Whats the worse barny you've had on the phone with the boss?

The tramping thread got me remembering. Just for the fun. What’s the worse shindig, blow down, vein straining moment you’ve had on the blower with a boss?

I’ll tell you mine :laughing:

I started tramping with this general haulage outfit in Lincs. They paid alright but came with a reputation that I only found out about on day 1 (why does that happen?). The ministry were in and out of there like a teenager’s twitcher on summer camp after finding some “errors”

I ran clean (well tried too) and always refused to run bent as I had my eye on moving to a different gig that I needed a clean background for.

It’s a long story but I’d had a belly full of this lot after they kept trying to send me out at 0400 on Monday with trailers missing MOTs and various ■■■■ ups. I could tell they were trying but old habits died hard. Anyways, end of the week and was down south. Had already tipped at some places. The planners were on at me about a particular drop. I’d said I was not going to make the time. Anyway, the boss man comes on the phone and starts nice enough but wasn’t long before the passive aggressive stuff started.

I told him it was a fact of life, it wasn’t happening at X and I’d need a 45 after my next tip. Well, short story made longer, he was ranting and raving on several calls throughout the afternoon. We’d arrange a trailer swap with another bloke running a flat to mitigate the delay, whilst I was on my 45. I was absolutely buggered tired and took a nap. When I got up 30 mins later the phones going. The boss man is going mental about why I’m not moving etc. I explained I was taking a 45 as indicated. He then started swearing at me. Lost his temper.

Well that was it. I told this bloke I won’t be sworn at and that he could shove his load up his ■■■■■■■ crack, I’d take my 11 off and be driving straight back to the yard and wanted to see him to discuss his trying to continually attempt to get me to break the law. He just stuttered and ummed and erred. A schooner that suddenly had flat sails :laughing: .

I drove back to the yard the next day, calmly even dropped the flat back to the farm and went into the transport office, I asked for this bloke (he was in his 40s- the owner). Not one of the incestuous gits in the office would speak to me. I said I’m waiting for him as we had a meeting, the git wouldn’t turn up. He’d done this before apparantly, got all aggressive then disappeared when people argued with him.

Don’t get me wrong, I had no ideas of boxing him one, I’m not at all a violent person, that’s not my style, I just wanted to jack Russell him. I waited an hour and then bogged off, 2 days later found another job that suited me to the ground :laughing: . An equally fiery boss but I gave as good as I got and we always got on bizarrely and he did me a good turn for a future career interview. Those were the days! I did a lot of growing up then. :laughing: . I’m less fiery nowadays as happens with losing the insecurities of being young, but I still can switch suddenly to “bloody firm” as the misses calls it :laughing: especially if I feel I’m being treated like a mug just because I try to be nice to people. :laughing:

In a previous job I used to delivery fertiliser to farms. I was collecting a load from Ince at 9am that couldn’t get delivered until 3pm because the farmer wa at a sheep auction.

Any way, delivered the fert and was on the phone to the office getting my next job details when the boss comes onto the phone. Asks me why it took so long to get to the farm (only three hour drive to farm) Told him I was told not to get there until 3pm. At this point he starts shouting down the phone at me, that the other driver who was delivering there was obviously better than me. I gave as good as I got and it got quite heated. The fleet was tracked, and he left the office five mins before I got back leaving his younger brother to try and appease me.

The crux of it was, the other driver rang the office asking for my number to let me know the farmer was back early, and the boss said that he would tell me but obviously didn’t. I lost the last bit if respect I had for him and I left about two weeks later for the job I’m in now.

Not really a barney because I am not shouty.Maybe a bit threatening.
When I lived and worked in Belgium.I had the last ferry from Ostend to Ramsgate booked on December 24th to spend Christmas in the UK.Offloaded in France and told to reload in St.Avold.(look it up) Assumed it was back to base so didn’t ask.After loading I was to unload at Mulhouse(look it up) reload there and return to Belgium.Arrived at factory early evening.It was closed.Boss said stay with it until Dec.27th.Mmmm.That’s not going to happen.Parked truck in Centre Routier,left keys at reception,got a train home.At my cost but they are cheap on the continent.Left a note in boss’s letter box"See you next year."Still caught the ferry.Didn’t get sacked.

I had two of those calls with one boss . First time I’d been down past Swansea with a powder tank , set off back and got to Wolverhampton with 20 minutes of a 10 hour left , so I parked up for the night . Half an hour later the phone rings , " What time you going to be back " , me " 7 in the morning " , him " We need the lorry for the night man and ***** has done the same run and he’s back " . I told him if he needed me to run as bent as ***** to put it in writing . It was never mentioned again . Second call I was on a late tip at Iceland Swindon , hand the keys in and sit in the cab . No bloody night heater , again . It was 11-45 when I got out and -7 degrees , so I the bosses home number , " Hello what’s the problem you woke me up " all narky .So I politely told him while he was all cosy I was freezing cold and the night heater didn’t work and slammed the phone down . had 9 off with the 14 litre heater chugging away and got a call from the fleet engineer " straight back to the garage , that lorry doesn’t go out again until the night heater is fixed , and I’ve just had a right blocking off the boss " . Funnily not a word was said to me . Dave

Never argue over the phone always wait till I get back to the yard and sort it out face to face.

The Irish owner of a cargo ship I was skipper of. He gave me some grief over an issue that had nowt to do with me so I told him where to shove his !!! ship, When we got to Campletown the roads were all blocked by snow so any relief skipper could not get there or me get home so ended up staying another month. The only time he would have a go was over the phone …

Never ever had an argument with any of my gaffers, must have been lucky as I did as I was asked? However weighbridge men/women are a totally different matter! :laughing:

Pete.

I’m consider myself quite a mellow guy and takes me a lot to get riled generally and take a lot of crap as par the course. Sometimes I might suggest an easier way/ method to doing something or maybe having an issue or two with some things that could be sorted different to make everyones life a bit easier but in general I just get on with it.

Saying that, I won’t tolerate anyone taking the ■■■■ out of me money wise. If I’ve agreed to a wage they tell me I’ll get, I’ll do my end of the deal getting the work done and if they then try and fob me off with BS on my pay, look out.

I rang the boss told him he was a ■■■■■■ and i would run the job how i saw fit as i was the one doing the hard work and if he didnt like it he could stick his new Scania up his arse, he put the phone down on me so i parked it up and got my missus to come and pick me up, he then rang me at home and said i had to go and get the truck as i had to be in Glasgow at 8 the next morning , well what could i do ? I went and got the truck and did exactly as i was told , i suppose working for your dad you can get away with the odd rant :laughing:

Freight Dog, that sounds suspiciously like a certain chappie from Wyondham, if thats how its spelled, you wouldn’t be the first at that.

Sapper

I had one years ago in Spalding, at FW, before all the jonny flip flops were there, it was about 1995, or thereabouts, I was driving for a subbie, and was told to pick up my trailer at 2.00am, it had been dropped for the shunter to put on bay for loading an I got my head down, When I went to the office, I was told no load, come back in 2 hours. After 2 hours went back, no load, come back at 6.00am, went backthen, no load, phoned the owner, he said nowt else to do just wait, it will ve a load to then, Safeway in Bellshill, i said I’m not doing that now, I’ve been ■■■■■■ about for 6 hours, get someone else, anyway, we start arguing, and I ended up saying, come and get your truck, I threw the keys at the FW planner and got my gear out and got a lift to Scotland, bollox to tgat.

Sapper

Mine wasn’t in haulage, it was back when I was driving buses, due to road works all over the route my 12 hour shift would not have had any breaks, told the office and got told to ■■■■ it up (not so politely, let’s just say if it had been face to face, the boss would have needed a dentist). So I get to the terminus, tell the passengers that there’s a problem with the vehicle. Disconnected the batteries and threw them over a wall and went home.
Next morning at 4am, the boss phones me grovelling and begs me to come back. Needless to say he never seen me again

windrush:
Never ever had an argument with any of my gaffers, must have been lucky as I did as I was asked? However weighbridge men/women are a totally different matter! :laughing:

Pete.

Trust me with that outfit if I did as I was asked I’d have been off vosas Christmas card list :laughing: . It was a long time ago, they’re still around so must have pulled their socks up.

sapper:
I had one years ago in Spalding, at FW, before all the jonny flip flops were there, it was about 1995, or thereabouts, I was driving for a subbie, and was told to pick up my trailer at 2.00am, it had been dropped for the shunter to put on bay for loading an I got my head down, When I went to the office, I was told no load, come back in 2 hours. After 2 hours went back, no load, come back at 6.00am, went backthen, no load, phoned the owner, he said nowt else to do just wait, it will ve a load to then, Safeway in Bellshill, i said I’m not doing that now, I’ve been ■■■■■■ about for 6 hours, get someone else, anyway, we start arguing, and I ended up saying, come and get your truck, I threw the keys at the FW planner and got my gear out and got a lift to Scotland, bollox to tgat.

Sapper

Ah god FW were useless. I ran for a subby who did some traction for them too. Stacks of collections everywhere that weren’t ready before Avonmouth because some half wit couldn’t organise the locals.

Believe it or not I’ve never had a full on argument with a boss! I’ve normally jacked the job in before the relationship deteriorates that much

Too many to remember. Having said that, it was all forgotten after 5 minutes… usually.

switchlogic:
Believe it or not I’ve never had a full on argument with a boss! I’ve normally jacked the job in before the relationship deteriorates that much

I’m the same.
I do the job my way…or I walk.

commonrail:

switchlogic:
Believe it or not I’ve never had a full on argument with a boss! I’ve normally jacked the job in before the relationship deteriorates that much

I’m the same.
I do the job my way…or I walk.

I can’t think of a row in 26 years…we all have off days when we get a bit grumpy, stuff happening in life, but on the whole it seems pretty easy. Couple of the drivers have had arguments over the years and it ends up like a playground, but nothing serious.

We’re pretty relaxed though, they get a lot of latitude, but likewise when something needs doing a certain way, they know why and it gets done.

sapper:
Freight Dog, that sounds suspiciously like a certain chappie from Wyondham, if thats how its spelled, you wouldn’t be the first at that.

Sapper

I had two stints working for the company in ‘Windam’, treated the drivers like crap but I had one big row with him and he was OK with me after that but his wife was a different matter …

Who leaves their phone on during their breaks anyway? :stuck_out_tongue: