| Interview with Tom, The Thirst Emergency Service: |
What is the busiest time?
It’s busiest at 10.30pm right up until 4.00am as the pubs and clubs kick out customers. |
What has been the most amusing incident?
You get kids ringing up asking for alchopops to be delivered to car parks but that’s becoming really obvious now. You just ask them if they’ve got any I.D on the phone and they say "no" so we say we’re sorry but we can’t deliver to them. |
What has been the best thing that has happened to you whilst you have been working?
I like getting invited in and chatting to all the pissed people. |
What has been the worst thing that has happened to you?
It’s usually threatening behaviour. One time there was a big group of lads and they robbed the van. Which was really stupid, as they’d given the address to the call centre so we knew where they lived. It doesn’t happen often though - usually everyone’s really nice. |
What has been the most embarrassing moment?
This guy had his Switch card rejected and I had to take it off him but as it turns out there was a mistake when the card went through so I had to take it back to him. |
What is the most ordered by a group?
The most I’ve delivered is about £90 but I’m sure there’s been more than that. |
What has been the most ordered by a single person?
There’s a bloke who I think is an alcoholic. He orders two or three bottles of Vodka a week. There’s a woman who gets 11 bottles of wine delivered at about 2am regularly. It’s quite sad as you can see her kids watching television in the lounge and they’re only young. It’s not the amount they order in one go, it’s the quantity over a period of time. |
When was the Thirst Emergency Service established and why?
They started about four years ago. There was a car that drove around selling beer out of the boot. It hasn’t changed much except there are two vans for Nottingham and there are two other companies in Doncaster and Sheffield. There’s going to be one in Leeds soon too. |
Is it just students you sell too?
No. It’s all sorts really. We cater for the masses. When the students go home for the summer there is a difference, it’s pretty quiet. |
Do you get lonely?
No, it’s not some lonely trucker thing. Driving around until 4am can be alright as you get the road to yourself apart from taxis. They’re the bane of my life when I’m working. I sometimes don’t finish until 5.30am, which can be harsh.
It’s a good job as driving doesn’t bother me. It’s only bad when it rains (which it is tonight, it’s bucketing down). Doing Nottingham’s cool as when it’s quiet you can go back to the office to talk to people, but Sheffield can be boring as I don’t know anyone there. |
