Well this was the first full week driving for Stobarts…
Monday
Collected unit and Trl from Chesterfield (Barlborough) Depot, off down to DRIFT
From there run empty over to Tesco at Coventry and collect Double Decker to go up to Livingston…there is a dely in getting it loaded, i don’t have enought time to get there…so i just run to ESL Carlisle, drop the Trl and park up for the night
Tuesday
Hitch up to an empty … go collect 21 pallets of bark chippings and deliver to 3 B&Q Stores across the north east.
then across to Middleton to do a collection, ready for delivery in the morning.
wednesday
drop in warrington, then down to middlewich (tesco) and i have store deliveries… let me tell you…tesco may have massive car parks and huge stores…but the yard are tiny… them must be measured to the inch…in fact at one store i only have about 3 inches at either end.
and a back haul into tesco from middleton
Thurday
more store deliveries
Friday
guess what… yeah store deliveries… having spoke to some of the other drivers i must have done the 2 worst stores this week…baptism of fire me thinks.
i was doing store deliverys through the agency for Stobarts & them tesco yards are small, I also delivered to the petrol stations with the shop attatched, they were fun with cars tryin to squezze past you while your trying to reverse to the doors to unload.
NJDav:
let me tell you…tesco may have massive car parks and huge stores…but the yard are tiny… them must be measured to the inch…in fact at one store i only have about 3 inches at either end.
I’m feeling you there. Remember when I first did Tesco Extra at Peterborough. At the time - the largest supermarket in the UK (so they told me). Service yard space was very stingy in comparision.
I know that some Sainsbury yards are literally measured to the inch. You just have to follow the line marked on the ground.
Somerfield is where you go if you want real thrills, however!!
Having driven for Tesco out of the Doncaster depot (agency), I can confirm most are tiny…
They also have a risk assessment form they have that must be read and you sign a sheet to confirm you’ve read it before you set off to deliver. That risk assessment has a diagram to scale of the yard with everything that is permitted to be stored in the yard, and which direction to manouver to meet the approved assessment by their driver and H&S teams.
Some stores work well by this and keep things where they are meant to be but some store empty ‘silvers’ (cages) in the yard, right in the way.
Basically if ANYTHING is out of place we’re supposed to stop and refuse til its sorted otherwise it’s a safety risk and if owt happens the driver is blamed for not working to the letter of the assessment.
Their main usefulness though is you turn up prepared for what the yard will basically look like, the best approach and manouver without needing to prat about when you get there.
I’m surprised they don’t have copies available for all regular contractors like stobart, and a copy on site laminated and pegged by the doorbell for people to see when they deliver so if anything is out of place you can MAKE them shift it and make your job easier.
Cleethorpes Extra are a sod for leaving their cages queued so far out that sometimes the yard is too tight to screw round in properly and you end up having to move them so the bum end doesn’t drag a few dozen round with you.
It seems the store managers can’t stand to see any open space in the delivery area, they just have to plonk pallets, cages, bales of cardboard, old storage racks, forklifts and ofcourse the skip/dumpster that simply cannot go anywhere else
el gordo 78:
They also have a risk assessment form they have that must be read and you sign a sheet to confirm you’ve read it before you set off to deliver. That risk assessment has a diagram to scale of the yard with everything that is permitted to be stored in the yard, and which direction to manouver to meet the approved assessment by their driver and H&S teams.
/snip
I’m surprised they don’t have copies available for all regular contractors like stobart, and a copy on site laminated and pegged by the doorbell for people to see when they deliver so if anything is out of place you can MAKE them shift it and make your job easier.
Ah - but in the “real world” most, if not all, H&S stuff would be better entitled Health and Blame Someone Else Policies. It all looks very good on paper, but the main aim is more than likely to be able to blame someone else if/when things go wrong
yards eh well you dont know how lucky you are, try doing some of the co op drops, reversing into alley ways across a blind bend was prob my favourite , but then drops outside the shops are less fun as most of the time you end up blocking cars in to the paking bay that is there
Still on weekend agency at Stobarts.
Tesco store deliveries out of Fradley Park in Lichfield for the past 3 weeks.
I got back from an out in the sticks delivery (Oakham) Saturday evening and was told that my next one was in the middle of Birmingham and I mean the middle of Birmingham!
Temple Street Tesco Express.
I got the paperwork and the usual map of lines and circles with directions.
Off I set and I eventually found it in a tight one way side street.
This was 20:45 and all the lovely city people were out getting off their faces and walking all over the side street(s).
Cars parked down the one side.
It was a front of store unloading.
There is a marked out unloading area but due to it being at the end of the street I could not just pull in. I had to reverse into the area from an angle around the corner as there were cars parked right behind.
Soon as I put it into reverse the two cars behind me decided to play game and backed up a bit for me to reverse.
We started unloading…
I had to call the the two Tesco lads back a few times from the Trocedero (pub) window as they kept going over to watch the rugby through the window.
, but then drops outside the shops are less fun as most of the time you end up blocking cars in to the paking bay that is there