"We are not allowed to ask for water"

[phil675]

alternatively we'd get threads on say mumsnet with 'DPD driver took a massive **** in downstairs loo and stank the house out'

This is partly the reason you can't because if you do block their toilet they will attempt to sue for a new plumbing system. This happened to a co-worker.

-deliver to old lady that has a moveable shelf-on-a-frame thing at the front door to place crates on so she doesn't have to bend down
-co-worker scrapes the burglar alarm code box with a crate and the casing comes loose and falls off
-apologies offers to fix it she says no don't worry
-week later she said she got someone from the company who makes it to come out, they said the whole thing was obsolete and needed replacing because they don't make the covers for those alarm boxes anymore
-need a whole new system
-supermarket ends up paying £5000 for the new alarm system to avoid court


Another person tried to claim I drove into their brick wall which had fallen down, driving past that house later I see the wall is still there and the insurance assessor also saw the wall was still standing. Tons of people try it on now that the word is out the supermarket will just pay money out to avoid legal action.

 

[Marky]

Saw some bin men working today,

Cant be nice for them either. Now, while modern day bin-maning is a bit ********* compared to what it used to be in the 60's, it is still fast physical work and Ill bet they are suffering somewhat in this heat (Not least because of all the heavy clothing they have to wear)

It is important to remember that people who are hot, bothered and dehydrated are also likley not to have their thinking caps on straight any more! So keep an eye out for Binmen when you are driving past them just in case one inadvertently attempts to sacrifice himself to Juggernaut under your wheels while you are passing!!

True! I saw some bin men coming to collect some rubbish from a job yesterday and they looked truely... mad... They were sweating hard and not happy at all Must be difficult doing that sort of job in this heat!

 

[Haggisman]

come off it, how hard is it for someone to stop and buy some water... or likewise go to the toilet

It's not "hard" at all, but where the OP says:

[...] he replied that he cant wait to get to lunch to go and buy some more water [...]

It does indicate that the company appears to have a culture where that sort of thing is frowned upon.

 

[Ahleckz]

(we buy bottled water by the thousand on a pallet)

I thought that's absolutely crazy!

I see a theme here.

 

[dowie]

It does indicate that the company appears to have a culture where that sort of thing is frowned upon.

It would take him a few minutes at worst to nip into a shop, really not that hard.

 

[phil675]

It would take him a few minutes at worst to nip into a shop, really not that hard.

Sometimes you seriously don't have time in that sort of job. You might get bad luck with traffic, be 5 minutes behind and have to claw it back with reckless driving. Stopping at a shop is something you have to have a nice bag of spare minutes for.

 

[dowie]

If you're (genuinely) seriously dehydrated then you're a complete idiot to not do so not to mention a danger to other road users. If not then you probably should kick yourself for stupidly not bringing some water with you given it has been hot for the past few days, man up and go at lunch.

 

[Haggisman]

If you're (genuinely) seriously dehydrated then you're a complete idiot to not do so not to mention a danger to other road users.

Yes, but when your job is at risk if you're seen to be stopping when/where you shouldn't (don't forget these vans are mostly tracked), then you can hardly blame people for carrying on when they shouldn't

 

[BDEE]

Mrs BDEE is a delivery driver. She took plenty of water yesterday however with it being as hot as it was it soon ran dry.

One nice lady later on in the day after her water had run out gave her a can of Pepsi as she could tell she was hot and bothered.

Let's face it, she wouldn't have died, but it was welcome relief and just a simple gesture of good will. The usual GD tribe shouting that it's all their fault should go back to reading their Daily Mail to see what's causing cancer today. Maybe it will be delivery drivers who ran out of water!?

And no, they are not allowed to stop to "pop to a shop" on shift - All vans are tracked via GPS and movement linked with the handheld devices with e-signatures on.

Also the previous day her van was leaking water and used her drinking water to top up the radiator to prevent a breakdown.......

 

[dowie]

Yes, but when your job is at risk if you're seen to be stopping when/where you shouldn't (don't forget these vans are mostly tracked), then you can hardly blame people for carrying on when they shouldn't

depends... if you're seriously dehydrated then yes I can - it is stupid and reckless

your job is even more at risk if you lose concentration and crash into someone! not to mention the potential injury you might cause.

 

[dowie]

Let's face it, she wouldn't have died, but it was welcome relief and just a simple gesture of good will. The usual GD tribe shouting that it's all their fault should go back to reading their Daily Mail to see what's causing cancer today.

bottom line is it is her fault though... whether you like that or not

if she ran out then she didn't have 'plenty' of water in the first place

 

[estebanrey]

This is partly the reason you can't because if you do block their toilet they will attempt to sue for a new plumbing system. This happened to a co-worker.

-deliver to old lady that has a moveable shelf-on-a-frame thing at the front door to place crates on so she doesn't have to bend down
-co-worker scrapes the burglar alarm code box with a crate and the casing comes loose and falls off
-apologies offers to fix it she says no don't worry
-week later she said she got someone from the company who makes it to come out, they said the whole thing was obsolete and needed replacing because they don't make the covers for those alarm boxes anymore
-need a whole new system
-supermarket ends up paying £5000 for the new alarm system to avoid court


Another person tried to claim I drove into their brick wall which had fallen down, driving past that house later I see the wall is still there and the insurance assessor also saw the wall was still standing. Tons of people try it on now that the word is out the supermarket will just pay money out to avoid legal action.

Yep, and the problem exists the other way too. If a worker were to trip over a wire or something in someone's house they could sue the homeowner which isn't great PR for the company that employs them.

 

[SexyGreyFox]

Yes, but when your job is at risk if you're seen to be stopping when/where you shouldn't (don't forget these vans are mostly tracked), then you can hardly blame people for carrying on when they shouldn't

Boss - "Why were you stopped on the A237 for 3mins 32secs?"
Driver - "A lorry had broke down up the road".


And just to clarify I'm not blaming the driver, I've gone out for runs thinking I'd got enough and then shouted people in their gardens.

 

[Street]

I'd assume they're also not supposed to ask to use the toilet at customer's houses either

Quite a few delivery drivers have asked to use the toilet in our office and we always let them!

 

[Eurofighter]

I think they should be allowed to ask for water/toilet.

 

[Newbfail]

Guess they will think differently when an employee sues for dehydration related illness.....silly business rule

 

[HAz]

I saw the recycle men working on the hottest day wednesday, and they are made to wear all high vis full length top and bottoms and a cap, they looked so hot i'm surprised they didn't pass out! Health and safety gone mad as usual, but forgetting heat exhaustion is a real dangerous factor.

 

[Blackjack Davy]

I'd rather carry my own water than ask/be given any by a customer for various reasons

I know when I used to do it I took my own water, on the really baking days like last tuesday I took 6 litres of water with me, used to the drink the lot too and still be thirsty when I knocked off.

Put 3 bottles in the fridge and 3 in the freezer the night before, drank the fridge ones in the morning by the afternoon the frozen ones had thawed out and were also nice and cool.

 

[VincentHanna]

Yep, you planned ahead.

If only everyone would do that.

 

[linktoinsanity]

Generally it really is the drivers that should make sure that they provision themselves with the water for the day. I do understand that they may be caught short on occasion though.

Not to diminish what you did OP on giving that driver some water, good on you, but it is not our responsibility as customers.

Link.