Joined New Company - Van Disgusting
Discussion
Good morning everyone.
Yesterday was my first day with a large, national company with a fleet in the thousands. I'm technically a contractor (not PAYE) and I'm unsure if this will make a difference but my "employer" has provided me with a van. I went to collect it yesterday and after noting all of the cosmetic damage on the outside on their handover sheet, I looked inside and quite honestly, it was disgusting. I'm not naive enough to expect an old van to be immaculate inside but this really is something else.
I'm a non-smoker and whoever has been in this thing before has been puffing on some pretty pungent stuff (I think rollups and all sorts of funky-flavoured vapes). The driver's seat is badly stained, the dash and steering wheel are covered in some sort of brown stuff and everything is sticky / tacky to the touch. When I turned the fans on, they blew more ash / crap out into my face and there's an unpleasant odour that I can't quite identify. When I wiped the steering wheel with one of those "big cleaning wipes", it was as if I'd wiped it under the wheelarch.
My actual boss is on holiday this week and so someone else is covering for him at the moment. According to him, new starters used to get new vans up until last month but several were crashed or damaged in the first few weeks and so now they've started giving new starters the oldest vans in the fleet.
It appears that the previous driver of mine was fired. - I found copies of disciplinary paperwork mixed in with the considerable amount of rubbish in the back of the van. As soon as I opened the side door, I was nearly hit by an old step ladder falling out and my first job was to drive it over to the skips at the depot and empty as much as I could but every crevice is full of bolts, screws, cable tie ends and all sorts of food wrappers, foil and other household-type rubbish. I managed to get the worst of it out but I'd have to strip half of the van out to get what's left.
I asked if there was anywhere I could get the van washed at the company's expense but my temporary boss only mentioned that there was a jet wash and a brush at my local stores place. I'm less bothered about the exterior (I can easily wash that), my main concern though is the absolute state of the cabin. - So far I've used 2 whole cans of upholstery cleaner on the driver's seat but it's still absolutely minging.
I've been told that if the onboard telematics system considers me a good driver, then I might get a new van after 6 months but in the meantime, they're expecting me to sit in this rolling biohazard. Before I spend a not-insignificant amount trying to clean the cabin, has anyone got any useful advice?
Yesterday was my first day with a large, national company with a fleet in the thousands. I'm technically a contractor (not PAYE) and I'm unsure if this will make a difference but my "employer" has provided me with a van. I went to collect it yesterday and after noting all of the cosmetic damage on the outside on their handover sheet, I looked inside and quite honestly, it was disgusting. I'm not naive enough to expect an old van to be immaculate inside but this really is something else.
I'm a non-smoker and whoever has been in this thing before has been puffing on some pretty pungent stuff (I think rollups and all sorts of funky-flavoured vapes). The driver's seat is badly stained, the dash and steering wheel are covered in some sort of brown stuff and everything is sticky / tacky to the touch. When I turned the fans on, they blew more ash / crap out into my face and there's an unpleasant odour that I can't quite identify. When I wiped the steering wheel with one of those "big cleaning wipes", it was as if I'd wiped it under the wheelarch.
My actual boss is on holiday this week and so someone else is covering for him at the moment. According to him, new starters used to get new vans up until last month but several were crashed or damaged in the first few weeks and so now they've started giving new starters the oldest vans in the fleet.
It appears that the previous driver of mine was fired. - I found copies of disciplinary paperwork mixed in with the considerable amount of rubbish in the back of the van. As soon as I opened the side door, I was nearly hit by an old step ladder falling out and my first job was to drive it over to the skips at the depot and empty as much as I could but every crevice is full of bolts, screws, cable tie ends and all sorts of food wrappers, foil and other household-type rubbish. I managed to get the worst of it out but I'd have to strip half of the van out to get what's left.
I asked if there was anywhere I could get the van washed at the company's expense but my temporary boss only mentioned that there was a jet wash and a brush at my local stores place. I'm less bothered about the exterior (I can easily wash that), my main concern though is the absolute state of the cabin. - So far I've used 2 whole cans of upholstery cleaner on the driver's seat but it's still absolutely minging.
I've been told that if the onboard telematics system considers me a good driver, then I might get a new van after 6 months but in the meantime, they're expecting me to sit in this rolling biohazard. Before I spend a not-insignificant amount trying to clean the cabin, has anyone got any useful advice?
GiantEnemyCrab said:
"Hey boss, this van is a bit w
k <insert reasons>, any chance I can have the second oldest one please? Office said to ask you"
Probably that.
Thanks for the reply. I think I'll have to wait for my manager to return to work next week. I'm currently dealing with a stand-in that doesn't appear to have received a lot of information himself about what he's to do.k <insert reasons>, any chance I can have the second oldest one please? Office said to ask you"Probably that.
Glassman said:
Take pictures and document the conversation with matey.
Wash the seat in company time.
Hi, thanks. I have been doing this - 3 bottles of upholstery cleaner have been used on the seats so far. They're currently saturated and if I brush any harder, I'll probably destroy the upholstery altogether! Wash the seat in company time.
I've managed to get the dash, steering wheel, gear lever etc. to the point that cloths and wipes are no longer coming up brown but I suspect I'll need to wet vac the seats and use some kind of professional HVAC cleaner to get rid of the stench of roll-ups and vapes. There's crud in every nook and cranny and I'm limited as to what I can do without stipping the seats etc. out of the vehicle. If it were my own vehicle, I'd do that but the company won't like me taking their vehicle apart.
Because some of my essential equipment is also missing, I'm currently being paid to sit at home and so I'm using the time to clean the van.
God! this has reminded me of being a courier in the 80s.
Honda Acty vans, Citroen C15s, Transits and Lutons.
Used by others vans were always filthy with the interiors covered in smoking residue.
Loved getting a new van to myself and dreaded servicing days when you had a spare for a few days in minging condition.
But sometimes you'd be lucky and get a nice clean rental from one of the big hire companies.
Escort Vans, Astra Vans, Escort cars, Fiesta cars and even a Sierra estate.
Honda Acty vans, Citroen C15s, Transits and Lutons.
Used by others vans were always filthy with the interiors covered in smoking residue.
Loved getting a new van to myself and dreaded servicing days when you had a spare for a few days in minging condition.
But sometimes you'd be lucky and get a nice clean rental from one of the big hire companies.
Escort Vans, Astra Vans, Escort cars, Fiesta cars and even a Sierra estate.
Clivey said:
I'm technically a contractor (not PAYE) and I'm unsure if this will make a difference but my "employer" has provided me with a van.
How much do you value your job? Because the easiest answer is to leave if you hate it that much.By all means ask if you can clean it, but don't expect to be provided with financial support to do so. The company are to provide you with safe transport that is roadworthy, the cleanliness of it is somewhat more optional.
If it bothers you that much, get a seat cover or similar. If you look after it, I'm sure they'll sort you with a new one soon enough.
InitialDave said:
An ozone generator is good for removing rather than just masking smells.
My approach would be wet vac with shampoo and an enzyme based cleaner, then an ozone generator run all day.
I'd never heard of an ozone generator until now (I've had no need for one). Thanks, I'll look in to it! My approach would be wet vac with shampoo and an enzyme based cleaner, then an ozone generator run all day.
Clivey said:
InitialDave said:
An ozone generator is good for removing rather than just masking smells.
My approach would be wet vac with shampoo and an enzyme based cleaner, then an ozone generator run all day.
I'd never heard of an ozone generator until now (I've had no need for one). Thanks, I'll look in to it! My approach would be wet vac with shampoo and an enzyme based cleaner, then an ozone generator run all day.
Muzzer79 said:
How much do you value your job? Because the easiest answer is to leave if you hate it that much.
By all means ask if you can clean it, but don't expect to be provided with financial support to do so. The company are to provide you with safe transport that is roadworthy, the cleanliness of it is somewhat more optional.
If it bothers you that much, get a seat cover or similar. If you look after it, I'm sure they'll sort you with a new one soon enough.
It's my first job in a new industry and is very well paid so I don't want to burn bridges but at the same time, I'm not here to be taken advantage of.By all means ask if you can clean it, but don't expect to be provided with financial support to do so. The company are to provide you with safe transport that is roadworthy, the cleanliness of it is somewhat more optional.
If it bothers you that much, get a seat cover or similar. If you look after it, I'm sure they'll sort you with a new one soon enough.
I'm the kind of person that keeps things clean and looks after their kit. I've just spent the best part of an hour cleaning the roof of this thing because it looked like it'd never been done. To be honest, I'm surprised it's even been allowed to be kept like that.
Clivey said:
Muzzer79 said:
How much do you value your job? Because the easiest answer is to leave if you hate it that much.
By all means ask if you can clean it, but don't expect to be provided with financial support to do so. The company are to provide you with safe transport that is roadworthy, the cleanliness of it is somewhat more optional.
If it bothers you that much, get a seat cover or similar. If you look after it, I'm sure they'll sort you with a new one soon enough.
It's my first job in a new industry and is very well paid so I don't want to burn bridges but at the same time, I'm not here to be taken advantage of.By all means ask if you can clean it, but don't expect to be provided with financial support to do so. The company are to provide you with safe transport that is roadworthy, the cleanliness of it is somewhat more optional.
If it bothers you that much, get a seat cover or similar. If you look after it, I'm sure they'll sort you with a new one soon enough.
I'm the kind of person that keeps things clean and looks after their kit. I've just spent the best part of an hour cleaning the roof of this thing because it looked like it'd never been done. To be honest, I'm surprised it's even been allowed to be kept like that.
It's your first job in this new industry and they've provided you with a (presumably) roadworthy but dirty van.
If you don't like it, clean it. Plenty of places, unfortunately, don't make the effort to clean vans. I think you are risking making a bad impression if you kick up a big stink because your van is dirty.
I work in logistics. The number of drivers who complain that the truck cabs are treated like pigsty's are numerous, but they have to get on and clean it.
Pica-Pica said:
I would complain, with details. You need to word any complaint in a tone that highlights your values and standards, and how this falls below that.
An admirably principled view. Be prepared for them to tell you to sling your hook though.......Personally, I'd just clean it.
This stuff is amazing at getting stains out of seats, and will clean everything else in the car too :
https://www.blackdiamondproducts.co.uk/product-pag...
This stuff is amazing at getting stains out of seats, and will clean everything else in the car too :
https://www.blackdiamondproducts.co.uk/product-pag...
Ask if you can expense a full interior valet.
In an old job new starters used to get pool cars whilst waiting for their new ones. The company would pay a £10 and were thrown through the local scratch and shine.
I was lucky as the previous owner of my car was OCD about cleanliness. The seats had never been sat in without covers and it was spotless.
Other new starter got a one that wasn’t. He refused to drive it and stated he wouldn’t feel comfortable picking up the client or his boss in a car that was so dirty as it looked unprofessional. His boss agreed and arranged for a local valeter to clean it inside out.
In an old job new starters used to get pool cars whilst waiting for their new ones. The company would pay a £10 and were thrown through the local scratch and shine.
I was lucky as the previous owner of my car was OCD about cleanliness. The seats had never been sat in without covers and it was spotless.
Other new starter got a one that wasn’t. He refused to drive it and stated he wouldn’t feel comfortable picking up the client or his boss in a car that was so dirty as it looked unprofessional. His boss agreed and arranged for a local valeter to clean it inside out.
Muzzer79 said:
Pica-Pica said:
I would complain, with details. You need to word any complaint in a tone that highlights your values and standards, and how this falls below that.
An admirably principled view. Be prepared for them to tell you to sling your hook though.......Clivey said:
InitialDave said:
An ozone generator is good for removing rather than just masking smells.
My approach would be wet vac with shampoo and an enzyme based cleaner, then an ozone generator run all day.
I'd never heard of an ozone generator until now (I've had no need for one). Thanks, I'll look in to it! My approach would be wet vac with shampoo and an enzyme based cleaner, then an ozone generator run all day.
AC bombs generally mask the smell rather than get rid of it which is what the ozone does,
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