Hi ,
I started working as a multi-drop driver the day before xmas eve… i didnt know the area and it was a total nightmare, i spent loads of time hunting for parcels in the back of the van, got stuck in the snow and it ended up taking 13 hours to complete my shift.
im going back on weds and would like any advice i can get that might help me out as i feel unprepared for it !
thanks!
Joe
quit!
Adam_Mc:
quit!
Well that was very helpful 
Hi Joe, welcome to the site, you will be glad to know most posters on here aren’t complete tools, just a few, so feel free to ignore any posts you don’t like 
Best thing you can do is ask the drivers who have been doing that particular job how they arrange their parcels etc so they don’t waste time looking for them every drop.
As for not knowing the area, that will come fairly quickly as long as you do the same run each day.
Do you have good maps or a sat nav? as long as they are up to date and if sat nav, you have all the poa’s that are relevant to your truck, that will help speed things up.
Even though I have sat nav, I try to look addresses up in a paper map, it helps you remember them in the future where as just following sat navs you don’t need so much thought and tend to forget places quicker 
thanks Jimti , i didnt think that was a very helpful post to be honest! most people cant just quit there job if it gets tough! iv been reading some other posts and seen that the guy is as u say a total tool .
anyway thanks for the advice, the vans (DPD) have a little device which you log all the routes with in the morning , i just had no idea when it took me to a postcode and said something like " the rose cottage" and its down a mile long road with all different house names on each side , and iv been allocated 3 mins to do the drop:(
hopefully i can speak to some one who does multi-drop.
what job do you do Jimti?
Joe89:
Hi ,
I started working as a multi-drop driver the day before xmas eve… i didnt know the area and it was a total nightmare, i spent loads of time hunting for parcels in the back of the van, got stuck in the snow and it ended up taking 13 hours to complete my shift.
im going back on weds and would like any advice i can get that might help me out as i feel unprepared for it !
thanks!
Joe
multidrop aint for the faint hearted as you are finding out . the only way around it is ti stick with it . as for parcel hunting you could try asking the other drivers how they do it , you may find a way of fitting it all in so its too hand , if you get my drift. remember if in any doubt ask for help .
also try not to get in a panic over it no point giving yourself a heart attack over it . stopping and thinking does help .
due to it being parcels they may expect you to come back with stuff that you cant deliver ,( its hard to say without more detail ).
dont kill yourself over it its not worth it … good luck…
If you can get a good map book of your delivery area so you can cross reference streets once you have done a drop put a number next to it on the map and write it on a piece of paper not a ■■■ packet lol once you get into it you can look at the paper and work out if any others are near by.
Just stick with it mate dont just quit cause your boots might get dirty i used to work for corperate express in scotland i was full time releif driver on the stationary vans up 100 drops a day round glasgow city centre i did it so im sure you can !!!
good advice, ok ill just stick with it , at the moment im just getting the over spill so i dont think i have a regular route yet.
iv only done a 2 days , once i went out with some1 and saw how they did it but they knew the area so well and it was still a 12 hour day for 65 drops (out in the country side thoe)
then i went out solo and yes it was a real challenge , especially when i was stuck in snow and they said itll be about 3 hours before we can get u back , so i went and knocked on some doors asking for a shovel! then dug myself a route up the hill for a good half hour! to go and drop off another 10 parcels . was disheartening to say the least!
ill stick at it thoe hopefully get a regular route.
I have a 7.5T license what other jobs might be worth looking into?
I did van multi drop for a few years before I got my HGV, seen many guys come and go because their first week was hard work.
First thing to remember, everybody can drive a van, so at the moment your just a number to those in charge, if you quit they wont take a second glance at you whilst calling in your replacement.
Dont panic, panic and youll run yourself in circles.
Try and sort your parcels into somesort of order, I used postcode
JO1 1** in a stack
JO1 2** in a stack etc
Try and get hold of a black + white A-Z, I used a hi-liter for the different area’s then used that colour on my notes.
Give it a month and youll be laughing, a clear head will take it in quicker and easier.
No idea how many drops yuo are doing. but what i used to do a long while ago when I started was to go and sit with a coffee and put all the delivery notes in order of delivery, starting with nearest first etc (a problem if you have timed deliveries).
Then I would do each drop in that order, one job at a time.
I doubt if your new boss will give you a hard time over this as most appreciate that it takes time to work up a knowledge of the area.
It’s thirteen years since I did parcels so things will be different these days with all manner of modern fangled gadgets. I worked for White Arrow and Littlewoods Home Express and you could easily have 200 on the back. What is that device whereby you log all the routes in the morning? How does it work? Anyway, I digress. It will be much easier when you have your own route or are kept on the same route as you won’t even need a map when sorting your parcels as a lot of them will be the same addresses, agents and whathaveyou.
However, on an unfamiliar route it can be a nightmare, just looking at the big pile of parcels to load onto your van can bring you out in a cold sweat. At Littlewoods they had a ‘double addressed label’ system whereby an address on a parcel was printed twice ie. you tore one off for yourself and the other one stayed on the parcel naturally. I then took a pen/marker and wrote the same number on both bits and stuck the parcel straight on the van. I’d start with the little ones right behind the driver’s seat and work across and backwards so the bigger stuff was at the back. This way you can pack the van real quick. After doing that it’s a trip to the canteen to grab a coffee and drop sort your numbered tickets with a good A-Z you have previously purchased. Just try to plan it as best you can going by the map, streets tend to be close by to each other. I then used to stiick a few elastics somewhere suitable in the van (always at least 2 for each pile of tickets incase of a snap) and stick my tickets there. Each time you remove one and stick it in the done pile, you know straight away where you’re going next.
At White Arrow they didn’t have the same system and you just had the address on the parcel. So I got a big box of printer paper off a wholesaler and used a ruler to cut my own blank tickets. You can get 12 or so from an a4 size of paper, still had a big pile of paper left when I got another job. Again, number both the parcel and ticket with pen/marker except this time you need to scribble the address down as well. Then same again, go and sit somewhere quiet to sort your tickets. Because you have a number on both the ticket and parcel, you can instantly find it in the van. Any addresses you can’t see, just stick them as unknowns and you will find that they will pop up as you drive about your route more often than not. Doing this method at White Arrow, I always left a bit later than the other lads who had chucked stuff on their vans willy nilly but I’d always got rid of loads more at the end of the day. Tortoise and hare springs to mind. Afterwards I went full time and it was soooo much easier having your own run.
Any odd addresses you come across, farms and the like, just jot them into your a-z when you find them as there will be a next time 
Considering there was snow and all the chaos it causes us in the UK it doesn’t sound like you did too bad for the first day.
Stick with it at least a month and talk to the other drivers for tips. After a month it usually all falls in to place or you know for certain the job isn’t for you.
Whilst I agree with B1GGK that you are just a number at the start most bosses understand it takes a while for a new starter to find their feet. They have invested money in hiring and training you and they won’t sack you unless the absolutely have to.
I’ve seen many drivers quit after a week and one on his first day (he took one look at the van that was loaded to the roof and walked out 
), but I’ve only seen one new starter get the sack and that was someone who called in sick on his first day
Good luck!
Joe89:
what job do you do Jimti?
after 30 years doing everything from multi drop Steel round London to removals across Europe I have taken a well earned break from the trucks and am driving a cab around my home town, the money isn’t as good, but I only work 50 hours a week now and have found time to enjoy my family.
As others have said, stick with the job, you will get the hang of it in the end, it is the same with nearly any new job.
The longer you do the job the easier it will get, by the summer you will probably have it so well worked out that you will even find time to get an afternoon nap and still be finished on time
Always bring a couple of parcels back. If you do 100 drops in a day then the next day they will give you 102 and so forth.
Doesn’t sound like I gave good advice…but when he eventually finds something better, he’ll fully understand why I was so blunt!
I used to work for Tuffnells (Big green parcel machine). I took a job driving 7.5t/18t and occasional van days on the basis that after 3 months crash free, I’d be put on their artics or wag’n’drag…I never got given my own run…I thought I had been, but it was just holiday cover. Because I didn’t have my own run, I couldn’t learn a route and was always being pulled into the office for not dropping off all my parcels…but how could I? I had a satnav and always had a normal road map too…but what I often found was the addresses were often wrong in some way or another so it took ages to actually find destinations.
Then there were the timed deliveries…Some of these were miles and miles apart, but they somehow wanted all 60+ drops done over 2 counties. One day I had a cold…next day I was pulled into the office and sworn at for not having a good attitude because I “didn’t sound happy” when speaking to people…no ■■■■ sherlock.
The trucks were loaded in some order…but as every loader was different, you couldn’t get used to an order. Most of the time when we drove a van, we had to load it ourselves…you’d think that’s all fine and dandy, but it wasn’t because they only gave you 30 mins to load it, but as the addresses were wrong, it was impossible to work out an order to load it in…then they’d pull you in the office for not finishing your run, not understanding why you couldn’t figure out a route, even when you showed them the addresses which were wrong.
My only escape from that job was the fact I had already gained my Class 1 and with that I simply walked into the office mid week and said I’m off on Friday…blunt as that!
Now I still had a house of my own, still all of my bills, my car, food to buy…all the same stuff as you lot, but you know what, I was so determined to stay afloat I found a way…despite being as blunt as my first reply!
I signed up to various agencies and told them I will only drive for class 1 companies with the odd class 2 truck…I knew work would be thin so I took up a part time mini bus school run. I done it, so there’s no reason why anyone else can’t do it…economically, times are better now than they were when i was up the ■■■■.
when i used to do multi drop i used to put all the parcels into piles of the areas they belong to. When that was done i will then look at the tickets that were taken off the parcels and plan the route. What i used to do with the map was put a see thorough bit of paper over the top of the page, then mark it up with a felt tip pen and once you finished for the day you are then able to wipe it off with a wet sponge without damaging the map. It worked for a while until i got to know where i was going.
went out solo and yes it was a real challenge , especially when i was stuck in snow and they said itll be about 3 hours before we can get u back , so i went and knocked on some doors asking for a shovel! then dug myself a route up the hill for a good half hour! to go and drop off another 10 parcels
Reading this post of yours, I would say that you will be very succesful in your new position, first day, new job, no idea where your going, snow everywhere, but when the going got tough you got going, used your noggin, did all the right things
dont even think about quitting, your a trucker in the making, good on yer mate 
If you have a laptop. Install microsoft autoroute 30 free trail. Type in all the postcodes and timed critical deliveries, press optimise route and it will calculate every drop in route order including all those before 9 and 12 o’clocks etc You dont need to be connected to internet to use it either http://www.microsoft.com/uk/homepc/autoroute/default.mspx
but don’t forget to put your parcel depot as start of trip and end!
ZigZag:
If you have a laptop. Install microsoft autoroute 30 free trail. Type in all the postcodes and timed critical deliveries, press optimise route and it will calculate every drop in route order including all those before 9 and 12 o’clocks etc You dont need to be connected to internet to use it either http://www.microsoft.com/uk/homepc/autoroute/default.mspx
Provided the addresses you get given are correct then that sounds like a bloody good bit of kit 
But how much is it after the 30 day trial?
Joe89:
thanks Jimti , i didnt think that was a very helpful post to be honest! most people cant just quit there job if it gets tough! iv been reading some other posts and seen that the guy is as u say a total tool
Sorry, there’s no smiley clapping
Could do what the railway men did in old days when a wagon had to be placed in the order they were to be dropped off down the line ie closest parcels to the back, furthest/last ones to the front-remembering to move stuff where possible to keep axle weights right (if it’s heavy stuff)