Some days it’s just not worth getting out of bed for… Part III

I'm already 3 hours behind schedule, and £35.00 out of pocket, but the plan was still good.

I enter the customers address in the Sat-Nav, and drive. Today is one of the hottest days of the year; my car lacks any means of keeping me cool. its just cold in Winter and hot in Summer, and by hot, I mean really hot in Summer, hotter than the temperature outside, and when you turn the fan on; you just get hot air blown on to your face, direct from the engine. And since the last haphazard repair to the car windows by my good self; I managed to glue these shut forever, so there is no chance of opening the car windows ever again (see here, here, here and here)...

So I just listen to the Radio (these days the Radio is stuck on Radio 4), drive and hope for the best - The whole experience feels like being at a Sauna; The interior smells like a pair of rotten, sweaty, shoes with dead feet still attached; from the sweat, blood and tears, as well as the bits of food that I've dropped inside the car; on my travels... How can I describe it, if you think of the worst smell you can imagine, then multiply that by 24, well, this one is worst; you get the idea..

I drive and drive and drive and then, I wait and wait and wait and wait, stuck on the motorway on the way to Sheffield. A bottleneck, just outside Glossop. Finally, and 5 hours late.


I really hate shops that are located in Town Centres. There is no parking, so you end up parking in a back ally somewhere, hoping that nobody [A] Breaks into the car, [B] Gives you a parking ticket. And you still have to drag all the equipment to the shop.However, I was lucky this time, I parked in a proper Parking Space, Paid My Parking Fee, £2.00 for 2 hours (10 minutes to setup system, 20 minutes how to use the software, 20 minutes of Q & A, 10 Minutes of joking and relaxing and 1 hour to spare)..

So I park and walk to the shop, the weird thing is, they are next door to another customer of mine, who sees me and waves through the window. I go over, chat a little, apologise and promise to go back after I finish.

I walk next door, sort, setup, connect and install everything. Show the customer how to use the software. Ooops, I forgot to plan typing in the rest of the menu, hopefully this will only take 20 extra minutes at most, I'm still good. I ask them if they have any questions. I hate to say that, but sometime you just know when a Business is going to fail, regardless of the effort one puts into it.

The people at that outlet could not speak English at all, I'm not being funny or anything, English is not my first language, so I can't criticise anybody, but at least I try (when in Rome..), and they thought by having a computer, all their problems would be solved and they can overcome the language barrier - Surfing the internet, and finding porn, does not mean that you can use a computer.

You knew there was a problem when a customer walks in, asking for 2 Donner Kebabs, one with salad and mild sauce, and the other plain, with hot sauce. And it takes 2 people around 20 minutes to sort out the order. You can feel and see the frustration and tension on both, the customer (by now ex.) and the person serving. 

So I try my best, repeating everything 20 times, and showing them how easy it is to take orders over the phone. And end up staying there for another 5 hours, answering the phone and taking orders on their behalf.

Things like that do happen to me on occasions. Usually, this is a sign that soon, I will be selling another system to the same outlet. They lose the customers, they sell the business, taking the EPOS system with them and guess what, because I leave many leaflets and Business cards, purposely , at the place, the new owners would ring me asking for a new system... - Even when things are bad, there is always a light at the end of the tunnel...

I take the money, a Cheque on this occasion, and exit (run).