LGV Driver, Peterborough Depot
Before relocating to support my daughter and her dream of becoming a world-class Irish Dancer, I worked for a big four retailer for 12 years in distribution as a Driver. I then moved over to the Co-operative Group and working here is the best job I’ve ever had!
I would recommend anybody to work at The Co-operative Group. In my experience in food retail everyone is normally competing for the top spot. Elsewhere I’ve been treated as just a number, but here I feel like I’m treated as a person – treated with respect. It’s a great business and they’re opening more stores all the time.
By having a positive attitude with colleagues in-store as well as in the Distribution Centre, I find that my job is so enjoyable. Sometimes I’ll arrive at a small store and there are over 150 cases so I always make sure that I help out with the delivery so the staff in store can get on with opening the shop or serving the customers.
The Co-operative Group logo is written all over my vehicle and clothing and as such I am an ambassador for The Group. We have pretty comprehensive guidelines to make sure that we don’t cause disruption to the communities that we serve, after all they’re our customers and members too. There are certain times of the day when I can’t deliver to some communities – especially the smaller ones due to waking people up or during school runs. One major consideration when driving my vehicle is that I use the designated routes that can support the size and weight of my vehicle so as not to be a hazard to other road users or pedestrians. It is very important to make sure that you abide to regulations to make sure you are considerate of the safety of others and it is a challenge to strike a balance between considering communities and being time efficient with deliveries. But the priority is to look after the communities we serve.
I’ve been given extensive training to make sure that I can maintain The Group’s high standards. For example, I was given ‘Tail-Lift’ training, which makes sure that safety standards are maintained.
I had only been working at The Co-operative for 9 months when I was offered HGV Class 1 Licence training so that I can drive the 44 tonne vehicles. The training is expensive and it felt like a great honour to be given the opportunity. Once I have completed the training I’ll be able to drive any type of vehicle the business has, meaning I can be fully flexible to the business needs.
I enjoy the job, the atmosphere and everything about it and really wish I’d started working for The Co-operative earlier!