Fuel pricing - time to take that tough decision?

[BTB 500]

I'm actually pretty confident that things will go back to full time from home within the next 6 months, whilst the company finds its feet and realises IT people can do their job from just about anywhere with an internet connection. I live in hope!

I wouldn't hold your breath. I went through multiple cycles of home working being encouraged / banned / tolerated, depending on what was highest on the 'political' agenda at the time! The practicality of it was never in doubt.

 

[sgregory124]

I wouldn't hold your breath. I went through multiple cycles of home working being encouraged / banned / tolerated, depending on what was highest on the 'political' agenda at the time! The practicality of it was never in doubt.

My employer is actually really forward thinking, they've already allowed 75% company the flexibility to work from anywhere. It's just that some idiot decreed IT people 'need to be seen on-site' for some reason, even though I don't work in a user facing roll and nobody knows who I am, why i'm there or what my name is (like my entire team!) ...

 

[Spider10]

Russia only supplies 11% of the world's oil so imo its just another excuse to put fuel up

 

[ToeKnee]

I wish I had the option to mothball my motor for a while, I'm currently putting in £105/week! Unfortunately, if I don't drive it I don't earn any money and my rates are fixed so cannot pass any excess fuel prices onto the customer. As it is I end up working more hours to get more money to pay for the fuel price increases which then means I use even more fuel which I have to pay for by doing more hours etc etc etc

 

[sgregory124]

Russia only supplies 11% of the world's oil so imo its just another excuse to put fuel up

Like they ever needed an excuse to do that!

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

We may be getting another car (for my wife) before the summer, which may reduce my mileage, that being said though, I'm actually pretty confident that things will go back to full time from home within the next 6 months, whilst the company finds its feet and realises IT people can do their job from just about anywhere with an internet connection. I live in hope!

Be careful what you wish for. Personally, I think you're wrong: if Cities and offices weren't "economic" and "effective," we wouldn't have spent the last two centuries moving ever closer to one another.

But if you are right..... then a clown like me will come along and offshore you, or at least move your activity to a far cheaper location. Which is often the last thing that makes sense, but it's the way that organisations move Ops, IT, and other back office functions, given half a chance - especially when offshore tax breaks, balance sheet shenanigans and third party suppliers come into play.

 

[sgregory124]

Be careful what you wish for. Personally, I think you're wrong: if Cities and offices weren't "economic" and "effective," we wouldn't have spent the last two centuries moving ever closer to one another.

But if you are right..... then a clown like me will come along and offshore you, or at least move your activity to a far cheaper location. Which is often the last thing that makes sense, but it's the way that organisations move Ops, IT, and other back office functions, given half a chance - especially when offshore tax breaks, balance sheet shenanigans and third party suppliers come into play.

See that's where our company operates slightly differently. We are in the process of a massive in-sourcing operation right now - we're bringing back all of our support, BA's and Project Managers, our department has gone from a handful of people to 40 staff in 12 months (and is still growing).

Separately to that, the company hired 222 staff for its core business last year alone (34 in one week at one point) and are on track for similar growth this year.

We've been burned with outsourcers in the past, so this is the new normal for us - companies offering those services for everything but very specific business requirements, get short shrift from us these days!

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

See that's where our company operates slightly differently. We are in the process of a massive in-sourcing operation right now - we're bringing back all of our support, BA's and Project Managers, our department has gone from a handful of people to 40 staff in 12 months (and is still growing).

Separately to that, the company hired 222 staff for its core business last year alone (34 in one week at one point) and are on track for similar growth this year.

We've been burned with outsourcers in the past, so this is the new normal for us - companies offering those services for everything but very specific business requirements, get short shrift from us these days!

Smart organisation - exactly my point, I'm a sceptic.

I'm just saying that it's tough to get 40 people singing from the same hymn sheet via Zoom. Self-motivated nerds can be left in that dark cupboard, working away but managers do have this endless desire to open the door, inspect the mushrooms, and throw something over them.

 

[ALFAitalia]

Back to fuel pricing....I see the idiots are out panic buying fuel again due to potential price rises related to Putins stupidity. Morons the lot of them.....just going to cause artificial fuel shortages like last time....made worse by the press reporting it.

 

[Deleted member 159894]

Smart organisation - exactly my point, I'm a sceptic.

I'm just saying that it's tough to get 40 people singing from the same hymn sheet via Zoom. Self-motivated nerds can be left in that dark cupboard, working away but managers do have this endless desire to open the door, inspect the mushrooms, and throw something over them.

Old school.

 

[suty455]

Ahh the bad old diesels are going to make a lot more sense again soon, my old 2.0 Skoda did almost 60mpg on a run and easily 40 round town all at nice low revs, would love to see a petrol 1.4 turbo do the same, mean while my 3.0 Diesel remapped to 300+bhp carries on at 40-44 mpg combined, cue lots going back to diesels, even my Wifes AWD Subaru outback Diesel manages a combined 38mpg and thats mostly town use

 

[Spider10]

You'd be surprised what mpg you can get out of a 1.5T petrol its better than my v70 d5

 

[suty455]

You'd be surprised what mpg you can get out of a 1.5T petrol its better than my v70 d5

I know had a 1.4t Seat Ateca on loan for 6 Months before I decided not to bother with a CC and BIK fleecing my Wallet averaged 36mpg but was as flat as a pancake unless you made its valves bounce even then it sounded asthmatic not a nice drive at all, I prefer lots of low down grunt tbh either a big V8 or a nice TD will do me my E350 does nicely all round and I can and have fit 2 x 2m Doors in the damn thing!

 

[OneForTheRoad]

My e350 diesel swallowed £90 tonight , it didn't even bang back at the nozzle. Think I'll dig out my slippers for driving the next few months.

 

[Spider10]

I know had a 1.4t Seat Ateca on loan for 6 Months before I decided not to bother with a CC and BIK fleecing my Wallet averaged 36mpg but was as flat as a pancake unless you made its valves bounce even then it sounded asthmatic not a nice drive at all, I prefer lots of low down grunt tbh either a big V8 or a nice TD will do me my E350 does nicely all round and I can and have fit 2 x 2m Doors in the damn thing!

The audi has plenty of power and I quite like driving it although its not mine its the wife's

 

[Fastcar155]

Hi , looks as if car sharing in certain circumstances may help our wallets.

 

[Nat]

Russia only supplies 11% of the world's oil so imo its just another excuse to put fuel up

Totally agree with this. Us Brits take tend take it on the chin when we get our pants pulled down.

 

[BTB 500]

Mrs BTB topped up near Eurotunnel Folkestone this morning- 165.9p per litre for standard unleaded

 

[Keeperofthekeys]

Well, looks like our 'friend' in Moscow has actually gone through with his bonkers plans. I never thought i'd be in this position (and certainly not because of a Russian dictator!), it looks like I have to seriously consider mothballing the car for a while - at least until fuel comes down a bit. I filled up this morning and paid £1.50/litre at Tesco - which is unheard of round here. Thats a rise of 10p from the previous week alone, in this area.

If it rises to the rumoured £2/litre in the next few weeks (more like £2.20/litre for Momentum) i'm going to be walking an awful lot more!

It genuinely saddens me to say that too - i'm guessing I won't be the only one.

Doubly annoying too as we were on the verge of getting a second car (hybrid) just regular motoring/short journeys etc - bit late now I guess!

Our here in Ireland went from (Locally) 1.63.9 to 171.9 overnight.
I'm actually glad I don't drive that far at all. But I missed filling up the tank before it rocketed.
Governments have to bring down their tax on fuel to help us all out.

 

[190]

Mrs BTB topped up near Eurotunnel Folkestone this morning- 165.9p per litre for standard unleaded

Some profiteering going on there. I was in York last Friday and filled up with E10 at Sainsburys for 141.9

At home near Macclesfield it's between 149.9 and 158.9 so quite a saving.