Almost 2 days with agency

[Lasurazes]

1st day worked for allied bakeries
went to Chorley and morrisons wakefield
backed on both bays and twice in the yard ,
so was proud of myself considering it was my first day driving
C+E since passing my test 3 years ago.
A easy 8 hours.

2nd Day of to stakehill,
filled out all the induction forms,went to the truck and
its a automatic 57reg Daff.
While i waited for my paper work i practiced reversing etc…
and found i had a bit of a problem.
Got my run eventually it was from Manchester to Newcastle then to peterlee,then to Hartlepool.
Doing trailer swaps.

Problem
1)was struggling reversing since it was only my 2nd day in an artic never mind a automatic.

2)directions were not so convincing and no proper contact numbers
(drop your trailer at the end of the road,unhitch,get the new trailer , reverse unhitch,pick up the original trailer go back in put it on the bay,unhitch go back outside and pick up the your new trailer etc…
Where exactly is the trailer "look for a building with a “to let” sign and you,ll find it around the back

3)Who can i phone if i,m stuck
“we close early for the weekend but you shouldnt have a problem”
so no proper contact

4. its at least a 400 mile trip on a bank holiday friday .
   i dont think i,ll get it done with my remaining drive hours
   “thats okay weve given you 2 taco,s if you have to stay the night”

5)All the trailers are sealed,
so how can i check my load is secure?
“dont worry it,ll be fine”

Solution
Phoned agency and told them to send another driver ,
never agreed to do nights away so will stick to my guns

Agency reply
Youve let me down , i dont think we,ll use you again.

My reply
Dont treat me like a mug.
If i ask for trunking (to get some confidence first)
and to work days (have a 4 week old baby)
Dont try and trick me into general haulage tramping.
and you owe me a hours pay

[rog]

Always make it CRYSTAL CLEAR to an agency what you are prepared, or not, to do.
Putting any limitations on paper and handing them a copy may help.

videoman:
Could you please remove the semi naked dancing lady from your message as it must have taken me at least five minutes to scroll down to Rogs message!

On second thoughts could you please leave it as it is.

Does that help

[videoman]

Could you please remove the semi naked dancing lady from your message as it must have taken me at least five minutes to scroll down to Rogs message!

On second thoughts could you please leave it as it is.

[the_manc]

with which agency was it

[rog]

Guest, you got me curious, you have no profile or PM tab

[wildfire]

you said in note 4 of your list that they gave you 2 tacho’s before you left just in case you had to stay out. you should of said then that you couldn’t take the job,if there was a chance of getting stuck with a night out.

I can see your new to this and yes you should stick your grounds about not doing nights away with your new baby, so when given the job just say NO sorry, rather then getting to the place and then telling then to get another driver

.i am curious as well ROG i didn’t think you could post as a guest■■?

[tachograph]

Seems to me that you got there and found that you didn’t like the job so looked for excuses, you say you want days, that’s fare enough but this is transport and you have to be flexible, things go wrong sometimes.

You had a nice easy day 1, then found that day 2 would involve more work, tough.

I suggest you look for a permanent little job where you can be pampered, and forget about agency work.

Sorry to seem harsh but there are plenty of new drivers looking for a start on class 1 who don’t need to be pampered, I can’t be bothered with people who want everything handed to them on a plate

Good luck.

[wheel_nut]

tachograph:
Seems to me that you got there and found that you didn’t like the job so looked for excuses, you say you want days, that’s fare enough but this is transport and you have to be flexible, things go wrong sometimes.

You had a nice easy day 1, then found that day 2 would involve more work, tough.

I suggest you look for a permanent little job where you can be pampered, and forget about agency work.

Sorry to seem harsh but there are plenty of new drivers looking for a start on class 1 who don’t need to be pampered, I can’t be bothered with people who want everything handed to them on a plate

Good luck.

That might be a bit harsh old logbook

I understand what you mean about picking and choosing, but the idea of agency is that you tell them what you want, not the other way round.

“I dont do nights out” is a clear instruction to get you back or keep you local.

PeteBrenda has it right when they say here are 2 tachos. NO. NO. NO
unless the agency understood the NO to mean Night Out

[tachograph]

Yep, bring back the logbook

Manchester to Newcastle to Peterlee to Hartlepool then back to Manchester.

I make that a round trip of about 300 miles on trunking, It doesn’t look to me that the agency deliberately gave this driver a night out run.

The point is that in road transport things do occasionally go wrong, and if someone can’t deal with that then perhaps they’re looking at the wrong job, I agree that if you ask for day work then that’s what you should get, but it seems to me that if your circumstances really don’t allow for some degree of flexibility then local work is what should be asked for.

Sorry but no matter how many times I read the post, I still see nothing wrong with what the agency gave him, he asked for day work and it looks like that’s precisely what he got, but perhaps trunking wasn’t quite what he thought it would be

But perhaps I could have phrased my post better

By the way, it’s not unusual to be given two tachograph charts when doing agency work, it doesn’t necessarily mean your expected to be away two days.

[lee_g]

i agree with tacho.

nine times out of ten i am given 2 tacho’s just for a day, in case you get stopped or damage one. it doesn’t mean you are expecting a night out but if they say you’re on a night out you can refuse it but you need to do this before you get there so they can sort another driver out. the agency should have taken this into consideration when giving him the job. I’m sure like its been mentioned there would be a hell of a lot of drivers out there willing to take this job instead of moaning about it.

i sympathise with them as they have a small baby but should you go into haulage on the agency if you have a small baby and want to spend many hours a day with them, why not try and get with a local firm (i know its easier said than done).

i have a feeling that the agency are right in saying they wont use him again, he has messed them about and maybe cost them a client, I’m not sticking up for the agency they always mess drivers about, but if it is a big client then it is quite big money for the agency, and the drivers on that job already, so it works both ways. you help them and they will help you

expect the unexpected and you cant go far wrong!

good luck any way

[wheel_nut]

I also agree with Tacho on that point, tachos are thruppence halfpenny a box. every truck I have driven has had a boxful in it.

I also agree that there are too many whinging, useless drivers who dont or wont like a full days work. Who make ridiculous excuses to planners and agency staff. It is then left to the boys and girls who can do the job to get all the crap, put up with the crap and dig the boss out of the crap at regular intervals.

But as I stated agencies advertise the fact that the driver can choose, how much or how little he wants, The driver can also stipulate that they must be home every night, they can refuse to work Tuesdays because he is a Jehovas Witness and has to service 3 virgins before noon.

However I too think the Guest may be Mr Hobbs or someone like that just boosting the posts on a wet bank holiday

[thegeordie]

’ they can refuse to work Tuesdays because he is a Jehovas Witness and has to service 3 virgins before noon’
Where do I sign up
Simon

[tramp]

Wheel Nut:
tachos are thruppence halfpenny a box.

whats that mean?

[tachograph]

tramp:

Wheel Nut:
tachos are thruppence halfpenny a box.

whats that mean?

It means Wheel Nut is old enough to remember before we turned to decimal currency

[rog]

tachograph:

tramp:

Wheel Nut:
tachos are thruppence halfpenny a box.

whats that mean?

It means Wheel Nut is old enough to remember before we turned to decimal currency

I’ll bet a ten-bob note on it

Q1 - what is half-a-crown equivalent to in current currency
Q2 - what is a Florin equivalent to in current currency
Q3 - what is a Sixpence equivalent to in current currency

[tachograph]

ROG:

tachograph:

tramp:

Wheel Nut:
tachos are thruppence halfpenny a box.

whats that mean?

It means Wheel Nut is old enough to remember before we turned to decimal currency

I’ll bet a ten-bob note on it

Q1 - what is half-a-crown equivalent to in current currency
12.5p

Q2 - what is a Florin equivalent to in current currency
30p

Q3 - what is a Sixpence equivalent to in current currency
2.5p

[lee_g]

tachograph:

ROG:

tachograph:

tramp:

Wheel Nut:
tachos are thruppence halfpenny a box.

whats that mean?

It means Wheel Nut is old enough to remember before we turned to decimal currency

I’ll bet a ten-bob note on it

Q1 - what is half-a-crown equivalent to in current currency
12.5p

Q2 - what is a Florin equivalent to in current currency
30p

Q3 - what is a Sixpence equivalent to in current currency
2.5p

lets play spot the old guy!!!

i’ve found two!

[dieseldave]

There’s a couple of ‘younger’ old guys here, or they’re much older and their memory is playing up methinks.

tachograph might have forgotten that 30p is six bob in proper money

A florin was a two bob coin, which is 10p in decimalised funny money.

Double or quits on the ten bob ROG??

Nobody has mentioned farthings yet and I’m old enough to have needed three of them each way on the bus to my primary school .

[dieseldave]

Giblsa:
lets play spot the old guy!!!

i’ve found two!

Add another to that Giblsa, but those others are just young pretenders really.

[rog]

dieseldave:
There’s a couple of ‘younger’ old guys here, or they’re much older and their memory is playing up methinks.

tachograph might have forgotten that 30p is six bob in proper money

A florin was a two bob coin, which is 10p in decimalised funny money.

Double or quits on the ten bob ROG??

Nobody has mentioned farthings yet and I’m old enough to have needed three of them each way on the bus to my primary school .

I’ll bet you 20 bob on that dave

Now then, what was it…
see if I get this right…
2 farthings = 1 halfpenny
2 halfpennies = one penny
3 pennies = 1 thruppence
2 thruppences = 1 sixpence
2 sixpences = 1 shilling
2 shillings = 1 florin
2 shillings and sixpence = half a crown
5 shillings = a crown
2 crowns = a ten bob note
2 ten bob notes = a one pound note

6 pennies = a sixpence
12 pennies = a shilling
20 shillings = one pound
240 pennies = one pound

1 penny was shown as 1d

any I forgot