Some advice for new Agency drivers

Put this at the end of my other thread, but thought it might need a thread of it’s own.
fell free to add more.

Maybe this is the problem. I hear it all the time.
“I told them I don’t do London”
“I got a class one, I ain’t driving a class 2/dinky toy/ van”
“I don’t do fridge work”
“I don’t do multidrop, I only do trunking”
“I don’t do nights out”
If you want to get the work, you got to be prepared to take whatever you are given. Only after you show willing, will you get enough respect from agency and companies etc to be able to start picking and choosing. I hate london, I’m getting too old to do multidrop/ carrying things upstairs, I have a very comfortable bed, with a gorgeous wife, but if there is nothing else, i will do whatever i am offered. Be more flexible, be willing to “go the extra mile”. I get companies asking for me by name, some treat me as “one of us” and that includes the drivers, i didn’t get there by refusing to do" this or that" or by trying to be a prima donna!.

A few tips.
Smile, don’t complain, If your not happy about something, explain to the transport manager in a polite and reasonable tone, what you are not happy about.
Don’t stand for foul or abusive language or threatening behaviour from other drivers, office staff or managers. don’t bite if someone is abusive towards you. If this happens, keep your cool, smile and ignore it. If it is persistant, then report it to the senior manager, you are paid to do a job, not to take abuse.It stands to reason that the same applys to you, don’t use foul or abusive language, nor use threatening behaviour.

Don’t be afraid to ask if your not sure about something.most TM’s would much prefer answering 100 “stupid” questions, than have reams of paperwork to complete after somebody “got it wrong”
Drive the crap motor, but only if it’s legal. Do the correct vehicle checks and any defects, report. If they try to force you to take an illegal vehicle on the road, keep your cool, just be polite but firm and point out that the MOT is invalidated due to the defect, and that you don’t want to jepodise thier O licence and your driving licence by risking a serious accident. If it’s dirty, and you have time, clean it, then point out on your debrief that, “by the way, I gave that motor a wash cos it was filthy” you will be remembered!
If you damage something, report it! take the rap, believe me they will respect you more for putting your hands up, than by denying it. most TM’s understand that accidents happen, and will be more willing to accept you back if the know you can be trusted.
Take extra care to complete the paperwork.As said before, if your not sure, ASK.
Don’t wear dirty old jeans with 6 months grease on them and a dirty T-shirt, with some inapproapriate slogan on it. try to be smart, first appearances count for a lot, and you represent the company to thier customers.
communicate with the office, if you get delayed, let them know! they will think more of you if you give them a chance to inform the customer you will be late.
don’t lose it, if they keep calling you with stupid questions, if you don;t know what time you will get to somewhere, tell them politely you don’t know, but you will do your best.
Make sure your agency know that you will NOT break the law for anyone.

If at the end of the day, you are not happy working for a particular company, speak to your agency and explain exactly why. Don’t just say,“I dont like multidrop” because you will be cutting out opportunities with other companies.etc. If the company are asking you to break the law, tell your agency, if they side with the law breakers, look for a new agency, no reputable agency should condon law breaking.

Good post Jon. A lot of these newbie agy drivers that write on here with all the problems they’re having would do well to read this and take it on board.

Amongst other things, I am known on here for my “won’t do this, won’t do that, won’t get out of bed for less than £1000/hr stances” etc, but I only got myself into that position from starting at the bottom, doing a bit of everything, finding out what I liked and didn’t like, and earning myself a good reputation for coming in to a place and getting the job done as asked without needing babysitting. That’s exactly what companies want; they don’t want hassle. Once you’ve earnt that respect, then you can start calling the shots and getting the cream work.

just 2 things to add.
check for damage before you move that vehicle. the agency driver is an easy scapegoat for company drivers who dont want to admit they had a slight bump so they will leave it and let someone else take the blame. if you spot damage, get it reported there and then to cover your own arse. its easier to sort it out at the start of the shift than at the end of it
for similiar reasons it might be a good idea to keep a diary record of your reg and where you went. especially if you are stuck with one of those stupid ‘hows my driving’ stickers

get a fulltime job soon as

all for £7.50 ph ■■■■■■ great

that’s a quid more than I’m getting, and the grapevine tells me the agency comes away with more than twice that!

My top tip for a new agency driver (assuming they’re new to driving too) get the trucker’s handbook and hide it away in your bag, I found it a godsend and it helped me through some tight situations - like “zb, how the hell do you work a tail-lift!?”

Try to go with the flow, i.e. you’ll get a fair bit of messing about, taking the pee and lies from agencies but just try not to let it bother you, just concentrate on the job in hand and you’ll have an easier life.

use a name:
last year i went to see jark at warrington dallam lane hahahahahahaha what a joke, i thought i misunderstood the word flexible,she asked me to leave my moby on as they might get a call of a client who needed drivers, and would need her drivers to have there mobys on even at 2 am

That’s the nature of the job, isn’t it?

I have my mobile on not only for agencies but also for police interpreting. I was waking up in the middle of the night to go on the road or to the police station countless number of times. I quite enjoy it…

good luck to you orys,rather you than me.

I get calls at all hours, often between about 02:00 and 05:00 I don’t mind as long as it’s sensible.

I once got called at 02:00 for an 06:00 start which I wasn’t too happy about. I’ve also turned up at a client’s for an 04:00 start having been dragged out of bed to find they needed a class 1 driver as opposed to me - class 2

Like orys said though, it’s all part of being an agency driver surely!?

Most transport planners work during the day. most call the agencies in the afternoon with tomorrows requirements, so, why do the agencies leave it until 2 am to call people? OK, there are times when companies phone in because someone has gone sick, or an extra load has been processed. Maybe I’m missing something here?
I signed on for an agency who did’nt give me any work for tomorrow, would wait until 1 or 2 am, then get someone from a call centre in birmingham or somewhere else,to call me an expect me to get up now and go to work. OK’, I did it a few times, but when I asked the transport planners why they left it so late the call the agency, they told me that the agency was told the previous afternoon!

truckerjon:
Most transport planners work during the day. most call the agencies in the afternoon with tomorrows requirements, so, why do the agencies leave it until 2 am to call people? OK, there are times when companies phone in because someone has gone sick, or an extra load has been processed. Maybe I’m missing something here?
I signed on for an agency who did’nt give me any work for tomorrow, would wait until 1 or 2 am, then get someone from a call centre in birmingham or somewhere else,to call me an expect me to get up now and go to work. OK’, I did it a few times, but when I asked the transport planners why they left it so late the call the agency, they told me that the agency was told the previous afternoon!

My call outs in the middle of the night were always emergency - either in the company, or in agency, when the original driver failed to turn up for some reason (sickness, car breakdown etc.)

sounds like a bad agency to me, all of the agencies I’m with (not that I’d say they’re all good) are small, one office jobbies - if they knew about the job in the afternoon, they’d tell me to save themselves calling me at some stupid hour

been with my agency 6 years now
never had a problem,. only once got 4am phone call as some one was pulling a sickie on a sunday morning
but they have me down as lates so for me an early call is now 9 am
can’t fault them as i bever worked less than 4 days this year and last year only had 4 weeks of less then 3 days

but agree with what truckerjon says

never mouth off about about the agency staff or company the agency send you in as it usually filters back
as one agency driver i know found out
and also make a point of popping in every now and again for a chat and coffee

I use to get the 4 am phone calls, no more. I turn it off, if i’m not working. It’s not my problem if they can’t organise themselves better. I’m signed up with five agencies, two of them are always a pound short and an hour late. One i just don’t like and i work mostly for the other two. I find it best to play one off against the other and take whatever job suits me and pays the best. I know where i can get paid 9 hours for working 6 and where i get top dollar for working weekends. My thinking is that loyalty is a totally misplaced concept in the agency driving game, if they need you, they need you. If they don’t, it’s ce la vie !.

From the other side of the desk… in a previous life.

it’s just as big a ■■■■-off being the duty consultant and having an irate client phoning you at silly o’clock demanding to know where the ■■■■■■ driver’s got to. You have two choices; find him or replace him. Nine times out of ten he’s either overslept or car wouldn’t start ( haven’t got the room to put up all the other excuses I’ve heard over the years ) so a quick ETA check, call back to customer and job sorted.

If he’s out of contact then , and only then, do you start working through your list of (hopefully) available drivers. If the consultant who’s registered the drivers has done his job properly, you’ll know who you can get away with contacting.

Bear in mind that if the consultant fails to find a replacement driver, he’s in the ■■■■ both with client and boss. If the client goes elsewhere you might not only lose that particular booking but all the other business too, though no fault of yours because the first bloke let you down. That might lose several drivers their regular work.

If anyone here’s ever done work for Trade-Team at Burton, they’ll know how often this can happen.

Good advice from Truckerjon BTW. And I also agree with Rob K, respect is earned in this business.

Further to Scanny 77’s comments about damage; a cheap digital camera is a must if you haven’t got one on your mobile. One picture speaks a thousand words.