I have only worked for one agency since I started driving part time whilst having a full time warehouse job, but I’m looking at getting on a few agencies and testing the water to see how much work I can get from a few agencies, I signed up to one today who want to contact my existing agency for a reference, now I know agencies sometimes only give us the odd day here and there, but would an agency take the knock if your signing up to a few agencies so you will not just be exclusive to the one agency, how so people find agencies react when they are signed up to various ones■■?
As a recruitment consultant, personally my view is that as long as you’re dead honest and make a point of letting each agency know when you’re available and when you’re not - they can’t really begrudge you for it.
A few of my drivers are signed up to a couple of different agencies as we seem to have more insurance restrictions than most, or we’re not prepared to take a flyer with companies that request Driver’s Neg whereas others will. Some work might come on set days, say a Mon / Fri & Sat, so ensure your other agency are aware when you’re free for the Tues-Thurs and when you’re due a 45.
I’ve recently signed up with a 2nd agency as the agency I have been with for 18months has lost a bit of work. I feel terrible because they have been great with me but at the moment they don’t seem to have the work. I feel like I’m cheating ! The problem I have found is that you take work on for say 8am, then my normal agency phone up with work (for the same company) with a 4am start but you can’t take it as you already took the other one. Then you don’t get work for the next day as the one who gave you the 8am start doesn’t have anything the next day but the other one has a 4am start which you can’t do because you don’t know whether you will be finished in time to have 9 hours off !!!
So the answer…Well my regular agency seems to have work for 3 days a week but never on a Saturday so I’ve just told them and the new agency that I will be available Monday to Friday for my regular agency, seeing how that goes then will dictate when I’m available for the other agency at the weekends. I’d much rather stick with my one, regular agency though.
Yeah I see what you mean, but the agency I’m with at the min is a good agency they give me a day or two each week which I’m happy with at the minute as its only a second job, I always get enough rest in legally aswell with me working 4 on 4 off in a warehouse, trouble is I’m getting itchy fingers now with paying 2 grand for a licence and only using it maybe maximum twice a week, I want to get out there on the road full time so I’m gonna take a few days holiday sometime and test out how much work comes my way when I’m avalible for a full 12 days!
I occasionally get moaned at by not telling a downwind agency that I’ve been filled by my regular one when they phone me up to offer work.
It would help a lot if the second call didn’t come in the moment I put the phone down accepting the first however.
This is the problem of two seperate agencies offering the same shift at the same client. Someone is going to be disappointed.
I’ve always made a point of never welching my first booking, in order to take a second possibly better-paid version of the same job.
However, there is a possibility of abuse there I grant. You could turn down a second offered job at a DIFFERENT client, only to then have the first one cancelled, in which case you’ve left yourself with no work for the day, and you’ve been well and truly played. I’ve often suspected that some offers of work are not actually jobs at all - just “a booking” to snooker you from taking a fill from another agency! 
I dunno about everyone else, but I’ve noticed a pattern to the shifts that get cancelled… They seem to be the singleton ones offered between 48 and 12 hours before the start time, rather than those offered at less than 12 hours notice, or more than 48 hours notice. This might seem obvious, but knowing there’s a good chance of being cancelled because the shift fits the pattern means you can have a few other irons in the fire with selected agencies outside the area who’ll not be offering work at the same clients.
You can occasionally push a single shift into 2 days of work by telling the client that "If this goes over xxhours, I’ll have to hand back my (actually non-existant) shift tomorrow… So hows abouts booking me in here tomorrow to fit around today’s awkward finish time to make up for it?" 
It really gets my goat when I can only get a single shift in a week when some other bod has already worked 5 on the spin, and yet picks up the shift I was chasing… 
“Hey! - I’ve got plenty of hours left - has he■■?”
Hahaha very valid point mate, I get offered quite a few days, most always seem to fall on my 4 days in in the warehouse, so then I find I have to turn them down which winds me up, then come to my 4 off , hear nothing for 3 days then on my last day off get a call an hour before a shift seeing If I can go in