Whats the worst that can happen, you get a bollocking off some bolshy store manager who goes off duty at 2pm, you can get that if you drop a packet of digestives in her store and refuse to buy them
I wouldnât have a clue about a hand held scanner, but I am sure the store staff would. I have noticed at my local Budgens that dependent on the driver, whether the staff help unload or whether they stand and watch him or her.
If my health allowed it I would love a couple of weekend shifts with a few cages. I could do my shopping without using the car.
I am allowed to work 16 hours per week, but as my licence has expired I can hardly be classed fit on a D4 whilst being unable to get up the steps to the doctors surgery
I was doing some agency work for Bidvest (used to be 3663) a few months back. Completely new to fridge work and told to ââAsk the shunterââ when I enquired about the firdge. The shunter set the fridges to chilled for the delivery and informed me I would be bringing frozen back and to set both fridges to -23 for the return delivery, and gave me a brief guide as to how to do it.
Having made the delivery and arrived for my collection I was just about to leave with the frozen goods, having set both freezers to -23 when I paused for a moment and decided to check with the only other driver in the yard. He was on his phone and told me to hang on a mo. 5 minutes later he was still nattering away so I decided to get on my way. How wrong could I have possibly got it I thought? i jumped in my cab and started the engine. just then he appeared at my passenger door so i jumped out and explained my situation. It turns out I had set both ââfridgesââ to PLUS 23 degrees! WTF!
His words were- ââIf you had set off you may as well have delivered it straight to KFCââ
I think the main issue the OP had a problem with is the fact that he hadnât done multi temp fridges before didnât know what to do with the hand held computer and they just basically chucked him the keys and said get on with it which as he was told heâd be doing a one hit trunk, probably tipped the scales toward do one mode.
Now in my opinion if you have an agency driver on site who hasnât been before itâs up to you to show him the score if you want him to do the work properly, pretty poor attitude from the person that was handling him if you ask me.
If they donât give a toss, why should you? Money isnât everything to many people, including me.
To be fair to the OP that shower at Andover havenât got a bloody clue.my mate left our place last july to work there on the twilight shift(meant to be night trunk ,but that hasnât happened yet) he often goes in to do certain runs and finds its changed and a few times he 's had a rigid on the bay to take out with chilled on and when hes checked it its frozen solid,cos fridge was set at minus 25.
one evening it happened he went back in the transport office and told them so after going ballistic they had it re-picked and loaded on another truck,he went on the weighbridge and it was overweight on the front axle,he got paid a shift to bugger off home again cos the transport supervisor was â â â â â â right off.
He loves it though cos hes on over 30,000 a year and some nights doesnât do bugger all cos of the â â â â ups.
Silver_Surfer:
Now in my opinion if you have an agency driver on site who hasnât been before itâs up to you to show him the score if you want him to do the work properly, pretty poor attitude from the person that was handling him if you ask me.
And of course they were fully aware that the OP hadnât a clue about the scanner wernât they
It appeares to me the OP simply didnât like the idea of the multi drops and of course was too embarressed to ask how to set the fridge and use the scanner machine, how could they show him how to do things if he never made them aware ? Iâm summising heâs getting on in years so its only natural being the first time on that site theyâd assume he knew things.
But as it was once repeated on this site many a time, itâs only the fools who dont ask
If only all the other drivers thought like that when I was doing agency work.
It was funny as hell when i worked full time for Kwik Save, youâd get in at 3am and thereâd be some geezer (often full time) nearly in tears running round like a headless chicken, ââgot three drops London and i canât do London.ââ
Being a decent sort of stick iâd offer them to swap for my straight hit Grimsby, and theyâd be so grateful.
They went off happy and got 9 hours, i went off in a saintly glow complete with halo and spent 13 to 15 happy kerching hours perving at the totty, as you doâŚ
I used to work at Kwikkies/Somerfield, and from our depot that did Grimsby, (Sherburn in Elmet.) we didnât do London.
Unless you mean Godmanchester?
Ken.
I worked for Kwik Save for a while when they opened Wellingborough. Used to cover about 200+ shops from Hull & Grimsby, Sheffield Barnsley Derby Oxford down to Eastbourne & Dover and god knows how many poxy places they had in London. As he says you could clock up the hours around London, but it was nice to have a one hit Hull now and again.
Yep Wellingborough for me too.
Decently paid job andthe one i enjoyed the most (would have seen me time out there), incidentally it was a Wincanton site and at the time the only contract in the country paid at proper pro rata ratesâŚincluding overtime rate for Saturdays even if rotaâd as part of your basic weekâŚlunch breaks paid etc.
Stores were pokey little places on the whole which sharpened your manoeuvering skills up no end, and some situated in surprisingly good leching sites which always helps the day go byâŚ
What i really liked though was those little 2/3 series day cab Scanias, theyâd go sideways like a fork truck such was the steering lock, windows all round so you could blind side them 180â blind side reverses and there was a drop in Sth London that required it off a one way street with cars parked both sides.
Best of all though was the fact the trucks had no kudos attached, so no glory boys would work there âŚhence the job never got carved to buggery, good union stewards too.
Once Somerfield took over the job was buggered, i jacked it.
I would have loved this run, at least you wouldnât be bored and earned a few quid at the same time! I always like a new challenge, used to like nothing more than 10 or 12 drops of groupage to somewhere I had never been. Try doing multi drop store deliveries from UK to another country, let alone London! Still, I suppose it must be nice to be in the position to turn work down
commonrail:
pulled my first fridge last night,i told the transport bod i did`nt know how to set the temp,so he said just ask somebody.
yard shunter set up my outward trailer,and another driver set up my inward trailerâŚi will now be adding experienced fridge driver to my cv.
Yeap, thats how I learnt fridge work - and most other drivers probably as well!!!
Hang on a minute, should the first question from the transport office bod not have been have you been here before? What with it being his first time on site and them assuming he knew things, after all thatâs a reasonable assumption Usual co-op pish, they may well be good with food ( questionable ) but they sure as â â â â aint good with people!
Multi drop store deliveries is not every ones cup of tea, I used to dread getting them in Tesco. Once you realise there is nothing to worry about you get to love them. 4 drops yesterday with a ten metre trailer and back for a local extra, ten hours pay easy peasy.
I think you should have givin it a go and gained some experience and money from it.
Silver_Surfer:
Now in my opinion if you have an agency driver on site who hasnât been before itâs up to you to show him the score if you want him to do the work properly, pretty poor attitude from the person that was handling him if you ask me.
And of course they were fully aware that the OP hadnât a clue about the scanner wernât they
It appeares to me the OP simply didnât like the idea of the multi drops and of course was too embarressed to ask how to set the fridge and use the scanner machine, how could they show him how to do things if he never made them aware ? Iâm summising heâs getting on in years so its only natural being the first time on that site theyâd assume he knew things.
But as it was once repeated on this site many a time, itâs only the fools who dont ask
He hadnât been there before! How would he know how to use the computer? They barely managed to brief him on the health & safety at the site, they should know if an agency guy has been before ffs, pretty basic, was he banned from site previously? Did they even check his licence or tahco card?
If I had some sort of new fangled computer scanner, iâd ask every agency bloke who turned up if he knew how to use it.
By the sounds of other relevant posts from people who work there they sound a bit of a poor show, maybe teething problems, who knows. The OP didnât want to do multiple drop in a rigid as he openly stated after he agreed to do a one hitter, so what?
It may be fools who donât ask but itâs also fools who try and make out they are better at the job over an internet forum.
The OP expected a single hit Trunk Job but found it was 4 drops on a Rigid
If that was his main gripe why not speak out straight away and said he was not prepared to do 4 Multi drop deliveries?
His Own Words clearly state the fridge control settings and the scanner etc were the reasons, so he went back in and gave them the keys and paperwork Instead of asking to be shown, If the Transport Office had asked him for his work history and quizzed him about his past experience heâd be on here complaining about the interrogation before starting his shift FFS
Personally I hope the agency just ignore him next time and give the job to someone who needs the work, thereâs nowt worse than being let down by time waters who want to pick and choose their jobs
I agree you should have asked to be shown how to operate everything and get the job done. How ever thats the beauty of doing agency work youcan pick and choose what work you do and who for
Been some interesting replies, so let me just put my point of view. Iâve done no end of multi drop before, nearly all with an artic. Iâve always been taken out for at least one day with a trainer to be shown what was expected. At Keystone (Mc Donalds) they take you out for five days, GIST for M&S two days. I havenât driven a six wheel rigid for about 10 years, why should i put myself at risk with a new company, new computer, new paperwork, new drops when they canât even be bothered to have someone come out into the yard and show me whatâs what. You people who think you should just press on and soldier through, well thatâs fine if you want to do that. But if it all goes â â â â up, who cops the blame ?. There were other blokes there going out with two axle rigids with one or two drops but some smart arse had obviously thought we will give the six wheeler with 5 drops to the agency bloke. Thatâs a lot of the problem with transport, nobody ever says no, iâm not going to work 15 hour days for crap money. Iâm not going to be treated like crap and just â â â â it up, doff my cap and say thank you for treating me like an idiot. Iâm lucky that i donât have a mortgage to service and a family to feed so i can pick and choose what i do. It seems to work for me, i never seem to be short of offers of work.
Next time anyone posts a question along the lines of âWhy is it that agency drivers are treated like muck?â then a link to the OPâs post might explain some of it.
No-one has yet considered the fact that the client may well have changed the job without informing the agency; for all we know one of their own multi-drop drivers could have jumped at the chance of an easy trunk, and the client, knowing that theyâd got a Class 1 driver coming in to cover, wouldnât have bothered knowing that the temp had a licence to drive anything. Itâs all too easy to blame the agency or consultant; Iâve had similar happen to me on occasions but if the driver either wonât or canât do the re-scheduled job then at least if he has the good sense and decency to phone in and say so, you can do something about it. Simply walking off the job just screws it for everyone.
I did a few days for hacklings and on the first day i got there, got handed a PDA and paperwork for deliveries round swindon borough. Told that my wagon was a R reg 6 wheel rigid and if i got any probs, just phone them up.
Now, bearing in mind that id never worked with curtain siders before, i carried on with it anyway (plus the fact, the way i see it, im not one of those to turn down a days work! Especially if i didnt want to do it)
And it was a bloody good job that id used a PDA before so i new what i was doing. But in all honesty, general haulage is too monotonous for me. sometimes sat round for 2hours waiting to be tipped drives me up the wall. But it wont stop me from doing it again........... To original OP, Methinks that you could just be a lazy sod that doesnt want to get his hands dirty. At the place im driving for now, we had an agency driver come to do the artic run and all he did was whinge that he didnt want to get his finger nails dirty, delivering 2 dropoffs of steel with the possibility of getting back at 2pm. His exact words were "im only doing this as a favour and i hate this job." âif i aint earning ÂŁ600 take home p/w then they can â â â â offâ.
ÂŁ600p/wâ â ? Chance would be a fine thing, in this day and age, i think everyones gotta take what they can get.
gnasty gnome:
Next time anyone posts a question along the lines of âWhy is it that agency drivers are treated like muck?â then a link to the OPâs post might explain some of it.
No-one has yet considered the fact that the client may well have changed the job without informing the agency; for all we know one of their own multi-drop drivers could have jumped at the chance of an easy trunk, and the client, knowing that theyâd got a Class 1 driver coming in to cover, wouldnât have bothered knowing that the temp had a licence to drive anything. Itâs all too easy to blame the agency or consultant; Iâve had similar happen to me on occasions but if the driver either wonât or canât do the re-scheduled job then at least if he has the good sense and decency to phone in and say so, you can do something about it. Simply walking off the job just screws it for everyone.
As you know I am not agency material but this thread does answer a question about one of the most common complaints about them. Drivers say they were cancelled at the last minute, or when they arrive at a site they are sent home again, (great, if you get 8 hours for that). From the days of TS3 engines and probably steam, transport has been an ever changing process, from fuelling up to actually leaving the yard may result in three trailer changes in many companies, some may tell you are going to Grimsby in the morning, and when you turn up, find you should have been in Glasgow 3 hours ago. If the planners â â â â up, the loads still have to be there so if that means the night shift manager swapping things around to minimise the collateral damage, then that will happen.
Is this because the agencies are so scared to lose the client so they send two or three drivers to each job, just in case one decides to âDo One.â
I agree also that there are some poor agencies out there, in fact I said so just recently on another part of the internet. I was shot down by a nice lady from Driverhire and invited to give her examples. I cannot because I have never worked for them, nor would I use MMTM examples
Wheel Nut:
As you know I am not agency material but this thread does answer a question about one of the most common complaints about them. Drivers say they were cancelled at the last minute, or when they arrive at a site they are sent home again, (great, if you get 8 hours for that). From the days of TS3 engines and probably steam, transport has been an ever changing process, from fuelling up to actually leaving the yard may result in three trailer changes in many companies, some may tell you are going to Grimsby in the morning, and when you turn up, find you should have been in Glasgow 3 hours ago. If the planners â â â â up, the loads still have to be there so if that means the night shift manager swapping things around to minimise the collateral damage, then that will happen.
Is this because the agencies are so scared to lose the client so they send two or three drivers to each job, just in case one decides to âDo One.â
I agree also that there are some poor agencies out there, in fact I said so just recently on another part of the internet. I was shot down by a nice lady from Driverhire and invited to give her examples. I cannot because I have never worked for them, nor would I use MMTM examples
Think Iâve said before on another thread that some of the clients I worked for were an absolute nightmare; changing start times, booking five drivers then cancelling four after youâd rung round and given the drivers their start times, meaning you had to effectively start all over again. The bigger the company the worse it got; holiday cover for smaller clients was often the easiest because you were replacing one driver for one week or whatever, itâs the panic jobs and â â â â -ups that cause all the hassle for drivers and consultants alike.
The scenario you describe actually works both ways; Hays Distribution used to regularly book several drivers for a 6am start knowing that theyâd have to wait several hours for a job and that at least one would get â â â â â â off with waiting and go home. That IMO is simply poor forward planning by the client, but when neither side has the benefit of a crystal ball to foretell the future itâs going to happen somehow.
The best way to avoid problems such as occured with the OP is to send drivers in to the client who are flexible in their attitude and who preferably know the job. Unfortunately the laws of supply and demand decree that such drivers are a scarce commodity in the agency industry, and they canât be everywhere at once.
