yt03:
Eagerbeaver it seems you get people’s backs up mate?? Class one wa*ker
Dont worry he knows it all after 5 mins in the job. He will have a big fall of his class 1 pedestool soon. 
m_attt:
standing around polishing each others “tanks”
yt03:
I’m sorry but a lot of agency drivers are agency for a reason… Our last one came in at 6am stinking of booze, the boss said have you been drinking? I was drinking last night yes… How many did you have? 7/8 pints I believe, oh what time did you stop drinking then?? Erm… MidnightBye bye pleb!
That’s fine but I’ve also known a driver to be sacked for turning up to work in the mornings stinking of booze, and he was directly employed by DHL.
eagerbeaver:
You agency lads bite far too easily Lol!Have you got a limp by any chance? Or glasses repaired with a plaster?
Sod off! I can’t afford a new, clean hi-vis because I spend all my money driving to far flung, low paid jobs. The limp is from a fight I got in while parked in front of someone’s house so I could drag the very high pallet of paper packs closer to where the company wanted me to handball it into their office upstairs!
Thanks for your info, peoples of the road. Entertaining as per usual 
So it’s not like being on test as long as you make every attempt to conform to the agency norm (wear a filthy hi vis and stink of booze, never be punctual, were in the SAS and walk the walk).
All the above considered the answer is just, CRACK ON!
Dave G, I have had no time to look for work as my current job is too busy. As soon as it winds down (end of may), then start the clock 
instantKarma:
Is working for an agency the equivalent to being on test EVERY day?Just askin
At first it is, I would agree with that. Just because its all new, and now and again you come up against a truck or model that is a bit different to what you have used before - but “every day’s a school day”, eh?
I turn up before time (5 minutes before!), don’t take the p1ss with hours and breaks, etc… , dress smartly (polo shirt, toe tecktors and blue workmans trousers), and try to be polite and professional with client and their customers. If I am unsure about any procedures, etc I ask - that means I don’t create a bigger headache later, and gives me a reasonable right to “plausible deniability” if there are any hiccups.
I have always done this, and clients keep asking for me, so I guess I am doing something right.
Shandy123:
instantKarma:
Is working for an agency the equivalent to being on test EVERY day?At first it is, I would agree with that. Just because its all new, and now and again you come up against a truck or model that is a bit different to what you have used before - but “every day’s a school day”, eh?
I turn up before time (5 minutes before!), don’t take the p1ss with hours and breaks, etc… , dress smartly (polo shirt, toe tecktors and blue workmans trousers), and try to be polite and professional with client and their customers. If I am unsure about any procedures, etc I ask - that means I don’t create a bigger headache later, and gives me a reasonable right to “plausible deniability” if there are any hiccups.
I have always done this, and clients keep asking for me, so I guess I am doing something right.
Can’t really stress that one enough. Saying Sir/Ma’am to people and minding your p’s and q’s goes LONG way.
tachograph:
yt03:
I’m sorry but a lot of agency drivers are agency for a reason… Our last one came in at 6am stinking of booze, the boss said have you been drinking? I was drinking last night yes… How many did you have? 7/8 pints I believe, oh what time did you stop drinking then?? Erm… MidnightBye bye pleb!
That’s fine but I’ve also known a driver to be sacked for turning up to work in the mornings stinking of booze, and he was directly employed by DHL.
It was down to his agency to deal with him disaplinary wise, we just said not today thanks!!
wear a crucifix, agencies are vampires, pure and simple.
Anyone know what a ’ pedestool ’ is?
According to m_att,im gonna fall off one soon. Must be a new make of mountain bike.
jbaz73:
wear a crucifix, agencies are vampires, pure and simple.
That isn’t my experience as an agency driver - but I would say go into the agency/driver relationship with your eyes wide open.
By that I mean, remember that you are a resource for their business - they don’t owe you (neither do they own you). You are swapping your labour for money in a mutually convenient arrangement. This doesn’t mean that you can’t have a professional and courteous relationship with each other.
ORC:
Based on my limited experience, for an agency to place you with one of their clients you may have to do an assessment first. Once you’ve passed that assessment you can drive for that client as many times as the agency cares to place you with them (i.e. assuming that client has shifts they need the agency to fill, and the agency wants you to do it rather than another driver on their books).
In my experience it’s a small number of large companies that require you to take an assessment - I’ve done them with TNT and Norbert Dentressangle. Others can’t afford it, although some use external assessors (J Coates is in that game). Once you’ve proven yourself reliable you’ll get any work going with them; mess up and you could find that agency won’t use you again. There are some quite specialised jobs that don’t - one company I’ve worked for had me transporting metal structures on flatbeds, and if you’re told it’s steel, it could be sheets, bars/billets or structures.
To north easteners: What’s that agency on coatsworth road called? Can’t find it anywhere.
I have applied for 2 jobs direct (facetoface) but heard nothing back even though they said they would either way. I’m not taking it personally YET but a few more like that and I’ll start getting a complex