hanson:
general for me different loads different places plenty of challenges your pretty much on your own and not being monitored the whole time
THIS^^^
It can be a bit unpredictable at times, like trying to explain to ex-wife why you can’t pick kids up on a Friday when you’re parked up 3 miles away, even harder trying to explain to GF.
General is full of variety, probably a lot easier to get a start and a steep learning curve for a newbie, personally I’d go for the supermarket work when I start to feel a little old and want to take things easy.
I’ve done both over the years and, as others have said, they both have pros & cons. I found the supermarket companies treated you better, ASDA did for me anyway. We did 4 shifts of 11&1/4 hrs over 7 days, weekends never bothered me. As for boring we serviced 130 stores as well as trips to other rdcs and various locations for backhauls, from farms to factories, so I never found it boring. Never sat in a depot waiting for loading more than 1 hr, unless it suited me, as they would tell you to pull off site. Kept up to date on training, clean units, any faults reported were fixed ASAP or unit changed, and decent pay. General was more a case of just get it done regardless of problems with unit, trailer or yourself. For instance a chap at my last place was given a written warning for not signing his defect sheet despite reporting the same defect for a week, no such problem for the fitter not fixing it. When he complained he was told he could go home if he didn’t want to drive.
For me it’s all about what makes you happy. For some either job will not be all it’s cracked up to be.
Slackbladder:
I’ve done both over the years and, as others have said, they both have pros & cons. I found the supermarket companies treated you better, ASDA did for me anyway. We did 4 shifts of 11&1/4 hrs over 7 days, weekends never bothered me. As for boring we serviced 130 stores as well as trips to other rdcs and various locations for backhauls, from farms to factories, so I never found it boring. Never sat in a depot waiting for loading more than 1 hr, unless it suited me, as they would tell you to pull off site. Kept up to date on training, clean units, any faults reported were fixed ASAP or unit changed, and decent pay. General was more a case of just get it done regardless of problems with unit, trailer or yourself. For instance a chap at my last place was given a written warning for not signing his defect sheet despite reporting the same defect for a week, no such problem for the fitter not fixing it. When he complained he was told he could go home if he didn’t want to drive.
For me it’s all about what makes you happy. For some either job will not be all it’s cracked up to be.
Not how it used to work at Normanton - yes the drivers who had been there longer got on the 11.25hrs a day rota and got good amount of days off. The rest of us got 9hr rota and didn’t get a good amount of days off at all. The units were not looked after as they had 3 maybe 4 drivers a day in them. They were scruffy inside and covered in grease non of the drivers cared as they weren’t there own units. Yes there was a lot of stores but depending what band you were in depended on which stores you did, so never did them all. Regularly sat in Bedford / Corby/ Dartford for more than an hour. Corby / Bedford was sometimes 4 / 5 hours!!! As for the store deliveries one of the stores in Derby when you regularly turned up there were 3 or 4 other asda deliveries there waiting to tip. As for the weekends which we did 6 out of 10 which wasn’t very good for a family life we got no extra pay and got the crap runs whereas the agency lads on double our money (weekend rates) got the cushy longer runs. I’m afraid the ASDA didnt impress me at all. Weird start times, no extra money for giving my weekends up, and tipping yourself (well pallets to back door) no there are much better supermarket jobs out there ASDA is one of the bottom rung on the ladder jobs for supermarkets. And that f**king VEMIS
Tarrman:
I’ve got an interview for my work (Iceland) for their “warehouse to wheels” programme, I’ve also got a few fingers in other pies thanks to the father in law who’s already a driver at Fowler Welch, both different types of work. I imagine the Iceland drivers must get bored doing mainly local work and although the hourly rate is excellent there’s no chance of a night out or a 15 hour day. Where as the father in law was telling me yesterday that he was down in Devon last week and today he’s starting up in Scotland. The idea of long distance appeals to me as I’ve always wanted to travel the country. The wife wants me to earn as much £££ as possible (no surprise there ) to get our finances sorted.
I’m not guaranteed these jobs, both might fall through and I’ll be back to square one, just thought I’d get people opinions. Supermarket drivers probably get a good screw money wise, but being tied to them for the monotony of a few years doing the same stores doesn’t sound as appealing as doing a bit of tramping and gaining valuable experience.
Decisions decisions. Will just have to see how it all pans out I suppose.
From your location I’d guess your in Warrington, I’m in Swindon. There are some shift patterns at our place that will get you into 13+hour days and nights out but there are others that can avoid them. There are some differences in the different sites pay and conditions contracts but would imagine the run times are not going to be so vastly different.
As for the boredom of supermarket work - well there can be repetitive days but as we tend to rotate within our start time windows there is a variety of different stores some with their own challenges and with collections from suppliers and the occasional inter depot trunk there is some variety. This week for example I have done 9 runs, only visited 1 store twice, put in 53 1/4 hours, been home every night, this is fairly typical for my week. On the plus side the procedures at stores tend to be consistent so no great hassle there (compare that to the many varied procedures at collection points) and you can build a rapport with stores as you become known and get to know the ones who will help and those which need to be “managed” to help.
Good luck with your warehouse to wheels interview.
Wiretwister yeah I’m at the Warrington depot. The things you describe seem to be the same up here although I don’t know exactly what gift patterns they are on. Someone once told me that the bulk of the work is on the early morning shift/start time, most drivers can get 13 hours in. Where as the afternoon shift/start time is quieter. Not sure what they do on nights but it’s always seems to be agency.
Nice to see someone within the same company by the way
I very regularly do the Felixstowe container run. Empty there, and loaded back. 7.5 hrs if all goes well, which it normally does. Works out at £13.80 hr. Start 05:00 and sat on my sofa at 13:00!!!
Sod repetitiveness, i’d do that every working day for the rest of my working life.
8wheels:
There are other types of work out there, although as said you’ll not be spoilt for choice. However the good thing about being a driver is that you couldn’t get a more diverse occupation, one thing that attracted me to it.
It’s not as if you take one path supermarkets, general, tippers etc and stay with it for ever, if you try one and don’t get on with it have a look around and move on.
I started out aiming to do plant & Hiab work, couldn’t get anywhere so ended up multidropping food. Now that taught me a lot, not least that the work was not what I wanted but I got experience and soon moved to a job that I wanted. That turned sour and I ended up on scrap metal skips for a couple of months, knocked on some doors and was in the right place at the right time 6 odd years ago when someone needed a plant driver.
Take what you can get and keep your eyes open for something else.
Same for me.
I returned to driving 4 years ago soon after moving to East Yorkshire. I did all the usual stuff with the agency before being offered a permanent job on containers. That lasted 3 nonths because the the work quite simply bored me to tears! I was offered a job on general, via the same agency by coincedence, and a few months after starting with them, they diversified into hiab/abnormal loads and I was asked if I wanted to drive the heavy hiab wagon. Being from a heavy engineering background, I jumped at the chance, and 18 months on, I maintain that this is the best driving job I’ve ever had. Every day is different, I get to see the sights, and as it’s specialist stuff, I don’t get chased around like the general lads. I very rarely have trouble from RDC “jobsworths” as I generally deal with one or two people on most sites, and I love the variety of loads that we do. It can be literally anything that needs a hiab, and some of the scenery I get to see is superb. I regularly do installation work in Scottish distilleries, a few weeks ago we installed some work cabins on the riverbank near Plymouth, last summer I spent a glorious day on the bank of the River Wharfe at Bolton Abbey in North Yorks installing a prototype electricity generator into the river.
If nothing else was available, I’d do whatever it takes to pay the bills, but for now, this suits me.
Warehouse to wheels? Does that mean do everyone else’s work as well as your own. Sounds like another graduate thought up bottom line improver to me? Crack on!
General Haulage for me, mind you I enjoy tramping and get to see all of the country. We had a contract with Asda running out of Redhouse Doncaster and I’m not being funny but some of the Asda drivers were right lazy t—s! You would see them parked up in lay bys on the A1 when going to a store in say Radcliffe and you would pass them when you was running back to Redhouse RDC! We were told off the traffic planners there that one driver did one store delivery to Morley and back to depot in a 8 hour shift! We regularly got back after our 2nd load and be asked if we minded doing a 3rd run as their own drivers has either refused to do it or hadn’t got back from their 1st run. Not saying all Asda drivers were like that but a fair few we’re and they knew they had a cushy number.
I did general haulage for a few year and got my some experience under my belt.Then decided to do the haz chem licence and looked for a job doing fuel work.Great working conditions,good pay and good home life balance.The only downside your every move is watched whether it be on the road in a station/depot or refuelling at a terminal.If you can put up with H&S and all the paper work it is a handy job.General haulage can be enjoyable just depends what type of work suite’s you fridge’s,flats,bulker’s or box’s.
General haulage for me Rdc’s are OK on the odd occasion but I couldn’t be a tesco driver sat there on my backside all day long , some would say your getting paid for it but quite frankly I would rather get out and get the job done , sometimes go into tesco donny and it is a joke and wonder why some company’s go in and get face on because sitting in a waiting room for 6hrs is very tedious and when you get home you feel tired and feel like made no progress , wouldn’t mind if was like Aldi/Lidl self tip can get stuck in and gone .
martinviking:
‘…I worked for a supermarket … no prospects of promotion…’
I’m still waiting - for the mythical branch where all female staff are all scanty, nymphet lookers
martinviking:
‘…Got offered a job as a Self Employed Motorcycle Courier …’
Trolley drivers tend not to starve although the yards can be a bit cosy/tight/in-town/horrible and often full of pie-focussed fatties in their tin-sheaths to squash: I see how two wheels would be a relief from that
Trolley company ethics demand politeness to ghastly people from the too often wronged driver of an underpowered, day pram
That said, I only felt embraced in general haulage when I sank to wearing minging kit and having no mates to wave to
George@ASDA driver:
really? £520 p/w basic and i RARELY do over 40 hrs!!!
Ive seen trampers on here earn that!!!
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Yep, I’m on about £20 less than you, do a couple of more hours but don’t get any ■■■■ about to551ng the job off, do nights out or work weekends for it, beats any supermarket deal in my eyes…
) to get our finances sorted.
