Not aimed at all agency drivers

UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUMS THE UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUM (INTERACTIVE)
1

I’ve got to have a moan because i’m starting to get wound up by agency drivers this will apply to 1% of you but god please

  1. When you arrive at a company don’t start slagging the company off to anyone you don’t always know who they are just because they drive does not mean they hate the boss to.

  2. So what if you get paid more for working weekends if we want happy we wouldnt be working them either.

  3. There is a 51 plate and a 58 plate parked next to each other why do you deserve the 58 plate? The company does not know what your driving is like and most probably that 58 plate belongs to a driver who has worked there for years.

  4. Sitting outside the company immediately after they have loaded you and you have just spent 3 hours doing jack but drinking cofee and bagging a break just makes your agency look bad and force the company to move agencys and you loose the work for everyone.

  5. Finishing your day and parking round the corner having a break before you clock off when you dont need one also shows your agency up.

  6. You are no better than anyone else and just because head office dont know where a place they sent you to is is not a reason to kick off when there are plenty of drivers at the DC to tell you where to go.

The company i work for has just started using agency again after bad dealings with another last year and this new one is pushing the boss to stop using them altogether but bearing in mind we had 3 trucks wrote off by agency last year so far we have lost none. please guys i know things are not to great for yourselfes but by acting like that is there any surprise but i must say the majority i meet are good guys.

Moan over.

2

Unless I was the boss of a Firm then I would not give a toss what another driver does or says, be he a gold star 40 year employee or a first day Agency driver.

Why exactly is any of this winding you up.

If Agency drivers are earning more and some are doing less then its time to have a word with said Boss and get your rate up.

3

Ive met some cracking agency lads over the years but it does seem to me the ones Ive met very much have a ■■■■ you attitude :smiley: my bro is one of these, he will walk out over the stupidest of reasons, brag how much money he is earning when no one really cares, stay out sleeping in lay bys for hours on end and then make next shift swap late and then moan when he gets told off. We have em at our place now and then and they all know it all been there done it etc and need 12 hour days even if they’re only going 100 miles down the road :smiley:
Doesnt mean they’re all bad obviously but I cant get my head around why they have to have the attitude. I am happy to work all year round in the same place with same faces for regular income not needing weekend work but with some its like if you dont work sundays like they do then you’re scum :laughing: live and let live I say, but some really do need their heads testing. Its no wonder they cant get a job :stuck_out_tongue:

4

That was all i was trying to say Ollie thanks just still wound up i think from what happend. But at least i seem to have had a point.

5

It works both ways. I was agency for 6 years and the way some regular drivers behaved used to amaze me.

  • Ask for directions — “Find it your ■■■■■■■ self
  • Ask about the best route — “You’re supposed to be a professional driver”
  • Take three shunts — “Where did you buy your licence then?”
  • Leave a sweet wrapper on the passenger side floor — “Dirty ■■■■■ agency drivers”

I have got back to base — all drops done — no trouble — to be greeted with “Where the hell have you been — our regular driver would have been back an hour ago.”

I have got back to base after an easy three drops to be met by a worried driver who says “Go and hide round the corner or they will want us all to rush our ■■■■■■■■ off like you.”

Of course these were the exceptions. In fact most hauliers give the agency drivers the easy work because they have low expectations. I was never worried about shabby trucks so long as they were roadworthy and reasonably clean inside. At least they wouldn’t notice another dent or scratch.
If a customer seemed OK then I would pull out all the stops partly because I wanted to go back there but also pride in my work. When customers phoned my agency and asked for me by name I knew I was getting something right.

6

People have different reasons for being agency drivers ,its not all down to cant get a job.I do school buses most of the time and agency in summer hols. Was offered 1 week on tippers come Friday phone call he wants you next week as well .No work for a week then 1 week on tippers different yard regular driver doing CPLUS E he must of failed first time got call go in next week as well. Some petty minded drivers would not let me use pressure washer,I wanted to leave the motor clean when I was done with it. Yes the ZB flies both ways.

7

Danny27404:
I’ve got to have a moan because i’m starting to get wound up by agency drivers this will apply to 1% of you but god please

  1. When you arrive at a company don’t start slagging the company off to anyone you don’t always know who they are just because they drive does not mean they hate the boss to.

  2. So what if you get paid more for working weekends if we want happy we wouldnt be working them either.

  3. There is a 51 plate and a 58 plate parked next to each other why do you deserve the 58 plate? The company does not know what your driving is like and most probably that 58 plate belongs to a driver who has worked there for years.

  4. Sitting outside the company immediately after they have loaded you and you have just spent 3 hours doing jack but drinking cofee and bagging a break just makes your agency look bad and force the company to move agencys and you loose the work for everyone.

  5. Finishing your day and parking round the corner having a break before you clock off when you dont need one also shows your agency up.

  6. You are no better than anyone else and just because head office dont know where a place they sent you to is is not a reason to kick off when there are plenty of drivers at the DC to tell you where to go.

The company i work for has just started using agency again after bad dealings with another last year and this new one is pushing the boss to stop using them altogether but bearing in mind we had 3 trucks wrote off by agency last year so far we have lost none. please guys i know things are not to great for yourselfes but by acting like that is there any surprise but i must say the majority i meet are good guys.

Moan over.

I know ‘company’ drivers who behave more like this than any agency drivers I have worked with. I am also in agreement with santa when he says that some ‘company’ drivers treat agency lads like they’re an inferior race and shouldn’t be breathing the same air.
Why does it wind you up so much if drivers are taking an extra break before they get back into the yard. Do their wages come out of your pocket? If not why stress yourself. Don’t sweat the small stuff and don’t worry about what everyone else is up to :unamused:

8

Couldn’t agree more with the alternative posts.

I’m an agency driver because I choose to be.I like the variety the job brings,what with driving different trucks,working for different customers,etc.I like to be able to work when I choose to,and have time off when I choose to without booking it weeks in advance.

I have only ever once been asked not to go back to a place,over something that most certainly wasn’t my doing,and I have never refused to go to a place of work either.I have never refused a reasonable request for a customer,in fact I would go as far to say that I do just about everything that is asked of me.

If a regular driver has a 51 plate motor,and I’m asked to drive the new one,then that has nowt to do with me,and I will drive what I’m given,so long as it’s clean,tidy and legal,as I have standards and principles.

I don’t park up unnecessarily,but I am thorough in everything I do,making sure that the customer is happy at the end of the day with what I’ve done to their standard,including paperwork,defect procedures,etc.

I would go as far to say I sometimes do a job better than some of the regular drivers because that’s the way I am,and I’ve always strived to do and be the best I am,something that I have installed in my 2 daughters.Nobody can ever criticise me for that.

I once went to a customer who was a former employer of mine,and upon completeing my daily grind,I de-briefed,and defected a trailer,and the girl in the office,who didn’t know me from Adam,started to slag me off to the shunter who happened to be a personal friend of mine,for doing my defect correctly,to which he told her who I was,and to scrutinise what I had done that day,and to report back if she found anything wrong.Needless to say,she didn’t!!!

I am clean and tidy 100% of the time,and must be doing something right,as I have been at the same place now since last July,with only 2 enforced days off due to it beng quiet.

Ken.

9

Without editing my above post…

I collected today on the Team Valley at Gateshead,and ran it straight into the receipient,despite it being booked in tomorrow,and was not asked to do it by the customer.

How many staff drivers would do that?

Ken.

10

Danny27404:
I’ve got to have a moan because i’m starting to get wound up by agency drivers this will apply to 1% of you but god please

  1. When you arrive at a company don’t start slagging the company off to anyone you don’t always know who they are just because they drive does not mean they hate the boss to.

  2. So what if you get paid more for working weekends if we want happy we wouldnt be working them either.

  3. There is a 51 plate and a 58 plate parked next to each other why do you deserve the 58 plate? The company does not know what your driving is like and most probably that 58 plate belongs to a driver who has worked there for years.

  4. Sitting outside the company immediately after they have loaded you and you have just spent 3 hours doing jack but drinking cofee and bagging a break just makes your agency look bad and force the company to move agencys and you loose the work for everyone.

  5. Finishing your day and parking round the corner having a break before you clock off when you dont need one also shows your agency up.

  6. You are no better than anyone else and just because head office dont know where a place they sent you to is is not a reason to kick off when there are plenty of drivers at the DC to tell you where to go.

The company i work for has just started using agency again after bad dealings with another last year and this new one is pushing the boss to stop using them altogether but bearing in mind we had 3 trucks wrote off by agency last year so far we have lost none. please guys i know things are not to great for yourselfes but by acting like that is there any surprise but i must say the majority i meet are good guys.

Moan over.

There are plenty of drivers employed by companies that do all of that stuff AND worse. Wind your neck in mate :unamused: Made youself look with your comments. :wink:

( language edit ) jd

11

I’m agency by choice I only want to work part-time for my own reasons. However as in all walks of life there are good and bad. I’ve climbed into some wagons after a regular driver and been disgusted, and some I’ve been too frightened to drop a crumb in!
Like Quinn I like the variety, I like not being involved in the petty arguements, I do the job to my best ability, and tend to asked back to regular jobs where I seem to get on well with everyone. I’ve only refused to go back to one job and that was I could not believe some of the daft ideas they had(run by degree wallahs!).I drive anything from cars to artics and don’t expect to get the best one. If your having this much grief tell yhem to …go away and ask the agency for better and tell them why :smiley: :smiley: :smiley: :smiley: :smiley: :smiley:

12

Im an Agency driver Danny but not by choice but the job Im doing now I was asked first by the company would I do it Then the Agency was told this is the man thats doing the job

13

Santa:
It works both ways.

Yeah, I posted a thread some time ago about what I hear as an agency driver. Most companies simply expect that I will not able to drive, find my way, to not crash the lorry or damage load or speak English.

That has a good side: it’s not hard to suprise them positively :smiley:

14

Danny27404:
I’ve got to have a moan because i’m starting to get wound up by agency drivers this will apply to 1% of you but god please.

Only applies to 1%…99% are alright, sounds about right to me.

15

The agency lads we have at our place are sound as.

16

Im an agency driver mainly through my age and lack of experience,

ive only refused to go back to a job once because of payment issues with the company. i go to the job to get it done with minimal hassle and do whats asked of me, ive never slagged off previousw companies ive worked for via the agencies but have only slagged one company i worked for off because of what happened there.

ive done more in my 20 months doing agency driving than some drivers ive met have done in ten years,
ive done scaffolding, flats,tippers, hooklifts and skips,Steel, trunking, weeks away, etc etc and im only 22

im the first person called for from one of the agencies for parcelforce which is a good job and pays well, i got 6 months at my local council which was good experience for me to get the feel of heavy trucks (before i went there and drove a 32 tonner i hadnt even driving anything over 18 ton)

if i dont like working for the company ill tell the agency but they must be really bad for me not to go as most times ill grin and bear it for the money.

17

There, there im sure it will all be better in the morning :unamused:

18

Santa:
It works both ways. I was agency for 6 years and the way some regular drivers behaved used to amaze me.

  • Ask for directions — “Find it your [zb] self
  • Ask about the best route — “You’re supposed to be a professional driver”
  • Take three shunts — “Where did you buy your licence then?”
  • Leave a sweet wrapper on the passenger side floor — “Dirty ■■■■■ agency drivers”

I have got back to base — all drops done — no trouble — to be greeted with “Where the hell have you been — our regular driver would have been back an hour ago.”

I have got back to base after an easy three drops to be met by a worried driver who says “Go and hide round the corner or they will want us all to rush our ■■■■■■■■ off like you.”

Of course these were the exceptions. In fact most hauliers give the agency drivers the easy work because they have low expectations. I was never worried about shabby trucks so long as they were roadworthy and reasonably clean inside. At least they wouldn’t notice another dent or scratch.
If a customer seemed OK then I would pull out all the stops partly because I wanted to go back there but also pride in my work. When customers phoned my agency and asked for me by name I knew I was getting something right.

at a place i work for i was given an "off the record…quiet word from the union rep…about not rushing about and spoiling the job(regular staff are salaried…im paid by the hour)…the fleets speed limiters varied by 1KPH!!but i was often asked by regular staff if it was a 90 or 89…when i was feuling up…and if i said 89 they would walk down the yard to find a faster(by 1 kph )truck??
the new fleet is limited to 84kph…you should have heard the moans…i said “bring it on…slower the trucks…the more i earn”
agency drivers often get the longer jobs as the companies own drivers have set hours for the day…do i moan???nah…im paid by the hour.
as long as the truck im given is legal(and i do my checks and defect things that are a no no)i will drive anything…
i know how long a job should take…i always try and make the drop time…if im getting ahead of myself…i back off a bit…nowt wrong with that?

19

“. You are no better than anyone else and just because head office dont know where a place they sent you to is is not a reason to kick off when there are plenty of drivers at the DC to tell you where to go.”

if in todays modern age of computer technology a company cannot provide a map and directions to a drop they deserve to be slagged off…i can get routeplanner on my home pc ffs.

20

xamtex:
“. You are no better than anyone else and just because head office dont know where a place they sent you to is is not a reason to kick off when there are plenty of drivers at the DC to tell you where to go.”

if in todays modern age of computer technology a company cannot provide a map and directions to a drop they deserve to be slagged off…i can get routeplanner on my home pc ffs.

There are a few situations where accurate routes cannot be gained by a computer/internet… When doing residential deliveries on new build estates, when the customer provides you with an inaccurate address (can’t even get their post code right sometimes) etc. All part of the fun most times! I can’t see why there should be any prejudice where directions are concerned, a driver is a driver, when someone’s been somewhere odd and unfindable, they are obliged to share the info to make life easier for the others and the favour will be repaid in the future.