I stated on a previous thread that I relocated to the Netherlands, where it is normal practice to assist the warehouse staff in the unloading and loading of your truck.
From my personal point of view, I don’t mind as I see it as a bit of a workout wheeling cages or using the pump truck to move the pallets while swapping some banter with the staff if their knowledge of English allows. Plus, as a newbie, I get to supervise how the truck is loaded so that I’m a bit more reassured that the load won’t possibly shift in transit. And finally, the truck can be unloaded and loaded within 30 mins so I don’t have to hang about for ages.
So, I just wondered if you guys doing rdc or warehouse work would prefer to get involved with your load if the uk site regulations allowed you into the warehouse, or if you actually prefer to sit in the driver waiting rooms as now, or in your cab if the site rules allow it.
I took a job delivering building products to sites which includes the use if a moffet forklift as I was absolutely sick to death of waiting around for hours on end getting unloaded in asda or who ever owned the RDC. Now I can unload my entire truck in half an hour and it’s quite enjoyable at the moment. I’m not just a steering wheel attendant anymore.
Don’t mind doing Aldi/Lidl self tips but sometimes it’s nice just to have an hour reading or messing about on the net, whilst someone else does the graft.
Would always rather be in the cab rather than a waiting room though.
Depends if doing so is the difference between being in & out or sitting around for hours on end, especially is said sitting about is in a waiting room.
Back in the day… yeah I know, we all used to be involved with loading/unloading. No ones job was at risk because of it and we were fitter and not bored witless with sitting around waiting. As has been said, when you’re involved in the loading, you can make sure it goes on right.
peterm:
As has been said, when you’re involved in the loading, you can make sure it goes on right.
30 years ago the loaders knew what they were doing.
The supermarket RDC loaders knew how to load and importantly how to secure the load,
The forkies knew how to load timber etc.
The crane oppo knew how to lift slew and lower ( most still do)
And drivers of flatbed work knew that if it ain’t restrained it’ll move
Ironically you might be surprised to know,that reduction in direct trunking links,in favour of shorter distance hub systems,in which drivers are required to then use the time no longer needed for driving,to work as a warehouse operative transhipping loads between vehicles at the hub,is nothing unusual here.While it’s also common for airfreight work to involve loads of warehouse work stuffing air freight pods and heaving the things around the warehouse and loading/unloading them onto and off of trucks or the trolleys for the airside tugs.Often to the point where the time spent doing that exceeds the time driving anywhere How any driver can possibly prefer that to driving is anyone’s guess.
AndrewG:
Do some actually insist youre in a waiting room rather than your own truck??
Tesco, Iceland and some others do. Personally I prefer Lidl & Aldi… self tipping get’s you off your backside… Although the staff at Lidl & Aldi do tend to be pig ignorant pillocks.
nick2008:
Think of it another way would you want the warehouse bod to drive for a few hours and you not getting paid for them hours .?.
Another reason jobs are going in this country, drivers doing the job of a warehouseman it should never happen.
You’ll be expecting the pilot of a A380 to start walking down the isle dishing out meals as soon as the planes taken off
Having spoken to other drivers, it’s not compulsory to get involved in unloading or loading the truck. You can in fact just drink coffee or sit in the cab if you want. However, if you give them a hand, it all gets done quicker, plus they remember you if in the future you happen to be running late and need to get in and out quickly. They’re more likely to give you an extra hand if you’ve helped them in the past.
Don’t mind doing it myself at Lidl/Aldi, I’m in control of it, no Rdc staff to take a break half way through the load then another break when done .
Then an hour to check it off .
A bit of exercise as a bonus.
Beware blind spot reversing at WSM Lidl, rumour is a new a bigger Rdc for Weston .
The truck parking bays and parking area was designed by Stevie Wonder and Mr Magoo .
Swindon before Christmas a long wait in the queues to get in .
I used to tip at waitrose and morrisons sittingbourne and did the split down.
I always got help but I saw it as this…Get in and help then I can crack on.
On the other hand now I do delivery,sit and wait then load trays and self tip which I like.
nick2008:
Think of it another way would you want the warehouse bod to drive for a few hours and you not getting paid for them hours .?.
Another reason jobs are going in this country, drivers doing the job of a warehouseman it should never happen.
You’ll be expecting the pilot of a A380 to start walking down the isle dishing out meals as soon as the planes taken off
What do you mean, don’t get paid??
You have excepted a job where you don’t get paid for your waiting time■■?
I been most of my life a continental driver, and it’s normal on the continent that the driver gives a hand to off-load.
But it works 2ways, in the time of tilts, if you had coils, the crane would help to lift the tarpaulin on and off.
If you where late, many of places would let you tip.
I did a lot of trips to a cooking pot factory in Liechtenstein and they would hand you a 20 Sfr note if you put the slings on the coils, etc. Etc.
Later moved to powder and liquid tanks where you off-load always your own ( and many times clean it yourself)
But must say never had a company who didn’t pay, or paid less for waiting.
Self tip/load, not a problem. Be it with a hand or electric pallet truck, or just being there to “supervise” and or check/count the load, no problem. We dont need an "us n them" attitude. All muck in for an easier life. Now, I know that there are some horrible jobs (some supermarket RDCs) where the driver is assumed to be a thieving, accident prone fool, who should be isolated in a dirty little box, until he can be evicted from the premises; it seems to me these are where the driver isnt assisting in tipping.
Is that true? Or just my assumption on limited personal experience?
AndrewG:
Do some actually insist youre in a waiting room rather than your own truck??
Tesco, Iceland and some others do. Personally I prefer Lidl & Aldi… self tipping get’s you off your backside… Although the staff at Lidl & Aldi do tend to be pig ignorant pillocks.
It unfortunately is becoming the norm, rather than the exception to have to wait in an area or waiting room where you have no control of your vehicle or the environment your in.
The way I see it, I used to do pallet network stuff and my trailer had a tail lift. If I got to a drop which was a tail lift job, I wouldn’t expect the customer to get into the trailer and unload their goods themselves. It was my responsibility. I’m now on fridges and do RDCs regularly, including lidl and Aldi. I don’t mind unloading the trailer myself as I still see it as my responsibility to get the goods unloaded. I don’t agree with splitting pallets down though. I’ve done my bit by unloading as far as I’m concerned.
Staff at Aldi Bathgate at least talk to you like a human, which is more than I can say about Lidl.[emoji35]
I have done Lidl and Aldi with previous employers, and to be honest even though it gives you a bit of exercise and it gets you out of there quicker, you are basically becoming part of the low wage and lack of jobs problem.
In the real world you don’t really have a choice as they are ’ the rules '. But ideally we should as a collective start refusing, as jobs are being eroded in industry as a rule and as we readily discuss on here, wages are low.
