May
Time Matters
I learned a thing about time when I made deliveries in New York. For a few weeks, I worked part time for a small company. The boss was perhaps the worst boss I ever met. Henry was a man who suddenly found himself boss of the company. I never asked how he got it. Perhaps he bought it or inherited it.
Henry had many faults as boss. One was time. He would insist we be at his warehouse at eight a.m. Henry might show up on time, but was usually up to two hours late. It took half an hour to forty five minutes to get the trucks out. Getting into Manhattan could take up to an hour. If Henry were very late, the first truck might not get into the city until half past noon.
Therein lies the rub! Offices in Manhattan closed between half past four and five p.m.. The freight elevators were shut down, so there was no way to make the delivery. In other words, we could not make up for lost time.
Most companies had their trucks getting into Manhattan and at their first delivery before eight thirty a.m. Most wanted their deliveries finished and their trucks headed home by four o’clock in the afternoon. That gave seven to seven and a half hours for deliveries. With Henry’s penchant for lateness, we were getting much less time to work. On the worst days, we had three to three and a half hours to actually work. That was less than half of what other companies accomplished every working day.
This was quite a lesson for me. I was actually seeing a businessman cut his own profit by indulging laziness. It certainly gave me a new appreciation of time. Perhaps retelling it will do the same for you.
