The fuel crisis and you

"Inconsiderate, selfish, greedy, the list goes on. As a business that has grown through being able to personally deliver to our local customers, I'm now faced with the challenge of not having enough fuel to get around, do my job and earn a living. And if running out of fuel is a perilous enough situation, imagine running out of beer!"

It’s amazing that the average motorist that does 10,000 miles a year suddenly thinks they need to fill five Jerry cans with petrol. Thankfully businesses like our boat charter business plan ahead so we don’t get affected by the selfish beha

"I have had a number of customers cancel at the last minute due to not having any petrol or diesel. Others are stuck in traffic queues because people are blocking roads waiting to get into petrol stations, and are therefore missing their appointments. 5-minute journeys for mobile appointments have taken 45 minutes to an hour to get to because the roads are blocked. This is the last thing that any business that is struggling to bounce back after Covid closures needs."

What quantifies a critical sector? This fuel crisis has not only affected our business travel in our events business, but when your business premises is positioned behind a petrol station, and you can't even get in because of queueing traffic, then that's critical!

What do you get if you cross panic buying with furlough coming to an end? A much bigger crisis. A recent Talk Staff poll revealed that nearly 50% of people are planning to work from home as a result of this weeks apparent shortage. Sadly, those that aren’t made redundant at the end of this week will have no choice but to return to work as hybrid working won’t be an option.

It’s utter media madness and adding unnecessary stress and working hours to an already jam pack events schedule. I’m covered now for the next week, but I’m finding myself being drawn into the whole debacle and I feel like I have no choice but to keep topping up to enable mdeliver my services.

Whilst the idiotic clamour for fuel is frustrating it’s a classic case of the tragedy of the commons, however where it begins to affect people’s lives it shows the utter disregard some sections of our society have for others. Nevertheless we should turn our ire towards the causes of any shortages in the UK and hold the people responsible and that is the current incumbent government. Their inability to plan for or manage anything with a modicum of competence is staggering. They advocated for a hard Brexit, they should now own it!

"Slow handclap for the simpletons. But can you really blame them when the headlines have whipped them up into a frenetic mass of petrol heads fighting over the pumps? FOMO is a very powerful emotion, and this has been one of nature's finest displays. We have guests worried they won't be able to drive down to their holiday in Devon, let alone make it back up the M5 via M&S for a restorative ham and mustard sandwich. They just might have to resort to the horrors of public transport where weak tea is served up hotter than the sun."

"We’ve seen a sharp increase in staff advising their employers they can’t get to work, as they have no fuel. Ultimately it’s the employee’s responsibility to get to their place of work. That said, employers should be pragmatic and, where possible, flexible. Once the hysteria has died down hopefully we can all get back to business."

"Why do people do this? If this crisis isn't rectified this will severely impact business. The town has seemed quiet in the past day or so and it is because people are worried about travelling very far."