After 9 years in the forces I started driving in the mid 80s.
I’ve spent nearly 40 years in transport the vast majority of those years running to and from Europe, saw the best years of it before mobile phones, trackers and the latest abomination driver facing cameras.
Setting off to Italy, leaving the yard would be the last contact with the office until you were tipped 3 or 4 days later, send a telex from the office of where you’d tipped and getting reload instructions, not speak to the office again until you’d tipped your reload back in UK.
Usually 10 to 12 day trips……… they’re doing it now in 5 and earning less than we were over 30 years ago.
I’d decided to take early retirement and live on my savings until I can draw my pensions next May.
Last week I went for an interview at Asda to do home deliveries as I’m bored, whilst there it was mentioned about shelf stacking on 8 hour nights 3 days a week at £11 an hour, (more than some transport firms are offering drivers).
I start next week, so enjoy your traffic queues, enjoy the office wallers watching you pick your nose on camera, enjoy the gaffer sitting in front of his computer tracking your every move, enjoy waiting for the mobile phone to ring to add another collection when you thought you were in for an early finish.
Finally enjoy sleeping in a truck, I’ve had my time, I’m off to stack shelves, that’s if you lot get off your arses and deliver the goods.
I’m thinking you were on for Neil.& Brown, our paths must have crossed on the Zeeby boat in the bar or at breakfast when I was on Brit European up to about 12 years ago.(12 years ffs ) although you lads tended to keep yourselves to yourselves on there for some reason.
I’ve a few years to do before I jack, but if I feel as I do now at that time (35 in my head )
I’ll more than likely carry on until I get sick…
Or when they change the (bad enough) incident type I have to endure now, to these constant surveillance dog ■■■■.
Anyhoo my point is I.would fancy a supermarket home shopping delivery job, or yeh even shelf stacking.
Good luck mate enjoy it, and don’t be soooooo ■■■■ grumpy with your new work mates.
robroy:
I’m thinking you were on for Neil.& Brown, our paths must have crossed on the Zeeby boat in the bar or at breakfast when I was on Brit European up to about 12 years ago.(12 years ffs ) although you lads tended to keep yourselves to yourselves on there for some reason.
I was and before that European Road Freight for many years.
Prior to that G&S International from Greenock.
Lost count of the amount of times I’ve done Hull-Zebe or Hull-Europoort, but I’m sure our paths would’ve crossed.
As for the grumpy bit, it’s an act, I’ve fooled the majority on here with it for years.
Asda pay the shelf stackers more than the drivers believe it or not.
Instead of shelf stacking, why not do a bit of agency? You can cherry pick the best jobs and loads on a Sunday and then spend the rest of the week in the pub re-investing your £300 in shares of John Smiths or Carling?
Instead of shelf stacking, why not do a bit of agency? You can cherry pick the best jobs and loads on a Sunday and then spend the rest of the week in the pub re-investing your £300 in shares of John Smiths or Carling?
Many happy nights spent in Menuito’s bar in Chipiona after we took the yard over from PJK and took all the flower work.
I used to go down there for 6 weeks at a time, take loaded trailers up to the BP at Bailin and a change over and back down.
I did my medical in April for another year but my minds made up, I’m off shelf stacking.
Grumpy_old_trucker:
After 9 years in the forces I started driving in the mid 80s.
I’ve spent nearly 40 years in transport the vast majority of those years running to and from Europe, saw the best years of it before mobile phones, trackers and the latest abomination driver facing cameras.
Setting off to Italy, leaving the yard would be the last contact with the office until you were tipped 3 or 4 days later, send a telex from the office of where you’d tipped and getting reload instructions, not speak to the office again until you’d tipped your reload back in UK.
Usually 10 to 12 day trips……… they’re doing it now in 5 and earning less than we were over 30 years ago.
I agree with you, I was the same doing Europe but mainly Italy, never used to speak to the office unless we had a problem. I used to work for Walkers of Tuxford , RH Freight, Knights of Old and then for the last 6 years before retirement I worked for Allegro transport doing France twice a week. I must also add that the comradery between drivers then was a lot better than it is today.
malmaz:
I agree with you, I was the same doing Europe but mainly Italy, never used to speak to the office unless we had a problem. I used to work for Walkers of Tuxford , RH Freight, Knights of Old and then for the last 6 years before retirement I worked for Allegro transport doing France twice a week. I must also add that the comradery between drivers then was a lot better than it is today.
If you were on for Walkers of Tuxford we would’ve met, I started with Smiths of Scotter in 1983, was there for quite a few years before I went to G&S.
We would’ve met at either the Bakehouse, Jayat, Mistral,Monkey house, Santhia or Carisio.
All the old haunts in the 80s.
good luck with the shelf stacking, regarding the home delivery, i thought about it when i retired 5 years ago, thought it would be a cushy number till i spoke to a young bloke ( 24 ) who had done it and told me what it was like, one of the reasons people get delivery is they buy a huge amount of food and dont want to hump it up 4 or 5 flights of stairs,they want someone to do that bit, so if my 24 year old friend could not hack it there was no chance for me at 65.
Grumpy_old_trucker:
I start next week, so enjoy your traffic queues, enjoy the office wallers watching you pick your nose on camera, enjoy the gaffer sitting in front of his computer tracking your every move, enjoy waiting for the mobile phone to ring to add another collection when you thought you were in for an early finish.
Finally enjoy sleeping in a truck, I’ve had my time, I’m off to stack shelves, that’s if you lot get off your arses and deliver the goods.
Apart from sitting in traffic queues the company I work for don’t do any of that, and although I’ve done my share of nights-out in the past- 107 days or three-and-a-half months was the longest trip I ever did away- I haven’t had a night out in a truck for several years.
Obviously I do still sleep in a tin box.
But good luck with the new job. Personally I’m not a “people person” so it wouldn’t suit me, and my guess is that you aren’t either and it won’t suit you. But you never know.
A few days ago I found myself shopping at 2 am in our local Tesco. It was a PITA, there was stock all over the floor and people rushing about stacking shelves, Of course, they don’t just put the fresh stock on, but they have to take the old stock off so the new stuff goes at the back. Unloading pallets of beans and sorting trays of veg - not light work and lots of pressure to get a move on before the hordes arrive in the morning.
I watched for a few minutes and thought: “Driving trucks is a hell of a lot easier than this.”
Uncleskid:
Are you going to change your username to grumpy-old-shelfstacker
I best ask admin.
Good luck with it mate, I don’t think it is a bad idea and why I took a role of shunting. If I didnt like shunting I would have gone down the same road myself.
You think its easy stacking shelves.You wont last its hard work .Remember you have to deal with idiots in the shop.I will give you a few days before you become nightmare shelf stacker
robroy:
I’m thinking you were on for Neil.& Brown, our paths must have crossed on the Zeeby boat in the bar or at breakfast when I was on Brit European up to about 12 years ago.(12 years ffs ) although you lads tended to keep yourselves to yourselves on there for some reason.
I was and before that European Road Freight for many years.
Prior to that G&S International from Greenock.
Lost count of the amount of times I’ve done Hull-Zebe or Hull-Europoort, but I’m sure our paths would’ve crossed.
As for the grumpy bit, it’s an act, I’ve fooled the majority on here with it for years.
Asda pay the shelf stackers more than the drivers believe it or not.
Not sure where you got that little gem from but I can assure you I am on 30% more driving than the rate you quoted for stacking shelves, that’s without any late/night/overtime premium. In fact an hour overtime is worth double your shelf stacking
) although you lads tended to keep yourselves to yourselves on there for some reason. 
)
