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When I was 'asked' to do this job, I was told it would be part-time. Not many hours a week to look after a 45-strong fleet, and 45 drivers! Instead, it has turned out to be more than full-time - it's my life now!
I seem to be the go-to person for virtually everything as I'd just made a cuppa the other day and got a call from one of our managers. He said, "hello, it's me, I need some help, and I know you'll have the answer. You know I told you I was moving, well, today's the day. But I have a problem, and I know you know all about cars, and vans and things. Well, the problem is, the removal men are in a big van, very big, my new house is on a hill, and they sort of got it stuck - can you help?"
I nearly dropped my mug - "you want me to help you get a stuck truck moved?". He replied it wasn't exactly stuck, but too big to get on to the drive. I said, "have you removed the gates," and at this point I felt I was being drawn unwittingly into his, and the removal people's problems. I know I should just have said, "sorry mate, not my problem, it's yours," but I really couldn't help myself trying to picture the scene and offering advice. "Thanks," he said, "what a good idea."
While fuel prices at the pumps seem to be steadily falling, our fuel bill seems to be rising significantly. I ask them to put mileage on the fuel card every time they fill up, but most seem incapable of doing this. Fuel forecourts are not much better either. I'm beginning to think that all is not what it seems when they fill up, and although I'm not accusing anyone, I do think something is not right. I have now asked all drivers to send me a simple email, or text every time they fill up, with both the mileage and how much fuel has gone in the vehicle, a very easy task, but let's see how many do it regularly. By doing this, I can accurately monitor MPG, and establish if there are any wrongdoings. Such skulduggery reduces the company's profit, and bonuses to staff will be impacted. Hopefully I'm doing my bit in trying to save a few pounds.
It seems a regular occurrence for drivers to call and tell me that an orange warning light has appeared on the dash. They obviously don't want to drive the car, as they fear it's something serious. I then try to book the vehicle in, often being told it's going to be days, or even weeks before they can possibly look at it. After many 'false alarms,' when the vehicle is checked, it regularly appears that there is in fact nothing wrong. As the technician has plugged it into the code reader, and then resets it. Anyway, the warning light disappears and puts the minds of the driver, and me, at rest. I wonder if the sensors in modern vehicles are just too sensitive. I'm beginning to think so, and that it all adds unnecessary work to the poor old fleet manager.
How do you get someone out of what should have been a short-term rental (that's costing a fortune!), into a cheaper, more affordable car? We have a member of staff whose new car should have been delivered a few weeks ago - but like many others, there has been a delay! All I could get at the time (and I expected it to be a couple of weeks), was a very nice, almost new Mercedes. The driver loves it, and that's the problem, I keep asking for it back, so I can replace it with a car, more in line with his status, and our budget. Suddenly he's reluctant to talk to me, never answers the phone, and is always far too busy to bring it back to the office on a specific day when I can get a cheaper, rental car. I've tried just being nice and asking politely. It is getting to the stage where I'm going to have to be much less polite, and just tell him how it's going to be, whether he likes it or not!
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