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GOLD STANDARD
Page 9
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Barry Proctor applauds the incredible standard of efficiency we've come to expect from our industry and raises his glass to some unsung heroes who are worthy of gold medals...
I'm not sure what qualifies as a 'good' Olympics, but apparently the Great Britain team is not having one yet. Despite winning several gold medals, the general consensus in the press is that we are having a disappointing games. To me, this seems to damn those victorious athletes with faint praise indeed. Besides which, it seems to belittle the efforts of all those runners, jumpers, cyclists, horse riders, skeet shooters, sailors and any other Brits who have done their damndest just get to the Olympics, never mind win a medal. Once again, we as a nation seem content to listen to journalists, sitting comfortably in their armchairs and sinking yet another free glass of retsina, as they pontificate about our athletes' failures.
It offers an interesting parallel with the haulage industry's portrayal in the mainstream media. We are there, day in, day out, flogging our guts out for what is frequently a meagre reward. But the only time trucks make it onto the telly or into the local paper is under a headline like "Death trucker fell asleep"; "Haulage boss done for booze smuggling"; or "Truckers blockade country". No mention of the fact that if it wasn't for this industry's hard-working and dedicated professionals the nation's shelves would be as empty as a politician's promises.
To give you an example of the service we provide and, indeed demand, from our suppliers I offer you this tale. Last Saturday, one of my drivers reversed his Volvo into a forklift, damaging the door, step and step cowling. I put the call through to my local Volvo dealer, Hartshorne, and was pleasantly surprised that my call was answered. The parts, I was told, would be ordered immediately for delivery to the paint shop on Monday morning. I duly rang the paint shop on Monday to warn them of the delivery, only to be told the items had already arrived. In under two days. Direct from Sweden.
So for all those unsung heroes in the haulage industry, all the incredible people who keep the economy rolling in spite of everything, you deserve a gold medal.
"I duly rang the paintshop on Monday to warn them of the delivery, only to be told the items had already arrived"
Barry Proctor owns Barry Proctor Services, which is based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire.