Big Truck

Talking about bulk, deary me oh my:
http://garvs11.blogspot.com/

kb33

I read that last post of his and I fear he wont be in Canada much longer.

Seems to have just the " attitude " I was talking about on the other thread

alandoug

Read his blog abit.... I am the "elder statesman"... First time I have ever been called that!!!
Dom is finding it very hard as after 8 months solid he has not seen his family. I will be back on the island today & we will have afew beers. Maybe even a game of squash. He will see them all on the 3rd August, not long now.

Steve Fenton had a 10 day break back in UK, he is fine now & staying at Bulk. He recently had a trip to LA, a good hike from Caraquet NB where he loaded.

MikeFly: You can have a blazing row with Tyson Kelly anytime you like. I have always called it the way I see it. I have said "no" as well as yes. You need to stick up for yourself, but when you have said your piece leave it at that. We get paid layovers, if he agrees it you get it. I have had them even if stood for less than 24 hrs.
I feel you are too negative at times, there are others happy here in Canada. I'm actually pleasantly surprised at the way its going.

hughes3005

thanks to all
I have not had time to get onto the internet to reply to some of you and just to say thanks for the advice.
im in Halifax airport now about to fly home and spend some time to think and respond to my experience with ayr motor NB.
i will speak to my OH and then speak to AYR Motor if there have not already thrown away the Dummy!{ good chance !!}


garv
very funny blog,
perhaps we can all write the same some time or other but seeing has you have gone so far now you may as well Finnish it.
no i dont mean you should pack your bags and come back to the UK!!

scottandsel

you could try H&R - theyre interviewin in the uk - we had them on the phone wantin an interview ... but they're the last company oh would be interested in!
edited to say sorry reread an earlier post sayin you'd spoken to them already.

mickfly

Looks like someone (probably from here) may have bubbled him...it's disappeared, although he was pushing his luck being so honest in public.

alandoug

Had a deep sea fishing trip with him last night, beer & lobster the night before.
Dom is fine & off on his holidays soon. Bulk really don't give a monkey's or show any reaction to comments on blogs & the like. As I said before, if you want a row, they will oblige. However, the culture that existed at H&R when you were there does not exist here.

Big Truck

Maybe there is a rational explanation for it being pulled,
BUT most "sensible/reasonable" members on the forums will conclude that it is ANOTHER dictatorship order from the bosses of an OTR company who exploit overseas drivers and are angry that their underhand employment practices have gone PUBLIC!!!!!!

alandoug

Absolute bollocks, I suggest you phone em. Dom pulled it because he wanted it to be private & was unhappy about people making assumptions.

I am actually feeling some sympathy for "Gremmie" now, why? Read on.

I met an old mate of mine who lives outside Winnipeg last trip, been here 3 years. Only came over for a recce with minimal cash, never went back to UK. Got a job with BFS, stayed till he got PR. Then moved on. He did well with a small (5 truck) operation, earning very well. He has bought a spacious house & collected a bloody gorgeous Canadian girlfriend along the way. He still works as a driver & is considering going O/O. He doesn't bother with forums & blogs. He can, & does, work hard. He is typical of a number of others I've come across. The major recruiters are there to get a foothold in the country. Then you have a choice, stay & settle with the company you came over for or move on. Some stay, most go. The potential here is huge, even I am surprised. But you have to stick with it when it goes wrong & carry on. It is NOT EUROPE HERE.

mickfly

Nope, he chose to remove it for personal reasons.
My apologies for casting aspersions.

hughes3005

Even though i have not subscribed to these bloggs and i do find them Alluring to say the least for the potential new truck driver.
i have read most of the post and finding them an informative and valued part to making the decision to make the move to Canada.

so what ever the feeling of the moment for us as drivers. whether it is in the UK or Canada, the frustrations of working as a truck driver is the same.

These are personal bloggs and please dont think you have posted the wrong comment it is far from it. thanks and keep it up PLEASE.

coritani

Having only heard all the rumors about AYR I cannot comment on them too much, but at face value I dont know why anyone would put up with it. We have several ex AYR motors drivers and O/O's working at our place now and their opinions are equal or actually worse than have been expressed here.

Basically my experience of working for a New Brunswick company has been a mixed one. Firstly, all the foreign drivers had to pay 4000 CAD for the privilege of coming over. After which all training and accommodation at the company were at no extra cost. No one ever succeeded in getting a cost break down from the company and most do agree that it was a rip off, especially to those who went back after a few weeks or months but I've been here for over a year now so I cant complain about that too much.
I arrived on a Wednesday, on the Thursday I had my medicals, on the Friday I had my written tests and the following Friday I had my road test.....the same night I was on the road in my own truck, at full rate of pay doing a normal job. The idea of 12 weeks of training is an absolute joke, it would be insulting if it wasn't so ridiculous. All that is about is keeping you as cheap labour for as long as they can and nothing more.

The AYR dispatch sounds average or New Brunswick, always being kept on edge, waiting all day, wide awake, only to be given a job at 6pm that has to be in Boston at 8am. That to me is the worst thing about the job, the complete lack of planning and disregard for the driver who if the company has their way will be awake and on the go for more than 24 hours solid, on a regular basis. Drivers I've spoken to from Ontario and western Canada seem quite shocked when I tell them about this so maybe its just a Maritime thing?

But anyway, my own personal opinion would be that whilst the company I work for is not the best company in New Brunswick, AYR Motors definitely would not be. Aside from the fact that they seem to offer good miles, everything else about them just cries foul of complete abuse of their workforce. There are dozens of companies in New Brunswick that whilst offer far worse working conditions than anything seen in the UK for the last 15 years, will treat you better than AYR. They might not give you as many miles as AYR but you will get your own truck and be paid at full rate from day one. Something that should be an absolute minimum at any long haul company.

Big Truck

"There are dozens of companies in New Brunswick that whilst offer far worse working conditions than anything seen in the UK for the last 15 years"

cargomatic

Im going to make one last comment on this thread regardless of what anyone else says.

When people are looking to find a trucking company and move over to Canada, they are not looking for a 3month summer job. They are looking for a career, something long term, so you have to look at the bigger picture.

Yes I agree with you that Ayr’s training program is long and cheap and slip seating has got its good and bad points. All companies are not perfect but the bad points are only short term with Ayr. In the long term, Ayr has more to offer than most companies.

You get to drive trucks and trailers no older than 3 years old which are very very well maintained.
You get a competitive mileage rate with loading/unloading etc along with vacation pay, safety bonus (quarterly) and great medical.
More than anything, you get the best miles you could wish for. Reloads are on tap. 9.9 times out of 10 I know where im going next before I have delivered the load I have on. If you are like me and work the way Ayr want you to work. You can do the miles that I do no problem. As a single driver when I’m on the road, I average between 3700 & 4000 miles a week, EVERY week without fail, without breaking a sweat, and I always drive legal. There is none of this good weeks then bad weeks like with other companies. How many of you guys can say you get the same miles week in and week out as that. I bet not many. I’m pleased for you if you do. Ayr work two steps ahead. They will not send you to anywhere without guaranteeing there is a reload waiting for you when you have delivered. that’s why its easy to get those miles in. You may get delayed been loaded or unloaded, but there is always time to make it up. I know everyone is different and not everyone wants to do that kind of miles because they like to stop a lot etc. if that is the case, Ayr is not for you, as they want you to get it done without to much hanging about so you can get onto the next one then the next, but all within your hours. All the other drivers with the same work attitude as me do the same miles as well, its not just me.

One advantage of been a slip seater, is you can do the same miles that I do but get more time off. Because I have to average my hours out so I don’t run out. If I do, 3900 miles in 6.5 days and a slip seater only has a truck for 5 days, in Canadian hours, he can do the maximum daily hours each day without running out of hours, doing an average of 60mph over the five days will get him the same 3900 miles. He then goes home for the 1.5 days then goes out again and does the same. I come home after doing 13 days covering 7800 miles. The slip seater is just going back out again already done the same miles, but has already had 3 days off. So you see slip seating is not bad for those of you that would like more time off and still earn a good living. The key part of slip seating is be very eager to go back on the road. I figured out after a couple of weeks that you had to chase them for a truck, they will not call you. So I started when I got out of a truck, I would walk straight into the office and ask for the next, and it worked.

You hear about people that have come over to work for other companies and bring their families, but before long they are on their way back to the UK or where ever they have come from because they are not making enough money to live. You will never have that problem with Ayr. (In less you don’t do it their way that is.) I support my wife and three kids, we have a beautiful large Brand New house in one of the best parts of Woodstock. We have a nice car and my wife never needs to work because I earn enough. What helps is the fact that its so much cheaper to live in the Maritimes, then anywhere else West of Quebec.

So now if you still think Ayr Motor is not a good place to work, its your loss. I did not have it easy at first either, but I quickly learned how the system worked and I Adapted to it, which is how I got to where I am today. You too can do the same. Just Look at the bigger Picture.

bobthedog

Nope, sorry but I don't buy it. No matter what you say, there is no way any firm can justify renting professional drivers at pennies per mile for up to 3 months. 4000 miles every week is 16000 a month and that, with a truck restricted to 65mph, is not legally possible. Also, 16000 miles a month takes some sticking.
Maybe they are good on dispatching, but others say very different to you on that score. Others do not seem convinced at all. Bonus is generally a bogus thing, and safety bonus' tend to be a very hit and miss thing. We get a mileage bonus which gives us 3cpm for every mile driven providing we get over 13k a month which is easy going. Medical benefits are something else that are generally provided by the firms, as is vacation pay. Nothing you have said about is, in any way, off the standard provisions.
In fact, the only things which are not reasonably standard are 14cpm for a training period of up to 3 months. That is a long way from standard..