Never done supermarket work.
Now is it?
I’ve been told it’s less rush rush compared to parcel work as access to stores often takes time.
I notice a lot of supermarkets use tiny trailers with rear steer. That must mean the slightest movement while reserving has a huge impact.
I’ve driven rear steer 50ft one once but the 20ft ones look like they might take a lot of getting used to.
Always see them advertising so job is obviously not for everyone just curious as to why people leave.
I work for the orange supermarket. Its the easiest work I’ve ever done. If you don’t mind a mix of Class 1 & 2 then great. We have about 6 rear steer 10m trailers, the rest are for the main chains.
I work nights, my typical night is:
11pm start
11.15 get my keys
Check unit, collect trailer
12.00 out of the gates.
Then I could have a 2.5hr drive to store where I stand on the back looking pretty whilst I’m tipped and either loaded with “salvage” (cages, cardboard bales, plastic, food waste) or depart empty. I then either return to depot or onwards for a collection for back haul. Here’s where a nice 3hr sleep comes in on top of your 45.
If my first run is a short one, ie 2hrs and I’m back, then I’ll get a run for my next shop in either the same unit or swap into Class 2.
In the past (quite often) some of our stores have a 6am or 7am curfew. This means I can leave the yard, pull over and get a nice 3hrs on POA and a pretty good sleep.
If I’m done at 8hrs or more I won’t be offered another run, although I can be planned for 12hrs.
Pay is good and the work is easy. We’re not rushed as long as you arrive at shops on time then transport leave you alone.
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Usually scheduled delivery times at the large stores,due to the amount of vehicles going in there ie ambient /chilled /frozen most come out of different depots.
As for the short rear steer,not entirely certain,but I think you will find they go into the small “local” convenient type stores that Tesco and Sainsbury`s have, not the large supermarkets.
Easiest work you will do and pays well :-')
adam277:
Never done supermarket work.Now is it?
I’ve been told it’s less rush rush compared to parcel work as access to stores often takes time.
I notice a lot of supermarkets use tiny trailers with rear steer. That must mean the slightest movement while reserving has a huge impact.
I’ve driven rear steer 50ft one once but the 20ft ones look like they might take a lot of getting used to.Always see them advertising so job is obviously not for everyone just curious as to why people leave.
Not the rear steer you worry about, its the tiny 27ft single axle that make you wanna kick things…[emoji23]
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SouthEastCashew:
Easiest work you will do and pays well :-')
yes its right, easy work, pay is usually good. you do a lot of weekend work which doesn’t suit everyone and H/S can be a bit of a pain.
I came off general Haulage 17 years ago to do supermarket/blue chip company work and I loved it. good living and home each night
SouthEastCashew:
Easiest work you will do and pays well :-')
easiest work you’ll ever do 
well I wouldn’t call tipping 2x d/d ( 150 cages of beer / pop ) + another 45 apx cages of beer / pop etc on a normal tri , 200 cages of pop beer in a shift the easiest job I’ve ever done , knackered wheels on cages , dock levellers you can’t get level , packs of beer falling off cages whacking you on head ( Goole ) , then there’s the 200 empty cages to put back on
I’d say opening the back doors , reverse on the bay , they tip it , you pull off bay , shut doors , drive off is easier , or open curtains , they tip it , shut curtains , drive off is easier again
Yep not to mention no ringing of the phone being put under pressure to meet delivery times etc…
Sounds a lot better then rushing about on the parcels.
I’m looking at CO-OP atm and they seem to have a lot of tiny rear steer trailers.
I think this is one of them.
farm8.static.flickr.com/7459/27 … 2bd8_b.jpg
adam277:
Sounds a lot better then rushing about on the parcels.I’m looking at CO-OP atm and they seem to have a lot of tiny rear steer trailers.
I think this is one of them.
farm8.static.flickr.com/7459/27 … 2bd8_b.jpg
Typical supermarket spec… They do love a Scania!!
You can be sure whatever trailer you have for a job it will fit wherever you’re going because deliveries are all assessed, chances are the tractor will have rear windows so blind sides a doddle, yes if it’s a little trailer it’ll be a tight yard, but so what, there’s no race on, if it takes an hour to get the lorry in it takes an hour.
Why do some leave? boredom, really early or odd shifts, regular weekend and bank holiday work, manual handling ie pushing and pulling cages, hanging around for load/lorry, basic lorry, sharing lorries etc, but the main reason is that the driver contracts aint wot they used to be, at one time dead mans shoes and no one with any sense left…hence why the direct foreign recruitment lark started which was one of the most laughable cost uncutting own goals yet.
Will parking tickets be a issue? I imagine in London you have to park on double yellows, bus lanes etc.
adam277:
Will parking tickets be a issue? I imagine in London you have to park on double yellows, bus lanes etc.
That’ll all be covered by your supermarket risk assessor mate [emoji106]
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dozy:
SouthEastCashew:
Easiest work you will do and pays well :-')easiest work you’ll ever do
I’d say opening the back doors , reverse on the bay , they tip it , you pull off bay , shut doors , drive off is easier , or open curtains , they tip it , shut curtains , drive off is easier again
Keeps you fit Dozy, yes you do manual work, which stops you being a lazy fat barstool and you have some bad drops, but theres no pressure from the transport office. I enjoy it, better than sitting in a drivers room when you got some bloke boring the pants off you.
It gets a lot easier when you learn how to get to the shops. Worst job I ever did was Coop frozen. Heavy, wonky cages, slippery floors, difficult access, and the shops expected me to put the stuff in the warehouse.
If it’s Iceland it isn’t the easiest work you’ll do.
Top heavy loaded roll cages and pallets which you’ll be expected to break down at stores.
Getting I to some of them will test your reversing abilities especially in the dark.
Store staff hit and miss.
Some help others don’t.
Then you squeeze empties on and then off to the next one.
Deliveries at front doors as well as around the back. Fun moving cages over Krebs and broken paving slabs.
You’ll know you done some work on there.
If you want an easy life, Morrisons is the only supermarket you should drive for out of choice, or perhaps Asda at a push. The rest are all hell holes. Morrisons because you don’t touch the load. Just pick up trailer, take it store, put it on dock, go to the canteen for a brew and relax, then take it back to the depot once the store minions have tipped and reloaded it with empties 
.
Asda (ambient at least) requires you to get in the back, but it’s all on pallets so you can soon make light work of it with a pallet truck.
Tesco and all the others use cages and trolleys which will chop your fingertips off at any opportunity you give them and will predictably have at least 1 square wheel from drivers losing their rag with them trying to move them over rough ground because the RDC chumps have loaded them with 2 tonnes of booze and pop (like Ady says above). The cages only have 3 sides on them and because of the way they get loaded, you can virtually guarantee that a pack of something sticky/messy will have fallen out and smashed on the floor of the trailer enroute. Then you have all the cages and trolleys to load back on to take back. And don’t get me started on all the ratchet straps being rusted to [zb] and seized up 
.
I did a spell at Asda normanton at around the turn of the century which was probably when the job was still good. The work was a doddle but as said the weird start times, weekends…basically almost 24/7 364 days a year put me off as well as not having ‘my own’ truck.
I’ve mostly been on building site deliveries for the last 15 years mainly because they don’t work weekends, bank holidays and shut down for 2 weeks at Christmas.
You think some of the supermarkets are tricky to get into…try most of the sites!!! At least with supermarkets you know it’s been done before so can be done whereas building sites forget the materials have to be delivered by trucks so don’t make provision for getting in and out easily.
Pros and cons to all jobs so you have to weigh up which suits you best. If you just see trucking as an easy way to make a living and you’re not interested in trucks go for supermarkets [emoji1360]
Not my cup of tea,but certainly better than parcels
elsa Lad:
dozy:
SouthEastCashew:
Easiest work you will do and pays well :-')easiest work you’ll ever do
I’d say opening the back doors , reverse on the bay , they tip it , you pull off bay , shut doors , drive off is easier , or open curtains , they tip it , shut curtains , drive off is easier againKeeps you fit Dozy, yes you do manual work, which stops you being a lazy fat barstool and you have some bad drops, but theres no pressure from the transport office. I enjoy it, better than sitting in a drivers room when you got some bloke boring the pants off you.
I’m thin already , and pulling 200 cages off every day for a week takes its toll , or it did on me , and I’ve spent hour after hour sat at Goole / widnes/ donny waiting for 2 nd / 3 rd runs , though most of that my eyes were closed
the early expresses were OK bar moving all the cages around to get the rubbish back on , short hours to be fair , 3/4 drops round Notts then back to yard , but I still think letting tesco tip it is easier ,
let’s hope op first days isn’t tramping out of Goole for stobarts as it’ll be his last if he gets the 2x d/d , 1x single I’d of thought 
