Useful Language Tips For International Haulage Companies

Working for haulage companies that are regularly dealing with overseas trips can be exciting and rewarding for both those in the office and those in the cabs. Unfortunately, however, the language barrier can still rear its ugly head from time to time even though English is now widely spoken, as a business or second language, across much of the world.

Many haulage companies have enlightened policies relating to encouraging their personnel to learn a few key phrases in some of the major languages around Europe. Great as this idea is, it may need to be rather more targeted to be useful. The problem is that many basic language courses just don't teach you anything that is going to be useful for international relations in the haulage industry. So, walking into that local garage in France when you have broken down and saying “my sister and her friend are both horse riders ” might get you a few “ah oui?” smiles but it is unlikely to get you very far along the road towards getting your vehicle fixed.

So, to help, here are a few suggested useful phrases you may wish to have handy in a variety of languages.

“My boss has set me an insane delivery schedule”

“I'm sorry, but I am stuck in a traffic jam”

“Is this edible?”

“There is no way you are putting that on my vehicle”

“Just how many more hours is lunch likely to last for?”

“Please don't tell my boss that I spent this morning on the beach”

“I don't have a hangover - it’s a cold”

“Who is in charge here?”

“What do you mean you weren't expecting me until tomorrow?”

“You mean I have to pay to use the motorway?”

“No, I do need to unload before I can load”

“I'd rather not talk about Britain's international football teams”

“I don't know anything about Britain and the Euro”

“What time is the electricity expected back on?”

“No, Lady Gaga isn't British”

“Sorry, I don't know because I haven't been invited to the royal wedding”

These phrases and others like them may be a very worthwhile investment for haulage companies in terms of their language training. In fact, it is probably a fair bet that any haulage driver that has needed to go overseas will almost certainly be able to add rather extensively to this list. So, if haulage companies do have dealings with people overseas, then now might be time to start thinking laterally about language development in staff!

By: Norman Dulwich

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Norman Dulwich is a Correspondent for Haulage Exchange, the leading online trade network for the road transport industry across the UK and Europe. It provides services for haulage companies to buy and sell road transport and delivery work in the domestic and international markets.