Supermarket RDCs

Commercial Motor needs your help…
CM is hoping to carry out an investigation into the state of driver facilities at big supermarket RDCs in the hope of forcing them to change their attitude towards visiting drivers. If you regularly deliver to RDCs and want to share your opinion of the facilities then please get in touch. All calls or e-mails will be treated in the strictest confidence and your name will not be revealed to anyone. In addition, to create a bigger impact, we need reasonable quality photographs of the driver facilities at RDCs, so if you can provide these please get in touch. We will, of course, reimburse any costs incurred.

Thanks
Dominic Perry

Contact: Dominic Perry, News Editor: 020 8652 3670 or dominic.perry@rbi.co.uk

“Stickied by Rikki”

i was at the Co oP in Keresley yesterday the facilities are woeful…

and thats for the employed staff

hundreds of people on site and catering out of a machine :laughing: :laughing:

I think it would be better to concentrate on stopping these companies from banning drivers from their cabs and to take responsiblity for their own staff and provide equipment to secure trailer to the bay.

tesco’s Doncaster and Chepstow say it is for health and safty reasons that we are kicked out of our homes and forced into the waiting pens…er I mean rooms. Officially it is the same at magor but depending on the shift, they seem to be a bit more relaxed about it

At Asda Bedford, where they do have endless H&S rules, drivers tipping there have to hand in their keys but are free to return to their cabs while being tipped. They also have access to the canteen, sorry I mean Colleagues Restaurant. :wink:

Hi Dom, don’t know if it’s relevant to your article but i’m sure i’m not alone… I have been offered full time jobs with at least 2 haulage firms recently and (although lucky to be able to) turned them down, primarily because it would mean a lot of RDC work. The stress and inconvenience put upon drivers alone is enough, but to be treated as we are is unforgivable when it comes to facilities etc. And as for respect■■? I hope I never see another RDC in my career, and as stated I bet i’m not the only driver that feels this way.Shame really because I love driving trucks for a living.Glad you are going to highlight the issue anyway mate…Shade

There r those drivers whom would respect any new facilites…but there a few too many whom wouldn’t…and after a bit the place would look like a ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ it for someone else to clean up
Employees of the company…you can control and bring in line to the standards expected…Visiting drivers■■?..This maybe possible why these companies take such a negative attitude…

SuperSmiley:
There r those drivers whom would respect any new facilites…but there a few too many whom wouldn’t…and after a bit the place would look like a [zb]…leave it for someone else to clean up
Employees of the company…you can control and bring in line to the standards expected…Visiting drivers■■?..This maybe possible why these companies take such a negative attitude…

Are you sure you’ve actually been to RDC’s? All the ones i’ve seen, their own staff leave the facilitys in a state never mind drivers.

I agree…but if a company…gets really ■■■■■■ off with it…they can take control easier…visiting drivers bit more difficult

I think it was Morrison’s of Bradford that allowed drivers into their staff canteen. A Dutch driver finished his meal & lit a cigar. They asked him to smoke outside. He refused. All drivers banned forevermore

Morrisons J41 (Wakefield RDC) don’t let you in their canteen anymore; pity 'cos that’ll be where I gained most of my fat guts, quite cheaply I might add!! :wink: :laughing: It’s a ‘side tip’ (ambient, that is. Don’t know about chill.) so you’re out of the cab anyway doing the curtains but the place lets itself down when you have to stand outside of their portacabin-office whilst waiting ages for your notes!!

Sainsbury’s at Hoddeston (Rye Park) have clean toilets, a couple of vending machines and some seating but your usually on the dock before you have time to try out the facilities. You have to stand at the back doors while you’re being unloaded and checked though. :unamused:

all of my work involves sainsburys rdc`s…at most of them there are vending maqchines…but no access to a full menu…however at allington which is run by exel…there is a good canteen…and drivers are allowed…i dont like the system of handing in my keys…as i have no control of the radio…windows etc…and i keep getting asked whether i have steel toe cap boots…even though i dont go in the warehouse…so a lot needs to be changed…even if removing the red airline…it would help…

Coffeeholic:
At Asda Bedford, where they do have endless H&S rules, drivers tipping there have to hand in their keys but are free to return to their cabs while being tipped. They also have access to the canteen, sorry I mean Colleagues Restaurant. :wink:

Is Richard still the chef? He does a brilliant job, and they will also do cooked ‘snack’ meals out of normal hours, as they also do at Lutterworth.

I’m told that Washington also do good meals but never having been on site long enough to actually locate the canteen (sorry, Colleagues Restaurant), I can’t confirm.

My only issue with Asda is Scunthorpe where drivers were/are only allowed access to the canteen after 4 hours on site. They also seem reluctant to close the bay down so that drivers can collect trays, even though the traywash is within the same fenced area.

JS. I haven’t been to for years.

Morrison (Ex-Safeway). Although they all have their own idiosyncratic working practices, once you get to know them, the sites work well. It’s getting accustomed to the individual vagaries where difficulties arise. And I don’t somehow see the offerings in the canteen at Stockton being featured on Good Food Live! :laughing:

As to the rest. Where do I start?

MORRISON
Bradford. Friendly, efficient, and frequently off site in less than ‘45’.

Wakefield. I’ve expounded on this ‘dump’ in previous posts. Having to sit in ‘cast-off’ chairs in what amounts to a corridor adjacent to a toilet, with often-insufficient seating and ‘trip’ issues regarding negotiating the persons already seated. Although, I think on my last reluctant visit, I seem to remember some of the more decrepit chairs having been replaced, so perhaps that ‘rant’ was taken note of. :stuck_out_tongue:

Rudd Heath and the new Latimer Park sites provide no on-site toilets. :open_mouth: Drivers at these not unsubstantial sites have to walk, often amongst moving vehicles, to use ‘off-site’ toilet blocks.

And all, unlike Bradford, have turn-around times perhaps better measured with a calendar than a clock.

TESCO
Southampton. Friendly, quick, a free to use cash point on site, and a good canteen. Although it seems prices are higher if one pays with cash rather than using a pre-paid card. Middleton also features high in the ‘desirable destination’ list, although there is scope for improvement in the ‘Drivers Toilet’ facilities. Good food and on occasions I’ve noticed a ‘themed’ menu. A nice touch. Well worthy of credit.

Then, going down the scale are the various others until we get to Snodland. :cry: What has changed there recently I’ve no idea, but it has gone from being <2 hours to a now 3+ hour site. And the worst of part is that there are virtually zero parking spaces, which means that vehicles have to park up the yard in two banks. I’ve counted as many as 15 vehicles waiting to be allocated bays, and when the ‘shunters’ want to pull a trailer out, everyone has to shuffle backwards and forwards to accommodate them. I’m sure it’s equally no fun for the ‘shunters’ and so far, everyone has been friendly and tolerant, but I can foresee a flashpoint being reached in the not too distant future. As to other members of staff that I encounter (Security excluded), stringing together a coherent sentence seems counter intuitive to their work ethic. :unamused:

And the winner of the ‘Pick of the Pits’ award is………………….Doncaster. :slight_smile:
Although. To be fair, this can vary according to which crew is on. However, 3-4 hours, is invariably normal, even 5 hours is not unknown. During the recent hot weather we have had two distinct scenarios dependent upon which team was working. The ‘thoughtful’ team merely instructed vehicles to park in a ‘bay space’ but to stand off until they were ready to tip an individual vehicle, whereupon a warehouse operative would come out, ask you to open the doors and reverse up to the bay and then take the keys. At the other end of the scale is a certain Team Leader who seems to take great delight in going along the bays, switching them all to red (logical as this inflates the bellows) and then ordering all of the drivers out of their cabs, despite the facts that out of six or eight vehicles on bays, only one, perhaps two, will be tipped at any one time. He is the sort of person deserving of taxis arriving at his home address in the middle of the night, or the un-requested delivery of Ready mixed. Perhaps dental work may be required in the not too distant future. :wink:

And then we have the inevitable issues with the ‘Drivers Toilet’. For weeks, maybe months, the hand dryer has been inoperative with a small panel missing which gives access to the internal working and electrical connections. The Fused Spur feeding this appliance is switched in the ‘on’ position and the fuse holder is in place. It does not appear to have been electrically isolated so there are definitely some workplace safety issues in this area. Visiting some weeks ago I noticed that there was cream cake packaging and an empty drinks container behind the pan. Returning a few days later, they were still there. On a more recent visit I discovered that although the debris had been removed, in its place was now the (broken) toilet seat, which appeared to be smeared with excreta. Again, re-visiting a few days later, it was still there, still smeared. (I really must buy that camera that I keep promising myself.) In years past, I seem to remember that the inner between this area and the warehouse was always locked (and the facilities were in better condition). The practice of leaving this inner door open seems to have provided certain members of the warehouse staff ideal opportunities for skiving, thieving, and generally behaving in a manner that would not normally be considered acceptable.

And finally. An observation across the whole of the Industry. Why, when staff are obviously trained in the closing of roller shutter doors for the purposes of out-loading their own trailers, do they not also close the door on a Suppliers vehicle, or at least bring it down to point reachable from ground level. Whilst I appreciate that it is the employers responsibility to provide a safe working environment, steps become damaged/unusable and if a driver suffers an injury scrambling up onto the trailer, the injury is recorded in the Accident Book at the workplace at which it occurred. :sunglasses:

And as a footnote. It is not only RDC’s that exhibit these inadequacies in maintaining personal hygiene. There are certain products that I no longer buy from certain supermarkets after observing the staff employed in the production/packaging of these items and noting how little regard they have safe-handling practices. At some sites, I’ve declined use of the toilets, preferring instead, to stop at a petrol station up the road. :arrow_right:

(Dom. Any or all of above can be quoted.)

Krankee:

Coffeeholic:
At Asda Bedford, where they do have endless H&S rules, drivers tipping there have to hand in their keys but are free to return to their cabs while being tipped. They also have access to the canteen, sorry I mean Colleagues Restaurant. :wink:

Is Richard still the chef? He does a brilliant job, and they will also do cooked ‘snack’ meals out of normal hours, as they also do at Lutterworth.

Not sure. To be honest I have only used the canteen about three times, don’t actually spend that much time in the depot, and it was always women behind the counter on thoise occasions.

Just been to Somerfield at Bridgewater this week (dry goods) and found a notice explaining that the vending machines had been vandalised again. Fair comment that they are not going to repair it, however they go on to say they will provide NO refreshments (even water)

I find this extremely unacceptable when you consider I am in the back of the trailer with a pallet truck pulling pallets to the back doors for the forklift (fridge/box trailer) especially in the hot weather we’ve had recently

Lack of sanitary bins in the drivers toilets at many of these places causes a huge problem. There are enough women driving now that there’s really no excuse. I swear that the next time some jumped up clerk refuses to allow me access to one I’m going to leave the offending article on his desk. :imp:

Seriously not funny. If it makes you nauseous thinking about this one, think how the women feel having to wrap up, conceal, and then dispose of the things down the road.

Lucy:
Lack of sanitary bins in the drivers toilets at many of these places causes a huge problem.

Asda provide them. At least that’s what I think they are. I’ve never had the inclination to explore the contents. :blush: Not that your likely to go there. :smiley:

Semtex. Get yourself a copy of INDG293 and carry it with you. If you go to the HSE website they will send individual copies of this, and certain others, to home addresses FOC.

On the subject of ASDA (there was bound to be something) why, when there is a vending machine offering free water, do we first have to insert 20p to get a free product. :unamused: It’s not at all locations. The machines are the same, presumably supplied and maintained by the same provider, but they are programmed differently. Recently, in the hot weather, seeking to replenish my ‘drinks’ bottle, I had to insert 20p and then crouch there continually hitting ‘No cup’ then ‘81’ (Sparkling Water) and try and get the machine to aim it into the bottle. The 20p does not get refunded so I finished it off with a cup of orange.

Not that your likely to go there.

Wrong again. We do rollcages in fits and starts, and go to most of these places when that particular job’s on. Admittedly it hasn’t been for a few months (which means it’ll start again soon)…but if ASDA are providing sanitary bins then that’s a recent - and welcome - change. Tesco weren’t good on that front either, but they may too have changed.

R.eally. D.on’t. C.are

airhorn98:
R.eally. D.on’t. C.are

never a truer word spoken :laughing: