Stobarts ......... ffs

[it_says_erf_not_raf]

dustylfc:

It says ERF not RAF:
My mate works for Stobarts. He’s working Xmas Eve, Xmas Day (finishes early hours) and Boxing Day !!! (Thats why I’ll never want to work there).

carnt see him working xmas day mate or boxing day as for me i am off from the 17th till the 2nd so its down to choice i booked it off so he probably didnt unless he works on the tesco side of things which is completely different and am sure the drivers were all told about supermarket xmas work ie. its none stop delivery’s
i worked last xmas eve but was my choice and am sure its not just stobarts that work xmas.

He works on the chilled side on shifts, so ‘Yes’ its his choice to work shifts but ‘No’ its not his choice to work over Christmas.

[muckaway]

washy jnr:
arrived on site as booked 0530 to be told that there might not be any birds left when it get’s to my turn

Them Brackley knocking shops aren’t very helpful are they?

[dustylfc]

ady1:

DT@Leightonhaul:
Having watched the TV programmes the one thing that comes to mind is PROFFESIONAL!!! Compared to my current employer,to the point where i went on there web site looking for a job!!!

,sending a truck 4.5 hrs empty to pick a load up,then 4.5 hrs back empty because there isnt a load there isnt very proffesiona[espicially with weather conditions as they are]l,picking up the phone and ringing,checking p.c before driver leaves is ,but wouldnt get on t.v i guess,image and all that

ady your planner is shocking if thats how your planned

[dessy]

dustylfc:

ady1:

DT@Leightonhaul:
Having watched the TV programmes the one thing that comes to mind is PROFFESIONAL!!! Compared to my current employer,to the point where i went on there web site looking for a job!!!

,sending a truck 4.5 hrs empty to pick a load up,then 4.5 hrs back empty because there isnt a load there isnt very proffesiona[espicially with weather conditions as they are]l,picking up the phone and ringing,checking p.c before driver leaves is ,but wouldnt get on t.v i guess,image and all that

ady your planner is shocking if thats how your planned

Dusty! This is becoming more common these days as Stobbies gets bigger the planners seem less able to plan! especially at the larger depots!!

[dustylfc]

ady1:

Wheel Nut:
I am not sure if this was the case of the planner zb up or the customer cancelling the load, if so maybe Andy and Bill got paid anyway.

Some companies do not allow hauliers to contact their suppliers.

I wasn’t in the traffic office when it happened, but neither was ady1

of course i wasnt in the office wheelnut,i was the stupis zb fighting my way through snow and ice to get to a load nearly in scotland that didnt exist,whos fault,driver obviously,who else could it be.
but i seem to be on my own with my thinking its not very proffesional so in future ill just drive up to nearly scotland,have a 45,drive back and congradulate the office waller on what a jolly good night ive had,im might even volunteer to do it as a regular run,as long as i get paid on time who gives a flying zb

ive been working in scotland 4 thee weeks now and running dbl deckers up and down the north east the weather was bad but we as drivers only have to concentrate on getting to a destination its not our problem theres no load you still get paid and you should just take time out and let others do the hair pulling if they want you to run empty so be it

[dustylfc]

It says ERF not RAF:

dustylfc:

It says ERF not RAF:
My mate works for Stobarts. He’s working Xmas Eve, Xmas Day (finishes early hours) and Boxing Day !!! (Thats why I’ll never want to work there).

carnt see him working xmas day mate or boxing day as for me i am off from the 17th till the 2nd so its down to choice i booked it off so he probably didnt unless he works on the tesco side of things which is completely different and am sure the drivers were all told about supermarket xmas work ie. its none stop delivery’s
i worked last xmas eve but was my choice and am sure its not just stobarts that work xmas.

He works on the chilled side on shifts, so ‘Yes’ its his choice to work shifts but ‘No’ its not his choice to work over Christmas.

i do general haulage now, but i no the widnes drivers were told about not to book xmas off we were told to expect work but i put my holiday form in and got it off ive never worked xmas day and never would until my kids grew up.
i dont no about tesco because its stores its a greedy machine and whilst people will work xmas day these firms will keep on using them but thats tesco side of things not stobarts in general am sure all drivers on tesco were well aware of whats expected at interview

[wheel_nut]

I mentioned in an earlier thread about this, as drivers we all know best, better than any planner or company boss, but we only see the problem in one dimension. The planners have more than one lorry to worry about, they are dealing with several customers.

On the other side of the fence, any driver who has done time in a traffic office will know how difficult some customers can be. Many customers will not speak to third party hauliers, some will not tell the whole truth.

It may be that ABC Creamcakes has rang and said we have 2 loads in ■■■■■■■■■■■■ when they mean they have 2 drops, which may consist of a pallet for each shop.

It could be a third party collection where the instruction is third or fourth hand and is badly communicated or Haulier 1 has passed it to Haulier 2 who gave it to his Brother in laws nephew.

PPP Penguin Biscuits then call Haulier 1 to cancel a trailer, meanwhile haulier 2 is having a ■■■ and misses the phone call. His missus picks it up and says to her brother, yes, there is a load, it is in Aberdeen. I heard him on about it last night in the pub …

…it happens, it is called transport and used to happen when they were rolling oats or building steam up for the fleet.

Meanwhile the driver goes to work, gets his wages and comes home again. The weather doesnt come into it, because if the load had been available, the driver would still have had to drive up there to pick it up.

I also believe with the company in question, they will have enough KPI and Statistics to work out where the shortfalls are appearing in the finances and soon plug the leaks.

I watched the TV programme and some of the stuff they showed was cringeworthy, like missing a delivery by 5 minutes or so or being held up on the motorway for 8 seconds longer than normal, but do you honestly believe the whole company is run like that?

[muckaway]

There’s a rumour going around that the Stobart planners in the tv show have been disciplined for encouraging the drivers to get a move on and constantly ringing them up. Anyone know the truth behind this?

[dustylfc]

Muckaway:
There’s a rumour going around that the Stobart planners in the tv show have been disciplined for encouraging the drivers to get a move on and constantly ringing them up. Anyone know the truth behind this?

havent heard that rumour but on a totally different subject i no management are getting peed off with agency drivers breaking there fleet of trucks, i no 3 have been written off in the last few months from stoke ( well i no at least 1 is to be true ) a little rumour i heard was a polish driver left the stoke yard which is j15 m6 by time he reached 16 he had written the wagon off how true it is i dont no. but i defo no a few units in appleton have been damaged and not reported because management were taking pictures when i finished my shift…so seems as stobbies grow faster so does the damage,

i dont no why its the agency lads breaking things unless there scape goats for claiming against the agency but by accounts there destroying brand new scanias and heres me stuck in a 57 plater one of the oldest on the fleet carnt be all that bad beats my old p reg vac truck

[happysack]

dustylfc:

Muckaway:
There’s a rumour going around that the Stobart planners in the tv show have been disciplined for encouraging the drivers to get a move on and constantly ringing them up. Anyone know the truth behind this?

havent heard that rumour but on a totally different subject i no management are getting peed off with agency drivers breaking there fleet of trucks, i no 3 have been written off in the last few months from stoke ( well i no at least 1 is to be true ) a little rumour i heard was a polish driver left the stoke yard which is j15 m6 by time he reached 16 he had written the wagon off how true it is i dont no. but i defo no a few units in appleton have been damaged and not reported because management were taking pictures when i finished my shift…so seems as stobbies grow faster so does the damage,

i dont no why its the agency lads breaking things unless there scape goats for claiming against the agency but by accounts there destroying brand new scanias and heres me stuck in a 57 plater one of the oldest on the fleet carnt be all that bad beats my old p reg vac truck

if you have a unit which is with one driver week in week out, then any damage will be sorted straight away (hopefully), while if a unit is shared by a pool of driver, stobarts, agency or whoever then the damage will go unreported, through laziness or a simple worry of a bollocking.
i have an '07 unit which i have had since new, its had some bumps and bruises but nothing major (yet!!). any damage or problems are reported and sorted when possible. the best is it doesnt get used at weekends and only gets an agency driver if no holiday relief driver is available during my holidays!

[the_maoster]

There’s a driver at our place who never loses an opportunity to pour scorn on agency drivers, so me being a shy child tackled him on this; turns out he’s worked here for 30 years and wasn’t too happy that I pointed out that he’s basically a 30 year trolley dolley whilst some of the agency drivers have crossed continents, wouldn’t be fazed by roping and sheeting, loading and tipping steel, a car transporter, a toxic gas tanker etc, when all he was really good at was opening the doors and going backwards 15 feet. And the reason a lot of guys go agency contrary to popular belief is NOT to gain experience, but merely they’ve been there, done that, paid the mortgage off and are in the enviable position that they don’t really need to work full time.

Don’t think I’ll get my Chrimbo card from him this year.

[paul_b]

working for them through agency at the mo and it’s no suprise units are getting damaged at times as there is no assesment what so ever, the induction consists of a stack of paper work that you read through and sign so basically if you can write your own name, your in, weather you can actually drive or not dosn’t come into the equation! further to this there is no pre trip damage inspection as part of your paper work so a company driver can do a shift ■■■■ the unit and then blame agency drivers at a later date, seems a strange setup for a company that invests so much in new tackle.

[dunno_then]

scot trucker:
and how much is our country paying your country??

Our country loaning Ireland £5 billion at 6% interest! How is that giving?

And thats just to cover the 80 billion wreckless lending from UK banks

Stick to what you know pal and leave the hard stuff to the rest of us

Yeah,spelling can be tough. Best left to you.

[muckaway]

happysack:

dustylfc:

Muckaway:
There’s a rumour going around that the Stobart planners in the tv show have been disciplined for encouraging the drivers to get a move on and constantly ringing them up. Anyone know the truth behind this?

havent heard that rumour but on a totally different subject i no management are getting peed off with agency drivers breaking there fleet of trucks, i no 3 have been written off in the last few months from stoke ( well i no at least 1 is to be true ) a little rumour i heard was a polish driver left the stoke yard which is j15 m6 by time he reached 16 he had written the wagon off how true it is i dont no. but i defo no a few units in appleton have been damaged and not reported because management were taking pictures when i finished my shift…so seems as stobbies grow faster so does the damage,

i dont no why its the agency lads breaking things unless there scape goats for claiming against the agency but by accounts there destroying brand new scanias and heres me stuck in a 57 plater one of the oldest on the fleet carnt be all that bad beats my old p reg vac truck

if you have a unit which is with one driver week in week out, then any damage will be sorted straight away (hopefully), while if a unit is shared by a pool of driver, stobarts, agency or whoever then the damage will go unreported, through laziness or a simple worry of a bollocking.
i have an '07 unit which i have had since new, its had some bumps and bruises but nothing major (yet!!). any damage or problems are reported and sorted when possible. the best is it doesnt get used at weekends and only gets an agency driver if no holiday relief driver is available during my holidays!

That’s why we are 1 truck 1 driver 90% of the time except for when both spares are out and there’s an unexpected breakdown etc…Our lot had “experiences” with agency drivers a few years ago like those mentioned above…

[ady1]

paul b:
working for them through agency at the mo and it’s no suprise units are getting damaged at times as there is no assesment what so ever, the induction consists of a stack of paper work that you read through and sign so basically if you can write your own name, your in, weather you can actually drive or not dosn’t come into the equation! further to this there is no pre trip damage inspection as part of your paper work so a company driver can do a shift [zb] the unit and then blame agency drivers at a later date, seems a strange setup for a company that invests so much in new tackle.

well theres meant to be,we have to fill in a damage sheet before we leave yard,but as always you will get some drivers who fill it in through the day,but officially that damage sheet should be filled in before you leave our depot.when stobarts first took over the truck was checked out and in for damage by indipendent checker,i assume that was stopped due to cost.
the last figures for recorded accidents were 18 agency drivers,3 regular ,that commes from boss at our depot

[ady1]

Wheel Nut:
I mentioned in an earlier thread about this, as drivers we all know best, better than any planner or company boss, but we only see the problem in one dimension. The planners have more than one lorry to worry about, they are dealing with several customers.

On the other side of the fence, any driver who has done time in a traffic office will know how difficult some customers can be. Many customers will not speak to third party hauliers, some will not tell the whole truth.

It may be that ABC Creamcakes has rang and said we have 2 loads in ■■■■■■■■■■■■ when they mean they have 2 drops, which may consist of a pallet for each shop.

It could be a third party collection where the instruction is third or fourth hand and is badly communicated or Haulier 1 has passed it to Haulier 2 who gave it to his Brother in laws nephew.

PPP Penguin Biscuits then call Haulier 1 to cancel a trailer, meanwhile haulier 2 is having a ■■■ and misses the phone call. His missus picks it up and says to her brother, yes, there is a load, it is in Aberdeen. I heard him on about it last night in the pub …

…it happens, it is called transport and used to happen when they were rolling oats or building steam up for the fleet.

Meanwhile the driver goes to work, gets his wages and comes home again. The weather doesnt come into it, because if the load had been available, the driver would still have had to drive up there to pick it up.

I also believe with the company in question, they will have enough KPI and Statistics to work out where the shortfalls are appearing in the finances and soon plug the leaks.

I watched the TV programme and some of the stuff they showed was cringeworthy, like missing a delivery by 5 minutes or so or being held up on the motorway for 8 seconds longer than normal, but do you honestly believe the whole company is run like that?

yes they do no are problems but seeing as there[general] gts system will not intergrate with the exising [chilled]manpack system they cant solve the problem,they have been trying to plug the leaks for 2.5 years and havent managed yet so i think your theyll soon plug the leaks is incorrect

.

[dustylfc]

happysack:

dustylfc:

Muckaway:
There’s a rumour going around that the Stobart planners in the tv show have been disciplined for encouraging the drivers to get a move on and constantly ringing them up. Anyone know the truth behind this?

havent heard that rumour but on a totally different subject i no management are getting peed off with agency drivers breaking there fleet of trucks, i no 3 have been written off in the last few months from stoke ( well i no at least 1 is to be true ) a little rumour i heard was a polish driver left the stoke yard which is j15 m6 by time he reached 16 he had written the wagon off how true it is i dont no. but i defo no a few units in appleton have been damaged and not reported because management were taking pictures when i finished my shift…so seems as stobbies grow faster so does the damage,

i dont no why its the agency lads breaking things unless there scape goats for claiming against the agency but by accounts there destroying brand new scanias and heres me stuck in a 57 plater one of the oldest on the fleet carnt be all that bad beats my old p reg vac truck

if you have a unit which is with one driver week in week out, then any damage will be sorted straight away (hopefully), while if a unit is shared by a pool of driver, stobarts, agency or whoever then the damage will go unreported, through laziness or a simple worry of a bollocking.
i have an '07 unit which i have had since new, its had some bumps and bruises but nothing major (yet!!). any damage or problems are reported and sorted when possible. the best is it doesnt get used at weekends and only gets an agency driver if no holiday relief driver is available during my holidays!

trouble is my unit gets used when am home, so start of shift its always number plates missing rubbish in cab the odd stolen item last week they stole my torch, fishing mag and you wouldnt think it a stobbie shirt and trouser which were ironed and hanging neatly the week b4 they had used my uniform as a pillow so it beggars belief to the type of drivers floating about …but i hope he enjoyed the sweets i left in the draw they make you a more regular guy (JOKING)

[paul_b]

i spose there will always be a problem with agency drivers, those that do regular shifts and who want the work will look after the tackle knowing that any descrepancy is likely to be reported back to the office by the next driver to use the unit but those just doing an odd shift won’t give a monkeys.

[saratoga]

When I’ve done agency work In the past I have tried to either leave the cab in the same state I found it or actually clean it up. I don’t like clutter on the dashboard or floating around the cab. It is just so much easier to stick the rubbish in a carrier bag and have done with it rather than someone moaning to management that I’ve left the truck in an untidy state.

[dustylfc]

Saratoga:
When I’ve done agency work In the past I have tried to either leave the cab in the same state I found it or actually clean it up. I don’t like clutter on the dashboard or floating around the cab. It is just so much easier to stick the rubbish in a carrier bag and have done with it rather than someone moaning to management that I’ve left the truck in an untidy state.

thats the whole point if other people did this then no one would have to moan, its pointless reporting any mess to management there not bothered because they no a tramper will tidy it up so i clean mine before setting off and book the hour its took to clean it, if the planner asks why its took me so long to leave the yard i have my excuse, there’s more than one way to skin a cat,