Today was going very well as far as Monday's go. I was cool, calm and had all the avenues covered, firm but fair and keeping the ship nice and steady. Of course this being a Monday it was doomed to failure and oh was failure headed my way like an iceberg on the starboard bow while exiting a full right hand emergency manoeuvre..
I had ordered a 44 tonne truck and trailer to load the used tyres on and at 3.30 pm it duly arrived, i noticed immediately that it was one of the biggest trucks that currently use our roads, a Daf XF super space cab, to those who aren't sure then Google it if you so wish, believe me its big. I also knew this truck was automatic and as such a real pig to move in confined spaces. Knowing the truck owner very well i went to the driver and said "Not wishing to patronise you or be condescending would you mind if i shunted the trailer around the back for you because its an awkward place to get in. Needless to say i was completely stone walled.
So, I stood back and tried to guide the guy down an alley way in reverse and into the yard, this task was somewhat long winded to say the least and after 15 minutes and umpteen tries I popped over to the door of the truck and asked "I am not being funny with you but do you mind if i jump in and do it for you?"
.....oh dear. Some people really do take life a little too seriously and obviously i didn't take on the look of your average truck driver. What followed was a lot of swearing and spinning of wheels followed by a confrontation where i was reminded that said individual had been driving for 25 years and didn't need my sh#t... etc etc #ad infinitum.. I am pretty broad minded but even i was taken aback by the reaction from a supposed professional driver. At this point i reminded him he was in my yard and i wasn't happy with how i was being spoken to, this was only fuel on the fire and I was even squared up to.
Now.... let me put you in the picture for a second, yes I write... but I have also grown up around lorries and machinery, I have driven.owned,built,sprayed,sold and bought every type of truck in this country. I have run my own fleet of trucks and employed drivers and run other peoples maintenance contracts on top of all this i run 3 different companies and am a partner in another one so i really do think that would qualify me to step into this poor man's shoes given the well known awkwardness of this particular reversing manoeuvre in what was after all my own yard. But no, instead of that he saw me as a threat. So no more ado he drove out of the yard and went back to his base.
20 minutes later the phone went and it was my uncle who owns the lorry. I have to admit i was annoyed at this point, more out of the stupidity of the incident than anything else, he said he would bring the trailer over later for me so i let it go at that.
Sure enough the boss came in with said truck and lined it up to back it into the yard..... yep you guessed it, after 3 or 4 shunts he jumped out and muttered something along the lines of "ffs you do it".
I am not Superman, but i do know the lie of the land in my own yard, i drew the lorry and trailer forwards, lined the trailer up to the corner of the building and put it straight in first time much to the amusement of my own staff who had seen all this going on at a distance.
No, I didn't crow, i just pointed out that it was all i had wanted to do in the first place. Local knowledge is invaluable and if any lessons can be learnt from this debacle it is that you should never judge a book by its cover, the driver saw a well dressed man trying to tell him how to do his job, in reality i was being sincere and offering the benefit of my experience in the given situation. His boss jumped out and let me get on with it.. that is the difference between employees and employers... and the gap it seems is as wide as ever in the trucking industry. I don't miss employing drivers and especially those who shout and swear at customers who are actually paying their wages at the end of the day. Rant over.
I had ordered a 44 tonne truck and trailer to load the used tyres on and at 3.30 pm it duly arrived, i noticed immediately that it was one of the biggest trucks that currently use our roads, a Daf XF super space cab, to those who aren't sure then Google it if you so wish, believe me its big. I also knew this truck was automatic and as such a real pig to move in confined spaces. Knowing the truck owner very well i went to the driver and said "Not wishing to patronise you or be condescending would you mind if i shunted the trailer around the back for you because its an awkward place to get in. Needless to say i was completely stone walled.
So, I stood back and tried to guide the guy down an alley way in reverse and into the yard, this task was somewhat long winded to say the least and after 15 minutes and umpteen tries I popped over to the door of the truck and asked "I am not being funny with you but do you mind if i jump in and do it for you?"
.....oh dear. Some people really do take life a little too seriously and obviously i didn't take on the look of your average truck driver. What followed was a lot of swearing and spinning of wheels followed by a confrontation where i was reminded that said individual had been driving for 25 years and didn't need my sh#t... etc etc #ad infinitum.. I am pretty broad minded but even i was taken aback by the reaction from a supposed professional driver. At this point i reminded him he was in my yard and i wasn't happy with how i was being spoken to, this was only fuel on the fire and I was even squared up to.
Now.... let me put you in the picture for a second, yes I write... but I have also grown up around lorries and machinery, I have driven.owned,built,sprayed,sold and bought every type of truck in this country. I have run my own fleet of trucks and employed drivers and run other peoples maintenance contracts on top of all this i run 3 different companies and am a partner in another one so i really do think that would qualify me to step into this poor man's shoes given the well known awkwardness of this particular reversing manoeuvre in what was after all my own yard. But no, instead of that he saw me as a threat. So no more ado he drove out of the yard and went back to his base.
20 minutes later the phone went and it was my uncle who owns the lorry. I have to admit i was annoyed at this point, more out of the stupidity of the incident than anything else, he said he would bring the trailer over later for me so i let it go at that.
Sure enough the boss came in with said truck and lined it up to back it into the yard..... yep you guessed it, after 3 or 4 shunts he jumped out and muttered something along the lines of "ffs you do it".
I am not Superman, but i do know the lie of the land in my own yard, i drew the lorry and trailer forwards, lined the trailer up to the corner of the building and put it straight in first time much to the amusement of my own staff who had seen all this going on at a distance.
No, I didn't crow, i just pointed out that it was all i had wanted to do in the first place. Local knowledge is invaluable and if any lessons can be learnt from this debacle it is that you should never judge a book by its cover, the driver saw a well dressed man trying to tell him how to do his job, in reality i was being sincere and offering the benefit of my experience in the given situation. His boss jumped out and let me get on with it.. that is the difference between employees and employers... and the gap it seems is as wide as ever in the trucking industry. I don't miss employing drivers and especially those who shout and swear at customers who are actually paying their wages at the end of the day. Rant over.
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