Back to Work!
Seven hundred and fifty-four days after I was made redundant “as a cost reduction measure” by ASG Technologies, I finally returned to full-time employment on the 6th January 2020.
It is a massive relief! I have been through some very dark times and periods of self-doubt. I confess that I came very close to suicide on two occasions. The thought of that terrifies me and I am very happy that I came to my senses in time. It would have caused huge problems for lots of people. Death would have been no solution.
Don’t worry. I am over it now that I am working for a great company who are a good, caring employer. I have plenty of new friends already.
The first narrow miss was because the train that I hoped would reduce me to pate was twenty minutes late. That gave me time to get my mind out of an awful place. The second time that I was marching towards my doom, I met an old friend who spoke to me for half an hour. By that time, I had come around. He still doesn’t know that he saved my life.
The lesson that I learned is that it is just not worth it and solves nothing. If you ever find yourself in that mindset, find somebody to talk to.
On a brighter note, let me tell you about my new job. I have started as a Customer Service Team Member, Delivery Driver, at Ocado in Andover.
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In front of my red cabbage van on my first solo day, Wednesday
After two days of training, I was out on the road with another rookie to do a small number of local deliveries. We helped each other. On Thursday and Friday, I was driving solo around Andover, Winchester and Salisbury. I enjoy delivering to the rural customers much more than the urban ones, where manoeuvring and parking is often quite difficult. I love meeting people: both customers and colleagues. Providing a great service is what we pride ourselves on at Ocado. I love it!
I am looking forward to my next five days, starting at 6 am and finishing by 2 pm. Who knows where my van will take me?
Ocado’s vans are very distinctive and a part of our brand of which we are justifiably proud. The sides are adorned with colourful fruits and vegetables, unlike rival fleets which are a bit monotonous in their livery. It also helps our customers to identify their driver. They receive advance messages to tell them, for example, “Your driver today is Lance in the yellow lemon van.” We have a different van every day. It’s fun!
