Now I’m fairly flexible to silly-hours-of-the-morning booking times but there are limits; push me and you’ll know about it 
.
The story :
Finished tipping at 2 Sisters, Wolverhampton about 10am Thursday morning and my re-load was at Norish Cold Store, Briery Hill nr Dudley with 26 pallets of frozen meat for David Jenkins Butchers, Armstrong St at Grimsby.
I got loaded and got away early afternoon and arrived at this place in Grimsby at 1610.
“How’do mate, full load for you from Norish Cold Store”.
“Aw, you’re kidding! My work gang’s just gone home and there’s only me here”.
Couple of phone calls later and the TM agreed that it would have to be tipped in the morning. We (the guy at Jenkins and myself) agreed that I’d get on the bay at 5am for him to tip me. I also made it very clear that I didn’t want a wake-up knock beforehand as my alarm clock works perfectly well thanks. No problems says he and after a laugh and joke I pulled out of the yard and parked up outside with the fridge going on full tilt at -19C (just how I like it for a good nights sleep 
). After the zebideeing about at 2 Sisters that morning (see later thread) I was buggered and needed my bed so I turned in and was asleep in no time.
A guard dog barking madly at 1am woke me up and I checked the windows to make sure that my diesel wasn’t being half-inched (trailer doors tight against a fence so no problem with the load), all was well so got my head down again.
Then suddenly - KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK WTF 
Picked up my moby and it was 3.55am . Now I can muster up for patience for most things if required but when people knock me up from my sleep for no genuine reason (ie. diesel being nicked, trailer being broken into etc) my fuse is about 1mm long and vanishes in seconds. Stupidly, I thought that if I ignore it long enough “it” will go away. NO NO NO NO NO… On the 12th knock I’d had enough and my blood temp had risen to about 400C and I was raging. I yanked the curtain back and saw the same guy there from the day previously grinning from ear to ear gesticulating that it was time for me to be tipped. 
. Very unimpressed I waved my watch at him and told him to “do one” so off he went.
Like I said before, my booking time was 5am (as agreed) and this was 3.55am . Content but still enraged that he’d “done one” I pulled the curtain back across and got my head down again and drifted off to sleep. 10 minutes later, KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK . Is this really happening or am I dreaming it . KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK then ROCK ROCK ROCK ROCK ROCK the cab . WTF
Curtain yanked back again, ZEBIDEE OFFFFFFFFFFFFF. This time he got the message.
When I eventually pulled on the bay at 5am as agreed I went and saw him and reminded him of the agreement we’d made yesterday and that under no circumstances did I want waking up, I have an alarm clock which is in good working order. He said to me, “there was no need for that, I’ve been up since 3am this morning just so I could come in early and tip you so you could get on your way”.
“Well that’s your choice. The time we agreed was 5am was it not? Let me tell you something, how would you like it if I came braying on your house door in the middle of the night when you are spark-out? You’d be happy with that would you?”.
[no comment from him]
“Well now you know how it feels”.
It was one of the ‘requirements’ of working for Featherstones that you “parked outside and tipped off the card” but I’ll tell you now - no more. Okay, in this situation I’d had my daily rest period and some but I decide what time I get up, not anyone else.
We used to have the same problem with Co-op Gillingham (just for Jonboy@RH ). In my calculations it’s 4.45hrs driving from Chiquita Dewsbury to Co-op Gillingham so that’s 5.30hrs total time door to door. It’s a 0600 booking for Gillingham so you need to be away from Chiquita Dewsbury at 3.30pm latest to get there and have your 9 off to make your booking time; it never happened. You’d leave Dewsbury at 7pm, get there for midnight-ish and the gaffer would tell you to park outside the joint. 5.30am comes along… KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK, “right come on driver, let’s get you tipped”, after only 5hrs rest.
Sorry but I don’t work that like. I’ll help folks out and one-offs are a different story, but every time , no, come on, let’s have some give and take eh.
Comments anyone
