Microwaves & Fridges

[ImBackBaby]

Should we be campaigning for Microwaves to be fitted to all the trucks going forward? With this new scheduling system, it is becoming harder and harder to actually get hot food at the DC, and with the timing of the runs, sometimes you don't even have to time to take a break at the store so you will normally do it on the road.

So should we be asking why cant they install Microwaves into he trucks, allowing us to bring food into work and heat it up on the road.

[VladPutin]

Given the mess we have to deal with in store every morning because the DC staff are too lazy or stupid to stack cages properly, the Depot CHIMpS* are lucky they get paid, never mind fed.

*CHIMpS: Completely Hopeless In Most Situations.

[FarmerFred]

Hardly the fault of the driver who has nothing to do with stacking the cages or loading them onto the wagons at the depot.

The same accusations could also be levelled at store staff who can't understand (or are too lazy to care about) the difference between plastic and cardboard, how to secure a cage door or how to segregate the different waste streams despite the PDA telling them how to do it, nor can they tell the difference between different tray types and sizes or even follow simple instructions such as labelling and segregating broken cages and dollies.

[oldfashionedplayer]

True... not the fault of the driver as such but are drivers not given like a list of checks to go through of "is everything safe" "do you know what your carrying" etc  - incase they get pulled over?

they can also refuse to take the cages / dollies from stores if they aren't acceptable...

whereas stores have to accept the ridiculous mess that gets delivered to us with the message when complaining of "just transfer it to new cages" - Yes 55 cages / dollies / pallets of delivery to transfer over to new ones because Oh... look atleast 10 repair labels are still clearly showing but "can't be seen", bright as hell can can see them from opening of the truck.

[FarmerFred]

Yes drivers have checklists, but they can't see inside sealed trailers & even if it's a barn door trailer/double decker they can only see the back row unless they unload everything which they can't do. How many stores follow the reporting procedure on mpro? How many actually segregate the bad cages rather than fill them back up? Some drivers do refuse cages and get abuse from the storestaff, but most try to be helpful.

[oldfashionedplayer]

if they get abuse take it further? - don't stand for the abuse regardless, All i know is ours for night tend to have figured out that if they set off after a certain time from the said depot, they can unload it and by the time they get back they don't have time to go do another trailer, whereas we get some at times that are like yeah i just wanna keep going and just deliver it 3 hours earlier, So I dunno how long you guys are generally on the road / in places for or whatever but ones that deliver to our store at night are typically at the depot most of their the shift anyhow so they may aswell just fit it with everything since they typically either aint in it or aint moving from it.

[ImBackBaby]

True... not the fault of the driver as such but are drivers not given like a list of checks to go through of "is everything safe" "do you know what your carrying" etc  - incase they get pulled over?

We know what we are pulling... food and general merchandise. Its the same way we are not liable for the load being insecure i.e. not strapped as Tesco seal the trailers and all we do is check the seal. Only if the seal number is wrong can we break it, check the UOD label matches the store we are going to, and then request transport to change it. Now before anyone says anything... Curtainsider you can tell if the load is not strapped correctly as the cages will always bulge through the curtain, but fridges and double deck box trailers, you have no mission of knowing. Majority of times we only know of the carnage unfolding in the trailer when we get to the store.

When a company loads and seals the trailer, liability falls on the company and not the driver. Only way liability can fall on us is if we knowing continued driving know the trailer was not loaded correctly or the load itself felt insecure.

As for checks, all we check is the truck and trailer is road legal, i.e. tyres, lights, damage etc.. and off course the seal is correct.