Sometimes employers are looking for employees that will work with them for a very long time and not leave their side for any reason, as that helps keep their business moving. One thing that helps companies keep their customers is a familiar face; if a company keeps changing their distributor, then it affects their business and their sales. A different face every now and then discourages customers and will cause them not to stay loyal, but many business owners are yet to understand all these.
Gideon and I were working for a sachet and bottle water company; we were in charge of distribution, and we understood how distribution works and were giving it our all, but our boss and employer did not care about our understanding of that, as he took our complaints about the truck we use for delivery for granted. It has been months since we started complaining about how much attention the truck needs; us driving the truck every day was us risking our lives.
"Sir, please, our truck needs attention." Gideon reported to the manager.
"What exactly is the problem?" The manager asked
"Sir, the problems are too numerous, but we can give you a list of the ones we know are there for sure." I chipped in.
"Okay then, go ahead; I am all ears." The manager responded, raising our hopes high as usual.
"But, sir, we have already given you a list before now, and nothing was done." Gideon said with a purple face, showing how pissed he was.
"Do you want your truck fixed or not?" The manager asked
"Okay, sir, the wiper is bad, and this is the rainy season. Imagine having to drive a car without any wiper in this season; we are risking our lives by just doing that. Also, the clutch plate needs changing, and the roof is also leaky; we can be in the truck and get drenched whenever it rains." I immediately started to give him the list of our problems since we needed help.
"Also, the truck needs wheel alignment; sometimes it causes us to drift out of our lane," Gideon, who was the driver, added.
"You guys will have to manage the truck like that until the weekend; that is when the mechanic will be available to check it out for you guys." The manager responded as he continued scrolling through social media.
"Sir, today is Wednesday; the weekend is quite far." I said
"Do you want us to just start fixing the truck today? In the middle of the week?" The manager asked, "You boys know nothing about how to run a business," the manager added, showing how nonchalant he was about the situation and our complaints.
We managed the truck like that until the weekend; it was risky doing that, but then we did it anyway. Countless times the problems with the truck almost cost us our lives, but those in charge still did not care: driving a car with no wiper when it rains, it is difficult to see what is coming; the cold because of the leaky roof; the times we had to push the truck just so it could start; and the times we had to push the truck so we could support the clutch plate. All our experiences with the truck were terrible, but we had to manage and were looking forward to the weekend where we were promised help.
The weekend came, and we happily parked the truck since we had already told the manager the problems and also the mechanic over the phone; we went home with so much ease and are now looking forward to how work will flow better in the new week since our truck is getting the help it needs.
Monday came, and we resumed work with childlike excitement because we had very high hopes. The manager called to ask more questions, and the mechanic also called to ask more questions, and all of that had us convinced the truck was being worked on, but all of our excitement died down when we hopped into the truck and realised all of our problems were still there waiting for us, and both the manager and the mechanic did nothing at all.
"Sir, our truck was not fixed," Gideon and I complained.
"You guys will have to manage it again this week and use it to work for the money we will use to fix it." The manager responded.
"Sir, driving this truck is a risk; we are only risking our lives by going out with this truck again." Gideon complained.
"I cannot do much for you guys; you just have to manage like you have been doing." The manager said as he continues to concentrate on his phone.
"That is quite unfair," I said, looking at Gideon and waiting for his next line of action.
Gideon agreed to manage for the day but will not do so tomorrow as the truck must be fixed, we loaded up and left the factory and on our way to run a delivery we almost had a terrible accident as a result of the lack of alignment. Immediately Gideon located the nearest cyber cafe, I was waiting for him in the truck and did not know what he was doing in a cyber cafe until he was out.
"Here is your resignation letter." Gideon said as he handed me a letter well printed and with all my details on it since he has known me since highschool.
"Brooo, do we submit it like this or buy a brown envelope for it?" I asked
"You won't try to discourage me?" Gideon asked with a purple face, screaming I am so angry.
"Why should I? They make more money from this truck than us; then why should we be the ones taking the bigger risk?" I asked, "Whatever you want to do, I am down, bro," I added as we made a U-turn back to the factory.
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