Just spoke to bfs and they are not recruiting overseas drivers at the moment. So back to the drawing board for now.
submited a aplication to siemens see how that goes.
bobthedog:
Ah come on, guys. You both arrived at a time when they were finding more goons than drivers and we all suffered as a consequence. I know I had left before that (I met NMM as I was waiting at the gate for my inverter to be given back) but I was aware of what was happening. Things have to have changed or the company wouldn’t have survived. Things have to have improved or some of those that have been there a while would never have stood for it.Not convinced about the 3000 miles a week though. I still think they have some ridiculous practices there when it comes to reloads.
The main secret to success at BFS is to stay below the radar. If you keep your head down so they don’t notice you then you will be fine. I am pretty sure they are not hiring from abroad at the moment, but keep at them.
WTF 
Attention moderators, BTD’s account has been hacked 
The problems I had at BFS had SFA to do with their drivers, my problem was a lack of money, a piece of junk truck (until the Volvo) and the fact that they fed me a pack of lies to get me over there, apart from that it was ok though
KR79 if you can get a start at BFS its a foot on the ladder, I did about 4 months for them a few years ago. I really dont understand the negativity over their Kenworths I had C493 with a stick shift & I thought it was a great lorry to be honest with you. They’re a tad odd to get along with but are a medium sized company focused on making money and you either do it their way or get lost which is fair enough. I think its a well run operation yeah its general haulage and its going to be 15 hr days but thats general haulage the world over. They’ve seen plenty of tossers from the UK some of whom have’nt had a good days work in them, so maybe they are’nt so keen on us Brits anymore. They’ve seen some good blokes from here too though so I’d just keep at them they have a huge turnover of drivers so when they’re short your number may come up. They absolutely shafted me when it came to PR though & pulled my job offer but thats another story & I believe the sorry individual who did that has been outed from his post now.
Fly sheet
Trying to work out who you are, Fly Sheet. Must have been around there when I was.
fly sheet, things changed at BFS, unfortunately for me it was immediately before I arrived There was a ‘them & us’ mentality, with ‘them’ being the office staff, the drivers were treated very badly, the attitude was ‘well what are you going to do about it? you can’t leave or we’ll hound you for the training money, you’re in a foreign country, do as you’re told or starve’ Very different to what you and many others experienced I’m sure, but that’s how it was
Yes there are still people there from your time, but why is beyond me, I could bring to attention certain things that would shock anybody, but the people concerned still, for some strange reason, work there and there are people at BFS who lurk on this site and I don’t want to cause anybody problems.
Things have changed a bit now, for the better, but it’s still not a good job, however I still recommend it as a way to get a foot on the ladder, or even as a permanant job if that’s your thing, but personally I was treated disgracefully by them and if I was in the desert and saw certain staff members dying of thirst I wouldn’t give them the sweat from my arse crack 
Please do not confuse my opinions with sour grapes, I came to Canada to take advantages of the opportunities it offers, BFS did not allow me to do that, the company I left BFS to start at did, I’m still there, still enjoying it and without blowing my own trumpet, I’m a valued member of staff, nothing about me has changed since I arrived at BFS, I do the job exactly the same way, I don’t ask for, or get treated any differently from everybody else at the firm, I’m just a driver trying to do the best I can, so the problem was not with me 
fly sheet:
KR79 if you can get a start at BFS its a foot on the ladder, I did about 4 months for them a few years ago. I really dont understand the negativity over their Kenworths I had C493 with a stick shift & I thought it was a great lorry to be honest with you. They’re a tad odd to get along with but are a medium sized company focused on making money and you either do it their way or get lost which is fair enough. I think its a well run operation yeah its general haulage and its going to be 15 hr days but thats general haulage the world over. They’ve seen plenty of tossers from the UK some of whom have’nt had a good days work in them, so maybe they are’nt so keen on us Brits anymore. They’ve seen some good blokes from here too though so I’d just keep at them they have a huge turnover of drivers so when they’re short your number may come up. They absolutely shafted me when it came to PR though & pulled my job offer but thats another story & I believe the sorry individual who did that has been outed from his post now.Fly sheet
The KW’s were pieces of crap that were specced completely wrong for the job that they couldn’t do anyway, the colour is another argument 
A well run operation In the business of making money couldn’t get either of those right then could they 
Shafted you on pr 
That was the only thing they were good for
The truck I drove was fine for the job IMHO, maybe I spent too many years going through the eastern block in a 1979 Transcon 
And as it happens I thought they did run the job well I liked the fact they had a wash, a tyre bay, workshop etc, if you needed tarps it was never a problem. On the few occasions I had something wrong with the truck it was sorted on return. These are all things I found re-freshing & had never experienced before having been an OD most of my working life, on the few occasions I’ve been employed it was by old school hauliers, so I can only compare it to my experiences.
Yeah some of the work was ■■■■ but they where in that market, clearing house rubbish. Them Polaris & Arctic Cat loads where great jobs though again IMHO.
I also stated that they where in business to make money, I doubt very much they actually did do given the amount of ■■■■ you had for return loads & the amount of brass plackers who’d had their 10% before BFS saw their bit.
Its been a foot in the door for many of us, many of you have stuck it out & gone on to far better things some like me came home to far better things, you don’t turn up in a country as a novice & get the best job avaliable do you?? All I’m saying is it can be a good start & insight into what transport over the pond is like.
Fly sheet
The truck I drove was fine for the job IMHO, maybe I spent too many years going through the eastern block in a 1979 Transcon
And as it happens I thought they did run the job well I liked the fact they had a wash, a tyre bay, workshop etc, if you needed tarps it was never a problem. On the few occasions I had something wrong with the truck it was sorted on return. These are all things I found re-freshing & had never experienced before having been an OD most of my working life, on the few occasions I’ve been employed it was by old school hauliers, so I can only compare it to my experiences.
Yeah some of the work was ■■■■ but they where in that market, clearing house rubbish. Them Polaris & Arctic Cat loads where great jobs though again IMHO.
I also stated that they where in business to make money, I doubt very much they actually did do given the amount of ■■■■ you had for return loads & the amount of brass plackers who’d had their 10% before BFS saw their bit.
Its been a foot in the door for many of us, many of you have stuck it out & gone on to far better things some like me came home to far better things, you don’t turn up in a country as a novice & get the best job avaliable do you?? All I’m saying is it can be a good start & insight into what transport over the pond is like.
Fly sheet
The only good thing about the wash bay was if you done it yourself.
The workshop was a total joke run by the most unhelpful little rodent ive ever come across. Break down on the road and all you get is ring Kenworth Assist, no matter how many times you tell the rodent youve got a Volvo.
The tarps & equipment your given are well past there best and only fit for the skip.
I29 south ends at Fargo ND, unless you bring back goodies from the duty free for the [zb] with small man syndrome and a chin beard.
If you dont sit in the drivers room all day long and have the cheek to go home to the house youve bought in the area then your put to the back of the que for work and will sit for days waiting for your next crap job.
If you pick up a trailer and theres nothing wrong with it i suggest you check the fleet number again as theres a good chance its not a bfs trailer.
The last 2 months i was there i got a new dispatcher (Dean) and he was fighting for work for a few of us to keep us going but sadly we were on fleet 2 and just kept getting the ■■■■ that fleet 1 wouldn`t do,
we brought this up when we went in to tell em to shove it and were told this is not the case, funny how the lads on fleet 1 were always way down south while 90% of the time fleet 2 would be on the Alberta shunt.
All this aside thou it is with out a doubt the BEST and CHEAPEST immigration firm youll find out there :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: Use em as its all theyll do with you then move on to a place which wants and will let you work to earn a living, i couldn`t care less where i work as long as i can work.
nianiamh:
The only good thing about the wash bay was if you done it yourself.
The workshop was a total joke run by the most unhelpful little rodent ive ever come across. Break down on the road and all you get is ring Kenworth Assist, no matter how many times you tell the rodent youve got a Volvo.
The tarps & equipment your given are well past there best and only fit for the skip.
I29 south ends at Fargo ND, unless you bring back goodies from the duty free for the T**T with small man syndrome and a chin beard.
If you dont sit in the drivers room all day long and have the cheek to go home to the house youve bought in the area then your put to the back of the que for work and will sit for days waiting for your next crap job.
If you pick up a trailer and theres nothing wrong with it i suggest you check the fleet number again as theres a good chance its not a bfs trailer.
The last 2 months i was there i got a new dispatcher (Dean) and he was fighting for work for a few of us to keep us going but sadly we were on fleet 2 and just kept getting the [zb] that fleet 1 wouldn`t do,
we brought this up when we went in to tell em to shove it and were told this is not the case, funny how the lads on fleet 1 were always way down south while 90% of the time fleet 2 would be on the Alberta shunt.All this aside thou it is with out a doubt the BEST and CHEAPEST immigration firm you
ll find out there :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: Use em as its all theyll do with you then move on to a place which wants and will let you work to earn a living, i couldn`t care less where i work as long as i can work.
Nothing like a few home truths
fly sheet:
The truck I drove was fine for the job IMHO, maybe I spent too many years going through the eastern block in a 1979 TransconAnd as it happens I thought they did run the job well I liked the fact they had a wash, a tyre bay, workshop etc, if you needed tarps it was never a problem. On the few occasions I had something wrong with the truck it was sorted on return. These are all things I found re-freshing & had never experienced before having been an OD most of my working life, on the few occasions I’ve been employed it was by old school hauliers, so I can only compare it to my experiences.
Yeah some of the work was [zb] but they where in that market, clearing house rubbish. Them Polaris & Arctic Cat loads where great jobs though again IMHO.
I also stated that they where in business to make money, I doubt very much they actually did do given the amount of [zb] you had for return loads & the amount of brass plackers who’d had their 10% before BFS saw their bit.
Its been a foot in the door for many of us, many of you have stuck it out & gone on to far better things some like me came home to far better things, you don’t turn up in a country as a novice & get the best job avaliable do you?? All I’m saying is it can be a good start & insight into what transport over the pond is like.
Fly sheet
The tire bay, wash bay and workshop in no way, shape or form contributed to my earnings (I think nianiamh summed it up very well so wont go any farther with that). The only way to earn money was to keep the wheels turning and they are so disorganised that they cant do that and refuse to change.
We will never agree about them being well organised, they are by far the worst organised with the worst employees that I have ever worked for, EVER!!
dave_lol66:
fly sheet:
The truck I drove was fine for the job IMHO, maybe I spent too many years going through the eastern block in a 1979 TransconAnd as it happens I thought they did run the job well I liked the fact they had a wash, a tyre bay, workshop etc, if you needed tarps it was never a problem. On the few occasions I had something wrong with the truck it was sorted on return. These are all things I found re-freshing & had never experienced before having been an OD most of my working life, on the few occasions I’ve been employed it was by old school hauliers, so I can only compare it to my experiences.
Yeah some of the work was [zb] but they where in that market, clearing house rubbish. Them Polaris & Arctic Cat loads where great jobs though again IMHO.
I also stated that they where in business to make money, I doubt very much they actually did do given the amount of [zb] you had for return loads & the amount of brass plackers who’d had their 10% before BFS saw their bit.
Its been a foot in the door for many of us, many of you have stuck it out & gone on to far better things some like me came home to far better things, you don’t turn up in a country as a novice & get the best job avaliable do you?? All I’m saying is it can be a good start & insight into what transport over the pond is like.
Fly sheet
The tire bay, wash bay and workshop in no way, shape or form contributed to my earnings (I think nianiamh summed it up very well so wont go any farther with that). The only way to earn money was to keep the wheels turning and they are so disorganised that they cant do that and refuse to change.
We will never agree about them being well organised, they are by far the worst organised with the worst employees that I have ever worked for, EVER!!
+1
Fly sheet, if Big Freight was so good for you why won’t you tell us who you are and why did you only manage to last 4 months, and don’t spin me that line about your PR because you work permit would still have been valid
dave_lol66:
Fly sheet, if Big Freight was so good for you why won’t you tell us who you are and why did you only manage to last 4 months, and don’t spin me that line about your PR because you work permit would still have been valid
I came home to be nearer my girlfriend Chap whose my wife now, plus my earnings where probably a third of what I was used to. Should’nt be to hard to see who I am Fella plenty of pictures of me & my old lorries on here, I’ve nothing to hide. BFS were’nt exactly marvelous but they’ve been a start for plenty of you. I aint spinning you no lines & I’d kindly you not infer such things if you please, I’ve been around the block plenty enough to form my own opinions of who I sub or work for. I did my spell their on a 12 month work permit, everybody else at the time where getting granted 24 month ones but my circumstances did’nt allow me that luxury so I came home & applied for PR from here like a sensible bloke would. As I stated before my PR was granted they withdrew my job offer, they did’nt have the decency to tell me this Immigration in Manitoba told me. I’ve never really been spoiled in transport as I said & my opinion is their set up was pretty good regarding servicing etc & maintainence the way they used the Eutal Tracs thing was ace I thought after having the same thing whilst doing Russia back in the mid nineties it just let me see how technology could be used instead of just pinpointing your location they even worked your pay out with it, I was’nt their for long, they paid me up did’nt make any stoppages for my training etc & by & large I look back on my time their as a good experience. I’m sorry if me praising thems touched a raw nerve with you, maybe you’ve had much better jobs in the past than me & BFS where a let down for you, I just follow a simple principle take as you find in life & thats that.
John Cooper
fly sheet:
dave_lol66:
Fly sheet, if Big Freight was so good for you why won’t you tell us who you are and why did you only manage to last 4 months, and don’t spin me that line about your PR because you work permit would still have been validI came home to be nearer my girlfriend Chap whose my wife now, plus my earnings where probably a third of what I was used to. Should’nt be to hard to see who I am Fella plenty of pictures of me & my old lorries on here, I’ve nothing to hide. BFS were’nt exactly marvelous but they’ve been a start for plenty of you. I aint spinning you no lines & I’d kindly you not infer such things if you please, I’ve been around the block plenty enough to form my own opinions of who I sub or work for. I did my spell their on a 12 month work permit, everybody else at the time where getting granted 24 month ones but my circumstances did’nt allow me that luxury so I came home & applied for PR from here like a sensible bloke would. As I stated before my PR was granted they withdrew my job offer, they did’nt have the decency to tell me this Immigration in Manitoba told me. I’ve never really been spoiled in transport as I said & my opinion is their set up was pretty good regarding servicing etc & maintainence the way they used the Eutal Tracs thing was ace I thought after having the same thing whilst doing Russia back in the mid nineties it just let me see how technology could be used instead of just pinpointing your location they even worked your pay out with it, I was’nt their for long, they paid me up did’nt make any stoppages for my training etc & by & large I look back on my time their as a good experience. I’m sorry if me praising thems touched a raw nerve with you, maybe you’ve had much better jobs in the past than me & BFS where a let down for you, I just follow a simple principle take as you find in life & thats that.
John Cooper
I still cannot believe that someone of your experience continues to praise a company that paid you a third than your normal earnings and service trucks every 6 months, trucks that should be doing a minimum of 10000 miles per month (if the poor dispatch got their act together)
How can you say they shafted you over your PR By your own admission you no longer were employed by them so how can you expect them to sponsor you
And yes I have worked for some of the best companies in Europe but don’t consider myself lucky or fortunate but a good professional driver that won’t put up with any crap from some 2 bit company I am worth far more than that 
dave_lol66:
And yes I have worked for some of the best companies in Europe but don’t consider myself lucky or fortunate but a good professional driver that won’t put up with any crap from some 2 bit company
+1 
& like Dave I worked my way up to that point at small firms that were not so good, like Mr Cooper I’ve been an O/D, had a Transcon too, although mine was an 83, spent a lot of time in the commie block too, so none of us were Prima Donnas
I did have some good times during my short stay at BFS, I did a proper coast to coast run from Seattle to Nova Scotia, but that was only on the back of me threatening to quit because I was sick to death of getting local runs and hanging out in the driver’s lounge waiting to be allocated a job, I ended up with the newest truck on the firm too, but again only because the piece of junk I had at first kept breaking down (due to lack of maintainance)
The equipment I was given was a joke, my tarps had more patches than a Long John Silver convention, half of my straps were frayed (illegal) my chains had no rating stamps on them (illegal) my chain binders (dogs) were rusted so badly that the hook part wouldn’t free up and rotate, even after being soaked in a bucket of WD40 for a weekend
My truck was never greased in the time I was there, I had a clamp break once, it was the one that holds the bar that supports the front of the rear mudguards to the chassis, basically just a U bolt, I told the workshop and they said they couldn’t fix it for a couple of days, I said I had a load to run and was told to get it repowered (which means, give it back to despatch and they’ll give it to somebody else, meaning I would be earning SFA for the next two days) I came in on a Monday after the weekend off to find my truck (the new Volvo) had not been serviced as the fitters couldn’t get it started, I was told to take it to Volvo in Winnipeg How, when it wouldn’t start and why me, they could’ve and should’ve done it themselves on Saturday morning That wasn’t the worst of it though, when I did eventually manage to get it to Volvo, it, of course, wasn’t booked in, so they couldn’t do it for another couple of days, I called in to let BFS know and was told to check into a motel I told them bollox, I lived 50 miles away, there was no way that was happening and that told me they weren’t going to get me picked up so I had no choice, proved them wrong when I turned up back in the yard with their POS truck didn’t I, a total BOCs
In my case (& I’m not blowing my own trumpet too much here ) they really missed a great opportunity, as most of you know, I write for Truck & Driver, all they had to do was not ■■■■ me around and give me the job they promised me and maintain my lorry and they would’ve had free advertising every time I got my stuff published, I didn’t expect special treatment, I just wanted to go to work & earn my money, but it seemed that was too much to ask
I take all of what is said on board. I am in touch with most of you so know the score…
But!
I was one of the earlier immigrant drivers there and they were really really good to me in the beginning. I would never have recommended them if they had ever treated me in the manner described. Admittedly, they did take some liberties. As Mark said, having to take your vehicle to Winnipeg was a joke, but you had to make sure it was arranged in your favour to get yourself back before you agreed to take it. Also, I never had any real issues with their maintenance. If it broke down and I could bodge it up then I did, and I never had any problems with it afterwards. When I did the Winter Roads for them, nothing was ever an issue. You could have come back with the drive axle in the cab and they would have fixed it for you, and that was something which followed on the highway for me.
Derek backed me to the hilt with the clowns in Peterbilt, Moncton when they jerked me about that time. In fact, he was the only person was able to calm me enough to be able to drive myself out of there instead of being driven off in handcuffs.
My problems started because of that idiot englishwoman, her ignorant pig of a husband and the clown in the office who lusted after her, and because of their attitude towards my wife’s cancer. If they had got rid of those morons in the first place then I probably would have stayed for a long time.
I also know of the situation regarding the PR thing with John and a few others and it is a genuine thing. If the company withdraws their job offer before you physically get your landed visa in your passport then you are done, simple as that. The company had been caught enough that they had learned not to trust anyone. Hell, even I jacked in, although I didn’t even have my PR when I did. They were in the crapper for a long time. With any luck they will pull themselves out of it and sort themselves out, but that will take time and effort and I don’t know if the man at the helm has the wherewithall to do it.
I’m confused 
So BFS withdrew Fly Sheet’s job offer so he couldn’t get PR and they made BTD’s Wife’s cancer an issue, and they’re a good company ■■■■ me, I hope I never have the misfortune to work at a place that you two consider a bad job then