I’ve just done my 6th night shift & just starting to get into it a bit now - how long did it take you to settle in, start reversing properly(!), get to grips with the different delivery/pick up sites etc?
So much to remember & learn, the driving’s the easy bit innit?!! Lol!
I’m currently taking more than my fair share of shunts to reverse still, luckily I have a very supportive & helpful other half who’s been driving 20 odd years so can give me plenty of tips; he says I’m doing really well but I feel like it’ll take forever to get into the whole job… my employers have been brilliant & I’m very appreciative of all the helpful advice from him, from people here, & other drivers though 
Sounds to me that you’re doing fine.
Out of interest, it took me 2 years of class 1 driving before I could reliably put a trailer where it was meant to go. 40 years on and it still goes wrong from time to time.
Without a doubt this was partly due to a lack of natural inclination coupled with very poor tuition.
And this is why I have endless patience with folks who struggle to reverse! Been there, done it!
As for delivery points etc, that will always be with you unless you get a job with regular drops.
Keep on plodding and you’ll be fine. Above all, enjoy it!
Pete 
Thats also my first week as a day Class 1 driver for Pollocks running out of Blyth (Northumberland) completed. Back & forward to Yorkshire, which may well become boring further down the line but at the minute suits down to the ground as Im learning / earning that most expensive of commodity which money just cant buy…EXPERIENCE, invaluable!
It will take you as many shunt as it need to depends on where I am & what the yard is like depends on how many shunts it takes me still after nearly 2 years
Remember right to bend left to mend
Take you time if you need to get out & look or if in doubt stop go have a look before you go into a place dont get stressed
If it wont go or is starting to go wrong then pull out & start again
As Animal said it takes what it takes no medals for rushing and hitting something trying to be clever.
As for getting used to reversing you will swing the trailer without thinking what your hands are doing just watching the trailer in time keep at it.when you get back to the yard try and park the trailer between 2others instead of an empty row.
Reason being its good practice the more you do the easier doing it at a customers will be if you have time drive back out then change the angle to make it more awkward its all learning.
We have regular shops did 1 today usually yard is empty but car was in there had to jack it round the car round the skips then round the pillar onto the bay a right PITA but it comes with experience.
Jeff.
After ten years I am still learning and making a balls of things.
Never under estimate .
I’m still not great at reversing. But it’s slowly getting better, and I don’t worry about it any more.
I found main thing is to stay calm and take it slowly. I don’t worry about multiple shunts, or getting out and looking… Better to be look silly taking a few goes than to look even sillier hitting something!
Finally I am reaching conclusion that an awful lot of it comes down to starting in the right place…can make the world of difference!
th2013:
Finally I am reaching conclusion that an awful lot of it comes down to starting in the right place…can make the world of difference!
^^^^ This
Agree, I think its time very well spent assessing the area & your starting position. It s probably my biggest learn this first week for me!
I’m at about the same level as you, having done 8 Class 1 shifts now (with no prior HGV driving experience at all). Already I’ve taken a mirror off another poor guy’s truck in a depot, and I jacknifed so hard yesterday I cracked the paint a bit on the side panel of the truck. 
I’m finding manoeuvring very tricky and stressful, but yesterday I saw my first signs that the simpler yards are starting to come together a bit. If I have enough room to get forward and make it a fairly shallow right hand bend then I am beginning to get the hang of holding the bend, tweaking it with a bit of steering and gradually lining up mostly into the bay. Sometimes I can snake it forward to realign and a few shunts later I’m in the bay. Other times I try to do some fine tuning of position but shunt myself into a mess.
Tight yards which require a more acute angle are still beyond my capabilities without help, so I’m grateful that the company I’m driving for are still sending me out with experienced drivers who are helping me out. How I managed to land such a good job with such a supportive company is a mystery, but I’m oh so grateful to them. I hope I can get it all together soon and begin to repay their kindness.
If I can share a tip, it is to use ALL the room you have available - space is free. Make it as easy as possible, and get your starting position as good as you can.
I’m about to start my 2nd week and I’m getting there with the reverse. I found the problem when I started was not using the space going forward to line up as I said in another post my 1st dock g with a bay was a disaster. They ended up opening the shutters on a bay 3 down from where they wanted me lol my fear isn’t the bays anymore but going into services or truck stops and having to reverse into a spot in front of anyone. I had a break in Ferrybridge the other day and after 3 circuits I went in forward lol
Apart from the training to get the licence I have not had any guidance I was given en the keys and told crack on. Probably not the best way but it works for me.
Ady Williams:
my fear isn’t the bays anymore but going into services or truck stops and having to reverse into a spot in front of anyone.
Strangely enough, in Holland and Germany I found every services I stopped was sensibly designed for trucks with drive through bays. In fact driving in general was SO much simpler over there. It seems to just be the UK that hasn’t got a clue how to design a truck park.
Ady Williams:
… and having to reverse into a spot in front of anyone.
If it’s any comfort, if I see anyone reversing and having trouble my only thoughts are of sympathy and understanding. I get the impression this is the case with many drivers - experienced ones too. They all started in the same place.
It also makes me feel a little better about myself too, that there are others struggling as much as I do. So next time you’re having difficulty trying to get onto a bay, or in a truck stop, just remember that you’re probably making someone feel better about themself… 
Although I’ve been driving commercially now since Easter (with no prev HGV exp) I’m still only up to about day 15 because I only do a few days here and there.
As mentioned already starting position is a big thing but you will find it come naturally over time. Watching and learning from others is a big part but don’t beat yourself up - if it takes a handful or even a bucketload of shunts (I have one bay that usually takes me 10-18 manoeuvres - yes, really!) better to take the time then to cause damage or get it wrong. As said use the space if its there - I am constantly surprised how much another 10 feet can do
My confidence is much higher but I’m always asking questions and watching others, if you’re worried about holding others up on a bay you could always offer to let them in front (if your time allows) or let them help you if they’re happy to. The majority of drivers are happy to help if they think you need or want it.
I’m over the watching nerves, I don’t really care who sees what, so long as I hit nothing and get there in the end I’m getting the job done and trying to improve everywhere I can. If I do feel someone watching me specifically I’ll just put my hands up like ‘what can you do?’ and they’ll usually laugh and do the same.
I’ve seen some really impressive reversing skills and would like to think I’ll get there but when I’ve asked on the whole they’ve all had years and years under their belts.
I’m comfortable on all our ‘regular’ sites but always do get a slight flutter of nerves when given a new site - I always try to ask the other lads what they know and this info is usually invaluable. (Especially like the last one - its a right turn and not the left the satnav says!) Once I’ve been somewhere though I save it as a fave into my satnav - so I know if its there I’ve done it before. I also change the coordinates to reflect the actual loading bay and not just the post code.
animal:
th2013:
Finally I am reaching conclusion that an awful lot of it comes down to starting in the right place…can make the world of difference!^^^^ This
This^^^^ take your time to stop and look get out if needs be, dont cut it too close to what your reversing round leave some playing up room to get the trailer between the lines and straight.
Thanks everyone, you’re stars! Yep, definitely agree about the use of space & position (though I haven’t really got that yet) t’other half always watches me where he can and makes me take up even an extra foot infront if it’s there - not that I don’t trust him, I do, he’s bloody good at his job, I just wanted a bit of moral support off newbies in the same position as me, and you lot who’ve been driving since god’s dog was a pup - thank you!
I wasn’t overly impressed at the driver who practically opened the popcorn to watch me reverse into a space in Keele Services last week, lol, erm - the park-up I picked on purpose knowing it wouldn’t be easy. No pressure then!
The majority of people have been very helpful, though one or two FLT drivers haven’t bothered to hide their lack of patience because I’m a little slower at doing the reverse/curtains/straps etc etc… hey ho, nowt I can do about that except keep being polite & smiling at them
I’m pretty much in the same situation at the moment and its nice to know that it’s not just me! Various people - retired relatives that were hgv drivers, shunters in distribution centres, other drivers etc. have all told me the same thing, that it comes with time and once it fully clicks into place you wonder how you ever found it difficult! I’m at the stage where I can get the trailer in the right direction and roughly the right place - parking spaces at services seem ok - I struggle with accuracy with those stupid banana things on loading bays. I dread ever getting a bay with little room in front and trailers on both sides where you see drivers pretty much positioning at 45 degrees and jack knifing the trailer in there!
KarlM:
I’m pretty much in the same situation at the moment and its nice to know that it’s not just me! Various people - retired relatives that were hgv drivers, shunters in distribution centres, other drivers etc. have all told me the same thing, that it comes with time and once it fully clicks into place you wonder how you ever found it difficult! I’m at the stage where I can get the trailer in the right direction and roughly the right place - parking spaces at services seem ok - I struggle with accuracy with those stupid banana things on loading bays. I dread ever getting a bay with little room in front and trailers on both sides where you see drivers pretty much positioning at 45 degrees and jack knifing the trailer in there!
Karl it will come in time just keep at it the banana things are a pain in the ■■■ tbh, as for jack knifing it in its the same principle as your doing now but more of an angle and have to correct the unit quicker.
We do one of our shops in Winchester in Tanner street in a 45ft opposite the health centre and m&s, if we cant get into M&S yard have to drive past and get it through the gate off the road its tight but it will go with a bit of the hokey cokey lol.
I think I had a bit of a revelation about different steering speeds last week…
Sometimes the trick is to keep the steering wheel movements slow and slight, and watch the effect on the bend and position before making more movements.
Other times the trick is to make the steering wheel movements as quick as you can in as short a distance as possible. This is useful when ‘snaking’ the truck out to realign on the shunt.
And another thing…
If you’re partially in the bay but at an angle, have a look in front of you and imagine where the straight line of the bay comes out. Manoeuvre the front end onto that imaginary line as you pull forward for the shunt and if you have enough room to pull forward sufficiently you should get a good alignment to shuffle your way back in a straight(ish) wobbly line.
These are largely theoretical ideas at the moment, so I’m looking forward to my next opportunity to test them out.
I have just loaded out of the place where I made a ■■■■ of myself on my first day. Again a lone trailer parked slap bang in the middle of the bays blindside reverse it took 2 shunts 
I think it’s down to having confidence in where the trailer is pointing and how it’s reacting whereas on the 1st day I didn’t have a clue. So in 2 weeks I’m doing ok.