A Flat Return

Thought Id start with this clown that was overtaking me this morning on his phone and then cutting in without a signal.

I had a really relaxing Easter break and I was feeling great.
I got my start time from work, 6am. That was ok. I didn’t mind at all really , A nice early run up to Leeds and then over to Selby, Easy.

I arrived in the yard a little bit earlier than 6 and prepared my truck for the day.

I logged into my cab computer and turned the key , nothing . I turned again , it was flat. I looked around the yard and a few of the lorries were still in so I jumped into one and pulled it up to the side of my Daf and connected the jump leads.
The Daf always goes flat if left for a while so I assumed it had been sitting for most of that week.

I was up and running in about 20 minutes and after reading my notes that were left in the cab I found that I was booked in at Curry’s in Newark at 9 am with another pallet at the same depot for 11.30 am.
It was 6.30 and I would be there in an hour. A long wait expected, I set off.
I arrived at Curry’s in Newark very early for my delivery and I expected the gate house to refuse me.
I had a carton for 9 am and a pallet for 11.30 and I didn’t think they would be very sympathetic.
Security at the gate let me go round to the warehouse I needed after putting a seal on just about every curtain strap he could see.
Feeling optimistic I went into the drivers room and handed my paperwork in at the window.

I explained my situation and they were incredibly helpful, kind, polite, even generous. I was totally amazed and thought this was to good to be true. I was an hour and a half early for one delivery and 4 hours early for my 2nd and they were smiling and saying “Yeah no problem drive, pull onto 66 we’ll take them both off for you no problem”.
Not the usual distribution centre treatment I’m sure most of you drivers will agree.

Well it was to good to be true but the people actually helping me weren’t to blame.
It turns out the 11.30 pallet was packaged all wrong.
It was supposed to be in packs of four and it was actually in packs of 25.

They had accepted it on behalf of another warehouse (next door) and when that warehouse had found out it was boxed wrongly they had given instructions to refuse it. Hardly the crime of the century you would of thought but that’s big business for you, give a small cog in that business a tiny bit of power and they will abuse it.

The receiving department I was parked at were really apologetic and insisted they wouldn’t of been so petty but they couldn’t overrule anybody so I was left to bring it back to the original customer for repackaging.
I can only imagine the cost to the environment let alone the cost to the company's who have to return the goods because this is a very common practice in this Industry.

I was still ahead of schedule and I had some drops to make in Leeds. They were both quite easy although the one at the Go Outdoors store involved a tricky reverse off the main road into the tiny loading bay on the front
and the Leeds Water board left me at their front gate long enough to have a 15 Minute Tacho break , (with change) if I had of wanted to.


All Over in Leeds and I had to get rid of the 2.5 tonne in the middle of the deck at a tractor dealer in Selby.
I had been here before so It was easy to find and get off. I found another of those Tracked Cats I saw at another dealers.


I took a 45 minute break on the M62 and saw this bloke doing a trailor swap.

I had to find an old airfield in a place called Breighton. There was a food processing plant on it that had three pallets for us.

I was loaded in no time and reversed out and set off the way I had come in because of a lot of nasty weight limit diversions.

It was two hours back but I didn’t get back to our yard until 5 ish because I had to drop the 3 pallets off at Freight link , They are a forwarder we collect for. They were all going home at 4.30 !! Lucky for some.

I am loaded for a long run tomorrow taking in West Sussex , Dartford, East London , Brentwood and Ipswich.


Im off to bed.