Correct me if I’m wrong but as a professional driver could you not have jumped in headed for the first drop and took it from there, as far as their procedure goes stuff them deliver the goods get a signature and go to the next drop it’s hardly rocket science I thought that’s what a professional driver would do. As my old man always said there is lorry drivers and men who drive lorrys!
Wheel Nut:
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
Ive worked with DH years ago, they are good for newbies with no experience, but after about 3 years with them i suddenly stopped getting work…gave up phoning them after 3 months of no work, 6 months later they offered me some work in a factory building up boxes…even though im an artic driver. luckily i had found work for myself. they also used to phone me out then cancel jobs but alot of the time id never answer my phone on the way to a job as they would normally phone.
I basically started on vans with them then moved to class 2, then 1 then it all went quiet got some work on vans then ended up being a 2nd man on some jobs. Always turned down removals with any agency though.
bigtruck:
Correct me if I’m wrong but as a professional driver could you not have jumped in headed for the first drop and took it from there, as far as their procedure goes stuff them deliver the goods get a signature and go to the next drop it’s hardly rocket science I thought that’s what a professional driver would do. As my old man always said there is lorry drivers and men who drive lorrys!
Yes that sounds easy doesn’t it. Only problem is that as far as i can gather it’s the hand held computer that tells you which cage is going to which store via a built in bar code scanner. You then have to reseal the truck and enter the door seal number in the computer which is live and online. I can drive a truck anywhere, but if they want you to do all this stuff the least they should do is give you a bit more than 5 minutes telling you what to do.
Too much technology now whatever happened to carbon copy pod’s.
bald bloke:
I know how you feel about big rigids I hate them with a vengeance but you could of earnt a good days pay today with it being Saturday and you were unfamiliar with everything, a good 12 hours pay and then out for a nice slap up meal and a few beers as a reward that’ll been me.
What’s wrong with a big rigid?
I only object to driving them when I’ve been called in for C+E and get told it’s for Class 3 money after I get there…
I’ll drive a milk float as long as I get paid the Class one money I contracted for! 
Remember too that 15 hours at rubbish rates is not ‘kerching’ unless you’re hard of thinking who thinks that eight hundred shiny pennies for each sixty minutes of your “haven’t got anything better to do” time is a veritable treasure chest of earnings!.. 
London driving don’t bother me, and I’ve picked up many a cushy run over the years because someone else couldn’t handle it… FFS what IS it about london that you won’t get go wrong on a trip to Manchester, Leeds, or whatever? 
The thing that makes a london drive cushy is the planners don’t have a clue that the run they’ve allocated 12 hours for can be done in 8 if you know you way around… I would have thought that other inner cities have the same story, but I wait to be corrected here? 
Reading this thread,I would like to add my experience. I too turned up at a co-op rdc for my first shift and was given a set of keys,some paperwork and ASKED if i knew how to use the mdt.i said no-they said fair do’s on you trot. The mdt is not essential to do the run-if you havent been trained on it-don’t use it.
This method of working seems to be the norm-the counter clerks at the rdc assume that the agency drivers have done their induction-I did mine 4 months after starting(and my assesment drive 7 months in-lucky i passed that eh!).I have seen lots of drivers arrive and been told the same,and i only do 2 Sundays a month.
The size of the truck does not allways correlate to the amount of drops-and at the site i do they have over 50 agency drivers a day as well as their own drivers-route alocation is usually on a first come first served type of basis.
So-to the O-P,next time you go to a new place-maybe asking people how it works rather than just jacking it in the huff would show you in a more proffeshunal(!) light.
I am shocked.
Class 1 driver that needs training on how to drive rigid 
Oh well…
I’m on agency at the moment and sort of enjoy the variety.
When I get hit with a situation I don’t know, I find the nearest person and ask “who what where or when, cos I’m agency and never done this before”? and if they’re a bottomhole, I find the next person, usually person number 1 is great and will go out of their way to help.
That way I learn and have never yet had a situation I can’t get out of and it expands the knowledge I have of the job.
More employable? kerchinggggg 
Last week though I turned down a wagon that had a foot long crack in the windscreen in front of the driver and the seatbelt didn’t work, stayed on site till it was sorted out and did the job in a 3.5 ton cage sided van, took a lot longer Kerchinggggg 
Ex Haulier:
Now i hate big rigids at the best of times and i look at this thing with multi temperatures and the computer that no one has explained and think ■■■■■■■■ to this. I walked back to the office, put it all on the counter and said politely. Here you go mate, this is not what i signed up for, i’m out of here. And left.You would think (wouldn’t you) that they would have someone to show you what they expect you to do and what all the procedures are rather than just chucking you in the deep end like this. Anyway, doubt that i will be working at the Co-op again.
Agency work is not for you. What you experienced is par for the course. Getting shown everything is a very rare event indeed. Most of my career was with agency and at most places you got chucked the keys, the paperwork and pointed in the general direction of the vehicle. Some jobs all I got was to turn up at a gate at 4am, press the call button to get let in and the keys would be under the grille and I was left to work it out from there.
Seeing as I havent even started in the industry yet its very interesting to see everyones opinions on this! Im keeping quiet for now!
hgvhgv:
Seeing as I havent even started in the industry yet its very interesting to see everyones opinions on this! Im keeping quiet for now!
But you know from this thread that once you pass your C ticket, there is plenty of work for a driver without spending all his money on C+E in one go.
Although it may be a big rigid, you can learn some roadcraft in that and find your way around the country too.