19/06/14

Today seemed too good to be true and as the saying goes "If it seems too good to be true it usually is!"  and it was.  I had Carlton store and area with no collections, I had to stop for a break as my hours were up, while I was stopped I received the phone call.  "Will you be back in time to take a load of feed to Kirkby store?"  There was no problem, I knew I could do it easily and still be back in the yard in time to start with the next days load.  I got back to base, collected my tickets and all was well.  The curtains were open and I was about to start loading when disaster struck.  Our transport manager appeared, took back my tickets and said I was to go with another member or staff, take one of the seven and a half tonne trucks with two tonnes of pheasant feed find a hut around two miles into the forestry and swap the two tonnes that had been dropped earlier as it was the wrong product.  Great!  Firstly the truck is a Hino and is built for someone of a much smaller stature than my six foot three, possibly for someone no taller than five foot three.  But I managed to drive the damned thing, no wonder its half the price of a Merc!  That was only the first problem, finding the said hut was the second it was in the forestry to the North of Helmsley off one of the unmarked tracks.  After two wrong turns and a couple of precarious turning manoeuvres on forestry tracks we managed to find the hut.  Third problem, we had on two tonnes of feed which we had to off load in the hut there was two tonnes of feed which we had to collect, the hut would only hold two tonnes of feed and the doorway wasn't high enough to walk in carrying a bag on my shoulder, this just got better!  In the end we had to partially empty the hut to make room before unloading the truck.  We did the job eventually, I hope the pheasants appreciate our efforts.  Just as we finished my colleague informed me that the company had lost part of the order, yes you've guessed it, the easy part.  It appears that the new supplier is willing to undercut us but not on the deliveries to the miserable little huts in the woods.  Which company is being daft?