Van life (Jan 4th)

On October 25 I bagged a job as an ASDA delivery driver 2 days a week. Having interviewed for and failed at Tesco (was it because one of my trouser legs was inadvertently turned up? I'll never know) I'm so glad ASDA had a much more laid back approach. No interview, just when can you start?

PROS

I can pay the rent. Dignity.

The day mostly doesn't drag because it's all go. 

It's only 2 days a week. 

CONS

Every day in that job feels like more micro-dramas than I might been immersed in in a week, a month or even a year in some desk jobs. Big vans and Welsh residential streets do not always go together, SAT NAV can be inaccurate, parking can be a nightmare, roads can be closed, adverse conditions can add complications and sometimes the rotas I'm given are just mission impossible for me. There is next to no margin for error and a series of unfortunate events can soon lead to one being very late for drops.

On a good day when traffic is good, I find addresses quickly and have easy access and turn around, customers are prompt and quick etc targets can still be hard to meet. The so called driver break evaporates (I've not yet taken one) and sometimes the rotas do not even allow you to take one, you're supposed to be setting off for the second run before the break is taken.

As for scheduling, we are given a 6 minute turn around and in some cases that is absurd. The conditions on the ground don't always allow for it. Not when you're delivering a lot of trays to a block of flats, or a house across the road up a lot of steps, or the customer is very chatty or wants you to unload food in the kitchen etc. Not when the SAT NAV leaves you playing a guessing game that can only be resolved by a mad dash in the darkness and rain with a torch. 

But I concede a lot of issues are down to ME, be they due to incompetence or inexperience. Occasionally I get caught out by when to turn as the SAT NAV doesn't always mean turn exactly when it says turn and this can have surprisingly time consuming consequences. 

Often, when I approach an address I will stop the van in a place I know I can exit from and run ahead to see what my turnaround options are. I have been sent into some very sticky situations and you just never quite know what you are getting into. (Albeit most of the time things are fine. I find myself praising developers and town planners for their generosity in certain cases).

Also, it's against the rules to stop a van in a place that blocks the road. Most delivery drivers ignore this rule and just stop and drop as quick as they can but I will park the van and wheel the trays on a trolley. That can be farcical if the customer has ordered so much food the trolley barely supports it and you have to wheel it over bumps and kerbs.

Long story short, I would not be surprised if I do not make it past my 12 week probation because I am the resident Frank Spencer. On my first day alone doing the job I think I attempted my last drop at midnight. I've since improved but we are talking incrementally. 

Sometimes my poor performance is just part of the furniture. Yesterday was chaos. My shift starts at 2 and I'm usually meant to be gone by about 3 but my food wasn't scanned off until 3.30 after which I had to load 67 trays for 12 drops, all of which were meant to have already been delivered. Having just snowed the roads and pavements were icy and sure enough I slipped on a pavement and sprained my ankle on my first drop. I just carried on walking through it. Thankfully, 2 of my drops were cancelled enroute and I only had to do 10. 

When I got home and rested the pain suddenly made itself known and I realised I could hardly walk. My fault. A combination of the wrong footwear (the boots ASDA supply are very uncomfortable so I wear Clarkes, the ice and perhaps most of all the fact that I stupidly had loosely tied shoelaces). 

So now I'm resting in bed hoping nothing is broken and I'll be back in action on Thursday. Lots of interaction with people today but of a fleeting nature.