I have the worst luck getting my tools moved.
Years ago, I was fired from my job at Tony's Auto Service. I had worked there off-an'-on, five times for about 12 years. Tony and I had disagreements, and it was time for a change.
Coincidentally, My best friend Ben broke his ankle in a motorcycle accident. Ben asked me if I would come to work with him while he was incapacitated. I whole-heartedly joined, having worked with him at his job for many years, and was already familiar with the work. It was there that we met and became fast friends. I brought my toolbox to his work as well, and kept it in one of the warehouses in Springfield, Virginia where we stored Kardex Lektrievers, Hanel Rotomats, and other storage systems.
It wasn't long before we began using that warehouse as a small shop. There, built motorcycles, and fixed employee and company vehicles. When our boss retired, we had to vacate the warehouses, as Ben was about to take over the business. On the day that we had to move my tools from the old warehouses to the new one, I was late getting there. So, Ben moved my tools for me.
Now Ben was certainly no idiot (with the exception as to how he became a 'was'). We had a 25ft, International 4700 cab, stake body truck (6 speed, w/ Granny. Top speed: 70 mph), with a very powerful liftgate. Ben had a keen sense of physics, having been in the storage systems installation business for 10+ years. Delivering these huge units, assembling and installing. Ben had my respect as someone who knew what to do in any situation. I learned quite a bit from Ben.
Anyway, Ben put my tools on the truck and transported them to the new storage facility. It was only when he was preparing to off-load my toolbox that my toolbox fell off the lift gate, Tools went everywhere. Ben and his helpers found nearly all my tools and put them back in, but the box was useless. It fell on one of its corners and the chassis was twisted. It was a teal blue Snap-On KR box. New, it sold for $7000.
I asked Ben to give me $4500 for the box, which he reluctantly gave me. He was just starting into doing business on his own, and that money was an early blow to his wallet. I heard from Ben less and less after that day, and learned a whole year after he passed away what became of him. Aside from how he died (speeding on his motorcycle), Ben is always remembered and respected. I haven't been on a bike since, and may never ride again.
Ironically, I gave my unusable KR box to my friend Billy, who works at Tony's. Since then, I went back to work as a mechanic, and purchased a new Snap-On KRL toolbox.
Now, that's not the funny part, but this is kinda.
I was working at Koons Chevrolet for 2+ years. Capitalizing on my years of experience working in other GM dealerships throughout my life, Koons sent me to many GM schools, and I became one of the go-to guys in the shop. There was even talk of a possible promotion to Foreman, which would have worked great for me. Most of the time, I made less than average money 'cause I would always stop what I'm doing to help others.
Ever since the economic downturn, the amount of work slowed to a trickle. When salaried employees began to be cut, we commissioned employees began to think that our jobs may be jeopardized in the future. Well, the word came down. Management declared martial law in the shop. The guys who had been with the company the longest would stay, and the people with the least longevity in the company would be cut. Even though the company had spent all that money training me, I was not immune to being cut.
Fortunately, Koons had many other dealerships, and was able to get another post at one of their Toyota dealerships (their other Chevy dealership was too far out to commute to and from). However, Toyota and Lexus have their own set of standards as to how they want their dealerships to look. One of those standards is how they want the shop has to look. All the toolboxes have to be the same, all the workbenches had to be the same, the shop had to have a specific colour scheme.
When I moved to Toyota, I was informed that I needed to empty my tools from my personal toolbox, and place them into the Toyota toolbox, and subsequently remove my personal toolbox from the dealership 'cause they had no room to allow me to store it. The Toyota box is smaller than my KRL, but I was able to move nearly all my tools into it. I made arrangements with my sister to store my empty toolbox at her house, in her garage.
I called a towing company to come with a flatbed to move my empty toolbox to my sister's house. Even empty, my box weighs several hundred pounds. In hindsight, I should have called the towing company I used to work for (Yes, I have had many jobs. Who hasn't?), but they wanted too much money to move my box, so I called one of the biggest companies in the area. They had a flat $125/hour charge, which was very attractive. I met the driver at my new job the next morning.
While the guy seemed really smart and capable, he pulled my box onto the bed in a very unorthodox way. I didn't say anything 'cause from the moment he hooks 'til the time that he drops, that toolbox (or vehicle) is his. He got my box loaded, and we traveled to my sister's.
When we got there, and he proceeded to off-load my box. Suddenly my box rolled off the bed and came crashing to the ground. If that weren't enough, the driver had no idea how to right it. Then I started to think about Ben, and remembered all the things I learned from him. I then took the reins, came up with an idea, and orchestrated the entire operation to right my toolbox. Afterward, he called his company while I took pictures. This box sold for $10,000, and a comparable replacement would cost $11,300. If this job works out, I may not need another toolbox until I retire.
Originally, I had no idea what to do with my unusable box, but my sister says she has a coworker that might give it a good home.
Next time, I may consider a helicopter as an alternative transport method.
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