started my new job yesterday

[darrenwall]

i started my new job yesterday as a van salesman/ delivery driver for peters pies .
i finally has a gutsfull of being a bus driver and putting up with sh*t off the passengers every day ,
yes it was my fault it is raining ,
yes its my fault the bus in front was full so drove straight past you ,
yes its my fault the last bus home last night didnt run even tho i was working a day shift ,
yes its my fault the traffic is bad ,
thats the kind of abuse and constant nagging i had to put up with every single working day for nearly 4 years not to mention clueless management who were never there to back you up and constantly using undercover mystery shoppers to try and catch you doing anything wrong so they could sack you .

oh that and the fact i will be working days regular monday to friday instead of anytime day or night spread over 7 days a week and the extra 10k a year all helped make my mind up

just gotta start getting used to getting up at 5 am again

[teamster1975]

Well done Darren! I bet it's nice to come home at night in a reasonably good mood!

[puggy]

So if we have a south wales meet guess who will be providing the snacks

well done that man !!

[steve_earwig]

Extra 10k with less grief? That's a bit of a result!

[DaiRees]

Well done Dar, steak slice for me

[highlander]

Did you work for FirstGroup, by any chance?

Congrats on the new job!

[mjb]

Nah, First drivers aren't allowed by their unions to leave the station. Don't blame 'em though - not too long ago, OVER HALF (and no I'm not exaggerating!) of their stoke busses were ordered off the road for safety violations...

[highlander]

First are the only bus company in Aberdeen that run an in-town service (Stagecoach handle most of the buses out from town to the shire and the airport).

They run poorly-maintained buses, on routes that serve comparatively few people, are frequently late and mechanically unreliable, and charge whatever the hell they want.

The bus drivers go on strike twice a year for pay rises, get given them, and give poor customer service either way.

Then, First jack up the prices for fares as soon as the pay deal goes through.

Case in point - when I moved to Aberdeen in January 2004, an adult's month pass was £38. It's now £57-ish.

It's almost cheaper to drive. It's also a hell of a lot more comfortable, and smells considerably less like piss and half-burnt diesel.

[mjb]

It's almost cheaper to drive. It's also a hell of a lot more comfortable, and smells considerably less like piss and half-burnt diesel.

Busses round here are £1.70 I think, so that would be £136 per month for me to get to work and back.

[darrenwall]

cheers all but i worked for stagecoach the first 3 years and then veolia ( used to be shamrock for anyone in south wales who knew wot they were like ) and stagecoach were dodgy but veolia were by far the worse .
they both treat the drivers like sh*t and the passengers slightly better , for example jamming the heater controls on the buses so that they were stuck on hot in the summer and cold in the winter ( helps to cool the engines in the summer and stops "the lack of" antifreeze freezing up in the winter ) , they both bump up the fares hell of a lot when they even hear the word pay talks but at least stagecoach look after thier buses to some degree .
the veolia depot i worked for resembled a scrap yard with the number of broken down buses , i seen 07 plate buses canabalised to keep other buses running cos they couldnt afford new parts for them , i was supposed to drive buses that after half a mile i parked up and refused to drive any further as they were so dangerous and then the fitters would come out with a new driver and he would take it on service , i even had 1 bus with a leaky brake piston so they just blocked that brake offf and told me to carry on my shift with only 3 wheel braking
after seeing wot goes on behind the scenes i am very reluctant to set foot on a bus ever again , my car is much more comfy , more private and i know it is sometimes safe

[Welly]

Nice one Darren, soon all those bus woes will be long behind you

Peters Pies eh? mmmmmmm.......nom

[neildavies]

Hope Peter's Pies treats you better, doesn't sound like it could be much worse.

Congratulations, good luck.

[Doggy]

Good on you Darren, enjoy the new job. Just think, if you get sick of pies, they're a lot easier to ignore.