i am limited to what i can do
If you have a medical condition i understand
If youāre only in your early 60ās and you donāt then I you donāt want to work for your money
Age is not a barrier
I wish you well in your hunt for the perfect job
Grandpa: Agency: Aldi, five drops, easy runs. No handball, they give you a pump truck and ā¦
Me: Turns off phone.
Welp, you couldāve at least asked if itās an electric pump truck. HOnestly itās not that bad having to unload so long as itās not stupidly haevy stuff like building mats etc or awkwardly sized/shaped pallets. Itās a nice break from driving for 4 hours straight, if youāre alone you can take as much time as you need or want (within reason), if somethingās too heavy you can (should) leave it on the truck, itās a bit of an exercise - at least you will be moving around for 40-50-60 mins. Iāve been doing it for a few months and only needed a week to get used to it, never had sore muscles or felt tired afterwards (ok, on a couple of occasions I did but that was in my 1st week).
Juddian:
Grandpa, with the greatest possible respect itās possible ā¦ snip ā¦
Iāve seen lots of your posts, where DO you work? You have nothing but positive things to say about it and it sounds like one of those ādead mans shoes jobsā.
I had the distinct pleasure of meeting Juddian a few months ago and can indeed confirm that the Co he works for are an exceptional employer and fully deserve the plaudits that they receive. In fact if it wasnāt a bit too far to commute Iād be chaining myself to their gates and generally making myself a right PITA until they took me on just to keep me quiet!
The 2 jobs that come to mind for Grandpa are probably the 2 easiest jobs Iāve ever had in my life.
Tipper/Bulker workā¦āhere is your 28 tonne of sand, where do you want it guv?āā¦ Pulls lever and letās handbrake off whilst load self tips.
Containersā¦ āhere is your box guv, where do you want me whilst You tip meāā¦ Opens back door then then lays on bunk for 3 hours watching TV.
These 2 jobs are what you should be doing Grandpa.
Carryfastā¦ I have NEVER once been asked or expected to help unload on containers. Its their goods they unload. Like Switch logic says, you obviously have never been on containers!!!.
msgyorkie:
Carryfastā¦ I have NEVER once been asked or expected to help unload on containers. Its their goods they unload. Like Switch logic says, you obviously have never been on containers!!!.
Of course he hasnāt, but whereās the fun in just bowing out gracefully? No, whatāll happen is that heāll furiously scour Google and Wikipedia and publish āfactsā over and over again in a weird kind of gobbledegook English to back up his assertions until finally anyone arguing against him will get bored and drift off to do something more worthwhile like trimming their pubic region whereupon heāll decide that heās āwonā the argument.
msgyorkie:
Carryfastā¦ I have NEVER once been asked or expected to help unload on containers. Its their goods they unload. Like Switch logic says, you obviously have never been on containers!!!.
Of course he hasnāt, but whereās the fun in just bowing out gracefully? No, whatāll happen is that heāll furiously scour Google and Wikipedia and publish āfactsā over and over again in a weird kind of gobbledegook English to back up his assertions until finally anyone arguing against him will get bored and drift off to do something more worthwhile like trimming their pubic region whereupon heāll decide that heās āwonā the argument.
Grandpa:
If you switchlogic think there is no physical labour involved anymore, stay put in your comfort bubble fantasy, because youāll get a rude awakening outside in the real world!
24 jobs in 22 years, from fridges to pallet networks to parcel companies to supermarkets to general haulage to tankers to yes agencies, I think Iāve plenty of experience of the ārealā world as you put it. Funny how you and I seem to have such radically different experiences of the jobā¦
Grandpa:
Juddian is right. An Opportunity arises rarely and when it does, grab it. The other 364 days of the year ā¦
A day in the life of Grandpa.
Phone rings:
Agency: Iām (garbled) from (garbled) agency, are you looking for work?
Me: Yes.
Agency: What are you after?
Me: Prefā nights, straight trunking delivery/collection, bay to bay, no handball.
Agency: Weāve got a job youāll definitely be interested in.
Me: Whatās the job?
Agency: Aldi, five drops, easy runs. No handball, they give you a pump truck and ā¦
Me: Turns off phone.
Repeat day after day for months on end in varying forms.
To be fair anyone with half an ounce of common sense would realize by now that maybe, just maybe agencies arent for themā¦why donāt you try getting a job direct? I decided I was fed up of max hours 6 days a week so went on tankers 4 on 4 off and it was one of best things Iāve done. Thereās so much easy work out there but you seem like you canāt be bothered looking and expect an agency to drop the perfect job in your lap
There are good jobs out there, but theyāre a needle in a haystack. As soon as one comes up itās taken instantly. Yet I do agree that we all see the job in a different perspective. Those in secure doable jobs will see things very differently from those that arenāt and imagine that everywhere is the same. The physical aspect that is now required will also come into play. So too will age; where are these tanker companies that are willing to spend time and money training up someone nearly 65 years old in an aging workforce? Is an Aldi job so attractive that they have a year round recruitment drive going on?
Major employers that are complaining they canāt get drivers are the ones who have burned them out. The op is an example of a small private haulage firm that canāt get drivers which I went to directly and there are others. They were no different.
Go on, donāt just ignore it; let the statistics and comments show you why people are leaving the industry in droves. It canāt be just the CPC; no one is going to throw away an occupational career because they donāt want to sit in a classroom for a week.
āThe much-reported shortage of UK truck drivers may be attributed more to a paucity of attractive employment opportunities in the industry than a dearth of large goods vehicle (LGV) licence holders, a transport consultant has claimed.ā
So, those of you in safe secure jobs have an entirely different outlook on those that donāt and are forced to use agencies, or the small general haulage companies that will also work you ragged. Work isnāt or shouldnāt be about a test of strength, or stamina, to see how long you can last without injury or burning yourself out. If you ever lose those āniceā jobs, for those that have them, youāre going to get a very rude awakening out in the real world of transport as it has now become. There isnāt a shortage of drivers, thereās a shortage of work that isnāt based around extracting every minute out of your working hours, including physical labour that will leave you stressed and exhausted at the end of every shift.
Letās be honest about this. We all spent time and money learning to drive HGVs and gained experience over many years. It is a skill. That skill is now secondary and the job has turned us into competitive labourers, fork lift truck drivers, un/loaders and occasionally warehouse workers for agencies, because the long and short of it is, is that itās what businesses now rely on. If you arenāt involved in all this, youāre the lucky ones.
The comments of āwelpā and youāre a fat ugly b**tard are just childish. The way things are going eventually you too will end up in the position of others and I wouldnāt wish that on anyone.
i was taking this topic somewhere between with a pinch of salt and serious though on reflection, if his heyday claim to fame was working for bt,sainsbury and asda,then its not hard to see why opening a set of curtains 4 times in a shift would be beyond him.
working anywhere on agency then there is no need for loyalty,if everything dont work perfectly including easy opening curtains,then just reject and vor till they send you jome and refuse to let you back.
if you get it clarified even by txt exactlly what the shift entails and it dont suit you,then refuse it.
if it changes once you turn up,then refuse it till either you get proper shifts,or your phone stops ringing as even the agencys wont want to be using you.
id reckon the o/p would reject a shift as an astronaut due to excessive travelling.
I so wish I had written that. 