Juddian:
I’ve worked at a couple of places where the damage was extensive and regular.
Invariably it’s caused by a handful of incompetents, ironically within days of them starting us drivers have spotted what they are, and we’re usually right the trail of destruction isn’t far off, maybe management are a bit slow.We drivers have no input whatsoever on the recruitment process, the wreckers in almost every case were not recommended by other drivers, one who caused repeated negligent damage to the specialist equipment was in fact put up by one of the supervisors, talk about own goals
, drivers recommended by other drivers tend to be of the better quality cos drivers in good jobs usually want the job to last
For some reason though these wreckers don’t have any more punishment than a chat with one of the managers, just how bad does it have to get before they get rid of them.Back on the cars there was one clown who had been around all the local outfits, trail of destruction in his wake everywhere he went, he was simply an idiot end of, but they kept taking him on
Small outfit, owner i know as well as two of his really good drivers who i’d worked with before, he’d already asked those two lads about the clown, don’t touch him with a barge pole was the answer, then he asked me when we met up at the rdc site we nearly all worked out of, i told him the same.
His reply, ‘well everyone deserves another chance’, so took the bod on, within three weeks he’d had two brand new decent sized cars written off on the wagon, well there’s at £30k even 20 years ago.
What is it with some gaffers, why the bloody hell ask the opinion of people you presumably respect and then bloody ignore it.I refused to train one bod up where i worked because literally he could not drive a wagon, terrified the hell out of me on the one day we went out, my then boss got the arse with me and trained him up himself (to prove a point i s’pose), full artic semi trailer car transporter with full size peak (yes you know the sort where the peak car goes out 15ft when you turn a corner), what could possibly go wrong i hear you ask… 6 weeks later stuffing it under a 14’6" bridge at 50mph fully loaded good enough?
One bloke, an older one too who i’d worked with years previously and no better then did no end of damage at the supermarket rdc i worked out of, ie pulling out too tight too soon from the bank, the rear overhang of the fridge he pulled out knocking the fridge beside it over (legs collapsing, fully loaded of course, domino alley) and ripping the rear frame off the one he was pulling.
Another time (there were numerous events from this bloke) there were two lanes at the gatehouse as you drove in, where security lads would come out and check the return seals, one day he flew in smashing the offside front overhang straight into the nsr corner of one in the offside lane narrowly missing crushing the security bod who was checking the seal at the time
This bod really had such a high opinion of himself though.
Nothing done about him, but then the people in charge are only spending some bugger else’s money, not their own.
I used to make no end of overtime out of these wreckers, got on well with the lads in the on site workshops and they’d get me to ferry damaged wagons to the bodyshop and collecting repaired ones to bring back after my normal run.All these were in the days of manual boxes, just to prove idiots ain’t a new thing, they’ve always been around, and then just as now it’s almost always managements fault for A employing them and B for not getting rid pronto when they prove to be regular wreckers.
What really ■■■■■■ me off though, is that those same manager types today who are frightened of disciplining and getting rid of the regular wreckers then do the classic and imho cowardly ‘‘one size fits all’’ shuffle.
They either issue a memo about damage and costs casting the blame on everyone (when its a small minority of culprits) tarring the vast majority of decent staff with the same brush, or it’s spend £thousands on monitoring equipment, now tell me what difference 20 driver facing cameras or any technical wizardry you could imagine would have made to the supermarket wrecker above, i’m buggered if i know.None of us are perfect, we can all have a bad day and an event that all goes ■■■■ up, but invariably it’s a small band of tools doing 90% of the damage, and wherever they go they take that attitude with them.
Taking on known idiots seems to be the thing where I work, and the complete lack of real world training.
Why give someone a job, everyone knows he’s a clown except for the management, no hang on they know he’s a clown oh well see how it goes.
We have a large fleet 200+ drivers plus agency, every truck with the odd exception has the back of the cab stoved in, yet drivers are still told to get out and check the 5th wheel height, as if anyone ever does, another one how can you hit the steps? you sit directly above one of them and the other has a sensor with an audible alarm and 4 F****** mirrors ?.
I had a unit a while back showing a low water alarm, having a look for leaks and club plant pot have knocked the header tank off with another missed pin effort, anything short of assault or theft and you keep youre job.
Why not have a 1 year fixed contract then full time after if you prove yourself, pay a bit more which would cost nothing because the damage would go down and manage the job properly, you can park a truck up at the end of a shift with damage or defects and nobody says a word.
I told them to employ the chuckle brothers at least their incompetence would be entertaining.
). Robert
…my pet hate.
, but it really ■■■■ ■■■■■■ me off does that 
) from me. Obviously that only works in traffic!