Just had one where I arrive at said company, the site is about 2 square miles, the postcode is a mile away from the site in a 7.5t limit. No road name. Finally after doing some detective work I find the gate I’m supposed to go to out of 14 possible gates. When I get there the yard I’m going to even has a different company name on than the one I’m collecting from. I did end up in the 7.5t limit as well because I couldn’t turn it round. Hardly helpful when you get such a vague pick up address for such a huge site. Part of the job I guess.
I had one about a month ago the postcode was in Nottingham, the address was Jackson street in a a village called Hullavington which is just off j17 on the M4. The name of the firm was Smith and Nephew, which is on Jackson street in Hull, so that is where I took it.
‘Google is your friend’.
We get it a lot, then there’s the places with no name on the gate, secret places [emoji57] always a great excuse for being late. [emoji6]
Had several now with the correct address but the parent company name instead of the actual company name, ok if you can see the numbers but a lot of roads with companies down it don’t actually have the numbers displayed.
Also had a couple where the firm changes name, sometimes a few years previous, but with the old name on the paperwork.
I know a tipper driver who was told to go to some Cotswold village and find “The Old Forge.” He naturally tried next to the church, manor house, manor farm, pub etc. On the verge of giving up (no phone signal) some woman recognised the lorry and asked if he was delivering to her (had customer name). It turned out to be a new build house that wasn’t even on the site of a demolished forge. “The Old Forge” was the name of their previous house and they liked the name so named their new build house the same. They hadn’t even got around to putting the nameplate up anyway.
You have to use the Force Luke, use the Force !
We are after all Underpaid Jedi Knights (or so our TM’s & Planners believe [emoji57])
Seems to be a daily occurrence working for some companies! I actually delivered to a morrisons not so long back, but on the delivery notes they still had the company name as Safeway! Now I can barely remember safeway existing so it’s been a long old time!
When I worked for a tipper firm years ago, I got given a load of 20mm stones to be taken to an address of “near the ship yard, Glasgow”
At half 3 in the afternoon. And the ship yard is surrounded by one way streets.
After an hour and a half of driving around and tearing my hair out I eventually found the place.
No where near the ship yard
Always a challange …!!! in these days of google etc its a dam sight easier than years ago even when it was pre mobile phone but then transport planners had a bit more common sence about them ( whatever happened to that…? )
some of the places i went in france i would not have been able to find at all if somone had not taken the time to guide me their
also a few places in uk where its an older industrial city where you take one look at where the a2z tells you it is and you think thats not fit for a horse and cart nevermind an artic satnav and google are great to use as tools along with 5 mins planning will save hours of embarresment and explanation
Oh yeah farm work thats a favorite two words …sugar beet
I had one the other day that would have been hard work if the delivery note hadn’t got an instruction for drivers on telling you where to go. I was talking to a fork lift driver there and he said it took them years of nagging to management to get that instruction sent along with the delivery address to all suppliers. You’ve got to ask why? Why is a simple one line instruction which basically says the access is through a customer car park so difficult to provide when the company clearly knows it’s a problem for drivers to find!
Rowley010:
I had one the other day that would have been hard work if the delivery note hadn’t got an instruction for drivers on telling you where to go. I was talking to a fork lift driver there and he said it took them years of nagging to management to get that instruction sent along with the delivery address to all suppliers. You’ve got to ask why? Why is a simple one line instruction which basically says the access is through a customer car park so difficult to provide when the company clearly knows it’s a problem for drivers to find!
Don’t get me started. We have used one haulier in particular for years, the only address they put on the paperwork is our company name, and either St Albans or Olney, depending on which depot. They have a high driver turn over, so even though it’s a daily run for them, many drivers are trying to find us for the first time.
We’ve sent annotated maps, postcodes and telephone numbers, pace notes, none of it has been saved by the haulier and given to the drivers. It must drive their new starts potty! As they essentially picking up from a field somewhere and delivering to a car park 4 hours away.
It is crazy the amount of drops you get with out of date paperwork showing the wrong company names and addresses…
Fine for an experienced driver who knows the regular drops that are wrong, but obviously infuriating for Newbies!
But when you tell the office/admin that the details are wrong on the system, do they update them? Do they [zb]! 
OK it might be details on another companies systems, but phones and email do exist people! 
I guess as it doesn’t directly effect them, they just don’t care…
This is one of our major bugbears. At least once a week we get given a delivery/collection and the address is the invoice address not the delivery/collection address. When we complain to our planner, he complains to the office who’s stock response is “what do you expect us to do, confirm every address?” Erm…yes!
Evil8Beezle:
It is crazy the amount of drops you get with out of date paperwork showing the wrong company names and addresses…
Fine for an experienced driver who knows the regular drops that are wrong, but obviously infuriating for Newbies!
But when you tell the office/admin that the details are wrong on the system, do they update them? Do they [zb]!
OK it might be details on another companies systems, but phones and email do exist people!
I guess as it doesn’t directly effect them, they just don’t care…
Nail and head. They seem to get enjoyment out of giving you a guessing game. The hours I waste each week touring around looking for a moody address. And when you’re in London where there’s traffic everywhere and red routes it’s a lot less clever. I’ve learnt three things. Before you set off:
Google
Google maps
Ring the customer and get the correct address and directions.(assuming someone answers the number).
It saves a lot of teethmarks in the steering wheel.
I sometimes find the site is branded as the logistics management company (Europa, Kuehne Nagel etc) rather than the client whose site they are running. However, as has been said, a little Googling tends to give enough clues and parking up before entering to just ask the question to be sure is often a wise step too.
I have had loads over the years, a couple stick in my mind though.
One was a joinery company who had moved into different premises (ie not the owners garden shed) sixteen years before.
The other time I picked up a trailer for a night shift from MMD in the pre google days. The addresses were Smith & Jones (made up name). Bristol Market, Smith & Jones (made up name) Birmingham Market etc. I remember following a Fyffes wagon on the off chance he was going to the same place as me into the first drop, and the driver set me right for the others. God bless him.
On a slightly different note,an example from yesterday:
Office: “can you be on site at 7am?”
Me: “yes”.
I ring the site: “what time do you want me in the morning?”
Site: “We open at 8. Be here at 8.15. No earlier because the neighbours don’t like the trucks parked outside”.
How difficult was that. Lesson learned.Assume that office people can’t work a telephone
Proper winds me up this does.
You always know when the consignor says ‘easy to find’ or ‘someone will be there for tipping you’ etc, that its likely a freaking lie!
Why people don’t use their common sense and ask for brief directions, or at the least an obvious visible lock on, at the time of the order…
Or phone numbers for tradesmen who aren’t even at the site you’re delivering to…
Really grinds my gears.
Some of our addresses give details such as -
Contractors name, firms name, street name, access off **** street only, delivery time etc.
Everything you really need to know except the town name.
When loading ceramic tiles in Spain, I would get a fax with up to 12 addresses on it.
It could be a large factory, or a small factory in a rural area in the hills on narrow twisty roads or dirt tracks .
To fill the trailer may take a day or two due to three hour lunch breaks for Siesta time.
Some addresses would be the office and not where you need to load at .
Or on groupage collections, you go to a city centre , another office, or the warehouse moved years ago .
When loading onions, you would only find out which markets they are going to , once you get off the ferry in England then multi drop all night .