I was offered a job with a owner driver on Lidil when he told me what the job entailed I said no thanks the idea opening up stores in the middle of Manchester at 2am on my own No chance ,imagine around Christmas and the local footpads know your coming ,what happens if you have a fall or when loading yourself hit a warehouse man ?to me you leave yourself wide open and next you will be asked to do something else my motto ,you warehouse person me driver I don’t care if I sat there all day I never would take that kind of job anyway ok I have retired now maybe jobs are now harder to find but this practise is only the thin end of the wedge and for only 8ph don’t think so
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LIBERTY_GUY:
‘…With this self unloading, I hope you guys have some sort of written authorisation to use other folks lift trucks…’
And an appropriate licence 
Sumsmeister:
DonutUK:
Don’t have a huge problem tipping myself if it means straight of the back into lanes…not going on a tour of the warehouse nor am splitting pallets down.Probably why I prefer containers or tippers…!
Can you imagine a tipper driver being asked to make three piles, one half, a sixth and a third? “Would you like me to weigh that for you?” “Oh that would be…” CLANG!!! As the shovel connects with his head…
Not as uncommon as you would think on aggregate delivery to small sites.
Classic case. Load of spuds. They hadn’t been stacked properly and one lot on a euro fell over onto the warehouse floor. No one would help. Supervisor standing about said I need to re stack it. Warehouse people zooming around. I re stacked it as first week on the job. I don’t actually feel aggrieved at the haulier. Work is tight to find and they naturally will take what they can. It’s the big delivery points that twist my melon. To be fair, Aldi, espec Chelmsford has some of the friendlier more human staff I’ve encountered at RDCs
…compared to a certain posh person supermarket who on my first visit the manager demanded I took off the load bar like I was a ■■■■■■■■■■■■■ on his shoe. His way of telling me I was tipped was telling me to ‘F’ off. Another case of someone with such little brain cells that explaining to them that it’s your first time there doesn’t compute as he was born as a warehouse man. Explaining this and pointing out why I was trying to be considerate and check if I was tipped before driving off, he just told me to ‘F’ off again even more directly. The next week they had the brass balls to ask me to break down pallets. I hated that place and vowed never to darken their pig ignorant doorstep again. After that I had had it up to here with going into warehouses and dealing with those people. They can jog on and do it themselves.
I flew over that place the other day and had a childish yearning to spit on the place if I could 
waynedl:
I think the problem for most people, certainly for me, was that you whizz the pallets off into the allocated space with the labels facing the correct way as instructed, only to have to wait for around an hour for someone to scan them and sign your paperwork.I’d rather sit in the canteen / my truck for that hour than be a warehouse person for another firm.
The wait is probably the same as if we didn’t touch the load, so I don’t agree mate. You are the reason crap like this exists.
I recall doing self-tip at Aldi with a full load, when they were buying bread out of Coolcore Milton Keynes as early as 1996. Never had any problems. Now nip in there on the odd occassion (via Dairy Crest) with just three or four pallets (Swindon, Hinckley or Doncaster) and it’s brutally swift. A good work out, as opposed to sitting in a waiting area listening to the usual banality…
‘Pets at Home’ is worthy of comment though - those Moffet’s are worthy of a pound an hour extra (as an Agency Driver), whereas those ‘electric, walk with pallet trucks’ at Aldi are akin to unskilled labour. I prefer to pull the pallets in on ‘Pets’; whereas I have no issue delivering to Aldi…
And there we have it, all of our major supermarkets are losing trade to the german ones, now i know that Asda is American, Sainsburys is our own, and tesco, well who knows and who cares, but, the Germans are the leaders in the market at the moment, thats because their costs are a lot lower, all the above use labour to tip the trucks, that increases costs, whereby the Germans ( got to add this, 4th time winners of the world cup lol ) use drivers to tip their load, that decreases the costs, good for the consumer, not good for the driver, well some are drivers others are drivers/loaders/ unloaders, and some multidrop which comes with that job anyway. I have always thought ( in general ) it was a drivers job to load at point A and tip at point B, and i think that reflects the wages being paid. Most places on the continent hire people to do just that, showing the driver where the canteen is whilst his vehicle is being tipped, now as the government is looking at ways to reduce the benefits bill soaring even further, may i make a suggestion, all the long term shysters be made to report to a Lidl or Aldi near them where they will be trained to load/unload the vehicles, part of their wage will offset the benefits we pay them thereby saving you and I huge amounts that can be spent on the NHS for example.
If a driver wants to self tip, thats up to him/her, but it should not be compulsory as it is now, and as an added bonus, you get back to the depot on Friday to be told your vehicle is due for a service, therefore you are required to come in on Saturday, wash the vehicle and trailer, and then service the truck and grease the trailer, most drivers can be taught. Most drivers would i imagine tell the boss where to put his job, and i am one of them, but years ago i used to do it away from the yard.
Maybe they should work on the inco terms premise.
You are delivering either CPT (CFR) or DAP (DDU). CPT (CFR) is basically Free on truck arrival, i.e its the consignees responsibility to get it off the truck and their risk if they drop it on the floor etc. DAP (DDU) is the shippers/transporters responsibility to get it off the truck on to the floor including the risk, what terms are these RDC’s taking the goods from you, CPT or DDU, in shipping terms the responsibility and risk are poles apart.
So has anyone worked out how many people they don’t employ by making the driver tip his own truck. We have to do it all the time in Belgium and take the packaging off as well, Aldi have around 150 deliveries a day per depot and i would think it takes about 30 min to unload 30 pallets so that would work out at 75 hours a day so we save Aldi at least 8 men’s wages a day per depot Sod the poor driver thats just driven 8 hours to get to them. Ask them who insures you when your working the pallet truck in there warehouse. In Belgium they wont comment on that. They don’t think its funny when I give them the keys to my Truck and ask them to make the next delivery because I’am out of time
That’s the whole point though isn’t it!■■ The Aldi ‘ethos’, makes an utter mockery of the DHL/Wincanton et al Health & Safety bonanza. This is why Tesco’s (and the like) profits are suffering - because they choose to employ long ‘out of date’ Transport sub-contractors who are more interested in the ‘control’ of the system; rather than employing methods that genuinely save money.
Of course though - Tesco’s and the like are under Govermental guidance (and subsidies) to create jobs; and even though Aldi’s will challenge them; they will never really beat them.
Dipper_Dave:
DubaiTrans:
No Dave, we haul our own product back from Poland, on the few times we can’t for whatever reason we load out of Germany, I would never expect our drivers to tip our trucks ! The problem in the UK is that us Britts have no back bone and are scared of losing a contract etc, sorry but I am a firm believer a driver is a driver and not a warehouse person !!
I understand 100% why some drivers want to tip a truck as the size of them indicates that are grossly over weight and need the exercise.Try as I may I can’t disagree with this and from a personal perspective although i’m definately overweight my role in the logistical process ends when the goods are off the wagon. I still remember the days when my left leg was toned a lot more than my right one. But with automatics I do get worried that even with healthy eating the opportunity for some exercise is limited in certain jobs.
I’m not overweight but do understand your point. Twiddling about on pedestrian fork trucks/ breaking down pallets is not exercise. It’s not regular enough, constant on muscle groups to do anything and all it does is bugger you up if you are over weight. My old man was nowt but muscle in his 30s from doing locals at the sugar factory, hand balling and roping and sheeting. But he did it every day for an entire season for years. If its exercise you want, hit the paths running of a weekend for 15-20 mins building pace to 30-40 mins after a few weeks. You’ll find at first you want to be sick but push through. Start at a gym and do a spin class. Once you try that you’ll see then that Aldi isn’t much exercise. I’m not criticising, blimey, any acitivity you can get is good. But do it for the right reasons on your time and don’t work for Aldi under the misapprehension that its exercise.
deanog734:
This is the reason why the European discounters can undercut the likes of Tesco, Morrisons ect. Half the warehouse staff, and it’s the same in the stores with massive queues at the checkouts.
It’s only a matter of time before the UK supermarket RDC,s follow this example as they try to compete, and we find ourselves self tipping for all the supermarkets.
precisely what the steering wheel attendants can’t SEE!
DubaiTrans:
From a haulage company owners point of view we would NEVER expect our drivers to tip a truck !!
On the 8/9 occasions we have supplied a rdc like Aldi from a supplier abroad our driver politely explains he is (yes) “The Driver” and not a warehouse operative and will not unload, they say goodbye, we call the supplier and within a few minutes he is on the bay getting tipped.
at last, someone with sense!
rokeen:
So has anyone worked out how many people they don’t employ by making the driver tip his own truck. We have to do it all the time in Belgium and take the packaging off as well, Aldi have around 150 deliveries a day per depot and i would think it takes about 30 min to unload 30 pallets so that would work out at 75 hours a day so we save Aldi at least 8 men’s wages a day per depot Sod the poor driver thats just driven 8 hours to get to them. Ask them who insures you when your working the pallet truck in there warehouse. In Belgium they wont comment on that. They don’t think its funny when I give them the keys to my Truck and ask them to make the next delivery because I’am out of time
in England they won’t comment on it either rokeen! Best of all, break a leg and then ask them to drive you home to manchester from Swindon! 
ooooppppppsssss can’t do that NO LICENCE!
Think about the Aldi drivers who have to shrink wrap their own 33 pallets before loading them on their trailer for delivery.Then having to unload them themselves at the shops before reloading empties to return to depot where they then unload said empties.
But they do earn an incredibly good hourly rate.Well worth the sweat.
I have no problem with wheeling pallets off.
If I am needed to move them more than 15 foot into a warehouse I ask for a full induction. (They soon come running to move them).
I am not permitted to use their kit as works insurance won’t cover me to do so.
I rarely go to rdcs. Most of my work is on new build sites.
If it can’t come off easy its hand ball time!
Or tele handled off.
Also special yogurts, OMG!
bertiebus:
‘… move them more than 15 foot into a warehouse I ask for a full induction …’
Cheers, BB. I love & understand Imperial weights & measures and hope any Euro-plod narks don’t do you for infringement type nonsense
I don’t mind unloading the pallets myself if it’s a quick turn-a-round.
Had a recent Aldi load back over to Ireland, arrived down in Cork early evening for a 0530 booking. Unloaded the chilled pallets and was in and out in no time. Then it was over to the other warehouse to tip the couple of frozen pallets left where I was told to come back at 1130 as it wasn’t booked in until then…
Felt a bit sorry for an old fella a few doors up when I was unloading the chilled, he had a 7.5tonner and was struggling to get his pallets off due to the height of the truck and dock leveller so gave him a hand too.
This just goes to show what a crap place Aldi is to tip arrived at Rooermond in holland for a 8.30 booking look for office to take CMR to and there is a sign over the mens toilet
go inside and there is a air tube to put you paperwork in You then wait outside the gate for a call over the tanhoy system and if you can understand it your lucky. Find dock and report given keys to pallet truck and told where to put the pallets and you must take all the packaging off, no you cant put it in the bin either you now have to take it with you.
Well do you think i took it with me no I bloody didnt i put it in the mens toilet where you take your paperwork