chris_89:
@Lycanthrope:Been with driverHire nottingham for a bit now since I passed my Cat C and everything they’ve given me so far has been alright to be honest. Not done any foodservice so far but if they do offer me some I’m not really in any position to turn it down
Reckon you could name these particular chinese/indian food companies? Or PM me?
JK Foods and Asiana. Owned by two brothers. Multidropping to chinese takeaways in an artic is not fun I tell you 
Happy Keith:
Simon_1982:
‘…Working for an agency … What is your experience with them…?’
It depends on your locality & the logistical presence of companies in your area. It is worthless to generalise because I suspect that no two towns/places will likely be the same.
Try living in the South East close to London and telling the agencies no Local multi drop and no local building deliveries thanks and probably any agency near any major city will mainly just have that same type of zb work on it’s books.Having said that we do/did have our fair share of international operators but surprise surprise I never once heard of any agency drivers ever being used/needed to work for any of them or any agencies offering that type of work so it’s a mystery how daleyboy got any international experience by working for agencies.
Carryfast:
In my experience it was the total opposite to that in that local multi drop outfits seemed happy/desperate enough to pay agencies class 1 rates for 7.5 tonne and class 3 work because they could’nt find any car drivers or class 3 drivers who had’nt upgraded their licences to get something better.
+1
carryfast
so it’s a mystery how daleyboy got any international experience by working for agencies.
You misunderstood my post. I work on European now but I could walk into most jobs thanks to the experiences of the agency.
In Bristol I know my old firm used agency drivers for euro work. And when lanes were operating as an agency they were offering class2 euro work. So it is possible to get euro work on agency.
Don’t get me started with ******* agencies today !! 
Aaargh !!!
I’m referring specificaly to that shower in Leeds,going by the name of 24/7…
I enquired about the Sainsbury’s job at Sherburn and last week,I did 2 days ‘classroom’ (unpaid) plus a 2 hours driving assessment on tuesday this week. All that went o.k…So the guy who runs the ‘desk’ at the site says to me ‘‘what shifts and start times are you looking for?’’…So I says…I’d like to do early nights,starting at 4 p.m if poss,inc saturdays. He was so happy that he had someone who wanted to start at that time. So much so that he called his mate across and repeated it to him. He says '‘Drivers who want to start at that time (and shifts) are like rocking horse…’ I thought…Hmmm,this sounds like I’m finally getting somewhere with these agencies.
Booked me for today (thursday) and saturday @ 4.p.m start. Fine I thought. (I already had a booking for friday,arranged last week). Anyway,gets up today and text messages and phone calls (from the girl at 24/7 ) coming thick and fast… First she wanted to put the start time back to 5 p.m. and when I reminded her about my booking for tommorrow (start time 2 p.m.) and asked her to get a planned finish time so that I was sure of complying with the hours rest rules,she goes off one as though they own me ! I told her that she’d already been informed of my previously arranged work last week. Anyhow,the upshot is that she rings me back and says that they’ve given my shift to another driver !!.. Yet the traffic guy at Sainsbury’s told me on tuesday that they were chronically short of drivers !
So to say that I’m extremely ■■■■■■ off with this lot before I’ve even started with them is a major understatement ! So much so that I’m considering binning THEM,if that’s how they’re going to behave.
This palaver is a big fat reminder of just why I hate bloody agencies so much !! 
** Anyone know of any DECENT permanent jobs in my area ■■ I’ve had it with this carry on !!
Lycanthrope:
JK Foods and Asiana. Owned by two brothers. Multidropping to chinese takeaways in an artic is not fun I tell you
I’ve heard of JK, they have that Hyperama cash and carry place down lenton industrial estate, seen an asiana hypermarket but didn’t realise they did deliveries to take aways.
Quoted from the asian a website:
Using our own drivers and delivery boys we offer our customers excellent customer service, seven days a week.
Thats basically an out and out lie then
feenix…
phone them direct and ask for the hr dept. they are normally wanting drivers but its a temp 3 month contract.
01977 688400
daleyboy:
carryfast
so it’s a mystery how daleyboy got any international experience by working for agencies.
You misunderstood my post. I work on European now but I could walk into most jobs thanks to the experiences of the agency.
In Bristol I know my old firm used agency drivers for euro work. And when lanes were operating as an agency they were offering class2 euro work. So it is possible to get euro work on agency.
If Carlsberg did agencies they’d all be like that 
and if any agency had offered international work when I was working for them their phones would have been permanently jammed with applicants.But if it’s true I would’nt be at all surprised if they were offering class 2 international to class 2 drivers who’s face fitted while the class 1 drivers who’s faces did’nt were lumbered with local multi drop 
.Although having said that it was probably just like regular good job vacancies in which only those ‘in the know’ who knew the right people even knew those opportunities were available and kept them to themselves while the rest of the mugs like me were just stuck with the zb. But the bit I still don’t get is how experience doing uk agency work is of any relevance when it comes to getting international work because all I know of years of unsuccessful applications it was a case of no international experience no job and you ain’t going to get that by doing local multi drop or local building deliveries,or if you’re (very) lucky uk trunking,which in the real world is mostly,if not all, you’re likely to get working for agencies .
Feenix:
Don’t get me started with ******* agencies today !!I’m referring specificaly to that shower in Leeds,going by the name of 24/7…
I enquired about the Sainsbury’s job at Sherburn and last week,I did 2 days ‘classroom’ (unpaid) plus a 2 hours driving assessment on tuesday this week. All that went o.k…So the guy who runs the ‘desk’ at the site says to me ‘‘what shifts and start times are you looking for?’’…So I says…I’d like to do early nights,starting at 4 p.m if poss,inc saturdays. He was so happy that he had someone who wanted to start at that time. So much so that he called his mate across and repeated it to him. He says '‘Drivers who want to start at that time (and shifts) are like rocking horse…’ I thought…Hmmm,this sounds like I’m finally getting somewhere with these agencies.
Booked me for today (thursday) and saturday @ 4.p.m start. Fine I thought. (I already had a booking for friday,arranged last week). Anyway,gets up today and text messages and phone calls (from the girl at 24/7 ) coming thick and fast… First she wanted to put the start time back to 5 p.m. and when I reminded her about my booking for tommorrow (start time 2 p.m.) and asked her to get a planned finish time so that I was sure of complying with the hours rest rules,she goes off one as though they own me ! I told her that she’d already been informed of my previously arranged work last week. Anyhow,the upshot is that she rings me back and says that they’ve given my shift to another driver !!.. Yet the traffic guy at Sainsbury’s told me on tuesday that they were chronically short of drivers !So to say that I’m extremely ■■■■■■ off with this lot before I’ve even started with them is a major understatement ! So much so that I’m considering binning THEM,if that’s how they’re going to behave.
This palaver is a big fat reminder of just why I hate bloody agencies so much !!
** Anyone know of any DECENT permanent jobs in my area ■■ I’ve had it with this carry on !!
I was tipping at sainsburys sherburn last friday aft/eve, arrived @ 14.30 got away 20.30 there were always at least 20 agency drivers sitting in the drivers crappy waiting room the whole time I was there, every so often they would shout out a drivers name & said driver would scurry up to
the counter to be handed his delivery notes and a set of keys, he would then excitedly return to where he had been sitting to collect his belongings and be asked by the others where he was going as if it was a holiday he was going on 
was suicidal by the time i left. good luck
Ive been with a few different agencies over the last 10 years,ranging from multi drop round London to Costcutter stores/Peacocks stores/Sainsburys,trunking work for NFT and collection and delivery for DHL,to name just a few.
I much prefer agency work,because I can work when I want to.
I know there’s some sh it agencies out there,but thankfully I’ve been lucky in that the ones I’ve worked for have treated me well and got me work when i want it,jobs a good un.
green456:
I was tipping at sainsburys sherburn last friday aft/eve, arrived @ 14.30 got away 20.30 there were always at least 20 agency drivers sitting in the drivers crappy waiting room the whole time I was there, every so often they would shout out a drivers name & said driver would scurry up to
the counter to be handed his delivery notes and a set of keys, he would then excitedly return to where he had been sitting to collect his belongings and be asked by the others where he was going as if it was a holiday he was going on
That’s sounds like typical supermarket agency job 
I was doing it for Coop (although it was much better) and I even liked it. Being paid for sitting and reading my book is a job of my dream
Been with driverHire nottingham for a bit now since I passed my Cat C and everything they’ve given me so far has been alright to be honest. Not done any foodservice so far but if they do offer me some I’m not really in any position to turn it down
Hi Chris, you must be very lucky then.
Well, if you wanna know those really bad jobs around Nottingham I can tell you something.
DriverHire has got mostly Brakes and JK Foods. You get a driver mate at JK but it doesn’t help cos you’ve got at least 8, 10 pallets to shift. Driving time up tp 2 hrs, 10 hrs physical work. Nobody wants to do that, ask their regular drivers if you have doubts after 12 hrs shift.
For me Brakes was the worst one. Never ever again. One delivery took me 2 hrs, I was as somebody said a kitchen porter. this makes me laugh but Im really sick of it. Horrible job. Next day got a phone call from agy and they told me that not all runs were like that one - NEVER AGAIN.
You can pay a visit to Manpower and they will be proud to give you a job in Ilkeston for Creed Foodservice. You basicaly don’t want to go there either.
And you know somebody came up with that idea that a driver puts stuff where a customer wants it. One company introduced this bloody custom and the rest of companies followed. Then they realised they had raised the bar way too high cos they cant get regular drivers to this jobs, and then agencies were happy to help. This is a vicious circle.
So my advice is: if you can stay away but if you havent got experience you have to do that sometimes.
And I must admit that sometimes I’d rather get a boring warehouse job and have more time for me and my wife. Less money, less physical work (if you compare it to the kitchen porter), and usually steady 8 hrs.
I don’t want to give up hope just now of finding better work.
Good luck and that should be read by people who think about becoming a hgv driver.
Regards,
Simon
I used to do a lot for DH at Nottingham but being a seasoned agency driver I think I made it fairly clear during the interview that I wouldn’t accept any nonsense from them.
I’ll hold my hands up & admit to doing 1 shift at JK Foods to help them out. I knew what to expect but not having done anything like it for a long time I thought “what the Hell”, every experience is a learning experience.
8 drops with a very pleasant Muslim mate, at least he was once we’d agreed that I’m not your regular Sun reading infidel & could quote more verses of his Koran than he could !
I actually quite enjoyed ■■■■■■■ my share (4 TONS) of the load into those stock rooms, it certainly saves on gym membership fee’s & it became a sort of competition between us as to who could move the most 25kg boxes off the pavement & up 3 flights of narrow, twisting stairs !
Glad I don’t have to do it every day though & I can fully appreciate why they’re constantly looking for the next mug.
I think I made it fairly clear during the interview that I wouldn’t accept any nonsense from them.
I actually quite enjoyed ■■■■■■■ my share it became a sort of competition between us as to who could move the most 25kg boxes off the pavement & up 3 flights of narrow, twisting stairs !
I can fully appreciate why they’re constantly looking for the next mug
green456:
I think I made it fairly clear during the interview that I wouldn’t accept any nonsense from them.
I actually quite enjoyed ■■■■■■■ my share it became a sort of competition between us as to who could move the most 25kg boxes off the pavement & up 3 flights of narrow, twisting stairs !
I can fully appreciate why they’re constantly looking for the next mug
Only 4 tonnes.I’d shifted more than that long before lunchtime on just one job doing scaffolding amongst other zb building work.I was probably spending more time during the day as a site labourer than I was driving anywhere and the ones on those sites actually employed to do that were earning a lot more than I was driving a zb class 3 wagon with a zb class 1 licence.If only I knew then what I know now.
Carryfast:
green456:
I think I made it fairly clear during the interview that I wouldn’t accept any nonsense from them.
I actually quite enjoyed ■■■■■■■ my share it became a sort of competition between us as to who could move the most 25kg boxes off the pavement & up 3 flights of narrow, twisting stairs !
I can fully appreciate why they’re constantly looking for the next mug
Only 4 tonnes.I’d shifted more than that long before lunchtime on just one job doing scaffolding amongst other zb building work.I was probably spending more time during the day as a site labourer than I was driving anywhere and the ones on those sites actually employed to do that were earning a lot more than I was driving a zb class 3 wagon with a zb class 1 licence.If only I knew then what I know now.
my heart bleeds for you carryfast btw did you ever work for them? now UPS
green456:
Carryfast:
green456:
I think I made it fairly clear during the interview that I wouldn’t accept any nonsense from them.
I actually quite enjoyed ■■■■■■■ my share it became a sort of competition between us as to who could move the most 25kg boxes off the pavement & up 3 flights of narrow, twisting stairs !
I can fully appreciate why they’re constantly looking for the next mug
Allegro are looking for drivers and they don’t require 2 years experience for class 1 be a good chance for you lads to get some real driving under your belts.
I hated agency work, could slag nearly all of em off the staff are just such nobs! Start containers Tuesday and can’t wait to get off general tramping its too much like hard work
As I have said before I havent had a problem with agency as yet walked into 1 I started next day on an on-going contract but due to the change in government that ended so did a few more jobs for them also took the opportunity to sign for a few more did a job for 1 of them at short notice they then gave me an on-going contract driving Cat C for DHL in Nissan
There are some good & some bad as has been said before it is upto you to make the most of them & play them to your advantage