…and now This:
Winseer:
…and now This:
Watched it failed to see the connection, half expected the rabbit to have an unfortunate attitude and be wearing a filthy high viz coat and a bobble hat (regardless of the weather).
Seriously the only agency drivers anyone remembers are the bad one’s and these are generally in the minority, there are just as many employed drivers if not more who are completely inept and will never be any good.
Leave the truck clean and undamaged and fill it with fuel and be pleasant to the customer and their clients and that’s all you need to do, same as everyone else.
Winseer:
…and now This:
Just what was required!
Anyway, see these shoes, I only bought them last week and the heel’s worn right through! 
Kyuh, the price of shoes these days. . . . 
I deal with a agency every day for work
I have 30 to 40 drivers some times with 30 of our own drivers
why do I take on that many easy
if I don’t like them I can send them home after a few days training or weeks on the job and keep the ones I want
I don’t have to pay a finders fee as they need me to take staff off them and put them in touch with other people
but they used to charge some people £1000 a person they have taken on off the books
Good for you mr office monkey
DAF95XF:
trubster:
3) I have the freedom to have a week off when I want, Employed drivers have to ask nicely for a week off and could be told ‘No’On the other hand, employed drivers get holiday pay
So do agency drivers!
sdg1970:
[/b]Winseer:
Full timers believe that the too-easy availability of agency drivers pushes down T&C’s in their jobs. I’d disagree - Personally, I’d say that weak Unions have done the damage there already.
Agency drivers are considered to be “tried to get a full time job, but failed”. This too, isn’t true of those not saddled with a huge mortgage, and otherwise “forced” to do long hours to fuel their debt addiction.Then there’s all the drivers in between who enjoy their job, don’t mind the variety, like taking days off at the drop of a hat, and are not so insecure that they think they’ll be left on the sidelines all the time. Sure, the start of the year is low season for agency, but what do you do as full timer in mid-January? - Struggle through the snow, go sick at the first sign of black ice? Take a minimalist attitude to your job, because you’re salaried? There’s clearly not many full timers taking their holidays at that time of the year, otherwise there’d be more work for agencies!
Being forced to “not work in January” on the other hand, can be useful if you’ve got a nice pot built up, because you just bugger off somewhere beyond Spain that’s hot for the winter - at dirt cheap prices to boot, because strangely January/February is still considered “out of season” in places that don’t have winters…All in all, it’s horses for courses - the full timers representing “the flat” and agencies “the jumps” of the driving world.
I would agree with much of what you say here as an Agency Driver of 22 years - except perhaps the Union thing. I don’t see a lot of animosity nowadays though; and it usually only exists where there is an endemic ‘group mentality’ at one particular company or another. Thankfully much of that too has been washed away on the tide of other prejudices of the past. It does happen though for sure, but not half as bad these days imo.
I couldn’t consider going ‘full time’ or putting a mandatory ‘uniform’ on nowadays (not that I ever really have). I guess I’m far too corrupted by the Bohemian and freespirited lifestyle of agency work. I don’t have kids or a mortgage and like you say, have spent much of my life avoiding debt, so it suits me just fine. I also do a lot of private, direct invoice work, so the agencies are nice to inter-weave into that as well. When January rolls around I am glad of at least a month off, with a 2-3 day week occuring from around end of Feb or before.
Most people who slate agency driver’s; in essence have very little experience of agency work themselves and what it ultimately involves imo. It’s purely down to lifestyle choice (like living on a boat as I do and not wishing to have children). Those choices, amongst a myriad others, have enabled me to be ubberly flexible in my working life and I have no regrets.
There is good and bad everywhere, in any industry or business. Some agency drivers deserve to be slated (heck, I’m no Saint!), but the problem comes when that ‘slating’ leads to a ‘tarred brush’. Twas ever thus in my experience. . . .
Precisely, beautifully put ^^^
I do a mix up of work part time mostly, both direct and a bit for the odd agency. There is no way I would ever take full time on. For me, once you’ve gone full time they can dry ■■■■ you, (and they often do) whenever they want. The independence I have by working for myself means that if I don’t like something I can move on rapidly.
This time of year I tend to stay out of trucks. Too little work about that actually pays a decent rate really.
As a brand new driver…I start my first ever truckers job next Monday here’s some input from my perspective.
I have no criticism of Agency drivers, I do have criticism of Agencies. While looking for my first job I had been contacted by a couple of agencies, both promised the earth and delivered nothing, they are on a par with estate agents with their devious procedures.
My circumstances were that I wanted a secure full time job with a decent local firm. Having been told by most companies to come back with two years experience I then considered agencies reluctantly.
As far as drivers go i’m sure you get idiots in both agencies and private companies. What I am surprised about is the attitude from some firms that training is down to the driver and not the employer, CPC in particular, seems quite odd to me having received very regular training in my job over the past 20 years.
Edited.