Forklift vs. Ford F150

It was a beautiful day in the summer of 2006 when our panel shop completed a panel that needed to be hand delivered to a customer that same day. We needed a truck so Tim Mueller, one of IIDM’s owners, volunteered his bright red F150.

The truck was in pristine condition. Tim had to attend a sales meeting so I offered to deliver the panel to the customer. Jason Scott jumped on the forklift to meet me at the dock while I pulled Tim’s truck to the back of the building. Do you see where I am going with this?

We had a ramp for vehicles to drive up to the dock for loading purposes. When I pulled to the back of the building, I saw a co-worker sitting on a forklift on the dock. I didn’t think he would move. He did. And so did I. I start backing up the ramp. Please keep in mind I am NOT looking in the rear view mirror. I am only looking at both side mirrors while assuming Jason was still at the dock.

The next thing I know I just hit a brick wall. My first reaction was what did I hit? Did I hit the building? No, it was the forklift. I didn’t realize my colleague was coming down the ramp while I was backing up the ramp. When I was looking in the side mirrors I did not see him. I felt horrible that I just bashed Tim’s shiny truck. Luckily, it was only the bumper. Jason, my colleague, felt bad as well.

I went ahead and left to take the panel to the customer while Jason broke the news to Tim. Tim took the bad news in stride and still laughs about it today. Ol’ Red continued to service the Mueller family for another decade.

But, one thing I will say; I will not let a forklift or anything stop me from delivering product to a customer.

— Mark Stanley