Hey truckers!
So I’m into my first week of a new job (second company with different agency than my first shot). I only started on Wednesday so have completed 3 shifts at this place with only one prior shift in a Class 2 last weekend with a different company which was an awful experience where I was completely chucked in the deep end without a paddle on a 14 hour night shift alone in a much bigger truck than I was used to handling in training.
I was told this company were “exclusive” to helping out new passes gain experience by the agency- does that sound like something a company sympathetic to new drivers would do? It was like they literally expected me to just know what to do, which as you can imagine, left me feeling rather once bitten twice shy with the whole big expectations crap…
My new agency, whom were very understanding when I explained that I did not want a repeat of my first experience in an HGV and I was certainly not cut out for night shifts at this stage (didn’t even want to do a night shift but felt pressured by the previous agency) have sent me to this other place where the other drivers are very approachable, very helpful and patient with me and has given me a great confidence boost. The job is pretty straight forward and the exact kind of work I’m after. However, the manager that agreed to take me on isn’t the usual manager (which was evident as he was clearly not used to this role from what I experienced). He is a lovely guy though and has taken me to one side and given me a “heads up” you could say about the return of the usual manager…
It turns out, from what I can perceive, that this manager agreed to have me as he believes in giving new drivers a chance, whereas the usual boss may not share the same opinion as he wants drivers to just be able to get on with the job etc. Anyway, he told me to ensure not to take too long in the yard before starting a job (I guess because the usual boss would not approve even though he doesn’t mind, himself).
Now, as a rookie, I do take a little longer to do my checks and plan my routes- especially as I’ve not even completed a full working week yet! But, my hold up on Friday was not any fault of mine as the FLT driver from the previous day had not loaded the pallets correctly and I needed assistance from another FLT driver to un-trap the curtain and move the pallets off of the rings so that I could strap down my load. Not only that, there was an incorrect pallet on my load which the manger detected last minute and needed to put on another truck…
I do feel confident in my own opinion, being: I’m not leaving until I am confident that the load is safe and secure and that I’ve done all my checks and know where I’m going. Does that seem reasonable for a new driver? I certainly don’t want to be rushed but I really like this job and hope that this isn’t going to cause friction when the boss returns. I am aware that I can just go elsewhere and my new agency have been really supportive so far, but the temp manager also told me there is possibility for permanent role with them and I’d like to stick with them as long as possible.
BUT what do you guys think? I’ve spoken to a relative who is a very experienced trucker and he also thinks it’d be unreasonable for them to expect me to just be that quick in my first week which makes me feel better but I’d like to know if anyone has been in similar situation or how would you approach this?
I came into this industry after being constantly reassured that it was perfectly OK to take my time and that is one thing I hold onto as I hate feeling conscious about rushing and I know that if they can respect that, my speed and competence will naturally increase as I familiarise myself with the role in due time.
Thanks in advance, guys!
rushing will slow you down.
translation is they’ll take someone without much experience and or no one else to cover this shift.
