Pet Peeves

Robin hates working in the rain. And today it has been raining heavily non-stop all day. His truck leaks so he has to re-organize his stock to keep it away from the water that is sucked in the backdoor or wall. It must be a nightmare trying to keep the stock from getting damaged. He climbs in and out of the truck all day, taking orders from the customers, then back to the very wet truck to pack the required items, then out in the rain once again to deliver the said order.

If there is one thing he hates more than the rain, it is price rises. GST is going up in New Zealand from 12.5% to 15%. The shop keepers all want to buy extra stock before the price goes up, to put on their shelves. All these extra sales means that Robin sometimes runs short of stock, and then the shop keepers get upset. ‘

Robin experienced both of his pet peeves this week. A rainy week coincided with an impending price rise, so he has had a “double whammy” all week, together with longer hours as he needed to order and supply more stock than usual. He has been getting home late all week, cold, wet and weary. It’s a hard life being a truck driver sometimes. But, as he mentioned last night, this is the last price rise he will have to go through. By the time the next one is due, he will be long gone. He is counting down now, and can hardly wait to retire!