Van den bosch transport

UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUMS THE UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUM (INTERACTIVE)
1661

Wheel Nut:
Although most of the negative posters all have a go at me, when I comment. I honestly do not recognise this company. I presume the drivers who the planners had to nursemaid with route planning and telling them where to get fuel didn’t have the experience or they couldn’t be arsed to look for cheap fuel.

I cannot remember a time where I was given a route plan on the BC or over the phone. Honestly a normal week meant I was given a job and I just did it my own way and was then given another one to get me somewhere else. I never spent a weekend in Erp ever and have never met Ad or Peter Van Den Bosch.

When did you last work for them? It sounds like things are more strict since you left, money!!!
My company tell me where to get fuel, I mean who to use, Total, BP etc.

1662

Wheel Nut:
Although most of the negative posters all have a go at me, when I comment. I honestly do not recognise this company. I presume the drivers who the planners had to nursemaid with route planning and telling them where to get fuel didn’t have the experience or they couldn’t be arsed to look for cheap fuel.

I cannot remember a time where I was given a route plan on the BC or over the phone. Honestly a normal week meant I was given a job and I just did it my own way and was then given another one to get me somewhere else. I never spent a weekend in Erp ever and have never met Ad or Peter Van Den Bosch.

Malc, things have changed, and not always better for the driver, there is a lot more control on routes, for the reason that every trip after he’s done, get recalculated.
You would like to see the results! :blush: :blush: :blush:
Sometimes a driver takes a route because he likes it, he knows it or for whatever reason, If you do a recalculation with real data, you more than shocked what affect it has, fuel usage, time, toll cost, etc.
Years ago was nothing a problem because the customer paid good money, nowadays is the calculation much sharper. :unamused: :unamused:
What looks al-right on the map, can be in the real world a disaster, try to go in Italy loaded from Rome via Campobassi to Bari, and you know what I mean. :grimacing: :grimacing:

Other things like asking not to run the engines for the airco, looks nit picking and over the top, however a truck uses approx 3ltr per hour, 700 trucks 6 days a week, 300 days a year and you could have the little amount of 630.000ltr blown away, and that is only one hour a day, yeah really hair splitting! :unamused: :unamused: :unamused:

Also what looks to the driver as 2 cent difference on the pump could be something else if you buy the amount of diesel VdB buys, we take total different prices than pump prices, and the difference could be more important than what the eye meet.
Sometimes as most drivers know do we use Shell, other times other suppliers, all for a reason.
Regarding employment, VdB is doing heavy investment in new equipment, but it doesn’t have wheels under it!
The future is for us shorter trucking and more other options, the advantage is less influence of fuel-cost, toll cost and labour cost.
Even traditional road transport customers ask more and more for other solutions.

1663

Sounds more like lack of confidence in your drivers Fran!!
Maybe you have too many newbies on the go! Sounds like no respect to me! Which ever way you look at it! Maybe that is why your Dutch drivers refuse to work there aswell!
As for running engines! Why dont VDB invest in Aircon pods if your sending drivers to the Med area! After all you use Aircon in your offices and in Holland the climate is temperate!!
Or is that just nitpicking!! :unamused:

1664

dessy:
Sounds more like lack of confidence in your drivers Fran!!
Maybe you have too many newbies on the go! Sounds like no respect to me! Which ever way you look at it! Maybe that is why your Dutch drivers refuse to work there aswell!
As for running engines! Why dont VDB invest in Aircon pods if your sending drivers to the Med area! After all you use Aircon in your offices and in Holland the climate is temperate!!
Or is that just nitpicking!! :unamused:

I reckon there’s a lot of truth in that. If the job is so good as several past :wink: and present members claim, why are they having to recruit from all over the world to get bums on seats? And don’t give me the expansion excuse…

1665

caledoniandream:
Other things like asking not to run the engines for the airco, looks nit picking and over the top, however a truck uses approx 3ltr per hour, 700 trucks 6 days a week, 300 days a year and you could have the little amount of 630.000ltr blown away, and that is only one hour a day, yeah really hair splitting! :unamused: :unamused: :unamused:

‘Nice’ figures, but we are talking about ONE unit being told to wait in the heat, NOT 700 ffs. If the Unit was moving as it should have been, the AC would be on without any probs, yes? Why is it the Drivers fault that he has to wait? Take the AC away from his planner :sunglasses:

1666

It’s a good thing that the night heater isn’t wired up to the HQ computer screens… :open_mouth:

1667

Is there any respect for their drivers?
Frans, what is your driver turn around? How many drivers (all Nationalities) leave and why?

1668

Rob K:
It’s a good thing that the night heater isn’t wired up to the HQ computer screens… :open_mouth:

How are they not■■?
By the way you need to check when they go to bed to play their lullaby on the computer and send them instructions where to put their Teddybear :sunglasses: :sunglasses: :sunglasses: :sunglasses: :sunglasses:

By the way Airco is for Jessies, all the people who did Middle East and North Africa in the 70’s and 80’s never heard of Airco at that point.
My Daf 2800ATI didn’t even have mounting points for an airco :grimacing: :grimacing: :grimacing:
And that went to South Spain, North Africa, Turkey, Persia etc.
To many steeringwheel attendants, not enough drivers. :laughing: :laughing: :laughing:

Do you really think that these old Pegasso’s in Spain all have airconditioning, or the old Fiat in Italy?
Think again

1669

And around and around it goes over and over.

Can’t people just let go? It’s all swings and roundabouts. One mans best job is another’s nightmare. I loved working for HSF others despised it. I hate Nolans others loved it. It’s the way of the world, I just don’t see the point in raking over it again and again. That said it makes for entertaining reading so do carry on.

P.s it’s 2011, anybody who’s surprised that a company uses telematics to keep an eye on exactly what their trucks are up to may be in the wrong decade. It’s a tough environment, costs need to be controlled, and like any other employees planners are just doing what their overlords tell them too!

1670

switchlogic:
And around and around it goes over and over.

Can’t people just let go? It’s all swings and roundabouts. One mans best job is another’s nightmare. I loved working for HSF others despised it. I hate Nolans others loved it. It’s the way of the world, I just don’t see the point in raking over it again and again. That said it makes for entertaining reading so do carry on.

P.s it’s 2011, anybody who’s surprised that a company uses telematics to keep an eye on exactly what their trucks are up to may be in the wrong decade. It’s a tough environment, costs need to be controlled, and like any other employees planners are just doing what their overlords tell them too!

THIS^^^^^^^^^^ :exclamation: :exclamation:

1671

dinosteveus1:

caledoniandream:
Other things like asking not to run the engines for the airco, looks nit picking and over the top, however a truck uses approx 3ltr per hour, 700 trucks 6 days a week, 300 days a year and you could have the little amount of 630.000ltr blown away, and that is only one hour a day, yeah really hair splitting! :unamused: :unamused: :unamused:

‘Nice’ figures, but we are talking about ONE unit being told to wait in the heat, NOT 700 ffs. If the Unit was moving as it should have been, the AC would be on without any probs, yes? Why is it the Drivers fault that he has to wait? Take the AC away from his planner :sunglasses:

Any idea Steve how much a trucks idle’s a day?
And the figure I use is only accounting for one Hour a day, that’s not even accounting for letting it run for airco, kettle, fun, cannot be bordered etc.
A truck runs substantial more than an hour idle a day, only by showing it to my drivers I got idle times back to 9% average

1672

switchlogic:
And around and around it goes over and over.

Can’t people just let go? It’s all swings and roundabouts. One mans best job is another’s nightmare. I loved working for HSF others despised it. I hate Nolans others loved it. It’s the way of the world, I just don’t see the point in raking over it again and again. That said it makes for entertaining reading so do carry on.

P.s it’s 2011, anybody who’s surprised that a company uses telematics to keep an eye on exactly what their trucks are up to may be in the wrong decade. It’s a tough environment, costs need to be controlled, and like any other employees planners are just doing what their overlords tell them too!

This^

I like my present job working for DHL. Best job I have ever had, easy work, decent enough money and pretty much left alone to get on with it. I meet others and see post on this and other forum who think they are the Devil’s Spawn. Each to their own.

1673

dinosteveus1:
Is there any respect for their drivers?
Frans, what is your driver turn around? How many drivers (all Nationalities) leave and why?

We have lot of respect for our drivers, but our defenition is probaly different of yours! :grimacing: :grimacing:

You think that you have respect for the drivers if you let them waste company money?
So I understand that you have the heating on in your house with the windows open, and don’t run after your kids to switch lights of and shut the hot water taps??

No company can excist if it doesn’t look after the penny’s, and bigger companies have to look a liitle bit bigger, because the effect is magnified.

There was here a guy on who had to collect a van, and the guy who drive the van couldn’t reach above 35 MPG, the guy made a whole blog about it, he was talking over probaly less than a fiver, if he had 100 vans he would have been talking about serious money, but even this fiver bothered him, why…because he had to pay for it, this goes the same up for every Entrepreneur, otherwise he would have started a charity instead of a company.
And if you want to know how many drivers are longer than 12.5 years with VdB you would be supprised :grimacing: :grimacing:

1674

Rob K:

dessy:
Sounds more like lack of confidence in your drivers Fran!!
Maybe you have too many newbies on the go! Sounds like no respect to me! Which ever way you look at it! Maybe that is why your Dutch drivers refuse to work there aswell!
As for running engines! Why dont VDB invest in Aircon pods if your sending drivers to the Med area! After all you use Aircon in your offices and in Holland the climate is temperate!!
Or is that just nitpicking!! :unamused:

I reckon there’s a lot of truth in that. If the job is so good as several past :wink: and present members claim, why are they having to recruit from all over the world to get bums on seats? And don’t give me the expansion excuse…

No expansion, as been told before Dutch drivers are to expensive, not so much after tax, but taxes and social security are extremely expensive in Holland.
Income tax for overtime is 65% for example.
The reason to use different drivers, we have a lot German drivers, some Hungarian drivers and approx 70 UK drivers, lot of them still with us since we started in the UK…
We are not different from any company in the UK, looking for the most valuable options, we could be from Yorkshire, pay as little as possible for the best valuable solution :grimacing:

1675

Glad to see you backed me on the planner and route control Frans.
I don’t disagree with you that fuel is a big issue with any company and yes monitoring it with telematics helps you control that, hey im all for new technology if it makes the job easier for all concerned.
I like you had as my 1st truck a 2800Ati running back and forth to Germany and no I never had aircon just switch the heater down and hope it kept you cool enough.
But look at the facts my case in point: I arrived at tipping point in Italy, proceeded to book in at the factory and round to unloading point, 10am. given permission to discharge and set up in bay, did all this and sent message on BC to confirm unload. Finished unload at 11:15am then packed kit away got paperwork signed and put info on BC for planner, park up outside temp 27c.
Message from planner wait, 13:00 send message to planner for an update 30c outside temp, started truck up for aircon, 1hr later message from different planner ask why truck engine is running. Reply:I need to use aircon as it will not work without engine running and temp at the moment is 30c.
Reply from same planner: Stephen you were sent a message about not running the engine when you are not on any job. You have to stop engine now!!!. Reply can not be posted on here.
I know the planners have instructions from their seniors but come on it is 2011 and we are not in the dark ages, or are we. The days of Italy in 1 hit are long gone, aircon is there for a reason and yes through the years I have spent time in different trucks that do not have aircon and suffered the heat but why if you have the equipment do they deny you use of it purely down to COST AND GREED. They have priced the job and there must be profit there, or VdB or any other company would not do the job and if they are cutting the rates so fine then surely that is down to whom ever prices the job to get their arses kicked for pricing the job incorrectly. I price my own work according to whatever route I have to take, if I need to cross the Humber or Severn etc I add that price on, if I need to wait etc I add price on for my time etc etc, If I get it wrong it costs meout of MY PROFIT. So all in all not running aircon is about the greed of this company to make as much money as they can and bugger the guy in the driving seat!!
And as regards to fuel, U pass a shell station to go 50+kms down or up the road to find one on your fuel sheet to save 2c per lt on 300lts, simple economics dictates that if I had fuelled up at shell station that I first passed and did not have to divert to another costs would have been saved as shell is shell you get the same discount whatever station you use due to it being an international card!!

1676

the discounts on fuel cards aren’t always the same just because its an international card though, we use AS24 for example and the discount is bigger if we fuel in Beriain or Alsasua than if we fuelled in Oiartzun or Guarroman. it depends on the best offers at the time, the office get a fax of the discounts and we fuel accordingly. we never pay the pump price on any of our fuel cards its just there for guidance.

1677

The fuel situation with the FM’s is a real bug bear. they have a 400 ltr tank and driving 50 to 100 km’s to save so little on such a small amount is pointless, I can understand it with the FH’s they have 800 ltr tanks and the savings are more substantial. Even though the planners are told by us time after time they still treat the FM’s the same as FH’s thinking the range is similar.
When driving the FM the range is only about 1000 km so we are always chasing fuel, try to get to this fuel station. can’t, might run out of fuel, but you must it is 2 cent cheaper, ok will try. but as as once happened to 1 driver he ran out of fuel after saying many times his fuel was low.

Yes I agree VDB as more respect for drivers than most UK companies, but some of the planners do not have respect for the drivers experience and knowledge

1678

I haven’t got anybody with their hand up my back or coaching me in what to say, but the fact there are 50 pages on this thread, and it has been allowed to run says something for Van Den Bosch, after all old Bob Truckyboy mentioned Solstor and was threatened with the sack or at least had a gagging order applied. It has happened to other posters too, some had to change their user name or face the sack.

I understood from my very first dealings with a transport company, that costs have to be controlled, even when we were using belly tanks and doing Turkey and Greece without aircon. But I still found a cheaper source of red diesel in Belgium than the higher prices we were paying in the UK

After Frans explained to that there is constant reappraisal of the job after it is costed out, I can see any cost saving helps save drivers and planners jobs. Rob, the reason there are so many nationalities is because the company bought out other large companies. Silo Tank were an Austrian company who had a depot in Hungary. From that I imagine you would take on Austrian and Hungarian drivers, with the takeover of Van Heur, there would probably be some Spanish drivers in the deal and Demeulemeester certainly employed French and Spanish staff. The German depot brought in a workforce from East Germany

At Transalliance, we were told which routes to take, which ferry company to use and even if the job was extremely urgent, we still had to have permission to use the toll motorways in France. Wherever it was possible we were instructed to use national roads and I have a list somewhere which prohibits certain routes. The tracker was set to bleep a message to the French planner if you ventured onto one of these “banned routes” As I said the job suits some, some it doesn’t suit, but the answer is to look for an alternative, it is what I did when the job didn’t suit my particular circumstances anymore. After almost 25 years on International work with more than half of that time spent working for “foreign companies” I believe I am in a good position to judge them.

Lend me some of that popcorn please!!!

1679

I don’t know hey Rob K, you don’t read this forum on VDB for a few months then when you do all hell has broke loose again, I see a pattern here hmmmm… :wink:

1680

By the way Airco is for Jessies, all the people who did Middle East and North Africa in the 70’s and 80’s never heard of Airco at that point.
[/quote]
Really so what the zb is that unit on the roof of this Marathon in the 1970’s documentary Destination Doha :question: :unamused: :unamused: Maybe that’s because the Brits knew what they were doing unlike the rest and you’re probably too young to remember or even know. :wink: :laughing:

youtube.com/watch?v=CTn70VLaNaE ( 6.14).

Yet another good reason to work as an owner driver because if you’re your own boss and transport manager you would’nt bother to monitor yourself with telemetry if you’ve got any sense. :unamused: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: