As some may have read in my previous posts over the last couple of years, I’m a happy chappy at work, but today I took a few pictures and thought I would share why. Above the obvious of good kit, and good pay.
My gaffer is very keen on customer service, we are an own account outfit, and he figures, if we have a quality product, delivered on time, in a smart truck, with a friendly/helpful driver, then we will be winning… a drop takes as long as it takes. Anyway, enough of the back story. But it does provide a bit of context I guess.
I pick up my paperwork while I’m being loaded, check everything is where is should be, thank my loader, and strap down and zip up the curtains. It’s standard practice for us to ring the customers when we leave the previous drop/yard with a ETA. As I’m ringing the chap, I look at the Google map printout that we get for each drop, and on it is a little hand written note saying “drop is 150m from the road”. Now let’s be honest, if the customer has divulged that little nugget over the phone, then you know you can conservatively double that figure can’t you? So my Spidey Sense is already tingling, and it goes into over drive when the Customer asks how wide my DFLT Manitou is…
2.45m I replied. Off I went, and 10 minutes later I’m pulling up outside his job (it was only a local hop). The customer is waiting for me at the end of his drive, it’s a house, that is being built behind an existing house. This is what greeted me…
Pah! I don’t know what I was worried about, that was going to be a piece of ■■■■■ How wrong I was…
The customer(Paul) was an affable chap and I instantly liked him, “I have had a tape on the gap and its 2.48m” he told me. I got the Manitou off, and took his first pallet off and started to trundle up the drive with Paul walking along side me. He was telling me about the nightmares he had, had with access on this job, and again asked if 2.48m would be enough for me. “Look Paul, it will either fit or it won’t, if it does I’ll drop it on six pence right where you ask, and if it doesn’t we will get it as close as we can.” This seemed to satisfy him. As we made it to the top of the drive my stomach started to lurch again because so far I hadn’t been near a gap of 2.48m, the drive had been 2.7m at least, tight ish for a truck but not end of the world. Then I saw where Paul wanted me to go…
This picture shows the first of 3 pinch points going up the side of the house to the garden. I carefully started my way through the alley. 30mm grace translates to about a fingers width between the wheel of the Manitou and the wall each side plenty on flat level concrete. ■■■■ all on a rutted, wet alley. My ■■■■■■■■ is puckering up a treat. Paul looked worried.
Got through the first 2 pinch points to be greeted with this.
Great a wet sticky incline, with a 2.5m gap between the walls this time. Luxury. Not. There were 2 over hanging pier caps on either side of the walls, I asked for then to be taken off as I knew they were expensive and very easily damaged. A brickie duly did the business for me. Now at this point I’m looking at this slope and assessing my chances of getting up there. On a dry day, with hard compacted soil I reckon a half blind cabbage could make it up there, but on a day like today, this was going to be dicey. The trouble is once a Manitou starts sliding on a slope, you are just a passenger. And I had nothing expensive brick walls to break my fall. After 4 attempts, and so rearranging of the ruts caused by my attempts, I got the first pallet up there. Great that only took 35 minutes… I had 7 more to go, I reversed back down the slope (another arse twitching moment) and went to get the next one.
Now I had found all my lines it was just a matter of repeat, slowly and carefully. Another 40 minutes of arse clenching and concentrating, and we are complete.
Paul was chuffed to bits, we had done exactly what he wanted, when he wanted, and saved him a whole hell of a lot of work. Each pallet weighed about 1.4t, so would have been a lot of work.
I was feeling pretty good about myself at this point. I felt even better when Paul pressed 2 £20 notes in my hand!
Sorry if this was long winded and dull, just wanted share, that when given the time to do the job right, everyone can end up a winner!
