Two years ago I was booked to drive over the harvest. I’m not really a driver, I’m a transport consultant but I will help out when required. The lorry I was due to drive was not available so they said, “You can drive Woody’s truck”. Oh no… Well Woody is one of those drivers that takes great pride in cleanliness. He washes at the weekend, he enters truck shows and he leaves his boots on the top step – and so do you!
After two weeks I cleaned that lorry like I have never cleaned a lorry before. I did not fear the wrath of Woody, he’s a nice guy. I just respected him. In case he did disapprove – he was on holiday and was not even aware his lorry was being driven – I left a pack of beers in his fridge and a note. I thanked him for a lovely fortnight driving his lorry which was a pleasure to be in. I hoped he was okay with the condition of the truck but in no way can I match up to his exacting standard.
I got no complaints. In fact I hadn’t seen or heard from him since, until that is 2 weeks ago. We chatted like old friends. “Do you remember when you used my truck for the harvest?” Here it comes, I thought. He reached for his wallet and pulled out a note – my note, from two years ago! “I really appreciated that, and the beers” he said. I knew it was important to show respect at the time and I especially know that now. It lifted me for the rest of that day. As we left though, he added “and no, you’re not quite up to my standard, but you’ll do.”