I may be changing jobs in the new year from general haulage firm to an own account manufacturing firm delivering their own products
Current job is mostly builders merchants/sites and industrial and trunking between to factories and the dreaded pallet ways Fradley [emoji49]
30/45mins from home
Also back loading bricks timber etc also recycling
Firm has golden boys
Own account is a ducting and vent firm , mostly to factories some diy RDC and odd building site , so back loads as yet , no golden boys , TM I know
1hr just over
Both tramping
They tend to be better jobs, because you’re no longer working for a 2 bit haulage outfit, the nature of that beast is to screw you over with very few perks, whilst getting the last drop of blood out of you…all for ■■■■ poor money on the whole.
The own account outfit is different because haulage is like a by product, or a means to an end to distribute their manufactured goods, the job you do as a driver is not their main function or business obviously.
You’ll probably find you will be on the same terms as the factory workers…(and any other civilised job other than haulage), the likes of overtime rates over 40, time and a half on a Saturday, and double bubble on a Sunday…as it once was in haulage.
The only time it could be different is if their drivers have been bribed with a good same rate right through rate, and thick enough to accept it as an alternative, but then finding they didn’t get a pay raise for 10 yrs, …as a local own account job near me, which used to be second to none…but that’s drivers for you.eh?
robroy:
They tend to be better jobs, because you’re no longer working for a 2 bit haulage outfit, the nature of that beast is to screw you over with very few perks, whilst getting the last drop of blood out of you…all for ■■■■ poor money on the whole.
The own account outfit is different because haulage is like a by product, or a means to an end to distribute their manufactured goods, the job you do as a driver is not their main function or business obviously.
You’ll probably find you will be on the same terms as the factory workers…(and any other civilised job other than haulage), the likes of overtime rates over 40, time and a half on a Saturday, and double bubble on a Sunday…as it once was in haulage.
The only time it could be different is if their drivers have been bribed with a good same rate right through rate, and thick enough to accept it as an alternative, but then finding they didn’t get a pay raise for 10 yrs, …as a local own account job near me, which used to be second to none…but that’s drivers for you.eh?
The hourly is £2 better than what I’m on now , also they’ll pay for CPC
I would be working with an ex work mate who I still talk to and the Tm was at same firm as well and is a fair person
Both left for the same reasons as I’m looking to leave
(But won’t say any more than that )
Was own account with a company for 30 years, then they decided to out source transport. Money stayed the same (TUPE) but became a number not a person. Trucks became basic minimum spec whereas own a/c company would spec truck and then ask price afterwards. After 40 yrs the latest haulage co shifted me to a different operation, so I said no thanks and retired! I’d say own a/c every time, even if the money was a bit less.
Own account every time, for six yrs I worked for a ready mix company in my wee village on a b train and I know I was at least $2 hr better and got ot after 42 hrs compacted to 50 yrs for other companies , not forgetting no pay health insurance . On yr 7 my train and myself were sold on to an outside company .lol so I know what is what lost health insurance. Hr wage dropped to set day money and no ot until 50 hrs , james
You have many more ‘unknowns’ with own account places to consider. What may be the holy grail driving job at one place could be utter disorganised pandemonium at another so if you’re the type of driver who won’t take any crap/messing around and wants fixed hours and no part of helping solve any problems/[zb] ups then it’s probably not for you.
How long they’ve been established delivering/collecting their own product will usually provide some loose indication of what you can expect. If they’ve been doing it for 5+ years then chances are they’ve got some sort of organisation and planning going on and maybe some new trucks too, but on the other hand if they are still in the early growth stage and just moved up to running trucks from vans then expect pandemonium with regular breakdowns of the 1.5m km 10 year old wrecks they’ve bought as that’s all they could afford and expect no-one to be listening when you have defects that need fixing.
Things like blown bulbs and bad earths will often be down to you to troubleshoot and sort out so get yourself familiar with which bulbs are single and double pin and also a screwdriver bit set with all the common bits including torx for the light clusters and headlight access. An adjustable spanner and a small socket set will also see use.
If you’re a proactive sort and not afraid of speaking with the owner like you would your mate, you can often shape these places to make the job exactly how YOU want it if you chat with him/her about where you think improvements could be made. More often than not the owner doesn’t care about - nor know much about -the transport side, all they care about is that their suppliers are all collected from as per the schedule and the product is offloaded back at the processing plant. How you make that happen is down to you. Just keep the suppliers happy and that’s about it. At our place they decided that they wanted to be more ‘involved’ so had a girl from the office plan our runs each day for us. She tried her best but the reality was that she didn’t have a clue. She had us crossing paths with each other and driving past one collection to get to another and then backtracking to the original one . We took one look at it, had a bloody good laugh at how ridiculous it was, screwed it up and chucked it in the bin and went back to organising it ourselves .
Do your job well without any ■■■■ ups, don’t have accidents/scrapes/bumps, drive efficiently and not race around like an idiot, keep the wagon clean inside and out. Do all that and you become a valuable asset to the company who’ll bend over backwards to keep you if they’ve any sense. Be firm but flexible on defects. Firm on safety issues like bald tyres, worn/defective brakes/brake system, electrical issues with lighting for example, but flexible on other stuff that needs fixing but isn’t critical as these smaller places can’t afford to have a truck off the road for a day. Also be firm but flexible on working time. These kind of places would have you working 8 days a week if they could so “can you work tomorrow?” is a phrase you should become accustomed to hearing on your 5th shift before 2 days off. Helping them out will earn you brownie points but don’t be afraid to say no if you’ve had enough that week and want the 2 days off to recharge.
Give it 12 months and ensuring you wash your truck regularly in view of the owner’s office window and you can show them that link to a new S730 you’ve seen on Commie Motor for his opinion on "oh this would look great in the company livery, the pride of the fleet and a great advert for the company… ". Also a good time to have a chat about how you’re doing so much more work than you were 12 months ago so I think the pay should be increasing to reflect that etc. The timing helps if they’ve just had a news piece in the industry gazette about how well they’re doing, expansion plans etc and how they’re on track to do £50m turnover this year…
As a haulage driver you merely deliver the load. As a driver for an own account operator you represent the company and just as importantly the product being delivered, you will be the only person the customer sees regularly so your attitude makes a lot of difference. If there is a problem with a delivery you are the person on the spot so you will need to show an interest in sorting whatever the issue may be, even if that is only a polite request to use their 'phone so that someone else can help. If the customer is upset with the service they may decide to buy from a rival company which could affect your own future.
Just to play devils advocate… and basing it largely on us heading towards some economic uncertainty…
If the own account drops, so does your job. At least with general they have fingers in many pies so if one thing drops there’s something else to keep you in work.
toonsy:
Just to play devils advocate… and basing it largely on us heading towards some economic uncertainty…
If the own account drops, so does your job. At least with general they have fingers in many pies so if one thing drops there’s something else to keep you in work.
I’d still take the gamble for sure if a good job offer came up.
A good own account job, with all the recognised benefits, t.s &c.s, becomes available every blue moon…,the usual crappy haulage jobs for crappy pay, for crappy firms, are 10 a penny.
toonsy:
Just to play devils advocate… and basing it largely on us heading towards some economic uncertainty…
If the own account drops, so does your job. At least with general they have fingers in many pies so if one thing drops there’s something else to keep you in work.
I’d still take the gamble for sure if a good job offer came up.
A good own account job, with all the recognised benefits, t.s &c.s, becomes available every blue moon…,the usual crappy haulage jobs for crappy pay, for crappy firms, are 10 a penny.
For sure there’s good and bad on both sides and maybe I’m talking from a personal perspective of being laid off from an own account operator after their work dried up.
toonsy:
Just to play devils advocate… and basing it largely on us heading towards some economic uncertainty…
If the own account drops, so does your job. At least with general they have fingers in many pies so if one thing drops there’s something else to keep you in work.
I’d still take the gamble for sure if a good job offer came up.
A good own account job, with all the recognised benefits, t.s &c.s, becomes available every blue moon…,the usual crappy haulage jobs for crappy pay, for crappy firms, are 10 a penny.
For sure there’s good and bad on both sides and maybe I’m talking from a personal perspective of being laid off from an own account operator after their work dried up.
Even if you’re laid off you could still go over to the dark side for as long as it took to pick back up.
…Agency.
Thing with own account is to get your head around you ain’t a lorry driver as such, yes you drive a lorry but you’re in a customer service role, anyone landing one of the better own account jobs should, if they have some savvy, do as good a job as they can for the customer…which helps ensure your own future and that of the company.
Juddian:
Thing with own account is to get your head around you ain’t a lorry driver as such, yes you drive a lorry but you’re in a customer service role, anyone landing one of the better own account jobs should, if they have some savvy, do as good a job as they can for the customer…which helps ensure your own future and that of the company.
Very much this ^ ^ .
Also in reply to toonsy it largely depends on what the product or service is. Working for a company that is doing ‘essential’ stuff (food, utilities, for example) then your job is reasonably bulletproof regardless of what happens in the wider economy.
and you can show them that link to a new S730 you’ve seen on Commie Motor for his opinion on 
"oh this would look great in the company livery, the pride of the fleet and a great advert for the company… ". Also a good time to have a chat about how you’re doing so much more work than you were 12 months ago so I think the pay should be increasing to reflect that etc. The timing helps if they’ve just had a news piece in the industry gazette about how well they’re doing, expansion plans etc and how they’re on track to do £50m turnover this year… 
