Having worked in haulage for 28 years as a driver I might now have an opportunity to train as a Traffic Officer in a small company with a fleet 20 vehicles doing UK,Ireland and European work.
Could anyone with similar experience shed some light on the day to day running of the office, planning etc good or bad.
Thanks
The ultimate question is could you stand being in an office all day.I have never done such a job but know people that have and it can be quite stressful at times.A lot depends on the company that you are working with.
I have worked inside a few times and although it is a nice change it is always nice to get out and about again.
My advice would be to ask if you could have a trail before fully committing yourself.
albion1971:
The ultimate question is could you stand being in an office all day.I have never done such a job but know people that have and it can be quite stressful at times.A lot depends on the company that you are working with.
I have worked inside a few times and although it is a nice change it is always nice to get out and about again.
My advice would be to ask if you could have a trail before fully committing yourself.
Thanks albion. Yes I think that might be possible and would go that route first.
hi
definitely do a trial first, as a traffic operator you have to be prepared to take flak from both drivers and customers,oh and your boss will be on your back as well, do not to bite back, customers can get a bit emotional believe me , they’ll rip your gonads out over late/failed deliveries.if you’re failing a delivery and you know it, get in there first and diffuse it before they ring you and always try to be as near the truth as possible, however outrageous it is, they get tired of blowouts and breakdowns.your boss will want 28 hours work out of a 24 hour period,the trucks will never earn enough etc.
do stand up to your drivers, they might be your mates now, but you have to be able to give unpoplar instructions to them and being your best mate doesn’t help. be friendly, be honest , be firm. try not to show any favouritism , you will be accused of it. always think when you give an instruction ‘would i be able to do that?’ if you couldn’t, dont expect your man to do it. i hate to say this but you soon get to learn who the tossers are. grow a thick skin quick.
you’ll get phone calls off joe public moaning about drivers with mobile phones/■■■■/ cutting up on roundabouts you name it and if your phone numbers on the truck , they’ll bloody ring it.
good luck, it can’t be that bad a job I’ve swapped between driving and management for nearly 40 years and i’m still here.
You’ll soon find out, suppliers are idiots, the customers are ■■■■■■■ useless and stupid, drivers will often tell you they cant do things to get out of doing their job when they can. Sometimes you’ll have to make a decision which wont be popular with the driver but remember if they scratch your back be sure to return the favor if or when you can.
if your unsure ask, better to ask and cover your arse than make a decision you were unsure about for it to go ■■■■ up and what not. And be careful what you say in the office, you’ll find there’s more back stabbing in the office than out on the road.
it is an enjoyable job but can be very stressful, welcome to the world of stress and headaches 
and good luck in the new role!! 
Cheers
Jonny 
tonyj105:
hi
definitely do a trial first, as a traffic operator you have to be prepared to take flak from both drivers and customers,oh and your boss will be on your back as well, do not to bite back, customers can get a bit emotional believe me , they’ll rip your gonads out over late/failed deliveries.if you’re failing a delivery and you know it, get in there first and diffuse it before they ring you and always try to be as near the truth as possible, however outrageous it is, they get tired of blowouts and breakdowns.your boss will want 28 hours work out of a 24 hour period,the trucks will never earn enough etc.
do stand up to your drivers, they might be your mates now, but you have to be able to give unpoplar instructions to them and being your best mate doesn’t help. be friendly, be honest , be firm. try not to show any favouritism , you will be accused of it. always think when you give an instruction ‘would i be able to do that?’ if you couldn’t, dont expect your man to do it. i hate to say this but you soon get to learn who the tossers are. grow a thick skin quick.
you’ll get phone calls off joe public moaning about drivers with mobile phones/■■■■/ cutting up on roundabouts you name it and if your phone numbers on the truck , they’ll bloody ring it.good luck, it can’t be that bad a job I’ve swapped between driving and management for nearly 40 years and i’m still here.
+1 i,m doing similar at the mo and i,m certainly seeing it from a different view…