The Limos.com Forum Has Moved!!!

Because I feel that forums provide an opportunity to share ideas, knowledge and even failures, I decided that we are going to share new policies, promotions, ideas etc. with everyone else on the forum. Some may work for you and your company or market area while some may not. I hope you find the ideas innovative and useful and if you want further information, you can e-mail me.

“The car is not quite right syndrome”

Have you ever had a driver ask you, “who drove this car before me”? This is usually followed by comments such as, there was trash in the trunk, the bar countertop was sticky, there was trash under the seat, the car was not fueled etc…

Solution: I made a laminated card (1/2 sheet of paper) which say’s, this vehicle was cleaned and serviced by DRIVER’S NAME. If you find any problems or complaints, please page me at (DRIVER’S PAGER #) to discuss your concerns.

This program was instituted September 1st and has had successful results in reducing calls to the office from drivers with complaints about others. The small card promotes a sense of pride in the job of post-cleaning a car and preparing it for the next driver. No driver wants to receive a call from the next driver to hear a complaint so they are going the extra mile. A Very small investment with extremely high results so far.

Hey people whats up with all the friction? Lets not start indirectly attacking each other for our tried-and-true methods.

The idea is to hear how EVERYONE handles these situations so each of us can evaluate how we'd like to handle our own chargebacks. The idea is to take the best of what everyone has to say and make your policy even better and more cost effective.

No one is wrong or right - everyone has different scenarios based on customers and locations. In addition, hearing how everyone handles things will only help other businesses, and any new businesses starting.

Sounds like a Forum job well done as long as you guys don't start ripping each other's heads off!

JHJ! Im glad to hear your not a taxicab company. Thank you for clearing that up! If you ever start dealing with private jet terminals or FBO's as they are called you will start getting lots of ASAPs. Of course the vehicles of choice for these folks are short black stretches and sedans and so far as I can remember they have never asked me for a taxicab. It's funny how you brought up the point of nights out and special events like it was some kind of dirty business. For the most part these are the runs we have the least problem with. I guess it depends on who you market to. We don't chase the prom and bar crown so we don't have the problems you mentioned. However, our night out and special event customers are the who's who in our area and some have even been loyal customers for over 20 years. Most of these folks average run with us is over $500.00. These are our most profitable customers. It's not uncommon for these local "night out" people to use us 5 or 6 times per month. They rarely cancel and always pay their bills. Most have credit card numbers on file with us and we usually don't even ask them to sign the trip sheet. To date I have never been burned by one of these regular customers. I have been burned by the "credit card savy" corporate sedan riders from the Northeast part of the country. These people know the credit card laws and they also know its not worth your time to take them to court over a $100.00 sedan ride. These are the people that we have problems with for the most part. That is why we now insist on an imprint and signature from a non-regular customer from out of town. And hey, if what you are doing works for you, great, but it might not work for others in other parts of the country.

Wade Randolph

how we handle (or prepare to handle) any problems arising out of chargebacks, etc. First, we have never had a chargeback. Second, I am told that because we use our bank as the liaison to the processor, they can go to bat for us, and apparently do. In other words, if your bank likes you they have the clout with the processor to "bend" the processor to our way of thinking. Consider this when you are shopping for the lowest possible discounts and switching processors to save a few pennies. Third, I must also admit that we are not a taxicab company and get very few ASAP calls for cars, and we do little night-out or event business, so our exposure to these problems is minimal. Fourth, we never impress a credit card in a car - just our philosophy that we don't turn the ride into a business transactions. Sure, we greatly increase our exposure, but it is our "thing" to do it that way.
Now, having said that, we have tried to prepare for the eventuality that someone is going to try to zing us by making sure that every non-regular (especially one-ride customers) customer gets into his or her hand a document with our "terms of carriage" on it and which provides that by riding with us they accept the terms (sort of like opening a shrink-wrap software box). Among those terms is a provision whereby they consent to the jurisdiction of the courts in Pittsburgh, and that if we have to sue them they agree that we can include the costs and expenses of doing so, including our ACTUAL attorneys' fees. This can turn a dispute over a few hundred dollars into thousands of dollars worth of exposure to a customer who tries to dick you around. And such provisions are enforceable in most states (Ohio is an exception that I am aware of - where contracts to pay attorneys' fees are frowned upon by the courts). If you design your contract properly, it will go a long way toward thwarting those who will try to screw you around.
A good national trade association would have a working committee that promulgates and revises such legal forms - too bad we don't have one in our industry. I offered to write a series of articles for LimoDigest on the contents of contract forms in the industry (in response to their inquiry if I would author an article for them), but they didn't bite. I guess this subject is more in depth than the industry mags are looking for to fill the space between their advertisements - of which there is a growing amount due to the Lincoln fiasco, the recession and the 911 events. I guess it will have to wait until I have the time to kick off the North American Limousine Association (NALA).

quote:

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Originally posted by Wade Randolph:
Jim I thank you for the collection idea for disputed credit cards. I can't tell you how many times we have had clients call up and reserve limousines with their credit cards and not show up or cancel at the last minute after giving us phone order deposits, then they dispute the charges and we are not only out of the run but the deposit as well while our cars sit in the garage. There are not many of these type of customers as a whole but it really pisses you off when this happens. And I would hardly call it stealing for us going to court over it. Anyway thanks for the advice I will try it next time.

Wade Randolph

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James H. Joseph
Pegasus Chauffeured Motor Cars
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
jhj@pegasus-pittsburgh.com

Jim I wanted to add one more point to the credit card issue. If you would read the fine print on your merchant account you would realize that even if you get an approval code and an imprint with a signature you still could be left getting a chargeback. Your merchant agreement basically allows them to charge your account back if the card holder's issuing bank won't pay your merchant account. I had a situation a couple years ago where a customer used a VISA card that he had stolen from his aunt's home. We got a physical imprint, signature and approval code for the amount used. She disputed the charges and after a 6 month battle back and forth between my processor and her issuing bank I was charged back for the total amount. My merchant processor showed me the agreement that I signed that said basicall if they don't get paid, I don't get paid. It really opened my eyes at how cut-throat those credit card companies are. So I would not loose sleep over suing those issuing banks in our local small claims court.

Wade Randolph

I am not advocating you sue your processor. I imagine they would cut you off in a heartbeat. You can obtain the ISSUING BANK name of the credit card that caused the chargeback. That is the entity that is named in the suit. Not the processor. If someone uses a credit card fraudulently or fails to show up, you are out the money. The bank has a little more money than a small limo company. It is PROVEN to work. I have won against Bank of America TWICE so maybe my time with them is about up. If you think about the number of issuing banks, it will take a long time before they figure it out. I have no problem sleeping when someone else takes the loss but plenty of sleep lost when we take the loss. It's a dog-eat-dog world out there.

Before working for Limos.Com I worked in the chargeback area for a major credit card company.

There are all sorts of regulations for why a merchant can be charged back when a customer disputes a charge. As far as someone reserving the limo and not showing, if you they gave you their credit card number over the phone- you are out of luck. If you have their signature with the credit card number clearly stating that this is a non-refundable deposit, you have a case.

Additionally, if the client is drunk, and extends the time of the trip- get them to sign for the additional amount. When you get the chargeback notification - you have a time limit to dispute the claim. Dispute the claim within that time limit and keep a record of it. JHJ is right, an authorization number merely authorizes that funds are available, not that the charge is guaranteed.

BUT if you DON'T have an authorization number (approval code),and the customer disputes the charge, you will get charged back. Even if you have a signature- a photocopy of the card, a driver's license and a thumbprint- you will get chargedback.

As far as contacting the issuing bank and threatening a lawsuit- yeah that will work maybe once or twice- but if you do it often, (JHJ is right again) your merchant bank will drop you. This step should be your last resort after disputing your chargeback. If you have done everything right, you will never need to take this step.

Read your merchant agreement. When accepting plastic for payment- you need to follow guidelines or risk losing the money.

Jim I thank you for the collection idea for disputed credit cards. I can't tell you how many times we have had clients call up and reserve limousines with their credit cards and not show up or cancel at the last minute after giving us phone order deposits, then they dispute the charges and we are not only out of the run but the deposit as well while our cars sit in the garage. There are not many of these type of customers as a whole but it really pisses you off when this happens. And I would hardly call it stealing for us going to court over it. Anyway thanks for the advice I will try it next time.

Wade Randolph

where the bank simply does not find it cost effective to retain legal counsel and go to a hearing. As the amount of the chargeback goes up, the more likely it is that they will appear and defend, however. What the bank is, however, most likely to do is terminate your merchant agreement and send you packing to another processor. The notion, however, that your processor can be liable to back-charging your account is fundamentally flawed. When the processor "approves" a charge, it is only saying that the card is good and the charge is within the credit limit so that when you process the "sale" the amount of money "approved" will be available. This has absolutely nothing to do with the processor "guaranteeing" payment for the customer if he has a beef with your service. You can unscrupulously use the legal system to extort money from large companies in the circumstances you describe, but this does not mean that your claim is legally sound. I might add, however, that this technique is no different than the customer who uses your service and then complains to his credit card issuer and has you charged-back. Both are their own form of extortion - or, more simply, theft.

quote:

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Originally posted by Limo Scene:
Credit card chargebacks are something that happens periodically in our industry for various reasons. An incoming passenger didn't arrive at the airport, although your driver did and he disputes the charge. A client went over the prepaid time but was drunk and didn't remember etc. However, I have found a successful way to get your money back. Here is the theory. You accept the credit card and call for an approval code. You receive an "approval code" and in good faith deliver service. The bank hits your account after a dispute. A little homework on your part now. You find out who the issuing bank was. Say, Bank of America. You go to the internet and find out where their corporation is registered. You send them a letter and tell them you did the service on the basis that the approval code would get you paid. Now, they unfairly took the money from your account and you want it back. They of course will deny your claim. You then file in Small Claims against the bank. The bank will not send anyone to the Small Claims hearing. You don't even get to tell the judge your story. He'll call you. He'll call them. When they don't answer, you win be default. You send the judgement to the bank and they send you a check. I have successfully won judgements against four banks and all paid. It costs you roughly $30 to get your money back.

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James H. Joseph
Pegasus Chauffeured Motor Cars
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
jhj@pegasus-pittsburgh.com

Credit card chargebacks are something that happens periodically in our industry for various reasons. An incoming passenger didn't arrive at the airport, although your driver did and he disputes the charge. A client went over the prepaid time but was drunk and didn't remember etc. However, I have found a successful way to get your money back. Here is the theory. You accept the credit card and call for an approval code. You receive an "approval code" and in good faith deliver service. The bank hits your account after a dispute. A little homework on your part now. You find out who the issuing bank was. Say, Bank of America. You go to the internet and find out where their corporation is registered. You send them a letter and tell them you did the service on the basis that the approval code would get you paid. Now, they unfairly took the money from your account and you want it back. They of course will deny your claim. You then file in Small Claims against the bank. The bank will not send anyone to the Small Claims hearing. You don't even get to tell the judge your story. He'll call you. He'll call them. When they don't answer, you win be default. You send the judgement to the bank and they send you a check. I have successfully won judgements against four banks and all paid. It costs you roughly $30 to get your money back.

quote:

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Originally posted by Alimo:
Gee I'm glad I call myself a CHAUFFEUR otherwise I wouldn't wear a suit, look smart and clean AND make sure my Limousine was exactly in the same condition ( get it right, impress the client, get gratuity, happy client ) are the common sense rules that hard to follow ? Its called PRIDE
or are the DRIVERS you refer to the straight faced wooden headed club types used on the golf course ?

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I only use Driver because Chauffeur is so hard to spell fast ;-) Here in the US we are a little looser with the language than in the UK, so pardon us. In fact many customers in the US refer to us as limo drivers as I think they think if they say Chauffeur it sounds condescending, just like I do not refer to female assistants as secretaries, even though some prefer that to executive assistant? Well that is completely different subject ;-)

And yes some times people do not have as much common sense as others and those are the ones that need firing by management, not pages from fellow employees criticizing their efforts or lack thereof.

Cherrio!! (isn’t that what they say in the UK ;-)
Steve Walker
steve@capriceshop.com

> Originally posted by Limo Scene:
> I had no idea when I shared an idea that it
> would be so very constructively broken down,
> analyzed and critiqued. At least in the
> future, I will be prepared.
The better the idea the more reaction you will get in my opinion! After all if you wrote "we are putting corkscrews in the back of all our limos" we all would have said Yea, OK. ;-)

> My ideas of course will be based on my
> operation and as previously mentioned may not
> work in every company
Yes, and while writing my response this is exactly the idea I had in mind. I know this program can work in your company, Limo Scene. I know what you do for your employees, the retention rate you have and the service level you provide. You have what I would qualify as a high performance culture. The point of my posting was for the operator that may not be up to your level and tries to implement this program when he hires employees that cannot handle the responsibility of the program. So I gave an alternative that may work better for them.

> The goal I am aiming for is pride in work.
> Such as the little note in your hotel room
> that say's your room was made up by Susie
Yes but it does not give Susies home phone number and expect you to call and complain to them directly, you tell it to the management, as they want to hear it.

> While I don't expect phone calls from one
> driver to another daily
You don't, but if you give the impression that this is the way to deal with under-performance by one driver than daily calls could be the norm before you know it.

> I really don't want to hear from a driver
> about a situation like this if it's a once
> in a great while thing.
And I bet you don't, like I was talking about with Karl, if you hear the complaint chances are it is not a once in a great while thing but a problem that has been constant and increasing over time, they just did not bring it to you the first 5 times.

> Then on the other hand, if the same driver is
> getting calls from all his peers for the same
> thing. Hopefully it would motivate him/her to
> NEVER repeat the error or QUIT. Either is
> acceptable to me.
HA!! You are hard core ;-) You must have a great pool of talent up there to have that attitude. But that is a good system because your best most critical drivers would then be dictating who works for you and it would be based on their standards, and like you said before those are the ones that count after all they have to make money with those cars.

But what about the driver that is absolutely great with the customers and a very careful driver but does not do that great of a job cleaning. He does everything your policy says, but his efforts do not meet the standard of your neat freak driver and a page gets put into the good driver and he gets a talking to from the neat freak about the importance of cleaning the inside of the trash can with Windex, and vacuming out the floor of the trunk. A couple of these calls from the neat freak and the good driver quits. Your company in any better shape not having him around? And after all he would not come to you about this issue since he knows you want it handled between the drivers. He can tell you have the attitude quoted below:

> I have much bigger fish to fry with moving
> the company forward than to get involved in
> such matters.
You may have bigger stuff to worry about but I contend you need to have someone in your company that does worry about stuff like this on a daily basis. You are in the mode of getting new customers but do not sell your current customers short at the expense of getting new ones. Costs more to get a new one than keep a current one.


> My goal is to have each driver strive to make
> sure there is absolutely nothing that ANYONE
> could possibly find in the car to be
> unacceptable.
That’s a good goal but it leaves much open to interpretation. In my opinion this is where management needs to be getting involved with these interpretations and deciding which ones are valid and which ones are a little over the top.

> It is meant neither to stop tattle-talers
> from coming to management or to promote
> confrontations between employees.
I know it was not meant for that I am just suggesting that it may be the outcome of the program if you are not careful and do not have the family cohesion among your employees that Limo Scene does.

Thanks!! Great insight.
Steve Walker
steve@capriceshop.com

> Originally posted by Karl:
> Steve, I would submit that it really depends
> on what the company has implemented in the
> way of policies. At a company I once worked
> for, the owner insisted on only hiring those
> capable of responsibility.
I would also agree with you that it depends on the company. That is why I mentioned the culture of the company in my original post. You said the policy of the company makes a difference then you went on to say that they hired only responsible drivers. This is a key to mention because you can have all the policies you want but they will not make a difference if you do not have the right people following those policies. This is why I also mention the culture of the company, as I can set a policy and have responsible people following it but if the culture of the company does not support both then all you will have are confused employees.

Example: I get hired into a company and the boss tells me "if you have any problems come see me, I will handle it" Then a policy comes out that says all drivers are now responsible for solving any problems with the cars between themselves. Then the first time I complain to a fellow driver I get the response, you are not my boss, I do not have to do what you say. Then the boss calls me in and says why are you bothering a fellow employee. All this does is breed confusion and apathy.

So if you are going to have policies enforce those.

If you are going to hire responsible drivers and put the responsibility on them, then support that decision and stand by their decisions.

Or create a culture where your employees police themselves and expect other employees to criticize openly.

I listed these in this order because they are harder to do as you go down the line. Anyone can write down policies, its a little harder to hire the right people, and it is most difficult to create a culture among a large group of people that allows for tension and still be effective.

> While the company management did have an
> open door policy, most drivers were
> surprisingly content to handle their own
> affairs and leave the managers to do theirs.
That’s a little contradictory as the management says "we hired you because you are responsible and we expect you to handle the issue related to the car" then come back and say "we have an open door policy" This is where the confusion comes in for an employee as he will say to himself I better try to handle this myself before I go and see my manager about it, after all I am responsible. So in reality there is not an open door policy there is an open door after I try to resolve the problem myself policy. This may be great for management as you are hearing less from your employees and able to get more things done but you have to consider what is happening among all of your employees and what type of culture is developing, high performance or low performance.

> If they really felt it was warranted, the
> driver might mention the problem or
> complaint to their peer.
As I said in my original post I also agree with this that if it gets serious enough it would be handled peer to peer in some cases. But the problem arises when management expects this to be the norm and they wash their hands of any further complaints. So I would come to the boss and say John did not do this last night and if the response came back "did you page him and tell him?" that is when I say to myself as a driver "well I guess the boss does not care about how the cars go out"


> Now in our case, getting a dirty vehicle
> after a colleague wasn’t pleasant, but
> it did go with the territory to a degree.
Well it is this attitude (that I also share) that breeds the problem that we are talking about here. I know sometimes things get missed and people have bad nights. That is why I always like to get the car early to clean it to my standards. The problem we are talking about is when the standards of one person are higher, or lower, than the others. This is when the complaints start. But like you said in some companies the culture is that sometimes un-cleanliness "goes with the territory"

> I don’t think most of us would have considered
> (or had the time) to bother the owner with
> something that while was annoying and
> frustrating, was actually pretty trivial stuff.
Yes I would agree with that as well most drivers would just clean it up and be done with it. But if it is so trivial then why bother at all?? Why? because in Limo Scenes Case he wants all of his cars going out perfect. It's sad to say that not all companies in our industry have this same high standard. So if you do have this high standard for your cars and drivers then you have to demonstrate it by listening and responding to them when they have a complaint and treat them all seriously.

Another point to ponder here is that you are right most drivers will not tell the boss most of the time. So when they do complain don't you think it has gotten to a very serious point. So you may say to your self as an operator "I am so tired of hearing complaints about my cars from my drivers, I have gotten 3 this week" Well in truth you probably had about 30 things wrong with your cars but they finally built up and 3 drivers complained to you about them. Meanwhile all week you probably exposed 10 of you customers to a sub par vehicle where they noticed the problem as well.

> In fact, the drivers were always trying to
> outdo each other in making sure their vehicle
> was cleaner and more impressively presentable
> than the next drivers’ were.
Well that must have been a real astounding group of drivers but for every one of them I contend there are two others that try to do the minimum in order to get by. These are the ones the boss needs to hear about and by instituting a program that shelters the boss from that information for a time I contend you may loose some customers in the time it takes for the complaints to build up into a mole hill and the boss finally sees them.

> That much may have worried the boss, but he
> loved the results in knowing the greatest
> likelihood was the vehicles would always be
> sparkling when presented to the client.
You said "greatest likelihood" That’s not exactly a phrase that inspires as much confidence as "perfect", but this "greatest likelihood" is the standard many companies are run on (including the one I work for) when they hope that the drivers will do their best!

> I’d say any course of action that can give all
> of us (as owners) those same favorable results
> is very good.
Well it seemed to me that the results of this program we are talking about was less phone calls into the office from the drivers. While that is good it is not the result the program was originally intended to address (dirty cars). And if implemented at a company that is not ready for it could well breed resentment among employees and towards management.

Great comments Karl, Thanks for the feedback!!

Steve Walker
steve@capriceshop.com

Hi Steve,Karl and Limo Scene,

Gee I'm glad I call myself a CHAUFFEUR otherwise I wouldn't wear a suit, look smart and clean AND make sure my Limousine was exactly in the same condition ( get it right, impress the client, get gratuity, happy client ) are the common sense rules that hard to follow ? Its called PRIDE
or are the DRIVERS you refer to the straight faced wooden headed club types used on the golf course ?

I had no idea when I shared an idea that it would be so very constructively broken down, analyzed and critiqued. At least in the future, I will be prepared.

There are many dynamics of a company, it's employees, it's management and the interaction of everyone together. My ideas of course will be based on my operation and as previously mentioned may not work in every market and every company. With that in mind, my ideas are summarized in their simplest form.

I put the drivers opinion about a car above my own. It is the tool they use daily to produce income. Of they have a complaint, they are assumed valid. If they feel a car isn't up to snuff from the last driver then the car is simply not up to snuff. The goal I am aiming for is pride in work. Such as the little note in your hotel room that say's your room was made up by Cindy or Susie. On the interior of a Compaq computer is the inspector's name. While I don't expect phone calls from one driver to another daily, I really don't wnat to hear from a driver about a situation like this if it's a once in a great while thing. Then on the other hand, if the same driver is getting calls from all his peers for the same thing, it would be a plus if the call did come in at 4:00am after the driver had been on duty for 14 hours. Hopefully it would motivate him/her to NEVER repeat the error or QUIT. Either is acceptable to me. I have much bigger fish to fry with moving the company forward than to get involved in such matters.

Now, I believe this is where the difference comes in. Everyone that works in our company is part of the "family". Their family is part of the "family". We have 24 drivers, 3 maintenance/wash personnel and 6 office staff. That's 33 people with varying personalities and by the way, I certainly have my share of whiner, cry-babies. We have regular get togethers, trips to amusement parks on Sunday (and we farm our work out to do so). We have lunches, we have dinners and we have an annual awards banquet. Families are also invited to participate. I know the spouse name and childrens names and schools of every single employee. When you are a tight knit family, it's no big deal to have a "confrontation" and tell someone they fell short on the job. 41% of all our employees have worked between three to seven years and 23% have been there seven to nine years. That means 64% have worked together for a minimum of three years together.

In answer to your question about what my goal is:
My goal is to have each driver strive to make sure there is absolutely nothing that ANYONE could possibly find in the car to be unacceptable. It is meant neither to stop tattle-talers from coming to management or to promote confrontations between employees. It is simply a tool to promote pride in your work.

Steve, I would submit that it really depends on what the company has implemented in the way of policies.

At a company I once worked for, the owner insisted on only hiring those capable of responsibility. Made good sense since the company piled so much responsibility on its drivers (as well as other various positions).

Virtually everything that had anything to do with the vehicles at the operational level started with the driver. In addition to its operation, the drivers were the first and last word on its readiness. If it needed service, the driver didn’t do it of course, but he or she was responsible for seeing to it the vehicle condition was made known to the operations and maintenance departments. Same thing with the cleanliness. If it wasn’t properly and completely cleaned, they made certain that it was corrected, either through getting it cleaned, taking it to a facility, or doing it themselves. While the company management did have an open door policy, most drivers were surprisingly content to handle their own affairs and leave the managers to do theirs. If they really felt it was warranted, the driver might mention the problem or complaint to their peer. But such scenarios were very rare at all since vehicles left in filthy condition were a company offense for which termination was getting off easy. The only time such problems did arise was probably with a newly hired driver. Then management of course needed and wanted to know. There needs to be clear understanding between an employee who does not understand a policy and an employee who willfully does not comply with a policy. That’s when you need a manager.

Now in our case, getting a dirty vehicle after a colleague wasn’t pleasant, but it did go with the territory to a degree. I don’t think most of us would have considered (or had the time) to bother the owner with something that while was annoying and frustrating, was actually pretty trivial stuff. After all, the standards of cleanliness and other policies was widely distributed and well known throughout the company. In fact, the drivers were always trying to outdo each other in making sure their vehicle was cleaner and more impressively presentable than the next drivers’ were. That much may have worried the boss, but he loved the results in knowing the greatest likelihood was the vehicles would always be sparkling when presented to the client.

I’d say any course of action that can give all of us (as owners) those same favorable results is very good.

Karl Jones

> Have you ever had a driver ask you, "who
> drove this car before me"? This is usually
> followed by comments such as, there was
> trash in the trunk, the bar countertop
> was sticky, there was trash under the
> seat, the car was not fueled etc…

Please allow me to be a devils advocate here and put in my two cents. While what you describe above is sometimes a common occurrence, please consider this from a drivers point of view. I my self have been on both sides of the coin on this one. As a manager, having to discipline drivers for their laziness and as a driver having to clean up a limo after a lazy driver. I have asked my boss several times "who drove this last" but you know what, sometimes I do not want an answer to this question, I just want to air my grievance and be done with it and rest assured that my boss is going to take the appropriate actions to deal with the situation. If I now have to go to the step of paging a fellow employee and having a confrontation about how they did their job, chances are I am just going to clean it up and keep my mouth shut. But what is worse than that is now I get the idea in my head that my boss does not want to hear what condition the cars are left in because he left it in my hands to resolve the issue. Now if I am a manager than that is my job to resolve the problem but if I am a driver, how is that my job? Am I getting paid to resolve the problems of the business on a daily basis, if that is the case then why is there a need for any management? (that’s a little extreme but it makes my point)

> Solution: I made a laminated card which
> say’s, this vehicle was cleaned and
> serviced by DRIVER’S NAME. If you find
> any problems or complaints, please page
> me at (DRIVER’S PAGER #) to discuss your
> concerns.
I have no problem with the paper having the drivers name but where I think you go to far is having the pager number and the expectation that the driver call to resolve the problem. It's enough just to have the drivers name for this reason. If the offense is serious and constant enough the driver can take it to management for appropriate action. If it is a minor offense the driver will just lock that info away in his mind and when it happens for the third time by the same driver he may say something to the offending driver as a sort of pier pressure, but that would be his choice to make a comment to him, he would not be required to.

> This program has had successful results in
> reducing calls to the office from drivers
> with complaints about others.
I have no doubt that it has reduced the calls.
Think about what you want your goal to be here. Do you want clean cars going out or do you want less phone calls coming in from drivers? Just because one is happening do not assume the other is. If you are getting less calls it may be because, like I said before, you have sent the message to your drivers that it is now their responsibility to criticize their fellow drivers on their work habits. Now if you have created a culture and incentives that promote this then that is fine. But in my view a majority of your drivers would never page a fellow employee and criticize them, they would just rather avoid the conflict all together. Most humans tend to avoid conflict. And the reverse is the ones that love conflict and those are the drivers that are going to page me at 5:00am in the morning after I had been out all night to tell me I left a napkin out of a glass. Wake me up after 4 hours of sleep after I have just worked 12 hours and you can bet there is going to be a conflict.

> The small card promotes a sense of pride
> in the job of post-cleaning a car and
> preparing it for the next driver.
I could not agree with you more on this point but like I said before the added step of the driver resolving the problem is where I would draw the line. Our companies cars have vehicle logs and I know that any driver can look at the log and see that I had the car last, so this is all the motivation I need to make sure and leave the car clean. Plus the added motivation that if I do not leave it clean and another driver complains to the boss then I will get a talking to.

> No driver wants to receive a call from
> the next driver to hear a complaint so
> they are going the extra mile.
Well while I would think that this is true what kind of relationship are you promoting between your drivers. If one driver is more critical then the next he gets the reputation of being the "cry baby" he gets enough razzing from others chances are he will never make another phone call again.

Now not to leave you with out a suggestion consider the following: Still have the piece of paper and the driver puts his name on there and leave a space for the next driver to write in comments about why the car was not ready. And have a place for the reporting driver to put his name with the caveat he does not have to if he does not want to (anonymous). And have instructions to turn this into a locked box in your garage area. Have someone (management) check this weekly and address things that need to be addressed or monitor the minor offenses to see if a lazy trend is apparent with a driver, if so address it manager to employee. And if you see a widely reported trend among all your drivers report out on this at your monthly/quarterly meeting or with a memo/posting to all drivers. This also addresses the problems of calls into the office while still giving your drivers the impression that you want to know what state your cars are left in on a daily basis. Also have the drivers report (on the same sheet) if they think the car was left in excellent shape and reward accordingly when it comes to raise time.

I recently read Bill Gates book "Business at the speed of thought" and he said something to the effect of he spends most of his time listening for bad news. Because you can learn and change based on bad news. He hears all of the good news but really cannot do anything with that. Most CEO's will always hear the they gained the xyz account, while not hearing that they lost 5 others.

So while you are reducing the calls into your office you are losing out on the opportunity of hearing bad news about your business. And after all we all know that customers usually do not tell you that they have stopped using your service, you just never get a call.

Thank you for sharing your ideas!!
Steve Walker
steve@capriceshop.com