Well 6weeks in on my first class 2 job and 3rd week by myself on, pallet network stuff and I really don’t think this type of work is for me, yeah I will get quicker at things but I really don’t enjoy the daft places get sent, I haven’t got stuck but it’s not fun reversing down a road, track or driveway as wide as the lorry with large ditches and shear drops when sent to the daft places, stress is one thing but I go a bit wonky it’s going to end very badly, and doing this in the daylight is hard, going into doing a lot of this in the dark seriously worries me.
Have been told by people before palletnetwork stuff is a love it or hate it type thing and the first few months is much harder but really not feeling it, is it better to say now or just struggle on, finding another job etc isn’t the problem, maybe I should have waited till the other side of winter when I’d have learnt the job in better conditions so wouldnt be so overwhelmed by it, what would you think say it now or just stick at it and hopefully luck stays on my side?
It is a completely imperfect system. There will be situations where the truck is too big and you will have to fail deliveries, all par for the the course and part of the job. Often the people taking the deliveries will be able to tell you what size truck gets in and where you can get a turn.
Be aware that a bump could happen and it isn’t the end of the world if it does. Just be honest about it and put it down to experience. In this game there are incidents all the time and few drivers have completly escaped from hitting something at some stage, even if it just catching a bollard or the side step on something. You are more likely to get ribbed about it than bollocked.
You could also get stuck, in which case, phone it in and make sure you have a flask with you for the wait.
Remember, at the end of the day you are being asked to go to ridiculous places and none of it is your fault. It is the people ordering and the company you are working for that should make sure of access in advance.
This is my biggest concern. A couple of small reversing lights won’t cut it for long dark access roads. It’s bad enough on a wide-ish country road in a car. I can’t imagine doing it with a rigid.
I saw a truck last winter go into reverse…and about 8 floodlights came on illuminating all around the truck including side lights on the trailer pointing backwards. Now that is more like it.
Those tricky drops are gradually giving you the experience toward being a better / more confident driver. If your firm are aware that you are a new driver they should be planning you accordingly until you get more familiar rather than have you fail drops over lack of time.
I would steer toward sticking at it for 6 or 12 months before looking to a move, you will be a even better employee for your next firm by then.
