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.
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!
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.
Rudd Heath and the new Latimer Park sites provide no on-site toilets. 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. 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.
And the winner of the ‘Pick of the Pits’ award is………………….Doncaster.
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.
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.
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.
(Dom. Any or all of above can be quoted.)