Orys I think your use of The English language is outstanding.
Orys I want to recount a conversation I just had with my boss.
Me :- what’s my reload in holland on Friday please ?
Boss :- load cheese to Taunton please !
Me :- I thought we weren’t doing it anymore ( lost to polish company ( yes polish not other ee ) they were cheaper ).
Boss :- laughing - yeh , it was a polish freight forwarder, second load went missing never to be seen again.
Now is that fact enough ?
turnip:
Orys I want to recount a conversation I just had with my boss.Me :- what’s my reload in holland on Friday please ?
Boss :- load cheese to Taunton please !
Me :- I thought we weren’t doing it anymore ( lost to polish company ( yes polish not other ee ) they were cheaper ).
Boss :- laughing - yeh , it was a polish freight forwarder, second load went missing never to be seen again.Now is that fact enough ?
This is the rumour your boss heard. Even if its true, its just the one case, it does not makes the general statement “all Polish freight forwarders steal their loads” true. I can give you examples like that as well on British hauliers, but unless I like to ilustrate the general rule I proved otherwise, I am not using single case studies.
orys:
turnip:
Orys I want to recount a conversation I just had with my boss.Me :- what’s my reload in holland on Friday please ?
Boss :- load cheese to Taunton please !
Me :- I thought we weren’t doing it anymore ( lost to polish company ( yes polish not other ee ) they were cheaper ).
Boss :- laughing - yeh , it was a polish freight forwarder, second load went missing never to be seen again.Now is that fact enough ?
This is the rumour your boss heard. Even if its true, its just the one case, it does not makes the general statement “all Polish freight forwarders steal their loads” true. I can give you examples like that as well on British hauliers, but unless I like to ilustrate the general rule I proved otherwise, I am not using single case studies.
It’s not a rumour ! I can supply names & dates !
You can recount the same with a British haulier ■■ Go for it I’m all ears.
This is what makes you so bloody infuriating ! You will not accept anybody else’s argument. You say supply facts and when people do , you argue with opinion.
Of course not all polish freight forwarders steal loads. But the point is its more bloody likely to happen.
You sit up there in your ivory tower looking out in your red & white spectacles. We will carry on in the real world.
You have started him off now Turnip. Cue 30 pages of quotes explaining his version of an ivory tower. 
bigvern1:
You have started him off now Turnip. Cue 30 pages of quotes explaining his version of an ivory tower.
He don’t like it when someone challenges his/his lecturers view of the world eh ?
Still it keeps him off the streets, and we are giving him plenty of material for his thesis.
AMEN BROTHER!!! 
I love this thread but to be honest it’s only Inselaffe who has come up with a worthwhile counter to Orys. Whose arguments might have some merit.
I worked for a Danish subbie for DSV in '09 including a three month period living ‘communist style’ (without the flipflops I might add).
Inselaffe discribed exactly what my own expiriance was of modern International Transport in North West Europe in the twenty first centuary.
If I could just describe the look of relief on my customers faces when I could park properly and speak English. Even in Germany and Belgium. I might add that I had clean work gear and proper boots (but no hi~vis, lol).
Imagine how they felt when I told them, it’s okay mate, I know how to do it, leave it with me… On more than one occasion a senior manager came out to shake my hand to thank me for my help.
Do you know the end result? When Peder (my Danish boss) begged DSV to maintain his current rate, they told him to get shot of those Brits, Danes and Germans and get some cheap Bulgies instead.
Nice one, especially since Peder was one of the original Charters to DSV…
Anyhow, sorry to digress but my point is that good British Hauliers and good British Drivers can leave any of their cheapo European counterparts standing.
The only reason firms like the one I drive for now are not doing International work is because we are too busy making good money doing what we do best here in the UK!
Sorry Orys, your knowledge of British Transport is still paper thin, so I’m afraid you’ll have to stick it in your pipe and smoke it…
W
turnip:
It’s not a rumour ! I can supply names & dates !
Spare names and dates, supply facts: why the cargo was gone? What happened to it? Was it proven that it was Polish haulier who stole it? Or maybe someone stole it from the Polish haulier (I guess you agree that this is also possible). Or maybe it was delivered on time, but was not properly recorded by the receiver?
You can recount the same with a British haulier ■■ Go for it I’m all ears.
No names and dates, as I don’t want rikky to be sued, but:
- a pallet of speakers came to our place, some boxes were replaced with rubbish. It came from London with a well known British pallet network
- I was delivering to one place, and while keeping me busy in the office, someone stole several kilos of sugar from the pallet next to theirs
- a pallet of drinks that was sitting in the warehouse and several people were picking the bottles, then it was send to the customer and the company claimed that it came like that to our place…
I can also recall a well know parcel network that was compressing the load in the trailer pushing it with a forklift and tall pallet.
I can also recall a driver who hit my back when I was stopped on stationary, he was British.
Somehow though I don’t try to tell that such a situations are norm in Britain or that ALL British drivers can’t drive.
This is the difference.
This is what makes you so bloody infuriating ! You will not accept anybody else’s argument. You say supply facts and when people do , you argue with opinion.
Well, you can have opinion “all Poles are thieves, because someone stole the load once” but then don’t be suprised if I will have opinion “you are a stupid man, because you make general statements based on a single case”.
Of course not all polish freight forwarders steal loads.
I am glad we do agree at least on that.
But the point is its more bloody likely to happen.
Now I am sure you have some statistics that can support this statement?
You sit up there in your ivory tower looking out in your red & white spectacles. We will carry on in the real world.
And keep going. Good luck.
Let me just remind me that my involvement in this thread started with an info that things there are changing and you should start to prepare to compete with Eastern European hauliers, as soon you will be able to do it on level ground. If you prefere to stick to your myths and don’t get prepared… Well, good for Polish hauliers.
AlexWingall: You speak about Bulgies - Bulgarians. I clearly stated on several occasions that what I am talking about Eastern European countries who joined in 2004 do not apply to Romania, Bulgaria (and propably Croatia, that will join next year). And when it comes to Bulgarians and Romanians Polish drivers are already on the same boat that you are.
Well known refrigerated haulier from Dover ( German owned ) ! Supplied a load to a polish freight forwarder ( fact recorded ) who then supplied the load to a polish haulier ( fact recorded ) . The load was supposed to be delivered the next day in Taunton , it never turned up( fact recorded ) said Dover company tried to call the forwarder who no longer answers his phone ( fact recorded ) ! New security arrangements are in place and we are now doing the work again along with their own trucks because of this incident.
If you don’t believe me pm me and I will give you the name of the company and you can ask them yourself.
But of course you will continue to say its all a rumour because it suits your argument.
And " your role " in this discussion was never invited nor wanted. This is not a college debating society. It’s where truckers come to talk about their industry.
@Orys, Bulgarians drivers are thick on the ground in DK and that’s what DSV told Peder, they also called them “Bulgies” as well, charming…
I actually get your point that Polish firms are also being undermined by other ‘cheaper’ countries and I don’t think it’s the main reason for the so called ‘decline’ in British international transport either…
Good British hauliers simply do not do second hand work from agents or set ups like DSV or DHL. Proper British haulers deal directly with the customers themselves.
I have mentioned before that my lot have been offered countless import loads at good rates, which we turn down because we don’t have decent export work to go with it.
I don’t get the bit that we brits don’t try, can’t cope or are amatuer…
PS. Sorry about the edit since your prompt reply (comes of texting in the pub…)
W
turnip:
But of course you will continue to say its all a rumour because it suits your argument.
Well, not. We do not know what happened. The load was lost, they did not answered their phones, and you got the job back. It might be some cowboy spedition company or something. I do believe you that this happened.
And " your role " in this discussion was never invited nor wanted. This is not a college debating society. It’s where truckers come to talk about their industry.
Yes, and especially in the topic regarding if its cheaper to run Business from Eastern Europe or not, information that it is no longer milk and honey in MOST of Eastern European countries can come useful. As for being invited, last time I checked it wasn’t “invite only” forum…
AlexWignall:
I don’t get the bit that we brits don’t try, can’t cope or are ameteaur…
Its not that. Its just if someone had a hard times, it used to work harder. You had relatively luxury live, so you are not used to be needing to try as hard as your eastern counterparts…
I give you an example to try to show what I mean: A lot of Britons buy a car, then in few years replaces it with the never ones. So they don’t bother if their car will last longer or not, especialy that garage fees are very high here. So they were just carrying on for few years and then when some problems started to turning up they were going to a dealer and getting the new one. And if the Britons were driving their car and it broke down, they were just calling RAC or AA.
Many Poles until recently had to deal with second hand cars from Germany with huge mileages and they never knew if they will be able to afford to replace it in few years. Therefore they not only became better in maintenance (as car with 300 000 kms on the clock is much more demanding than brand new one) but also they had to try to keep it always in as good condition as possible as they often could not afford to buy a recovery scheme and for them being broken down in the middle of nothing at the other end of the country was a big deal.
So its not about one nation being better than other, its just one nation has different experiences than other. And on that experience you base your thinking in the future.
I am trying to tell you these facts not because I think that my nation is better, but because you compete with Poles and I think that its good to know as much as possible about your competitor. If you can see in what way they think it can be an advantage.
@Orys, if you consider that my Mother was brought up in a wartime Scotstoun tenement block you would be hard pushed to say “We brits do not know hard times…”
I’m sorry that all you know of British Haulage is a few neddy fools who drive rusty sprinter vans and the odd trip to the Shetlands in a four wheeler…
I agree that blaming East Europeans for every problem in British transport is foolish but trying to depict us all as credit status mad idiots is simply racist.
W
AlexWignall:
@Orys, if you consider that my Mother was brought up in wartime Scotstoun tenement block you would be hard pushed to say “We brits do not know hard times…”
Thats true, but not much people who remember wartime are still working, don’t you think? Do you remember the times when you had to queue 2 hours to get bread? Because I do, and I am only 32.
This is that difference I am speaking about.
I’m sorry that all you know of British Haulage is a few neddy fools who drive rusty sprinter vans and the odd trip to the Shetlands in a four wheeler…
You know that this is not true, British Haulage has a lot of good companies, I love all that traditions you have with vehicle livery etc, you have lot of succesful enterpreneurs in that field and I did not worked only for muppets in my time (actually, I am happy with most places I worked for).
I agree that blaming East Europeans for every problem in British transport is foolish but trying to depict us all as credit status mad idiots is simply racist.
I am not doing that, the problem here as I see it is that I am talking some facts, but as soon as I mention that something somewhere is better in Britain, I am instantly attacked with “go home if you don’t like it you racist” etc. You are one of the few who actually reads me, please check again and see that I never told anything like that.
W
[/quote]
@Orys Okay, I’ll give you a break. There is no way that my own (pretty tough) upbringing was as tough as one in Communist Poland.
We used to send money to ‘Solidarity’ btw (must be a Catholic thing).
Not all of us Brits have had the good life handed to us on a plate and not all of us feel the need to blame others for our own problems.
Personally, I take a dim view of a Bulgarian Haulier doing unlimited cabotage from an Operating Centre in a layby on the A5 and if I see him do as much wrong as drive without a seatbelt I’ll ring VOSA and even leave my name.
As for them taking on all the work we do for our major International Customers? All I can say is, go on then, try it…
W
AlexWignall:
@Orys Okay, I’ll give you a break. There is no way that my own (pretty tough) upbringing was as tough as one in Communist Poland.
We used to send money to ‘Solidarity’ btw (must be a Catholic thing).
We had a lot of support from the UK when I was small kid and my father was in jail, so I guess you are the one of the people I should thank! 
Not all of us Brits have had the good life handed to us on a plate and not all of us feel the need to blame others for our own problems.
Off course, but I just think that average Briton in 1950-2000 had a better life than average Eastern European… And therefore average Pole of working age today is used to work much harder and is better at problem solving than average Briton of the same age - simply because he had to work much harder* and solve much more problems in his past.
*) I don’t mean only work in his workplace. As someone (I think it was Harry) pointed the other day, due to central planning lot of communist workers were doing nothing in their workplace. But then they were coming home and they were doing some odd jobs, fixing their cars (if they were lucky to have one), building their homes and furniture themselves, chopping the wood, queuing for shopping, growing their own fruits and vegetables, shoveling snow etc etc etc…
Personally, I take a dim view of a Bulgarian Haulier doing unlimited cabotage from an Operating Centre in a layby on the A5 and if I see him do as much wrong as drive without a seatbelt I’ll ring VOSA and even leave my name.
And you got my full support. If you know some Polish company doing something wrong - you have my full support too.
As for them taking on all the work we do for our major International Customers? All I can say is, go on then, try it…
There is always something to be taken. One of our vans is just on its way to Warsaw at this very moment…
@Orys “There is always something to be taken”
Very true, we have countless m2 of different stock that has to be tipped on time everytime in all our warehouses with the out of date ticking closer everyday…
If some geezer in Sofia thinks he can run all that while he’s arguing with one of our drivers about POA and explaining to another customer he needs to send his trucks in before four pm, Send him round…
Meanwhile, his perfectly safe lorries need six weekly checks and the drivers expect to go home at the weekend…
British Haulage is more than sign written liveries and roping and sheeting Orys, I admire your defence of your countrymen mate but contary to popular belief we brits do not work in the dark ages and we do not need lectures that we do…
W
AlexWignall:
British Haulage is more than sign written liveries and roping and sheeting Orys,
I know that, this is why livery is not the only thing I mentioned (and I did not mentioned roping and sheeting at all).
I admire your defence of your countrymen mate but contary to popular belief we brits do not work in the dark ages and we do not need lectures that we do…
Did I told something like that?
@Orys (fairly pointless header really, must be obvious who I’m talking to by now).
I mentioned Roping and Sheeting add an extra dimension to your notion that we brits are wonderful old skool traditional hauliers.
Hauliers that who have pulled ourselves up by the bootstraps and as good as gold but are staring like rabbits in the headlamps at the Bulgarian Juggernaut that is thundering down upon us…
I admire you Orys for sticking up for your fellow Europeans against all odds on TNUK but you are just as wrong as Harry Monk.
There is no such thing as a ‘British International Haulage Industry’ there is simply a ‘British Haulage Industry’ and believe me if we thought there was a shilling in running in Bulgaria we would be out there doing it…
We Brits having nothing to fear from any ex communist and belive me by the time my Grandson drives a truck the rest of Europe will be looking to the UK to run their transport and distribution like we are doing now.
W