This lady who worked; on one of the ships I used to be on posted this, she got it spot on. She had managerial jobs ashore before doing a stint on the ferries so got the complexities of doing such work as opposed to maybe a 9-5 ashore, although obviously that's not to downplay the stress in those jobs, just different.
To all the P&O OBS crew, I want to tell you that working ashore you will never have to go through half of what you've been dealing with for years
•You'll never have to serve 2000 people in 90 minutes and then have 30 minutes to clean up after them and restock for the next load.
. You'll never have to prepare and serve hot food and drinks while the floor bucks like a bronco under you.
• If drunk students trash the place, or pissed football fans start a fight, you won't have to deal with it yourself, you'll be able to call the police to sort it out.
• If someone has a heart attack, you'll be able to call an ambulance. It will no longer just be down to you to keep them alive.
• In an emergency you'll be able to show people to the
exit, you'll no longer have to get them mustered, into
life jackets, down the shute into a life raft. It'll no
longer be down to you to keep them safe till help
arrives. (Bonus, you'll no longer have to get up at 4am
on a Sunday to do the evacuation drill.)
• If it's windy you'll still finish work on time. You will no longer get stuck at work for 30 odd hours with no where to sleep and no clean clothes.
Most people have no idea what it means to work aboard a cross channel ferry, and few would be able to do it. You are a special breed.
Any employee who takes you on will get so much more than they realise, they'll get relentlessly hard working, resilient staff, with an amazing sense of humour and an arsenal of skills from first aid to crisis management, even fire fighting training in some cases.
I'm proud to have worked with you, and I grieve for the way you've been treated.
