Doing my first store delivery tomorrow and to say I’m a bit stressed about it is an understatement. Can anyone shed any light on what to expect, working out of stoke Sainsbury’s.
Do they help as to where stores are located and best ways in etc
Im agency and i used to trunk for Sainsburys but one time they asked me to do a couple of shops and yes you do get a risk assessment sheet including how to get there etc… and you get the cages to the loading bay and the store staff take them from there…well thats what happened with me !! 
have you not been inducted ?
i had to go through 7 hours of a very boring induction before they let us do anything !! 
Thanks for the reply, going today all see what happens
I’ve done store deliveries for Sainsbury’s on the agency though not from Stoke.
They give you good maps to follow and as Tooz said it’s all risk assessed.Nice and easy job,so take it nice and easy.No need to get stressed about it. 
I work for poundland doing shops, we get maps sometimes they are right but the delivery points are in bus stations, train station car parks etc some are a nightmare reversing across main roads in rush hour with no one stopping or reversing down alley ways
Best advice is take your time depends how many drops you have 5 is the most we get
Dont be surprised if the shops say " no staff on at the mo can you just push the cages down the corridors".
Jeff
Everything is inducted, maps, risk assessments etc, you’ll not really need to think for yourself on there. Easy work if you’re the kind of driver that can follow company procedures and doesn’t mind jumping through seemingly pointless hoops.
What no one ever seems to warn you about is that dock levellers are rarely level, being bent, uneven, or otherwise knackered.
When pushing a dolly stack out the back, it can trip over the lip of a poor dock leveller, and you’ve got fruit, meat, etc all over the floor. Not good.
Delivering to a store for the first time that’s clearly old and knackered therefore stresses me about, but as with all things - one man’s meat is another man’s poison.
I didn’t like sainsburys drops to places like Epsom/Esher, but that was more about it being awkward to get in rather than dodgy dock levellers.
Don’t they unload it for you at sainsburys anyways? - I have not worked there (ADL @ 20/20 estate aylesford) for many years. It’s long since closed down as an operating depot.
At Morrisons, you sit in your cab whilst they PPM it off… THe only time you’d need to go on the back is collecting “salvage” from the wider yard.
Aldi - You pump truck it off yourself. Hard work, but at least you don’t have to wait for some workshy doorman to turn up and do it.
If coupling to an urban trailer - be aware that you reach the pin much sooner when hooking up… This can be nasty if you come under it with the suspension down like one might do with a full sized trailer, miss the pin outright, and smash the freezer unit through the back of your cab!
Urban trailers are a joy to drive - but need extra care when coupling imo.
You pull the cages to the back of the trailer on Sainsburys, most stores have a scissor lift, although there are a couple with dock levellers, the back door man will operate the scissor lift and empty it onto the warehouse floor while you get another lift full ready in the trailer. He will also usually unload any pallets using his pump truck.
Stoke don’t use the short urban trailers, although I guess there’s nothing stopping them sending you into Haydock to do a store and them giving you one, but just ask for help if you’re unsure of anything.
Honestly nothing to be worried about, everything is risk assessed and it’s easy work.
Anyone deliver to Sainsburys in Chesham? Reversing sideways off a two lane main road with a brick wall right in the place you want the truck to be. How on earth is that done?
Rentadent:
Everything is inducted, maps, risk assessments etc, you’ll not really need to think for yourself on there. Easy work if you’re the kind of driver that can follow company procedures and doesn’t mind jumping through seemingly pointless hoops.
What’s wrong with doing the latter?
They’re paid well enough to do it!
ORC:
Anyone deliver to Sainsburys in Chesham? Reversing sideways off a two lane main road with a brick wall right in the place you want the truck to be. How on earth is that done?
Looks pretty simple to me. There’s a gate in and a gate out.
Drive in then hard right and stick your front end out of the out gate… You’ll be mire or less straight back.
Trolley:
Rentadent:
Everything is inducted, maps, risk assessments etc, you’ll not really need to think for yourself on there. Easy work if you’re the kind of driver that can follow company procedures and doesn’t mind jumping through seemingly pointless hoops.What’s wrong with doing the latter?
They’re paid well enough to do it!
I wasn’t inferring that there was anything wrong with it, it’s just that some drivers are a bit ‘old school’ and don’t fit in well with the way big logistics companies work.
Don’t worry about a thing Maestro, you’ll be paid by the hour no doubt.
Do not take a blind bit of bloody notice of journey times or keeping to some pen pushers schedule, so long as you start work when you’re told to you’re covered, if you rush round and do some damage or deliver the wrong stuff you’ll be in the doo doo, better to take an hour or two longer than the regulars (i always made a point of that so as not to carve some poor sods job up)
When you get to the store find someone with a brain, if the first bod that comes out doesn’t have one find another bugger, they’ll put you right.
Have a nice easy day, take your time, no bugger’s clocking you on a stop watch, if they have they’re going to be disappointed and upsetting that sort is always a pleasant bonus to a nice days work.
Rentadent:
Trolley:
Rentadent:
Everything is inducted, maps, risk assessments etc, you’ll not really need to think for yourself on there. Easy work if you’re the kind of driver that can follow company procedures and doesn’t mind jumping through seemingly pointless hoops.What’s wrong with doing the latter?
They’re paid well enough to do it!
I wasn’t inferring that there was anything wrong with it, it’s just that some drivers are a bit ‘old school’ and don’t fit in well with the way big logistics companies work.
In that case I couldn’t agree with you more… and when there’s crap that needs doing it’s them boys who get it!
Before you start to unload the cages, lower the cab suspension down so the trailer is sitting flat or slightly angled down at the front - otherwise, when you release the straps / restraining bars, all the cages will roll out the back and straight off the tail-lift…!!
Supermarket stuff was my first class 1 job, there were loads of places I went where I’d cringe at how tight the yards were. The thing that got me through was they had deliveries there that day and every day and every other driver managed to get in so I could too. Some were difficult and made me sweat but I got in and I always and still do feel it was an excellent grounding in manoevering.
Hang in there mate, you’ll be fine.
Herongate:
Before you start to unload the cages, lower the cab suspension down so the trailer is sitting flat or slightly angled down at the front - otherwise, when you release the straps / restraining bars, all the cages will roll out the back and straight off the tail-lift…!!
Interesting tip that is as it’s the opposite to what we do. We want the pallets to roll with minimum effort. 
When pulling cages to onto dock leveller pull cage at angle so 1 wheel goes on first,because if you pull them and they are flush you tend to find the cages bounce more.Also if you are delivering to small shop and need to use tail lift make sure the flaps on tail lift are locked in properly.On Tesco the store staff should do all unloading off tail lift and driver stands on back of trailer,3 months ago 1 cage of spirits off back off tail lift the flap was not lock in properly.
probably need to take your mam along as well…
If your stressing about Sainsbury’s then you’ll definitely want to avoid to the likes of P&H!!! And other small convenience store distributors. My first 3 weeks driving rigids were with them; no risk assessments, got given a postcode, a list of 15 drops to make, 500kg cages of drinks to drag sometimes 100 yards to the shop and then unpack it…I had a lot of fun because I refuse to get stressed, but it was a complete shambles…now I’m working for a small meat supplier and the jobs a doddle and I am getting an extra 5p an hour…yay to that!!!
I often looked at the Supermarket drivers in awe of how wonderful their job is…a loading bay indeed, what luxury 
Anyway, best of luck buddy