Years ago on boxes I fairly regularly (as in about 10 times in 6 months) used to drive to Felixstowe from Cannock with an empty skeletal trailer.
Arrive and ring the office to be told to come back with nothing. Literally just turn round and come back.
Apparently it was because the shipping line they worked for paid for the journey but the truck had to actually make the trip. Didn’t actually matter if there was a box to take or bring back.
When you think there was a fair few of us on nights and we all had it happen regularly that’s a hell of a lot of empty running.
Many moons ago I loaded PVC in a silo tank at GE Grangemouth, long gone, to Hannover quite a regular job. On arriving at Hannover normally they were straight out to you, but a bit tardy today, anyway I went and found them and definitely didn’t feel welcome. A sample was taken as usual and 20 minutes later he comes back “sorry it’s failed, take it away” now this was unheard of with GE product they tested and tested before and during loading. What I had noticed was that their silo gauge was showing 70% it was normally less than 20%, so phone calls made and wait there. After a while GE said we’re trying to get another customer in Sweden to take it, so another couple of hours waiting but no go, after having sat in Hannover for 7 hours, so 4 hours demurrage, the phone call came, “take it back to Grangemouth.” So off I goes thinking a quick reload + no empty mileage + no wash + demurrage = happiness; but this isn’t the end, oh no.
Back in blighty the phone rings, when will you be in grangemouth? Thursday morning I said, ah they won’t have a free silo 'till Friday, take it home, which wasn’t out of the way, have Thursday off charge a full days demurrage and take it up on Friday.
Friday morning I arrive and am soon met by both the lab manager and the plant director both seriously unimpressed, let’s have some samples and get it tested again, as expected bang in spec, so the plant director asks did I notice the silo stock level, well since he asked I told him, there followed much swearing in Scottish. Right he says “they’ve ordered another for Wednesday, I’ll get you new paperwork including test certificates and we’ll give it all new numbers and you can take it back, whatever you do don’t tell them it’s the same load. If they accept it we know that they were just short of room but didn’t want to admit it.” The Germans did take it and got charged for the by now expensive carry on."
When I did the courier work for Plaxtond buses in Scarbro’ I got a frantic phone call from them to chase down to the Thetford porta pottie place in Leicester to collect a rubber sealing ring for a coach that was going out that night, said item cost £1.37 !! When I got back I was asked would I be charging my normal mileage rate ? Of course I did …
Best one we had years ago was when two trailers with similar numbers (335 and 353),had been repainted but the painters had mixed the numbers on them,instead of having the same number back and front, both had one of each others.The mistake was only found out after both loads of tractors had returned to the yard, after Hull Docks said this load is not for us and the customer in the West country said the same.As always the Drivers where to blame for being idiots and not checking properly, until the Yard Foreman spotted the costly mistake.
It happened a lot on tankers, they over ordered or had a plant breakdown and the tanks were full. The product normally failed sample and was sent back. I always tried to get a storage tank reading before leaving site
Heathrow to Redditch empty for collection, we got nothing for you driver, you sure theres two more trucks about 20 mins behind me for the rest of it. all 3 ran up and back empty.
Took an aircraft engine to Frankfurt and brought it back without even undoing a strap, 4 day trip
Used to work nights at Woolies ,the amount of times we would take empty roll cages or even an empty trailer down to Swindon only to be given the same trailer to take back to Rochdale cos there was no loads ready to come back up was unreal , the phrase Communication is the key springs to mind
Many moons ago on boxes out of Southampton, we were regularly told to take a certain shipping line’s box up to Freightliner in Birmingham and bring back a damaged one for the ship. A daft job to start with, but made even more so by the number of times we’d turn up, have the good box rejected as damaged or, worse, have a sledgehammer applied to the good box so then it WAS damaged, and bring it straight back again.
I was self employed at the time. Used bugger all diesel, that job. Happy days.
Many moons ago young lad covering at weekends for a OD in Tarmac Clitheroe got a load for West Bradford which is Two miles from the Quarry. He loaded before me, set off to West Bradford, I loaded drove to the same job, no sign of him, tipped got back to the quarry, told Weighbridge man, oh don’t worry he,s riding round Bradford looking for the site was the reply!!! Same guy went to Rochdale from Clitheroe via A59 to Preston then M61,M62.
About 4 years ago I collected 20 pallets of cardboard pallet sleeves from a company in norfolk ( each pallet was equivalent to 4 pallets square ).
I took them to a German supermarket chains depot in Bathgate with strict instructions not to touch the load if asked to self tip. I arrived in Bathgate and had the expected conversation with them about they have to tip it themselves but they refused. Made the phone call to the office and waited for a call back. Waited 30 mins for the return call and was told to bring it back to norfolk. Jobs a good un.
6 weeks ago I picked a trailer up in our yard in norfolk and took it to Manchester for a noon delivery on sunday. Got it there and was told I was 2 days late. Made the call waited 10 minutes for the call back and was told to bring it back. Jobs a good un.
lizard:
About 4 years ago I collected 20 pallets of cardboard pallet sleeves from a company in norfolk ( each pallet was equivalent to 4 pallets square ).
I took them to a German supermarket chains depot in Bathgate with strict instructions not to touch the load if asked to self tip. I arrived in Bathgate and had the expected conversation with them about they have to tip it themselves but they refused. Made the phone call to the office and waited for a call back. Waited 30 mins for the return call and was told to bring it back to norfolk. Jobs a good un.
6 weeks ago I picked a trailer up in our yard in norfolk and took it to Manchester for a noon delivery on sunday. Got it there and was told I was 2 days late. Made the call waited 10 minutes for the call back and was told to bring it back. Jobs a good un.
Sent from Platform 9 3/4
And of course you said don’t pay me I don’t deserve it
lizard:
About 4 years ago I collected 20 pallets of cardboard pallet sleeves from a company in norfolk ( each pallet was equivalent to 4 pallets square ).
I took them to a German supermarket chains depot in Bathgate with strict instructions not to touch the load if asked to self tip. I arrived in Bathgate and had the expected conversation with them about they have to tip it themselves but they refused. Made the phone call to the office and waited for a call back. Waited 30 mins for the return call and was told to bring it back to norfolk. Jobs a good un.
6 weeks ago I picked a trailer up in our yard in norfolk and took it to Manchester for a noon delivery on sunday. Got it there and was told I was 2 days late. Made the call waited 10 minutes for the call back and was told to bring it back. Jobs a good un.
Sent from Platform 9 3/4
And of course you said don’t pay me I don’t deserve it
was the reply!!! Same guy went to Rochdale from Clitheroe via A59 to Preston then M61,M62.