A Day in the Life Of... An Expo Hire Driver

We’re very proud of our staff at Expo Hire as it is their hard work and dedication which has helped us to become the company we are. This blog post is part of a series looking at what our staff do to help you gain an understanding of how we work.

07:00 Start of the Day

Our drivers have to start work early in the day, as our first delivery window begins at 8am. The vans will have already been loaded by our logistics team, so the first thing the driver will do is to check their delivery schedule and make sure that they have everything in the van that needs to be delivered, and that it’s all safely secured.

Once that’s done, our drivers will then take a quick look around the van to check that it is safe to drive before setting off. The last thing the driver will do before setting off is to confirm on his app that he is on his way. When he does this, all of the customers on his route will be sent an automated text to confirm that we are on our way, and their position on the schedule. There is also a link where the delivery driver can be tracked online when he is close.

08:30 First stop

The first drop for our driver today is at a hotel in Birmingham, which has hired some tables and chairs for a big meeting to be held the next day. The event staff is waiting for him as he arrives and directs him to their loading area.

Once he’s backed in, our driver will start to unload the tables and chairs into the goods lift for the hotel. Insurance rules means that is the furthest he can take these items, thankfully the staff are there ready to take over in the lift and to move the furniture to the required room. Tables and chairs are an everyday item for us to deliver and it’s not long before everything is stowed in the lift and the driver gets a signature from the customer to confirm receipt.

09:30 Second stop

The second stop for our driver today is a kitchen in Solihull, which has hired some catering equipment for a big function they are catering for. They’ve ordered some display fridges, a hot cupboard and an oven so that they have the capacity to prepare and cook all the required food.

Fridges used to be a bit of a pain to deliver for us as they would need to be left to stand for a while before plugging in for the refrigerant to settle. However, we now use a fleet of tall vans which our display fridges can stand upright in, allowing us to move them while they remain vertically, causing far less disturbance.

Thanks to the automated texts our customer received they’re ready and waiting for us when our driver gets there, and they’ve got the big kitchen doors at the back open and access cleared. This makes things a lot easier for our driver, who using his years of experience is able to quickly take the equipment from the van and get it into the kitchen. Another signature and he’s on his way again.

10:45 Third stop

The van is now considerably emptier for our driver, making the first collection of the day an easier task to put into vehicle. Our driver arrives at the address to collect the outdoor furniture that has been hired over the weekend by our customer and is pleased to see it all neatly stacked waiting for him.

This makes loading the van a doddle, even if it has to be put into the van in such a way that the remaining items to be delivered can be got to. Our driver counts the items into the van as he loads it and checks it against his collection sheet to confirm he’s got everything he should.

One more signature and he’s on his way to his penultimate stop.

12:30 Fourth stop

The last delivery of the day is some tables and some linen for a private party at a house. There’s a note on the delivery sheet to call the customer when we’re on our way as the address can be difficult to find, so our driver calls the customer to check where he’s going.

On arrival, we understand the need for the call. The house is a beautiful one in the countryside, but the track to access the property is not the most well signposted and even the sat nav isn’t sure. The customer directs us over to his garage which has been opened and the driver is able to stack the tables and linen inside without too much trouble.

Everything dropped off, the customer is happy everything is there and signs our paperwork so we can get on our way to our final collection.

13:30 Final stop

The last stop is at a small function room where we’re going to pick up some crockery and cutlery used for a banquet. We get to the venue to meet the customer, who takes us to the back of the function room where the crockery and cutlery has been stored.

Our driver is pleased to see that the customer has taken the time to ensure all the crockery and cutlery is scraped of food residue and liquids and everything has been put back in the supplied boxes. This makes collection a lot easier, as it’s a case of putting the boxes onto his trolley before pushing that back to the van.

The customer tells us on the way that there is a broken plate, and he thinks a missing spoon, but the driver tells him not to worry, it should be okay. He explains that our free damage waiver covers things like this and that he normally expects one or two broken bits of crockery or glassware in a large order, it’s just how things happen. He tells the customer everything will be checked at the warehouse when he gets back and that they will make contact if there are any problems.

The driver makes a note on the paperwork and the customer signs it. Job done.

14:35 Back at the warehouse

Once back at the warehouse, our driver helps to unload the items he has collected, and then the logistics team will start to load the van ready for the next day’s deliveries.

It’s been a good day for our driver with few problems. The order tracking has helped to ensure that customers are ready for his arrival, making loading and unloading easy. There have been days when the driver has arrived to find equipment scattered around a site or even worse, damaged or missing. We try our best to help limit those days as they are stressful for everyone involved and cause issues when there doesn’t need to be any.

At 3pm our driver is done for the day, and he can go home, happy to have been a part of another successful day at Expo Hire.