Thinking of starting euro work

Simon:

dieseldog999:

toby1234abc:
I did ask the Mayors daughter for a meal out but she canceled due to reading all of Carryfasts posts .

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
id reckon shes still reading them!!!

:laughing: :laughing: :laughing:
Aye, she’s going to be busy for quite some time I expect.

Currency is the Euro, easy enough to work with, don’t bother comparing prices, the price is the price. Some things cost a bit more, some things cost a bit less, unless you’re in Switzerland, then everything costs a good bit more and the price is in Swiss Francs. Try to avoid an overnight stop in Switzerland, it’ll be expensive.

Languages, most people speak some English. Be prepared to apply some lateral thinking though. They might know a different word for something you would give an entirely different name to. Most Europeans learn American English, at school and off the TV. So using a strange word for something isn’t that surprising when you think about it.
Learning a bit of each language of the countries you visit will pay dividends though. The change of attitude to a Brit driver attempting Italian, in Italy, or whatever, is surprising. All you need is the appropriate greeting, please and thanks, I’ve come to deliver or load. Having a rough idea what’s good to eat on a menu is also useful (unless you’re big mac and fries, that’s universal).
I had a load to be delivered all over North Italy. I did about half the drops and had to drop the rest in Turin at a groupage house. Apparently I wasn’t expected.
Anyway some poor lass got dicked to deal with the bloody Brit driver. I heard her asking “what’s the English for magazine?” so I called over and said it’s warehouse. She came over to me at the counter and apologised for her poor English, explaining she’d been learning German instead. I replied in bad German that this wasn’t a problem, I’d been speaking bad German for years. So she took me to the warehouse and told the head man to tip me as soon as they could (I got this from my electronic translator, later on). I was in and out within the hour. Would she have told them that IF I didn’t speak bad German or even poorer Italian? I doubt it. More likely, get round to this guy whenever you feel like it. That’s the sort of change of attitude you’ll get.
I can speak slightly better German now, some French, a little Italian and Spanish and a few phrases in Dutch and Greek. I’m nowhere near fluent in any of them, but can get by in most.

Work. Since the borders Eastwards have opened, the attitude to drivers has changed somewhat, and not for the better. It used to be standard practice at most places for drivers to park overnight on the premises (except in Italy) and be offered the use of the on site toilets and showers. That’s gone, for the most part. Possibly more due to Euro work becoming much less a closed shop than it was, which coincidentally happened at around the same time. But driving a truck is driving a truck. Tolls for the most part are paid through a variety of electronic boxes. Navigation is done with a sat-nav. Anyone can do it these days. There are pitfalls for those who expect it to be exactly the same as UK. You’ll learn them as you go, keep your wits about you and your ears open. Don’t be scared to ask a question, the only stupid question is the one you didn’t ask but should have. Having said that, a lot is common sense, use your loaf as well.

Well put Simon.