First of all hi everyone i’m Ash
I’m currently doing muti-drop van work for a certain green 4 lettered supermarket, but i’m always looking for the next step.
Applied at a firm that will put me through my 2 and 1 etc as long as i work for them for 3 years and pay for the initial medical and my theory, and now they’d like to arrange an interview
but after talking to a few drivers i know and the ones that visit our store they seem to think its a waste of time and that i should stay on the vans due to the lack of legislation with regards to driver hours etc
Is it really that bad or is it just down to their own person experiences?
im expecting pros and cons, like everything in life but just don’t see myself delivering groceries for the rest of my life, i’m only 27
Hi and welcome to the forum, I’m of a similar age (26) and done yrs of multi drop van work before moving on to cat c at the beginning of 2016. I’d have to say as with any career you get plenty of people who say yes do it and equally plenty who say no don’t (have 3 uncles and a father who are / were HGV drivers) but I have found I love it! And it’s the best career move I’ve made so much so I start cat c+e this week coming. I guess it depends on which reasons you come in to the industry mine were because I’ve always wanted to drive HGVs and they have always fascinated me if it was solely money I’d have to say it’s probably not the right industry as one of my uncles said to me when I started, you’ll never get rich driving an HGV but that didn’t bother me as long as I make enough. There are decent jobs and wages out there but you have to find them and work for them prove you are worth it, start at the bottom and work up to the decent jobs. For me personally there are more pros then cons but that may not be so for you. Hth, Ryan.
With a username like Krash, maybe lorry driving is not for you lol.
The post from UselessForce sums it up pretty well, if you want to be a lorry driver, then go for it, life’s too short for regrets.
However be prepared for some misery, the days of heading into the distance with nobody on your back are long gone, that’s if you can get a start in the first place.
It’s not all doom and gloom though, there are some decent jobs out there, aim to get one, don’t settle for crap, you’ll be surprised at how much difference a bit of confidence in yourself can make when you go for a job, a decent employer will take a good attitude over experience and one good job leads to another.
I think I might just know that company.
newmercman:
With a username like Krash, maybe lorry driving is not for you lol.The post from UselessForce sums it up pretty well, if you want to be a lorry driver, then go for it, life’s too short for regrets.
However be prepared for some misery, the days of heading into the distance with nobody on your back are long gone, that’s if you can get a start in the first place.
It’s not all doom and gloom though, there are some decent jobs out there, aim to get one, don’t settle for crap, you’ll be surprised at how much difference a bit of confidence in yourself can make when you go for a job, a decent employer will take a good attitude over experience and one good job leads to another.
lol I was waiting for someone to pick up on my username but it referes back to my mountain biking days rather then my driving. As for waiting to do it, I have fancied it since I was a young un, but due to circumstances never got round to getting the ball rolling
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Go for it , as said you don’t know till you tried it
There’s a lot of doom mongers on here but also a lot of wise old gits
I’m 41 and only started cat c tramping in oct 2015 and love it as i’d been there done that on food service day work also done rubbish collection
3 years is a long time to be signed up to a company, and whats the timeline here, put you though your class 2 then class 1 18 months down the line, when does the 3 years contract start from?
All depends what that job is like, it could be a decent forward thinking company who pay decently and treat their staff with respect and want new blood, or it could be one of other sort where the pay is poor they treat you like serfs from a bygone age and their reputation so bad in the surrounding 50 miles that none else will work for them.
By all means go for the interview but have your wits about you, and remember its what they don’t tell you that tells the loudest story.
I worked for Waitrose as a shelf filler in my Teens (1977-1981ish) dead end minimum wage job [emoji57]couldn’t even progress to Assistant Section Manager (1 up from a shelf filler [emoji22]) without qualifications. So at 21, I jacked & went Despatch Riding, progressing to driving cars then 7.5 tonners, 10 tonners & eventually Artics. Been involved in transport ever since leaving that Dead End Job with the supermarket & done ok for myself, paying off my mortgage by 50 & saving hard for our retirement now.
My Son was working for Asda in the shop/MK up until 6 months ago (another Dead end minimum wage Job) I’ve been trying to get him to move on for years, finally he got a position with a Coffee Machine Company & he’s loving it, better hours, no weekends & possible opportunities to progress within the company, same sort of money as he was on at Asda though [emoji57].
Moral is- make the move, invest in yourself, 3 years tied to the company sounds like a lifetime, but at least you’ll get the experience & at the end of the day, your not a prisoner & you can always negotiate a leaving plan or even pay the bounty to move on.
Borrow the £3k yourself and self fund.
Then you can forge your own path.
just to add , in my current job I work zero weekends or bank holidays unless asked and it’s paid O/T
yes I may not come home Monday through to Friday but then home is 19miles from yard
blue estate:
just to add , in my current job I work zero weekends or bank holidays unless asked and it’s paid O/T
yes I may not come home Monday through to Friday but then home is 19miles from yard
If the job I want up here doesn’t work out, you got places going at your mob?
Krash:
First of all hi everyone i’m Ash
I’m currently doing muti-drop van work for a certain green 4 lettered supermarket, but i’m always looking for the next step.
Applied at a firm that will put me through my 2 and 1 etc as long as i work for them for 3 years and pay for the initial medical and my theory, and now they’d like to arrange an interview
but after talking to a few drivers i know and the ones that visit our store they seem to think its a waste of time and that i should stay on the vans due to the lack of legislation with regards to driver hours etc
Is it really that bad or is it just down to their own person experiences?
im expecting pros and cons, like everything in life but just don’t see myself delivering groceries for the rest of my life, i’m only 27
I would be very cautious about signing up to any company who offer to pay for everything providing you stay with them for 3 years.
I know the company you’re talking about and I wouldn’t want to be tied to them for 3 years that’s for sure. I would very much doubt they will EXCEED your expectations.
My advice would be to get your 2 and 1 yourself and then you are free to do as you please. I know it’s a big outlay but it’d be far better than having to repay all your training fees when you decided you hated working for the mentioned firm.
If you are looking at driver training then Lindsey Driving would be my recommendation within N.E. Lincs.
Further to that, HGV driving is not a career it is a way of life. If you like working 40hrs a week and being home every night then HGV driving, in North East Lincs, is not for you.
When I first started i used to try and get home every night, and would be annoyed if i didn’t make it. Now I plan on being out for 4 / 5 nights a week and if I make it home then it’s a bonus. Most jobs around N.E. Lincs are the same. The pay is crap compared to other parts of the country. You read stories on here of folks taking home £500 a week and never working more than 40hrs and never spending a night out. I’m sure it’s the truth in some parts but it certainly isn’t around N.E. Lincs.
The reality is, you will usually start at around 4 or 5 am on a Monday and return to base at 5 / 6 pm on a Friday. In between that time you will probably work around 60 to 70 hours, including breaks. Most companies around the area will pay a basic salary of around £500 before tax and then give you £25 per night out (tax free). Some may offer fuel bonuses here and there. There’s several companies around N.E. Lincs that pay a hell of a lot less than i mention above. There are a small few that pay more.
There are however some good agencies in Grimsby, Tower Staff Solutions being one of them. They will pay £9 per hour for class 1, plus nights out if required. They’ll get you a start in most of the big companies; DSV, DFDS, Quayside, Immingham Transport etc. Agencies are very good to get you a foot in the door and then see how a company operates. You can always approach them for full time if you like what you see.
As people have already said - if you can get the licenses off your own back.
In this job the only real leverage you have, if you ever need it, against your employer is the ability to withdraw your labour and basically walk. Hopefully straight to another job.
If you allow them to have control over that and your ability to go elsewhere you are basically giving them free reign to run you ragged until you forfeit the terms of your contract or put up with it for however long.
Not saying they would be like that but simply put - if they were any good they wouldn’t be needing to stump up to train drivers. Why would you pay if you didn’t have to??
Also - is it true that these tie-in contracts aren’t worth the paper they are written on?
Get yourself a business bank loan .or interest free credit card .you can claim it back if you do the business route.even if you go agency they want you ltd or there snidey umbrella shizzle.I would not stay 3 years in a new role at a new firm ,imagine if you hate it ?
I used my savings ,but have just about repayed it through selling and buying on ebay .
Good luck pal
Original plan was to self fund it but that wouldn’t be for another year yet as I have a wedding to pay for, I just saw this and though great that will bring it forward aswell as some needed extra income for the big day (only in 31hr contract currently)
As for time scale they’re pretty quick at putting you through it all and from what I can work out they give you ■■■■■■ driver duties until you pass your 1, the work is mostly flats so a lot of variation to keep it interesting and the units all look tidy and recent (mercs, mans and volvos)
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IIRC Gregories do a simular scheme ?
I agree with the comments stating to pay for it yourself and be free to pick and choose where you work but there may be an upside to taking up that kind of offer.
You would get a start and some experience which some newbies find difficult, and depending what the cost penalty (and T&C) was for backing out of the deal after 6 months it might still be a cost effective option. It all depends on what is in the small print of the contract I guess.
Also, what happens if you take their offer but fail the test, do they pay for retests ? What happens if you repeatedly fail your test so dont end up working for them, would you have to pay back the training costs ?
Worth checking out I would have thought before dismissing out of hand