Van den bosch transport

[vascoingles]

OllieNotts:
Clear evidence that planners are thick

this is a popular comment from drivers that really gets up my nose

how many of you have tried to plan ? howmany of you have any experience of planning ?

balancing custoners demands, complying with the basic laws and trying to keep the drivers happy is a verydelicate balancing act and basically you can never keep everybody happy at the same time. As I say to my drivers is every week I have to screw somone to keep the customers happy the only thing that I can do is try to make sure that it is not always the same driver.

Believe me planning is not easy I have done it

and before everyone starts screaming yes I have driven as well and have taken Seddon atkinsons to places mostpeople will only ever see on a postcard.

Driving is n ot easy but believe meplanning will bring you to a nervous collapse a lot faster

[gogzy]

brit pete:
I have been to brake and if it is the oil /fat
factory by the river,then yes it is a far way
out of the Town-center, but they have a canteen
or did have when I was there,
Plus this firm is in there daily Lübbe
If it is the same factory mate…
and the drivers are okay,

yep thats wilmar, they have a new factory now with no canteen just across from the old one, lubbe are there alot aswell.

[dinosteveus1]

glenman:

dinosteveus1:

glenman:
ffs some people want taken by the hand. if the job dosent suit just leave,well if you get a start in the first place , no fridge/no food/no sleep…moan moan moan. its driving around holland/nearby europe and as far as i know it is fairly well modernised,they do have shops etc, hardly like venturing off into the wilds people who have been there and got the t shirts are giving advice to newbies but some dont seem to listen to it as they know better.

Still at it ffs
See, trolls like you just inflame the situation. Nothing better to do or say?

what would you like me to say ? some people are able to do the job and some cant some didnt even get the job either. no one is being held against their will and are free to move on anyway.

Stop being a bully/troll and offer some PRACTICAL advice. Telling someone to leave if they don’t like the job is just BS. It’s not always an option and when you are so far from a ‘friendly’ face the last thing you want to read is some bully boy who’s been there and done it slagging you off. When you are tired, hungry and ‘all alone’ life is hard when you have a problem, even a small issue gets inflamed.
As for me ‘not getting the job’, I don’t give a toss. I’d have given it my best, but it wasn’t meant to be.

[dogmatix]

Only read the first couple of pages, is that right 16 - 18k per year? You can get more than that on day work multidrop ffs!

[glenman]

dinosteveus1:

glenman:

dinosteveus1:

glenman:
ffs some people want taken by the hand. if the job dosent suit just leave,well if you get a start in the first place , no fridge/no food/no sleep…moan moan moan. its driving around holland/nearby europe and as far as i know it is fairly well modernised,they do have shops etc, hardly like venturing off into the wilds people who have been there and got the t shirts are giving advice to newbies but some dont seem to listen to it as they know better.

Still at it ffs
See, trolls like you just inflame the situation. Nothing better to do or say?

what would you like me to say ? some people are able to do the job and some cant some didnt even get the job either. no one is being held against their will and are free to move on anyway.

Stop being a bully/troll and offer some PRACTICAL advice. Telling someone to leave if they don’t like the job is just BS. It’s not always an option and when you are so far from a ‘friendly’ face the last thing you want to read is some bully boy who’s been there and done it slagging you off. When you are tired, hungry and ‘all alone’ life is hard when you have a problem, even a small issue gets inflamed.
As for me ‘not getting the job’, I don’t give a toss. I’d have given it my best, but it wasn’t meant to be.

there is a load of practical advice that has been given but perhaps its being ignored as its not a sympathy vote that maybe some people would like. i’m sure there are loads of people far worse off than the hard done by vdb drivers on here. the guy vascoingles got shot down and yet he would possibly be the one with most to offer about dutch companies,lucy put up some excellent posts yet they didnt go down to well, britpete and wheelnut and a good few others all posted useful info yet it dosent seem to register with the few hard done bys. there seem to be as many out there making a go of it as there is who are not so it all cant be so bad.

[sugar_ray]

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit-
Rest if you must, but don’t you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a fellow turns about
When he might have won had he stuck it out.
Don’t give up though the pace seems slow -
You may succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than
It seems to a faint and faltering man;
Often the struggler has given up
When he might have captured the victor’s cup;
And he learned too late when the night came down,
How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out -
The silver tint in the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It might be near when it seems afar;
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit -
It’s when things seem worst that you must not quit.

[grahamzx6r]

jesus christ, what has happened to my thread in the last 3 or 4 pages where do i start, or maybe i’d rather not, maybe we (the drivers that went to vdb, and left) need to clarify, whilst i agree with steve, (big sydney), gogzy, stu (oakley), i must point out as i have done in pm’s that i have received, the job itself at vdb was very good from an experience point of view and i’m sure that bigsydney will agree with that, and i’m sure that all the other drivers, who i worked with,and still in contact with, however we all went out there, or certainly i did to better myself financially, to gain a bit of european experience, unfortunately for me it just was not financially a good move, what with the cost of running a full household back home and the cost of feading myself out there, it was just too much, and yes when you are parked up in erp with other british drivers the inevitable happens and you end up at some point going to the pub or getting a couple of trays of beer, and the cost goes up even more, as for tipping and loading off card, yes i did do it, yes i did have 2 hours a day taken off me when i did a 15 hour day, and no i didn’t have the rest, (like gogzy says) i was also on liquid and you just don’t get the chance to have a break while you are unloading and loading, different circumstances, and premises, result in different outcomes, as for the planners and the drivers, i am aware of things that should not be done, however i am not going to discuss them on an open forum, because i still believe that been given the apportunity to go out to holland and been employed by van den bosch, was a good experience for me and i thank frans for giving me the opportunity, it was much appreciated, having been a domestic tramper on and off for nearly 20 years, i do actually take my hat off to the european guys that spend weeks away from home, i tried it, the first 2 or 3 months were fine, and then the (i want to go home) syndrome kicked in, and it didn’t help sitting around airports waiting and waiting to get somewhere, at one point my plane home on a sunday night was cancelled, and had to spend the night in a hotel so didn’ get home till monday night, so then only 5 days at home, admit not vdb fault , the whole infastructure of getting out and back to erp is far from ideal, i had flight delays, i had a flight cancelled, sitting around in the airport waiting or waiting for the taxi, (that hasn’t been booked) all takes it toll, so the reasons why we all left are somewhat the same, i left because 1 of my dogs passed away on the saturday while i was waiting to come home on the sunday, incidently i begged my (apprentice) planner to get me on the flight home on the friday with another driver to leeds/bradford, and was basically told no i have to wait till sunday, i will now stay in this country at least then i could probably get home quicker than 2 days, i didn’t really want to go public about vdb because it was a priveledge to be offered a position with them, and if anybody is still reading this and thinking, sod that i won’t bother, apply for the job you won’t know unless you try it

[glenman]

that seems fair enough.

[dinosteveus1]

glenman:
that seems fair enough.

Agreed

[vascoingles]

glenman:
the guy vascoingles got shot done and yet he would possibly be the one with most to offer about dutch companies,

shot down I very much doubt it after all it is not me who can´t do/take the job orwho is not happy with wages or conditions.
As for offering advice my experience is over the years is that those who have not been there and done it tend to already know more than I do without working for the Dutch for 30 years so now I don´t bother.
The only basic advice is as stated before, if you want to work for them adapt do not expect them to adapt to you and when in Rome do as the Romans do, if you are not capable/prepared to do either then stay at home with mother.
Not everybody can/will adapt fair enough but no reason to sit there and slag a compamy off thus reducing the chances for those who do/will make a success of it, VDB has several hundred motors so there will always be those who are happy and those who are not and as in all big companies there will always be glitches, do not look on it as being pavements of gold because it is not and never will be.
Anyone who cannot accept that better save the fare and remeber I do know what I am about I went out in the 80´s as a driver, became planner and now run a Dutch company and have learnt the language so it can be done but it is up to you to adapt

[bobthedog]

Wow, did this ever get shirty!!!

Lucy, up to now the only thing you and I have ever agreed about was a certain tank company that is no more. But you are totally on the button and distinctly reasonable with it. I have never had to miss out on food, even if I have, as you say, been shovelling it down at a weighbridge or in a line-up. And I have eaten more stuff cold from the can that I care to remember…

Dinosteve, you are getting very defensive. You were not bullied, although maybe some were more pointed than others, I agree. So far from a friendly face? In holland? Try being the only British person anyone has ever seen outside of the TV, in a place where the neighbours will quite happily shoot at each other or burn the others house to the ground over a dog barking then try saying the same thing.

Glenman did give practical points of view. He and I are not in agreement much, but I do agree with him. If you don’t like it, or can’t take it, then just leave and find something else. This thread has gone from excitement, to informative, to despondant in a short time. The Dutch work the way that suits them best and pays the best. The drivers work that way because they always have and because it pays them well. Part of the initial attraction for some of you was the fact that they offered much, and I think they have delivered in full on their promises. If they told you it would involve max hours then you can’t say a thing about it, can you. Max hours there is very different to max hours here, or max hours 20 years ago with easy to cheat tachos.

Lucy worked for a firm where drivers competed with each other to see who could do something ridiculous. I know, I worked there, too. I was the driver who held the record for Linz to Bridgwater, and the record for Verona to Harrogate. The only way I could have done either of those faster was to have used the Shuttle, but I needed some sleep…
I would have thought that, even if you have discovered it is not to your taste, you would have simply been glad of the opportunities that some of you were given. I know things were different for you, Steve, but even so…
If I were over there now, I would not hesitate to do this job. I like tankers, I like the dutch, I did take the time to learn some other languages, and I am always prepared for whatever they throw at me.

[akaday]

Okey-Didley-Dokely:
Yorkie, they employ British drivers and German and Hungarian because we are cheaper than employing Dutch drivers due to the Dutch welfare system.

The hourly rate is £8.30 ph, and the 3/4 pay is part of the working agreement, it’s not ideal but if sitting there for 5 or 6 hours waiting to tip or load and your either lieing in your bed or eating or whatever, it is better than getting nothing if your on POA.
fm

Please tell me this bloke is having a laugh “don’t get paid for POA” please, since when. I did about 20 to 25 hours poa on my last firm a week for 4 years and got paid it, and the same at this firm. POA periods of availability= still on the clock. WTF.

[dessy]

I Love this Thread

All the Stobbie knockers!!! VDB are worse seeing that all the drivers are out there for 3 weeks and still deducting hours per shift and reducing hourly rate for waiting about! which is a planning problem fullstop so drivers should be paid the full rate for the wait and was unaware that POA was in use outside the UK.

No wonder they (VDB) were looking for newbies,15 hours x3 and up to 13hours x3 is the max shift across the whole of the EU per week.All this Dutch this and that will they pay your fines when you get pulled NO.The Dutch drivers will not work for this outfit for the reasons throughout this thread and thats why they are using east europeans and Brit newbies IMHO

[msgyorkie]

dessy:
The Dutch drivers will not work for this outfit for the reasons throughout this thread and thats why they are using east europeans and Brit newbies IMHO

Thats the conclusion I was coming to.

[coddy]

dinosteveus1:

glenman:

dinosteveus1:

glenman:
ffs some people want taken by the hand. if the job dosent suit just leave,well if you get a start in the first place , no fridge/no food/no sleep…moan moan moan. its driving around holland/nearby europe and as far as i know it is fairly well modernised,they do have shops etc, hardly like venturing off into the wilds people who have been there and got the t shirts are giving advice to newbies but some dont seem to listen to it as they know better.

Still at it ffs
See, trolls like you just inflame the situation. Nothing better to do or say?

what would you like me to say ? some people are able to do the job and some cant some didnt even get the job either. no one is being held against their will and are free to move on anyway.

Stop being a bully/troll and offer some PRACTICAL advice. Telling someone to leave if they don’t like the job is just BS. It’s not always an option and when you are so far from a ‘friendly’ face the last thing you want to read is some bully boy who’s been there and done it slagging you off. When you are tired, hungry and ‘all alone’ life is hard when you have a problem, even a small issue gets inflamed.
As for me ‘not getting the job’, I don’t give a toss. I’d have given it my best, but it wasn’t meant to be.

Oooohhhhhhhh the drama of this thread is just soooo nailbiting…not

[zippy_1]

Never looked closely enough in to all this VdB stuff, so the following may not apply.

The Dutch have minimum pay rates for commercial drivers on different types of work… international etc. Many Dutch firms get around this by paying drivers from other countries through agancies, ie some have “offices” in the UK to pay UK drivers, thus avoiding the min rates.

I think thats how companies like Verhoek, Tunderman (or whoever they are now) and a few others do it.

[norfolknewbie]

God its so dramatic. The highs - people getting what they thought was a great job, the lows - people like Steve not getting past the first week but wantng the job so much he drove out there and used the ferry. 2 hours of my life I will never have again. When I could have been spending quality time with the kids, her indoors and the dog. Thankyou all for an exciting, some times optomistic, sometimes fraught posting LOVED EVERY MINUTE maybe a new mini series are you reading this Channel 5■■?

[n17_trucker]

I,ve watched this post from the beginning and am amazed at what soap opera it,s become with some amazing characters dino gogzy etc etc.What kills me is the whinging and bleating from so called drivers it.s hilarious.Me im just box jockey working for the notorious MARITIME.I,ve done alsorts in the past removals ,multidrop.general,trolley dolly,flats,fridges never had it on a plate learnt as i went surely thats how you gain this magic thing called experience.Theres an old saying “■■■■ it and see” some times it suits sometimes it do,nt but hey ho theres always tomorrow!!!. Good luck to all and may all your dreams come true

[bigsidney]

FFS I have never read so much pash from so called experts, so what if you have worked your way round and got to the top AM I BOVVERED!!!
I stated the experiences I and some other drivers have been through at VDB I tried it for 6 months or just over, I have done European work over the years and this seemed like a good oportunity and a chance to make decent money. There are drivers posting on here about £2200 a month/3weeks but what they aint telling is that they are working 7 days a week, 5 days tramping round Europe then back to Erp for the weekend to run 2 15hr shifts with an analouge tacho between Erp and Veghel and the planners still want more, 1 driver who did 6 trailers in 1 day then proceeded to join the others down at Cafe de Paul only to be called by his planner at 8pm at night to be told “you still have a trailer to do” what he hasnt mentioned is that he started at 5am, you know who you are so stop spunking the work up and tell it like it is not some ■■■■■■ fairytail job. I wanted to max my hours and bring in a decent wage im not some cab happy work shy pub dwelling on my time off ■■■■ I wanted the work but it seems as this was kept for the ones who never spoke out and were willing to do just what they were asked Including breaking the law by doing 2 days at 15 hrs without a card, these are the ■■■■■■■ who are still there seemingly earning good money■■?. If you ■■■■ a planner off the work you get is crap loads of waiting time with short runs, ask the guys who were running the PQ silicas work. Moelingen to Dusseldorf then spend the rest of the day waiting to get tipped cos the silo was full and VDB are running anything between 2 -6 trailers in to that job every day.
My posts were to give an alternative view and I was one of the first to go over and its not all it seems so the ones on here who are posting the crap you know who you are TELLL IT LIKE IT IS

[thebear]

msgyorkie:

dessy:
The Dutch drivers will not work for this outfit for the reasons throughout this thread and thats why they are using east europeans and Brit newbies IMHO

Thats the conclusion I was coming to.

You’re both totally wrong!! We have a Dutch yard and we get very irate over our Dutch brothers because they do half the work we do.
The reason VdB employ Brits is because, in the past, Brit drivers would work. Dutch drivers are near impossible to sack such is their system over there. They get a contract that is watertight … they get time and a half for Saturdays and double for Sundays. I am sure Vas will correct me if am wrong, but over 50 yrs old, they don’t have to work weekends and over 55 they don’t have to do nights out!! 6 months half pay if off sick or something ridiculous like that.
It is not that Dutch drivers won’t work for VdB, it is VDB don’t want Dutch drivers and all the grief they cause.

I have been quiet on this thread though sitting here laughing my head off at some of the posts.
I have been doing tanks for the last couple of months and seen plenty of VdB boys as I go around. We load often at ADM and IOI in Rotterdam so I see them there. I see them in the tank washes. One came up to me the other week. A Scots lad that has worked for them for 17 years. He used to be based in the UK til they shut the branch down so he now works as this merry bunch do. The difference is he has a Dutch contract and it would cost VdB an absolute fortune to get rid off him now hence he works over there. As an aside, he asked what the hell was going on over here. This was without any prompting. He said the biggest shower of s**t was coming over and working for VdB and would we please take them all back to the UK. He was sick of hearing them whinging and said he had actually seen several crying because they couldn’t hack it.

Personally, I love the Dutch… they are good fun and always willing to lend a hand.