If there was any chance of the contract over “finders fee” being enforced, then client firms would never take on ex-agency drivers would they?!
The whole notion of a “finders fee” is about as enforceable as unsecured debt. Everyone thinks it will stand up in court, but it won’t, because the client just threatens to blackball the agency if they get ■■■■■■ about by them thus… This is exactly the same process that “drives down wages” because “God” the client demands it of the agency. If there was any enforceable power there, the agency would just give the client the boot, and tell them to go somewhere else where the 9 points OK crowd are to be had…
FreddieSwan:
Fantastic example. You’ve just highlighted a fairly rare case of the client breaking their terms of business and the driver failing to comply with his signed contract. I’m sure the agencies solicitors will have no problem picking up the finders fee and the extortionate charge (something like 500%) should the above occur.
Yeah right! 500% of what though? The drivers hourly rate? His weekly rate? His yearly rate?
Pie in the sky. Given there’s a shortage of agencies that almost matches the shortage of drivers , I think any agency foolish enough to pursue such a claim would be committing financial suicide. Oh yes they might register their displeasure, but like the rest of it they’ll bend over and take it willingly.
alder:
I am a noob at class 1 anyway and I am making mistakes. I am an agency driver and as such the clients sling the keys at you and expect you to magically KNOW everything one of their regular drivers have had training for. As soon as you ask a question you can see the look on some of their faces and the nod “Bloody Agency driver”. I would stress to any agency driver don’t be intimidated by them! ASK ASK ASK. For example at my present place I was told where the fuel tanks were to fill up. I asked if it mattered which tank you use and the TM said no any of them is fine. I went to top my MAN up and went through the menu and the last question was Pump 1 or Pump 2? At that point I put the handle back and thought 3/4 of a tank is enough I felt uneasy about these tanks one was a red tank marked GAS OIL and the other was a Light Blue tank marked pump 1.
I asked the shunter after my trip did it matter and he said “yeah do not use the red one, it is marine diesel” and that it would not only die the tank but would screw up the injectors! Best ask…
The shunter wasn’t very well informed. Gas Oil or Marked Gas Oil to give it its full name is another name for red diesel. No more no less. There is no such fuel as marine diesel. Marine diesel refers to engines, not fuels. Some very large marine diesels run on very coarse, barely refined oil - you’re not going to find that in a haulier’s yard. I take it you know what red diesel is used for.
EDIT: Did it not occur to you to ask this genius why there would be a pump dispensing “marine diesel” into road vehicles?
Yes it was red diesel and they use it for the plant/trains/cranes and all sorts of other equipment they have in there. It is obviously not intended to go into the road transport which is why it was fortunate that I asked! I would not want to put red diesel in an artic
Thetaff2:
Agency driver picked up a trl loaded with tanks of jam for Kendal and on getting there…3 and a half hours later opened up the curtain only to find said trl was completely empty…
Class act…
LOL, I used to do newspapers out of West Ferry Printers, Isle of Dogs. We would run down from Leighton Buzzard & somebody did that, but the other way round, got to West Ferry with the intention of picking up 26 pallets of Daily Express only to find the trailer full of Sunday Magazines ! (Never did figure out how he didn’t realise it was loaded, weighed about 15 tons)
alder:
I am a noob at class 1 anyway and I am making mistakes. I am an agency driver and as such the clients sling the keys at you and expect you to magically KNOW everything one of their regular drivers have had training for. As soon as you ask a question you can see the look on some of their faces and the nod “Bloody Agency driver”. I would stress to any agency driver don’t be intimidated by them! ASK ASK ASK. For example at my present place I was told where the fuel tanks were to fill up. I asked if it mattered which tank you use and the TM said no any of them is fine. I went to top my MAN up and went through the menu and the last question was Pump 1 or Pump 2? At that point I put the handle back and thought 3/4 of a tank is enough I felt uneasy about these tanks one was a red tank marked GAS OIL and the other was a Light Blue tank marked pump 1.
I asked the shunter after my trip did it matter and he said “yeah do not use the red one, it is marine diesel” and that it would not only die the tank but would screw up the injectors! Best ask…
I am also new to the industry, have recently joined an agency (as it’s the only way in) and have also been making inevitable mistakes, just like Alder mentions.
You are literally thrown in at the deep end with a set of keys from the yard foreman for a vehicle you’ve never driven before in the middle of the night with a destination arrival time and away you go. If you’re asked to report to a Distribution Centre as I was for the first time the other day, you’re met with the same kind of situation; waved through a gate, not told where to park up, handed a load more paperwork with a trailer number, not given any advice on the correct operation of refrigeration units on the trailers or the trailer latching and key codes on the shutters at the back, how to communicate with the busy shunters while they’re flying around the yards etc etc. and yet it’s constantly drummed into you that everything is your responsibility if something goes wrong because you didn’t carry out all the proper checks beforehand. I find it extraordinary.
A lot of this is due to the sheer lack of willing communication by the staff at the Distribution Centres in not briefing drivers correctly; the feeling that it’s too much trouble for them and that everyone that comes through the door ought to automatically know what to do, where to go and who to ask if in doubt. Sometimes you may be 200 yards from the site office and in the middle of coupling up and want to quickly double check you’re doing something right. I try to ask as much as I possibly can in order to avoid making mistakes so that I can do the job properly and responsibly, even if I’m met with the same blank (“Who on earth is this bloke then?!”) expressions, but it’s not always possible if there just isn’t anyone around to ask.
Everyone has to start somewhere and the Cat C+E licence costs enough to get hold of, so it would be nice if everyone took a bit of pride to make it all worthwhile and less intimidating once you’ve qualified so that you can enjoy doing what you took the licence for in the first place -driving the truck.
alder:
I am a noob at class 1 anyway and I am making mistakes. I am an agency driver and as such the clients sling the keys at you and expect you to magically KNOW everything one of their regular drivers have had training for. As soon as you ask a question you can see the look on some of their faces and the nod “Bloody Agency driver”. I would stress to any agency driver don’t be intimidated by them! ASK ASK ASK. For example at my present place I was told where the fuel tanks were to fill up. I asked if it mattered which tank you use and the TM said no any of them is fine. I went to top my MAN up and went through the menu and the last question was Pump 1 or Pump 2? At that point I put the handle back and thought 3/4 of a tank is enough I felt uneasy about these tanks one was a red tank marked GAS OIL and the other was a Light Blue tank marked pump 1.
I asked the shunter after my trip did it matter and he said “yeah do not use the red one, it is marine diesel” and that it would not only die the tank but would screw up the injectors! Best ask…
I am also new to the industry, have recently joined an agency (as it’s the only way in) and have also been making inevitable mistakes, just like Alder mentions.
You are literally thrown in at the deep end with a set of keys from the yard foreman for a vehicle you’ve never driven before in the middle of the night with a destination arrival time and away you go. If you’re asked to report to a Distribution Centre as I was for the first time the other day, you’re met with the same kind of situation; waved through a gate, not told where to park up, handed a load more paperwork with a trailer number, not given any advice on the correct operation of refrigeration units on the trailers or the trailer latching and key codes on the shutters at the back, how to communicate with the busy shunters while they’re flying around the yards etc etc. and yet it’s constantly drummed into you that everything is your responsibility if something goes wrong because you didn’t carry out all the proper checks beforehand. I find it extraordinary.
A lot of this is due to the sheer lack of willing communication by the staff at the Distribution Centres in not briefing drivers correctly; the feeling that it’s too much trouble for them and that everyone that comes through the door ought to automatically know what to do, where to go and who to ask if in doubt. Sometimes you may be 200 yards from the site office and in the middle of coupling up and want to quickly double check you’re doing something right. I try to ask as much as I possibly can in order to avoid making mistakes so that I can do the job properly and responsibly, even if I’m met with the same blank (“Who on earth is this bloke then?!”) expressions, but it’s not always possible if there just isn’t anyone around to ask.
Everyone has to start somewhere and the Cat C+E licence costs enough to get hold of, so it would be nice if everyone took a bit of pride to make it all worthwhile and less intimidating once you’ve qualified so that you can enjoy doing what you took the licence for in the first place -driving the truck.
as a newbie the best thing you can do is find a friendly driver who will offer assistance over the phone. Just don’t take the ■■■■ and you should find the support useful while you find your feet. We were all in your position once
Thetaff2:
Agency driver picked up a trl loaded with tanks of jam for Kendal and on getting there…3 and a half hours later opened up the curtain only to find said trl was completely empty…
Class act…
Of course, an “employed” driver would never do that.
its simple we’re ■■■■ and go around like stray cats and dogs going through the trash that that you pass up
how ever it can provide you with an idea of who’s switched on in the TM office
take yesterday I got a text to go to a job in Newmarket (I’m Norwich based) for 2 drops in Lincolnshire got to the yard after an hours drive got told it was only the one drop and off I went to Lincolnshire now as I said it gave me an idea of who’s switched on because I had a assessment with the company I did the run for a few weeks earlier
I got the standard response as I have had from countless others “you got no experience but we mite have something for you on the 7.5 toner when ever hell freezes over”
so instead of paying for just a driver for the day they had to pay for the driver and a middle man
makes you wounder what goes on their heads sometimes
After 17 years on and off I’ve experienced most this business has to offer. I’ve driven a huge array of vehicles and hauled everything from containers to 80ton dumpers and stone crushers spending many years tramping in the process.
I work for an agency now as I go abroad for the winter and spend it in the sun rather than in a stinking truck stop or noisy lay-by. Agency work gives you this flexibility and makes you think on your feet, as previously mentioned here, your often expected to master in one day what a full time driver has been doing for years. Familiarity breeds contempt they say.
There are good and bad in every walk of life but why knock people for making mistakes or asking questions when we all have to learn to walk and talk. Show me someone who has never made a mistake and I’ll show you someone who has never tried anything.
If you work full time for the same company week in, week out, your in your comfort zone. Next time your company actually gives you some time off, take your kit out just in case. It’s not your truck and your company may actually put another driver in it and that driver might not be clean, considerate or make a mistake. God forbid.
Don’t knock me just because I choose to work flexibily.
What does sadden me is drivers turning on drivers with this us and them attitude. There is no us and them, there is just us, drivers. A driver can be full time one minute and hate agencies and then a week later have to be an agency driver. About time we all worked with each other as we have a lot in common.
alder:
What does sadden me is drivers turning on drivers with this us and them attitude. There is no us and them, there is just us, drivers. A driver can be full time one minute and hate agencies and then a week later have to be an agency driver. About time we all worked with each other as we have a lot in common.
Good bit of sense. Trouble is that a lot of drivers have forgotten where they came from.
Thetaff2:
Agency driver picked up a trl loaded with tanks of jam for Kendal and on getting there…3 and a half hours later opened up the curtain only to find said trl was completely empty…
Class act…
Of course, an “employed” driver would never do that.
Had driver who ended up in Dorcester for a collection instead of collecting Portchester when the yard was only based in Eastleigh - He was a fully employed driver with years under his belt…
alder:
What does sadden me is drivers turning on drivers with this us and them attitude. There is no us and them, there is just us, drivers. A driver can be full time one minute and hate agencies and then a week later have to be an agency driver. About time we all worked with each other as we have a lot in common.
Good bit of sense. Trouble is that a lot of drivers have forgotten where they came from.
Yeh. Some might argue that a new full timer these days is a failed agency driver. One that cannot get on with the insecurity of irregular hours.
A failed full timer, on the other hand, might be told “You don’t have enough credentials to join this agency - but I can recommend a few “9 points OK” firms that might suit you!”
Where I worked until yesterday, they use an agency driver for shuttling stock from mill to warehouse who wont use any truck with an analogue tacho. Surely better to ask someone how to fill one out instead of sounding like a diva?
You could always say “10 years experience required” - which presumably then means you’ve driven old enough wagons that had tachos in them back then.
Instead, years - even decades - of experience counts for NOTHING.
I’ve been turned down for a job already “because I don’t have a blue card”. FFS I’m not going to be getting one on agency without paying for it myself am I?
Is anyone else out there thinking that this entire DCPC thing is about “consolidating the new £6.19ph full timers in their position, by freezing-out all outside indigenous & experienced drivers”?
Winseer:
You could always say “10 years experience required” - which presumably then means you’ve driven old enough wagons that had tachos in them back then.
Instead, years - even decades - of experience counts for NOTHING.
I’ve been turned down for a job already “because I don’t have a blue card”. FFS I’m not going to be getting one on agency without paying for it myself am I?
Is anyone else out there thinking that this entire DCPC thing is about “consolidating the new £6.19ph full timers in their position, by freezing-out all outside indigenous & experienced drivers”?
This is exactly the same process that “drives down wages” because “God” the client demands it of the agency. If there was any enforceable power there, the agency would just give the client the boot, and tell them to go somewhere else where the 9 points OK crowd are to be had… 
, I think any agency foolish enough to pursue such a claim would be committing financial suicide. Oh yes they might register their displeasure, but like the rest of it they’ll bend over and take it willingly.
