Why do agency drivers get slated on here?

Hello all,this is my first post as I’m new on here
Was wondering why people on here slag off agency drivers,not all of us are numptys.I have to put with crap from so called professional drivers who give it large cos they’ve got a regular job.Because of personal reasons I have chosen agency work to put bread on the table and still be able too help the wife through an illness.So have a thought before you have apop. Sorry about the rant,had too get it off me chest.

Beetshifter:
Hello all,this is my first post as I’m new on here
Was wondering why people on here slag off agency drivers,not all of us are numptys.I have to put with crap from so called professional drivers who give it large cos they’ve got a regular job.Because of personal reasons I have chosen agency work to put bread on the table and still be able too help the wife through an illness.So have a thought before you have apop. Sorry about the rant,had too get it off me chest.

Agreed some are excellent, but the few numpties give us all the ammo we need to have fun …and the ■■■■■ you drive through are nearly all one step down from estate agents, ie as low as dog ■■■ !

'Cos we’re the only ones “Pro” enough to get regular work once choosing to leave full time employment. :sunglasses:
Most agencies won’t allow you to work for them unless you’ve had 2 years solid experience with no gaps prior to signing up.
I assume that means “most agencies won’t sign up the long-term unemployed” but I stand to possibly be corrected here of course… :unamused:

I used to call ■■■■ out of agency drivers.
Then,on a whim,I decided to park my truck up for a week and have a go.
So, night work, the only help I was given was to be told which truck I was driving and where the keys were hung.
Now I know it could be paranoia,but, I did feel like I was being looked down on from the regular drivers.
I was so far out of my comfort zone it’s not true.
Luckily, I have driven an actros, but I was a long time ago, it was dark, and it took me ages to just find the interior light switch.
I should of asked, but,I could imagine the ■■■■■■■■ about the agency ■■■■■■ that didn’t have a clue.
Then I had a Renault premium with the I shift, I had to ring the local Renault dealer to find out where the gear selector was.
Well,it was dark.
I know where it is on my volvo, seems like a good place to me,why would you need it ti the right of the ■■■■■■■ steering wheel?
So,yes,they need cutting a bit of slack in m opinion.

I think the reason is more primal instinct, in that humans (more notably men) will become pack animals when spending any amount of time together, and take comfort in taking the p*ss of outsiders because it confirms their ‘territory’. I would imagine it’s a similar reason to why truckers refer to ‘their truck’ when 9 times out of 10 it belongs to the company, not them! P.s. not having a dig, my company’s truck is ‘my truck’ :wink:

Plus maybe it makes the full time guys feel threatened so try to scare the poor diddums from wanting to work there ever again :stuck_out_tongue:

Javiatrix:
I think the reason is more primal instinct, in that humans (more notably men) will become pack animals when spending any amount of time together, and take comfort in taking the p*ss of outsiders because it confirms their ‘territory’

Speak for yourself, I’m not like that.

Just an observation :wink:

I stopped at Toddington services southbound to treat myself to a nice hot £3 coffee. The man in front of me had a filthy agency hi-vis on. He gave his fuel card to the lady in the till and said he didn’t know what pump he was on but it was one of the middle ones. He went out to fill up and I paid for my coffee.

On the way out, the same man stopped me and pointed at the pumps. He scratched his head asked me, without looking me in the eye, which one was the diesel one. I said it was the big yellow one with the Diesel sticker on it, and not the one with AdBlue logos all over it. I tipped my hat and walked off, thinking about what an enormous ■■■■-up he could have made if noone was around to help him wipe his arse.

SwedishSteel:
I stopped at Toddington services southbound to treat myself to a nice hot £3 coffee. The man in front of me had a filthy agency hi-vis on. He gave his fuel card to the lady in the till and said he didn’t know what pump he was on but it was one of the middle ones. He went out to fill up and I paid for my coffee.

On the way out, the same man stopped me and pointed at the pumps. He scratched his head asked me, without looking me in the eye, which one was the diesel one. I said it was the big yellow one with the Diesel sticker on it, and not the one with AdBlue logos all over it. I tipped my hat and walked off, thinking about what an enormous ■■■■-up he could have made if noone was around to help him wipe his arse.

You forgot to mention that he was a turban wearing polish bloke who didn’t speak a word of English, had bad body odour and was carrying a white stick :laughing:

I jacked in a full time job to go on agency 4 weeks ago,had a week off then signed on with them,i done my assessment and following day done a days work.these last 2 weeks I been getting 55-60 hours.A driver is a driver there are good and bad in whatever driving job you do wether agency or not.

When transport offices only have to pick up the phone and get absolutely anybody with a Class1/2 to just walk in and do the job a employed driver may have had to have inhouse training for. You can’t blame the employed drivers feeling belittled and lashing out on Internet forums.

Agency driver picked up a trl loaded with tanks of jam for Kendal and on getting there…3 and a half hours later opened up the curtain only to find said trl was completely empty…

Class act…

Where I am (until the end of this week!!!) I encounter agency drivers and mates a lot. Most I’ve worked with are great and listen/do things the way you want them done. We have a mate who for some unknown reason our TM keeps hiring; He stinks, tries to smoke the most disgusting roll-ups in the cabs, is always trying to blag freebies off customers, and does everything he can to slow us down and undermine us infront of customers. He constantly tries to switch our radios on and off, tampers with heater controls etc and is a right irritating nosey ■■■■■■. One prat like this is more than capable of tarring 10 good blokes with the same brush.

Beetshifter:
Hello all,this is my first post as I’m new on here
Was wondering why people on here slag off agency drivers,not all of us are numptys.I have to put with crap from so called professional drivers who give it large cos they’ve got a regular job.Because of personal reasons I have chosen agency work to put bread on the table and still be able too help the wife through an illness.So have a thought before you have apop. Sorry about the rant,had too get it off me chest.

I can’t believe this!
Do you think you’re a good driver? Or at least as good as the regular drivers? If yes, what’s your problem?
You live your life the way you want to, and if that means driving for an agency, then that’s your choice. If you get upset by someone criticising you because you drive for an agency, then that’s their problem and not yours! Take a chill pill, or expect a heart attack. Life’s too short to worry about others opinions!
Unless of course, you’ve given the regular drivers a reason to slag you off personally…

Because the majority are stupid and lazy and have an over inflated opinion of themselves , almost all the times i have used agency drivers i have ended up thinking why did i bother, the other times they was so useless i wouldnt even let them out of the yard alone in one of my trucks, no offence !

I work as an agency driver,as it suits me down to the ground.Work when I want to,don’t knock anybody in a full time job,but I don’t want one.Each to their own and all that.

And I couldn’t give a monkeys what anybody/those in a regular job think of me. :smiley:

Hope this helps. :wink:

Beetshifter:
Hello all,this is my first post as I’m new on here
Was wondering why people on here slag off agency drivers,not all of us are numptys.I have to put with crap from so called professional drivers who give it large cos they’ve got a regular job.Because of personal reasons I have chosen agency work to put bread on the table and still be able too help the wife through an illness.So have a thought before you have apop. Sorry about the rant,had too get it off me chest.

Not going to read through all the posts on here but there are some reasons why agency drivers get the slagging.

  1. perminant drivers see agency drivers as trying to take their jobs away, which is mostly true.
  2. most agency drivers do not give a toss about doing the job properly… Unless they are as stated trying to get a full time job.
  3. joining an agency is just contributing to the insecurity in the jobs market, joining an agency is stupid because the agency makes huge amounts for doing very little whilst exploiting the driver and treating him or her like crap, low pay, poor conditions and no job security.
    4 all agencies should be made illegal.

I have not read the replies, but in response to why agency drivers get slated on here and elsewhere…

  1. Many agency drivers I have seen have been absolutely ■■■■■■■ useless, causing damage and not doing the job properly

  2. I am an agency driver at the moment and make at least double the money many drivers are making full time on the books, there is a huge amount of jealousy in this industry. I have never caused damage to a unit or trailer and get the job done to the best of my ability and don’t moan about it (Which is all most drivers do ‘Moan’)

  3. I have the freedom to have a week off when I want, Employed drivers have to ask nicely for a week off and could be told ‘No’

So if it is not slating agency drivers for coming into category 1 and complaining about how ■■■■ some agency drivers are then it is jealousy

I actually go through the referances and experiance details of agency drivers now when we use them and i have sent a few home before they even have got in a truck, if you get a wrong one it just causes too many problems. Im sure there would be and are some good ones, but you tend to remember the ones who cost you and caused you grief more, and then you will all get generalised as an agency driver, cos the agency dont care what happens as it isnt there problem, there interest is getting that timesheet signed and making there ten percent.

SwedishSteel:
I tipped my hat and walked off, thinking about what an enormous ■■■■-up he could have made if noone was around to help him wipe his arse.

I’d love to take you on all the different types of things I’ve done as an agency driver and watch you make monumental ■■■■ ups. “Oh dear SwedishSteel you appear to have imploded the tank. What do you mean you didn’t you know you had to open the vents? What an idiot. You don’t know how to drive a 38 tonne articulated dump truck? What are you, some kind of idiot? What do you mean you’ve not seen or driven one before - that’s no excuse.”

And then put it up on Youtube.