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Image is everything in business, its importance reflected in the huge amounts of money firms invest in their PR and marketing.
But where do company cars fit into an organisation's profile? Most of us in the fleet sector would impress on our customers that a well-presented fleet of vehicles has an extremely positive impact.
Yet there are occasions when it can backfire, usually as a result of how drivers treat their vehicles or behave towards others on the road.
Some might argue that if a vehicle carries no corporate branding, any poorly presented car or bad driving can't be linked back to the company. That may be the case out on the road, but what about the visibility of vehicles in your company car park or when drivers arrive at a client's premises?
At E-Training World, one of our most popular e-driver training courses is on the topic of manoeuvring in car parks. Any fleet manager will tell you that knocks and scrapes caused at very slow speed are the bane of their lives, not only leaving vehicles looking dented, scratched and uncared for but also bringing about huge expense and time-consuming administration.
If you are visiting a client, it's not only immensely embarrassing to dent someone's vehicle (and your own) in their car park, but another common feature of a small knock or scrape is that it doesn't stop the car being used.
For this reason, drivers often delay reporting the damage or don't tell their employer at all, which means they're out representing the company in a car that's looking far from its best.
Other driver behaviours can also damage a company's image:?poor parking across two bays, unwashed cars, ones littered with drink cans and sandwich wrappers all over the front seat are all unwelcome. There are also those who choose to personalise their vehicle with stickers of their favourite football team or other 'non corporate' badges and emblems.
Parking in reserved or, even worse, disabled bays can also reflect badly. I once witnessed a disabled gentleman who came into a reception area I was waiting in to complain that cars were parked in the disabled bays without displaying a blue badge.
The offending culprit was one of the sales reps who worked for the company, and ironically the person he was due to meet was the disabled gentleman whose space he'd stolen.
So my plea to drivers is to drive safely and treat your car with pride. Check its condition, keep it clean and be respectful to others.
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