China has a lot of good quality super highways, it moves thousands of transport trucks and assorted vehicles everyday, and these transport trucks, semi-trailers move goods around the country to satisfy the insatiable needs and wants of her citizens.
Our factory shares a common gated entrance and cost of security with our neighboring building to our left; their four stories building is a re-distribution center for family size air conditioners. This entrance gate is monitored by a security guard on a 24/7 base.
Motor vehicle traffic to and from our factory is light and sporadic, material deliveries, employees passing through after work hours, that is about it, and are always during day light hours.
Traffic to and from our neighbor’s warehouse however is constant, and seven days a week.
Stocks arriving in big semi-trailers from their manufacturing plant will have to be unload into the warehouse floors; vice versa stocks destined for retails or to other suppliers will have to be reloaded according to orders.
They have their own covered loading/unloading yard, but we share a common double wide drive way, so traffic control within the secured compound is neither a concern nor a problem.
The problem is the trucks over staying inside the compound overnight. We all know, it is a bit of a tough life being a long haul truck driver. Long hours on the road, sporadic meal time, and other unpredictable road conditions.
Say if the fully loaded truck arriving late in the evening and the ware house is closed, with all the goods loaded on deck, if I am the man behind the wheel, I would want my load secured for the night, and ready to be unloaded in the morning.
There are budget price hotels within walking distance for about RMB 60-80 a night, for a hot shower and a bed, it is worth it. Here is the situation, if I have the means and education, I don’t need to drive long haul, away from my family days in a stretch.
So a lot of times the driver will give our guard a wink and a package of cigarettes when they over stayed, they would sleep inside their cab to save the money otherwise they would have to shell out staying in a cheap hotel down the road. With the ware house closed up, the over stay driver need only walk a couple of hundred feet to our side to use the facilities – which is outdoors.
We have a long standing agreement with the warehouse owner next door – that no truck traffic after dusk. This is for their security as well as for ours. Our guards have been explicitly instructed that no loaded or unloaded trucks are allowed to stay over night within the compound. The gate can only be opened and closed with a remote control, and the remote is in our guard house at all times.
Hence the conflict between people, if I am the truck guy, I want to save the sixty bucks so I can buy my kid a toy or my gal a gift when I get home, a pack of cigarette as a lubricant to the guard is a small price to pay.
If I am the owner of the factory, I am concerned with the security of my investment, what if some people with ideas that they can get air conditioner cheap and free? What if the bad guys hurt my guard while they gained access to the premises?
We had four wall mounted air conditioner ripped off from the outside wall last year. Simply because the units were not mounted high enough. Just three months ago, a brand new electric scooter belonged to a sewing machine operator was stolen while it was parked inside the compound over night.
I had slept in my car near some wheat fields in my younger days during a cross country trip, just to save a few dollars for the motel bill. The truck guy in China wanted to guard his load and save a few bucks.
So here you have it, East or West, no difference!