The grumpy thread

[wuvvum]

2 hours ago, sierraman said:

People seem to have lost all ability to be aware of the space around them. In the shops people seem to have this situation where they need to spread themselves about on the aisles, standing 4ft back to view the shelves, trolleys arranged as a road block and completely ignorant of anyone else using the place. 

A few months back in my local Tesco I had a situation like that - some dopey woman completely blocking the aisle with her trolley while she yapped to someone else.  She had a little girl of about 3 in the child seat of the trolley, and the kid saw I was struggling to get past and actually apologised to me!  It's coming to something when your three-year-old has more social awareness than you...

[Popsicle]

2 minutes ago, RoverFolkUs said:

I'm sure there's a big difference between the setup that you guys operate versus the people driving for Evri in a fucked Vauxhall Vivaro or Ford S-Max. It's always one or the other, and it will be without tax, or MOT, or both 😅

You'd hope so, but in truth not really, I keep myself legal, some don't, their often dis-organised or skint, I know a few who spend everything they've earned with no thought for future expenses. Yes I think the multi-droppers have a rough time with it, the same day stuff I do is much easier, but I've always held the opinion that 90% of transport companies are running on a wing and a prayer!

As an example the amount of punctures I've been told that I've had due to co-loading and piss taking from transport ops is staggering 🤣. I just always ask that they tell me what bullshit they've come up with so I don't look a dick when fronting up at the customers hours late as they wanted me to do something else on my way.

[robthedonkey]

The trouble I found with new printers is that the ink cartridges are insanely expensive, there don't seem to be any where you can buy the cartridges cheaply? HP will even disable the printer if you use non genuine cartridges... 
Many older printers, like 10 years old, you can buy a few sets of cartridges for £10/15 off eBay. 
Now it's more like £40 just for one set!

Epson with ink tanks ... Best thing I ever bought and I use good quality non gen inks

Sent from my Pixel 6 using Tapatalk

[High Jetter]

You all heard of Bitter Lemon, right? We've liked the Schweppes stuff for years, mixing it with Dubonnet.

Only the slimline version available now, it seems, with the inevitable saccharin taste.

[jakebullet]

1 hour ago, sheffcortinacentre said:

If it's like syorks they cant be arsed legal vehicles are automatically fined ( big help to road safety)  also the don't chase bikes full stop incase criminals fall off & get injured so carte blanche to break the law.

Maybe they're hoping Darwin will sort them all out : https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-67758665

[sheffcortinacentre]

Unfortunately it's working 

[Wack]

8 hours ago, Spiny Norman said:

What do you think the chances are of you actually getting an MOT if you're stupid enough to give these cunts any money? Does anyone know anyone who ever did? What are you going to do about it if they just keep the cash and tell you to fuck off, go to the Police?

If you're dumb enough to fall for these scams, or the Driving test pass ones you see of arsebook, hell mend you.

Unfortunately though mot fraud is commonplace, 

A guy in Accrington  was well known for it in the north West, not the brightest though, I think it was the 2400 mot passes in 3 months without a single fail that tipped the DVSA off 

Some Mots were done on the phone 

[Wack]

13 hours ago, Anthony said:

61 in a 50, so bang to rights (if perhaps a little unsporting - camera van was maybe 2-300m past where the 70 limit dropped to a 50 on a dual carriageway).  On the back of the form, it lists up to 64 as being eligible for SAC.

Bullshit isn't it 

A few years ago I was driving from Chesterfield to Manchester, awful road for overtaking, following a truck doing 30 on the hills, 50 limit 

There's only one passing spot, a straight about a mile long which I'm waiting for, put the nose out to overtake and there is is, twat in a camera van  waiting to ring the till on the only safe passing spot for miles, not in the villages where people barely even slow down 

Safety cameras my arse 

 

[paulplom]

16 hours ago, Anthony said:

61 in a 50, so bang to rights (if perhaps a little unsporting - camera van was maybe 2-300m past where the 70 limit dropped to a 50 on a dual carriageway).  On the back of the form, it lists up to 64 as being eligible for SAC.

There is that, but it would probably make a refreshing change from the missus doing the same - and I figure I might learn something from it (or maybe just be left horrified by the utter ignorance elsewhere in the room)

I did one last year or the year before. I enjoyed it and learnt from it too. Very relaxed atmosphere and the two guys were good crack and very impartial.  It was ran by the AA (not alcoholics anonymous).

I am very sociable though which I think makes a difference.

[sierraman]

9 hours ago, Popsicle said:

You'd hope so, but in truth not really, I keep myself legal, some don't, their often dis-organised or skint, I know a few who spend everything they've earned with no thought for future expenses. Yes I think the multi-droppers have a rough time with it, the same day stuff I do is much easier, but I've always held the opinion that 90% of transport companies are running on a wing and a prayer!

As an example the amount of punctures I've been told that I've had due to co-loading and piss taking from transport ops is staggering 🤣. I just always ask that they tell me what bullshit they've come up with so I don't look a dick when fronting up at the customers hours late as they wanted me to do something else on my way.

You’d think that there would be some sort of measure of financial fitness to run such a set up wouldn’t you? If you were running a fleet of vehicles and no cash at bank then really they are not fit to trade. 

[goosey]

oh yeah !!!!!!  Fresh 

fuck sake 

[cobblers]

3 hours ago, Wack said:

Unfortunately though mot fraud is commonplace, 

A guy in Accrington  was well known for it in the north West, not the brightest though, I think it was the 2400 mot passes in 3 months without a single fail that tipped the DVSA off 

Some Mots were done on the phone 

I used to know a bloke in Rotherham who was the laziest MOT tester in the world, he'd give clean sheet passes to people when he couldn't be arsed to do the test. The car will literally be in his yard and he'll not even bother putting it on the ramp. It wasn't a criminal enterprise, he was just bone fucking idle!

I'd done him a favour with a tricky wiring problem on a T4 so he owed me a couple of hours knock for knock, I was a soft lad back then and never wanted to ask people for actual payment for work like that.

I rang him up to  "prebook an MOT" on a mk3 golf gti I was going to buy to break for the engine and needed to drive home from Leeds. A few hours later I got a text off him "Congratulations, it's passed!" Best bit was I didn't even end up buying the car - the engine was knocking its head off.

[New POD]

On 20/12/2023 at 15:04, Back_For_More said:

You know it's not good news when your consultancy firm calls after 24mths no contact.....

"Merry Xmas - they've canned all the contractors...... No need to ggo back in after the Xmas break" 

Fuck it - off job hunting instead of wrapping gifts 

Its an opportunity remember that positive thought. 

My very first contract, they decided to give all agency and contractors one weeks notice a week before Christmas. 

Strangely, I woke up very early on boxing day morning and about 4 am applied for a contract where the title of the role was unfamiliar but my "buzz word" search had pulled it up. So I didn't even bother changing my CV, and went with the generic covering letter, as I thought it unlikely I had the skills. It was the start of multiple contracts over the next 10 years there. (Probably 7 years worth at 5 different locations over 10 years) 

[MorrisItalSLX]

10 hours ago, High Jetter said:

You all heard of Bitter Lemon, right? We've liked the Schweppes stuff for years, mixing it with Dubonnet.

Only the slimline version available now, it seems, with the inevitable saccharin taste.

Horrible stuff, that artificial sugar.

[jakebullet]

~Blurry lines as time rewinds 3 hours~
Ma announces she needs to buy some sprouts from the new m&s on the mega death rammed shopping park. Oh, great idea Ma, WCPGW?

It's no chance. 30 minutes to get off our estate, and it's obvs there's a mile queue to get in to retail park. So I go do battle at morrisons as you can at least get in the car park and play find a space wars. Morrisons sold out of sprouts. 2 smoll co op and a budgens later and still no sprouts. Well that was a fun 3 hours.

[Pieman]

14 minutes ago, jakebullet said:

~Blurry lines as time rewinds 3 hours~
Ma announces she needs to buy some sprouts from the new m&s on the mega death rammed shopping park. Oh, great idea Ma, WCPGW?

It's no chance. 30 minutes to get off our estate, and it's obvs there's a mile queue to get in to retail park. So I go do battle at morrisons as you can at least get in the car park and play find a space wars. Morrisons sold out of sprouts. 2 smoll co op and a budgens later and still no sprouts. Well that was a fun 3 hours.

TELL

PEOPLE

TO

GO

FUCK

THEMSELVES

OR 

YOU

WILL

GIVE

YOURSELF

A

FUCKING

STROKE

I honestly can't make it any clearer than that.

[Popsicle]

4 hours ago, sierraman said:

You’d think that there would be some sort of measure of financial fitness to run such a set up wouldn’t you? If you were running a fleet of vehicles and no cash at bank then really they are not fit to trade. 

There is a financial fitness test for getting an operators licence for stuff above 3.5t, they only check it when you apply or renew though.

This is so far removed from the Evri, Amazon guys though, the conditions of entry for them are have you a vehicle and when can you start.

[sierraman]

21 minutes ago, Popsicle said:

There is a financial fitness test for getting an operators licence for stuff above 3.5t, they only check it when you apply or renew though.

This is so far removed from the Evri, Amazon guys though, the conditions of entry for them are have you a vehicle and when can you start.

This is where we’ve gone badly wrong as it just permits like likes of Evri etc to take advantage of these bottom feeders that will cut corners. 

[Popsicle]

23 minutes ago, sierraman said:

This is where we’ve gone badly wrong as it just permits like likes of Evri etc to take advantage of these bottom feeders that will cut corners. 

True but its nothing new - remember White Arrow from the 90's? They did all the catalogue deliveries for Kays, Gratton etc they ran the same model, sacks full of parcels being dropped off for housewives to deliver and earn a bit of pin money between the school runs. 

[sierraman]

9 minutes ago, Popsicle said:

True but its nothing new - remember White Arrow from the 90's? They did all the catalogue deliveries for Kays, Gratton etc they ran the same model, sacks full of parcels being dropped off for housewives to deliver and earn a bit of pin money between the school runs. 

My mum seemed to be perpetually waiting in for the White Arrow man as she ran one of these club things, Grattans I think it was. Sounded like a load of hassle having to chase half the estates tick money. 

[louiepj]

Merry Christmas from Aldi car park.
Her car is the red one, and she did not know she done this!
I was stationary waiting for a car to pull out of a parking space, and she became impatient behind me and pulled out then drove down the side of me then off down the car park.
Got all the witnesses i need luckily as we were in a long queue.

[Popsicle]

29 minutes ago, sierraman said:

My mum seemed to be perpetually waiting in for the White Arrow man as she ran one of these club things, Grattans I think it was. Sounded like a load of hassle having to chase half the estates tick money. 

My mum was the same, she gave it up in the end and made the cosmetic stuff for Avon instead.

[chadders]

My dad did Kays Catalogue.

[EyesWeldedShut]

2 hours ago, Popsicle said:

True but its nothing new - remember White Arrow from the 90's? They did all the catalogue deliveries for Kays, Gratton etc they ran the same model, sacks full of parcels being dropped off for housewives to deliver and earn a bit of pin money between the school runs. 

I temp'd at White Arrow back in 1999 during the Christmas rush - such fun.
I had two ladies on my usual run that would have dozens of parcels so would try to get those two done first which would help clear the decks a bit (often they'd have a few returns too - at the close of play the returns would (quite literally) get flung into the back of an artic trailer. Didn't matter what it was - how far can you hurl a boxed VCR?
Christmas Eve they told us temps to be back by noon whereupon they paid us off. I'll never forget the cage full of kiddies bikes still waiting to go out - nobody gave a shit.
Shite company, shite attitude - did they become Yodel?

[Popsicle]

1 hour ago, EyesWeldedShut said:

I temp'd at White Arrow back in 1999 during the Christmas rush - such fun.
I had two ladies on my usual run that would have dozens of parcels so would try to get those two done first which would help clear the decks a bit (often they'd have a few returns too - at the close of play the returns would (quite literally) get flung into the back of an artic trailer. Didn't matter what it was - how far can you hurl a boxed VCR?
Christmas Eve they told us temps to be back by noon whereupon they paid us off. I'll never forget the cage full of kiddies bikes still waiting to go out - nobody gave a shit.
Shite company, shite attitude - did they become Yodel?

I think they eventually became Yodel, via Reality then Home Delivery Network, I think there might have been another name in between but my minds gone blank. You're right though shit company with a shit attitude.

[wuvvum]

2 hours ago, chadders said:

My dad did Kays Catalogue.

My uncle is one of the Kays off of the Kays Catalogue.

[chadders]

I always knew that you came from a wealthy family, no one 'normal' could have such an eclectic fleet.

[adw1977]

19 hours ago, High Jetter said:

You all heard of Bitter Lemon, right? We've liked the Schweppes stuff for years, mixing it with Dubonnet.

Only the slimline version available now, it seems, with the inevitable saccharin taste.

It is very annoying, especially as all supermarket own brand bitter lemon seems to be slimline only too.

Fever Tree do a "lemon tonic" which is in fact bitter lemon and it contains real sugar, quinine and no artificial sweeteners.

[GeorgeB]

11 hours ago, paulplom said:

I did one last year or the year before. I enjoyed it and learnt from it too.

What did you learn?

 

[High Jetter]

2 hours ago, adw1977 said:

It is very annoying, especially as all supermarket own brand bitter lemon seems to be slimline only too.

Fever Tree do a "lemon tonic" which is in fact bitter lemon and it contains real sugar, quinine and no artificial sweeteners.

I did look at that, thanks, but not purchased yet. Sainsbury do a non slimline bitter lemon that I have bought and will test.