friday night, 1945 start and all goes reasonably well. one unit, one trailer, one delivery to st rollox in glasgow. back in the gate at 2300, tipped the RSU and back to the transport office where im told to take a break. after 1 1/2 hours driving it isnt a good sign! back to the office at 0030 where im told to have a seat. 4 hours later im told to fuel up and go home
back in at 1700 when im given a unit and told to take a seat for a moment. 2 hours later im given a run which is quite literally 5 minutes down the road at the bathgate shop, due out the gate at 2055 but im told i can go at 2000. fortunately a â– â– â– break revealed another driver was due to leave for that same shop at 1955 so there was no point in me going early. did the drop, back to depot, tipped the RSU and back to the transport office after VORing a trailer because the brakes locked on while i was trying to screw it round at bathgate. midnight comes round when im told to fuel up. a 7 hour shift totalling around 7kms maximum has to be a record. the shunters do more than that
im not the only one to suffer this. when saw Gogzy in the transport office i had been chatting to another driver who got in the gate a couple of minutes behind me on friday night and knocked off at the same time as me. he was back in on saturday night an hour after me too. there was 4 or 5 of us sitting around doing nothing for hours on end on both shifts
I don’t know you drivers moan when there is no work and then when you get some you still moan
Take a chill pill and take the money. I would rather do a shift like that than a 700km shift any day of the week. Same hourly rate and less stress.
Presume you were on the Saturday rate or has that been rduced to an all hour all days flat rate too ?
Yep we get paid for sitting about but its soul destroying sitting there tbh, i got 2 runs out of it in 11 hours. one down to ayr and one to nicholson st.
I’ve been on the trolleys for 2 years now. I hated it after 6 months but circumstances dictated I stuck with it.
Couldn’t think of a better place to be stuck when the hard times arrived. When things pick up though I’ll move on.
I’ve sampled the boredom Scanny, but given the current climate regarding job shortages, you’re one of the lucky ones.
Put your feet up mate, and take the money.
You lot never heard of getting a good book or a dvd player
Ive just finshed a 15 hour shift working for a supermarket a good 4 hours of that was POA.
Suppose its kinda ok for us cause we go in usually get a motor straight away and the guys behind the desk will tell you roughly when you run will be ready. So either sit and chat with the other drivers or if its quiet go sit in the truck read my book or watch a dvd.
One i did today sat about for about an hour before i got a run, sat chatting to other drivers, then off to Edinburgh Blackhall, then to Drem to pick up Mushrooms, then back 4hrs driving. Sat about for about 4 hours about an hour in the canteen having dinner with another driver, then sitting in the cab for 3 hours read a good hundred pages of my book.
Most days are similar, did two in Aberdeen last week that was a shock having to actually do a decent amount of driving lol
Its not the most interesting job and def not my first choice but considering the state of the industry just now its steadish money. Though at times lucky to get a 8 hour shift but even thats changing and usually doing at least 10 a day.
I wouldn’t knock any job at the mo but I would rather do 700km’s in a shift than sit around for hours on end with nothing to do, as i’m sure many others would to including the o.p.
when i was on the angecy it was a regular thing (weekly) to be sent into woolies on a sunday morning because they neeeded so many drivers sit around up to 6 hours and then head home. never minded they were the one paying me 8 hours for the privilege of my company. what you need is a good book or a correspondance course…hours will fly by.
intresting one this MYMATE says that if i get through the assesment at sainsburys via his agency im in ,ive only had class1 4weeks ,BUT he always telling me how he is asleep in t room or cab and doesnt have too do much at all, i had a job like this once on class 2 spent days away sitting about after early tips around 1 tip a day the n park up till next one . it drove me nuts and i put on a stone in weight , now ive just been offered a multidrop food del job which is job and fin nothing new to me as i can handle this work with ease ,its class 2 and i have the chance of class 1 double the wage but double the boredom , yes i will get the experience needed but will i crack before too long rather than enjoy the challenge of the class 2 job . money versus the mind !!!
Can understand what your saying topmixer, ive been doing class 1 work for just under 5 years now, was a culture shock at first because the previous 10 years been doing multidrop work and was mostly job and finish.
Sitting about at RDC, sitting about waiting for runs used to burst my head, really frustrated me, but in general most class 1 jobs ive done ive been paid by the hour and you just need chill out and think i’m getting paid for this.
I read a lot of books at work and if i know i,ll be sitting around a lot take my laptop watch a film or surf the net. Just need to get your head round that there is a lot of sitting around waiting with a lot of class 1 jobs and find something to fill your time. Think after doing class 1 work for about 6 months was the first time i had picked up a book since i left school, but know i really enjoy reading and at times get annoyed when i have to go drive when i have a good book lol
I don’t think i could go back to multidrop, all the running around rushing.
think what i mean is its your personal mentality towards the situation ,me i get bored very very easily which leads too frustration etc , when im multi dropping i treat it as a challenge it keeps my head busy ,aint got too much time too think about much else , also when you know your round etc the rushing around becomes a thing of the past ,just plod round and get it done meet lots of people get lots of freebies ie coffees cokes pizzas ,and the day just flys by ,the best multidropping ive everdone and would do tomorrow is palletised covering around 200 miles out and back in great fun different scenery.
when i get a job i expect to work. thats what im paid for, not to sit in the office trying to stay awake. its not so bad when they say come back in an hour or give you a run that has a couple of hours before you need to leave. at least you can get your head down but when they insist you sit there it just winds me up because you know â– â– â– â– well they are only holding you for your 8 hours rather than letting you go home
i know i am lucky to be getting work at the moment and i am worried about what will happen after christmas. i can get the same money somewhere else though so im looking for an interview for a part time job working overnight saturday and sunday. they cant cover those shifts and as its something completely new, its my best chance at getting a foot in the door. i cant rely on driving to bring a wage in at the best of times for the first 3 months of the year and im expecting it to be worse this time. i dont really want it but its time to adapt to survive
gonzothejaffa1:
jeeeeeeeeeesssssusssssssss quit whinging and be grateful you’ve got a chuffing job
and to mods no its not a swear dodge so leave it alone
ok but only because it’s you.
gogzy:
Yep we get paid for sitting about but its soul destroying sitting there tbh, i got 2 runs out of it in 11 hours. one down to ayr and one to nicholson st.
yes your right it is soul destroying and ive had to do it at asda and it â– â– â– â– â– â– me right of as well. arla tried it with me once, kept me there for 4 hours doing nothing so i went home and that â– â– â– â– â– â– them off.
as an ex manager from a different industry when I started my driving career I could,nt get my head around the waiting, the amount of wastage time, materials ect trucks going out half empty ect ect and it used to get me frustrated, eventually I took uopn the idea of leaving my brain at home, I now go to work and do what is asked, if I get to sit on my backside then a book or DVD or sleep!
when i had my interview for corby that was the main point brought up,IF I COULD STICK THE SITTING AROUND ID BE O.K, i now sit round reguarly for 4/5 or 8 hrs if im a spare driver, 2/3 is a normal start to a shift waiting for a truck to come in.
today i went out at 5 a.m and got back at 9 a.m, nothing then to do but we then have to sit there till weve done 8.5 hrs, so they let me go at 13.30 p.m, dont mind the beginning so much as your always thinking your going to go out, but when you come back, know your not going back out, then have to sit there for 4.5 hrs when you might as well be home its a bit of a killer, but i was warned what was comming my way so cant complain.
the good point is when they stick you in for a 14.30 collection at 8 a.m,its not boring when your crashed out in the bunk for 6 hrs
