Managed to get a temporary contract up until feb I think working for paragon laundry (class 2) without really knowing what I’m letting myself in for… Anyone else done this sort of work? Is it a bit ■■■■? 
I have done that and it is a killer, most of it was in cages but some was handball, one hotel i collected from had about 50 bags of dirty a day and i had to handball it from the basement up a flight of steps to the main road, i will not miss that job.
It weighs a [zb] ton. Unless you are VERY fit, healthy and strong it will ■■■■■■■ you. Wouldn’t get me doing that ■■■■ for all the money in the world. Proper mugs job.
Think house removal work but big [zb] bags of laundry instead of cabinets and sideboards.
I’ve been doing it for 9 months ( not for Paragon btw ),as previously stated,it can be seriously hard work :evil: …it all depends on the nature of your drops.I do hospitals,clinics,hospices etc;and access to some of these places beggars belief :shock: I must admit,my driving skills and general fitness levels have improved greatly since I’ve been doing it,but I can think of easier ways of earning a crust :lol:
I did one day for Paragon and refused to go back, I agree with everything thats been said, its not a nice job.
Aren’t Paragon the firm that have pics of their workforce plastered over their vehicles? I’ve seen a firm around with some right old munters grinning on the back doors.
Sounds like I’ll be having a good one then Agency have said to me it’s tomorrow for one day and an ongoing contract until feb starting monday. They said I’ve got first dibs on the temp contract if I want it… think I’m feeling generous all of a sudden 
We’ll see how it goes, it’s only for one day if it’s that bad and I’m not really in a position to turn work down at the moment!
Baggie is it you who was on about the bag of [zb] V reg ERF that you have? Who do you work for if you don’t mind me asking…
Dont envy you that job mate at all,some of our lads come back in with 28 cages full plus loose bags thrown on top on 18ton mercs + some of it stinks to high heaven.But like you say its a job.You may get a round what requires a van lads so it may be ok.Good Luck.
Cheers mate, I knew it wasn’t going to be a walk in the park. I’ve been told it’s two collections - one in coventry and one in solihull, that it’s class 2 and starting at 14:00. That’s all I know! Can’t be that bad if it’s only two drops though I wouldn’tve thought… 
Working on the laundry was my first driving job! It wasn’t as bad as some are making out here, kept me fit! Good bunch of lads I worked with too.
That puts me at ease a bit mate, cheers 
Agency phoned; Wagon has broken down so jobs cancelled 
Rob K:
Proper mugs job.
thanks rob 
i delivery laundry (not paragon), like others have said some days easy, some days hard, keeps you fit but its not everyones cup of tea i guess.
Cruise Control:
Rob K:
Proper mugs job.thanks rob
i delivery laundry (not paragon), like others have said some days easy, some days hard, keeps you fit but its not everyones cup of tea i guess.
You’re welcome mate. 
I did 2 years working for a central london laundry, vans at first, then passed my test with them and went onto 7.5 tonners. You got everywhere, and It gave me a very good grounding in London direction finding. There was a definite buzz to the job, you felt a part of London rather than just passing through. You got to see all the scummy bits that no one else does. Down into basements from the curbside, with rats running along pipes above you. Backdoor access to hotels having to kick the junkies off the fire escape to make room for you to come barging through with the bags at 4am.
Most of it was bags, although cages were used where possible, most London hotels do not have access good enough for them. So it was handball two or three bags at a time, up and down infinite steps and a maze of corridors. Worst bit is (as is the nature of laundry) clean in and dirty out. So you are forever juggling the load around and trying not to bury the clean stuff you need with the dirty/smelly old stuff.
If you had cages, they could be an equal pain, as they got very heavy with linen, and the wheels were often tired from too many trips across badly cobbled streets. Sometimes bags were preferable.
Some stuff really stinks, from nursing homes for the elderly, to greasy spoon restaurants where the laundry bags are soaked through with grease from the rags and and chefs wear. You will be absolutely stinking by the end of the day, both from the sweat of exertion and the stink of the laundry.
It kept me fit, I was eating all sorts of rubbish, and was trim as I have ever been.
With the right guys the camaraderie can be good, because you all have a shared appreciation of how scummy the job can be at times, there were plenty of good blokes working there (a few lazy idiots, but good for the most part) and some days were a very good laugh.
Some days were absolutely horrendous though, its not the job to be facing when you are tired. With a hangover or cold, forget it. You need to feel right to do it every day.
The stress of London traffic, parking and traffic wardens was the worst bit for me. Making the deliveries was physical and annoying at times, but at least you could turn it round and think that it was doing you some good fitness wise. I have done jobs since, where the weights being lifted were silly and would definately hurt you over the long term. In comparison, the laundry bags were monitored so the weight was never stupidly excessive. Although the dirty bags coming back could be quite heavy at times, as there is no control over that.
Best bit about the product… laundry is unbreakable. So where you can throw it to make the job easier, you do.
I didn’t think so at the time, but having done some far worse job since, I look back on it quite fondly. The money had London weighting as well, so as I was living in Reading at the time, the pay cheque seemed pretty good.
Nice post mate, cheers for that
chris_89:
Agency phoned; Wagon has broken down so jobs cancelled
■■■■■■■■, sorry mate, but I’ve heard that sooo often.
It’s only Saturday, so if it was broke down, why would it still be broken down on Monday.
They’ve got someone else in to do it or the company has recruited someone etc, but it’s not cause the truck’s broken down.
They must think we’re ■■■■■■’ idiots, remember hearing this 3 times off the same agency with work for different firms, then 1 day I phoned them up at 5am and said I’d broken down and wouldn’t make it in lol
Yeah I figured there’s more to it, but they’ve got me replacement work for next week anyway so I’m not too fussed! This agency aren’t actually too bad on that side of things really, they’ve been pretty honest with me from the start. Ah well… life goes on!
chris_89:
Baggie is it you who was on about the bag of [zb] V reg ERF that you have? Who do you work for if you don’t mind me asking…
No mate,it wasn’t me,I’m fortunate enough to drive a decent 59 DAF,I work for Sunlight btw,not too bad (most of the time )