Only gone and got myself a Job :D

NEW AND WANNABE DRIVERS (INTERACTIVE)
1

So here it is!!! Got myself a job after looking for the best part of 6 months :smiley: I won’t say who it is with just yet as I don’t know what their policy is about online related stuff. I think I would have been stupid to turn this offer down.

Please take this email as confirmation that we are willing to offer you the job of LGV class 2 driver.
This offer is with an initial 3 months’ probation period, on completion of that probation period this position would be full time.
Start and finish may vary and you may be required to stay away overnight,
Pay will start at £7.00 per hour**. We will put you through your ADR and pay the monies up front, however this cost will be deducted from your weekly wage over a mutually agreed time scale.

**Rises to £8 once ADR trained. Rises again (don’t know what to yet) after completion of 3 month trial period if I get offered work

also Thanks to all those on this forum for helping me out in the past

2

Top man, congrats on the new job! Hope you’ll be back in three months to tell us you’ve passed the probation period and everything’s running to plan. :slight_smile:

Cheers

Jonny :sunglasses:

3

jonnytruckfest:
Top man, congrats on the new job! Hope you’ll be back in three months to tell us you’ve passed the probation period and everything’s running to plan. :slight_smile:

Cheers

Jonny :sunglasses:

intend to maybe do a day by day diary to begin with then move onto a weekly one depending on how varied and exciting it gets lol :grimacing:

4

Gd man

5

Excellent news there sir take a bit of pressure off im sure , hope it works out.

6

Thanks all again.

Last week in current employment starts tomorrow. Gonna get myself some gear during the week.

7

Okay guys, sorry its late but here is my very quick DAY 1 woohoo!!

Got to office at 645 for a 7am induction. After that and recieving my uniform and vehicle defect book I was paired up with a respected driver.

Role wasn’t to drive today, just get used to loading/unloading

So of we trundled , leaving the yard at 7:30. To begin out multi-drop morning.

We had our first 15 min break at approx 930. We had done maybe an hours driving in total. Lots of frequent close drops. Ormskirk, Skem, them areas.

after lunch (12:30) we started collections .
So we poodle up to 17:30…home time? Nooooooope! Lol. Need to pick up 4 pallets and take them round to other warehouse.

Get round and phone goes, “need you to run up to Trafford centre”. So at 18:00 I finally get behind wheel.

Get back to yard at 19:10. Clock out at 19:15.

Total working day - 12 hours ( 11 if you take hour for lunch)
Driving time - 6ish hours.

Absolutely loved it.

Company is called John K Philips, based in St Helens.

DAF CF motors. Good ride and perfect for job. Have 10 and hopefully one will be mine!!

I will try and get a few photos tomorrow

Role on day 2 , 7:30am

8

Oh and we ain’t paid by driving hours we are paid from when clock on till we clock off :smiley:

9

Good for you seems like a good job

10

Well done mate, glad its working well for you! Pics are very welcomed :smiley:

makes me more excited for test day! Keep the diary coming:D

Cheers

Jonny :sunglasses:

11

Sarted 730. Loaded by 830. Just on 4th drop of day. Getting some serious reversing in.

12

Day 2:part 2

So after my final set of deliveries we had to swap back over with my driving friend as we started getting hazardous stuff on the lorry. In total I did 2hours and 34mins driving between 0730- 11:30

We ended up loaded with
Compressed gas bottles
3 pallets of Christmas wrapping paper.
7 pallets of cardboard (I think)
Pallet of bricks

Back to the yard for 1730, delivery and collection notes accounted for and off we went to unload. Park up at 1800. Back into transport office where TM gave me the good news

“You’re on your own tomorrow” :open_mouth: :open_mouth:

So yeah that was day 2. Finished at 1815 so not a bad day at all. I believe as we’ll once your work more than 10 hours you’re on time and half.

I have 2 photos on my phone but tapa talk won’t let me upload them, will try them soon

Bring on day 3 . The stabilisers come off :sunglasses: :neutral_face: :grimacing:

13

Day 3.

Well…here I sit almost three hours after my shift ended and I can honestly say that today was so much fun!

The learning curve instantly became the learning vertical.

Got my deliveries out by 15:00. After a late start as I had to go pick up the unit from being serviced.

I need to pick my speed up when loading…but I suppose I can only go as fast as I can until I figure out a routine that works for me.

Missed a collection time by 15 mins , but it happens in multi drop. Still felt daft only coming back with 2 pallets.

All the drivers are sound. In fact they are brilliant. I’m asking questions every day and all are offering advice. Giving me tips on certain sites. What to look out for. Anything

Total working time : 12hrs on the dot (11hrs after lunch break)
Total driving time : 4hrs 30 mins

14

Sorry it’s taken a while folks, if any one has been reading. But here is day 4 and 5

Day 4
Out on my own again! bumbling along in St Helens going to various sites. Had some fun getting into various places and continued to improve my reversing. Managed to get all but one of my drops done by 14:00pm after starting at 08:00am :blush: :open_mouth:

So had my hour break and was back on the road for 15:00pm. Got to my Final drop at 15:15pm but took the best part of an hour to get unloaded as it was tight as a nuns head dress and they had a trainee Forklift driver. Then off I went at 16:15pm

Off to Newey and erye in Warrington to make a collection at 17:00pm. Left at 17:30pm and back at HQ by 18:00pm

Unloaded, Debriefed told what time to come in tomorrow. Clocked out at 19:15

Total Time - 10hrs 15min
Total Driving Time - 4hrs 30mins. (thank flip for DAF’s onboard trip computer)

Day 5 - Back to School!

Day 5 was, in all honesty, a day from hell. I was about ready to take my ball and go home come lunch time. I ripped a gate off a school which really shook me up, I was second guessing myself all day after that.

Had to get into another tight loading bay with the tail lift down. This was after spending 1 HOUR (yes you read it right) getting out of this little ■■■■ and cranny. I turned right rather than left.
Needless to say I was not happy with myself and felt like a total utter failure. The day started with my boss even saying I need to speed up. :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry:

Got my last load off at 17:00pm. The very limit to when deliveries can be dropped. :unamused: :blush:

Hated this day. Thank Flip it was Friday. Plenty of cold beer In the fridge to calm down.

Total Working hours for the week (after 5 hrs lunch break deductions) - 50hrs 30 mins
Total Driving Hours for the week - 22hrs 30mins

So come the weekend, I relaxed on the Saturday. Then I went and had a dreadful dream about driving the wagon and I have now spent all day worrying about going into work tomorrow. Added to the fact my old man has been taken to hospital. So I decided to do some homework. Got myself and A-Z of Merseyside and marked down ALL the places I have in my diary that I have been to this week.

My goals for this week is to start getting all my loads off by lunch time so then I can have my lunch unloaded and then pick up loads on the way back to HQ. I need to quicken up, its part and parcel of multi-drop and I will only become fully part of the team If I pull my own weight.

So…now I have got that off my chest…BRING ON MONDAY!!

15

So this will be my final diary entry for this job as I left today. Reasons why I shall explain in due time.

So as I said, looking at getting all my drops off this week but It didn’t happen on Monday. Had another really ■■■■ day on Monday which lead to Tuesday having the Transport Manager coming out with me in the morning.

He chewed my ■■■ a bit…some of it deserved, some of it not. Then hit me with the " you will be gone by Thursday if you don’t buck your ideas up"

So obviously I thought, that’s it for me then may as well start looking. Get into work on Wednesday morning, get one load to Skem. Up to Skem, drop and back for 10:00am.

Get back to the yard and my phone rings “Your dad has been taken to hospital” :cry: :cry: So I say I need to go and do. Get everything sorted, make sure mum is ok and inform the Bro who is down sarf at the minute.

Phone call at 16:00pm “Will you be in tomorrow?” - Nope! …but i’m fine thanks for asking (I didn’t say the last bit …should have)

So one thing leads to another today , signed up with an agency in Liverpool to work at Palmer and Harvey out of St Helens and left John K Philips.

So not exactly the best starts to the industry but I have some what of a safety net in this agency job and gives me chance to continue looking for permanent work.