Does anyone on here work for jewson direct as a driver rather than with agency , I’ve heard my local jewson branch may be needing a driver, just wondering what they’re like as a whole,
Yes, you are right, it is a hole!
Same as any builders merchant, awkward loads to awkward places delivering to awkward builders. The whole lot run by a load of awkward shopkeepers who have zilch understanding of lorries or their problems.
Twoninety88:
Yes, you are right, it is a hole!Same as any builders merchant, awkward loads to awkward places delivering to awkward builders. The whole lot run by a load of awkward shopkeepers who have zilch understanding of lorries or their problems.
Sounds exactly like the independent builders merchants I’m at now , a move to the local jewson branch would at least cut out a 30 mile trip for the displeasure of working there
Twoninety88:
Yes, you are right, it is a hole!Same as any builders merchant, awkward loads to awkward places delivering to awkward builders. The whole lot run by a load of awkward shopkeepers who have zilch understanding of lorries or their problems.
This has got to be the most precise summing up I have ever seen on here 
From an ex TP jockey in the nineties, no not my age by the way 
never worked directly for them but have done a fair bit on the agency for them
to sum em up
awkward loads, awkward customers, awkward folk who work at jewsons who dont seem to understand a thing about drivers hours and break requirements and just concentrate on getting the loads out and chasing ya up all the time to see were you are. Personally I wouldnt wanna work directly for them.
Depends what ya need to take home too, as you won’t be doin mega hours which sounds good in one respect, but doesn’t in the bank…!
I done a day for Jewsons once, back when i first moved to Cornwall from Reading in 1993. I signed up to some crappy agency in plymouth, i was skint and was willing to do any rubbish just to get a few quid.
Went out with some rough old 16 tonner loaded to the gills with all manner of stuff with a shed load of drops to do.
The whole day was a bloody nitemare start to finish, not knowing where the ■■■■ i was going and having to re-secure all this crap on the back at nearly every drop because it was in the wrong order. Got a couple of phone calls asking me how long i was gona be etc. Day finished at about 7 pm.
Never again!!
Every branch is different with regards to what the branch staff expect you to do. If you start as you mean to go on, then you’ll either be gone at the end of the first week or be enjoying what can be a pleasurable job.
Chas:
Every branch is different with regards to what the branch staff expect you to do. If you start as you mean to go on, then you’ll either be gone at the end of the first week or be enjoying what can be a pleasurable job.
This^
I worked for Jewsons a few years ago. Quite enjoyed the job, fairly straight forward and not bad kit. You’ll be sent away for a weeks training course for the use of your hiab, the training is very good, but i suspect its a case of Saint-Gobain (jewsons parent company) being sick of drivers putting lorries on their sides when tipping. Incidentally, the wagons i drove for them were riddled with sensors and cutout switches, so screwing up with one of them would be real difficult.
The only reason i left was due to the wages being dire, when i handed my notice in the manager suddenly found an extra 4k to put on my top line. I still left though.
Money would be the number one complaint i found when talking to other members of staff, namely there wasn’t much.
I’ve no regrets about working for them, if the money was better i would consider going back.
It was a good learning process for me, i didn’t have a lot of experience when i started there, but left with plenty and a load of tickets as well.
I’m. Doing builder merchants work now but hours have been stripped back to bare minimum & no more overtime, the previous driver has been at the local branch for more than 20 years & was the driver when it was harcross, the wagon is a decent 26t man 62 plate, advantage for me in an area where there are few jobs is I could walk to work instead of a 60 mile round trek so in that sense would be a good move , I know the manager so a friendly chat wouldn’t do any harm , I have full cpc & blue cpcs hiab ticket … I know the previous drivers workload ie far less than mine to, not to say their quiet , more a case of ■■■■ poor planning in my current place & views count for nothing , after all I’m just a driver so what would I know! …
Saint Gobain own most of the companys whose products you’ll be delivering from Jewsons. When you leave the yard with 4x drops & half a load, you might pass your replacement at the independant BM & wonder why it’s fully loaded with exactly the same products.
I know that I do, I’m puzzled as to why I’m not busier than the driver who works for our nearest independant competitor?
They seem to get the business 'cos they’re cheaper than Jewsons, yet they’re buying the products that they sell . . . effectively from Jewsons?
Puzzles me, it really does !
I’m not bothered about it too much though. I’m a good HIAB driver & confident that I could easily find a job in any local BM where a job was going. In fact, I take no BS from the labias I work with 'cos I’m fairly sure that they need me, much more than I need them.
Worked with Jewsons for many years as a HGV driver.
Found the job good, but the money was terrible. There wasn’t a single person dedicated to the HGV side of operations, so the drivers took it upon themselves to sort out service intervals, tacho records, and so on.
They’ll put you through every training there is HIAB, FLT, and so on. They paid for my HGV test and I passed 7 weeks after my 21st. I did stay 4 years!
You’ll have to get used to the “WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? I WAS PROMISED THIS DELIVERY FIRST THING THIS MORNING” from the sites you go to.
A bit like one of the previous post - when I left, the boss offered extra money for me to stay. I left as :-
1: I had another job
2: A new driver that had started a few months before was on higher rate of pay (non hgv)
So don’t expect ANY loyalty.
Even over the past few years if you couldn’t pick up work at a builders merchants you really weren’t trying! Always advertising but still ■■■■ money + every other Saturday morning thrown in!
My Mrs used to train the drivers at jewson travis Perkins etc.
The training company used to have some involvement with the delivery of new wagons too and showing the drivers how they worked. Thats not to say we don’t know how a wagon works.
So training wise they are good, day to day its like any other job you make of it what you can and each depot is different
Socketset:
Twoninety88:
Yes, you are right, it is a hole!Same as any builders merchant, awkward loads to awkward places delivering to awkward builders. The whole lot run by a load of awkward shopkeepers who have zilch understanding of lorries or their problems.
This has got to be the most precise summing up I have ever seen on here
From an ex TP jockey in the nineties, no not my age by the way
I couldnt agree anymore lol.
DrivingMissDaisy:
- every other Saturday morning thrown in!
Thats the part of the friggin job that really hacks me off, nothing like a ruined weekend. I had enough ruined weekends on UK and continental.
Still i’m soooo lucky to have a job…so they keep telling me 
I went for an interview at Jewsons once and the manager was squirming with embarrassment when he told me what the pay was. I didn’t take it.
Without turning this thread into a rant about builders merchants in general Harry, I can only agree with you. I would have turned my current BM job down. But the truth is, it was all I could get at the time having just got my licence back after my triple bypass. I now feel i am trapped in the place being a shortage of anyone decent enough to work for around here!
Perhaps they are right, i’m sooo lucky… ect ect 
Talking about awkward loads! I was faced with this today, always nice when they stick the last drop on the top aswell …
I did alot of work on agency for them, typical day was to be loaded up to the brim and all in the wrong order. Going out and back average 3 times a day. I often had the sane crap lorry with a PTO that would never go in easily and it was rough and ragged. But I’m not that bothered about lorries condition etc (although I now drive a 12 plate from new it is nice ) anyhow, all this for £8-£8.50hr depending on the location of the branch. I was always back at yard by 5:00 though