Truck dealers came in for heavy criticism during the debate, as did the manufacturers for not taking action against the weak members of their networks. Stuart Potter of Marshalls runs vehicles consisting of four marques: Daf, Volvo, Mercedes and Scania. "In spite of everything the manufacturers tell you, the miles per gallon are very similar. Our criteria now for deciding which marque we put into which depot is the local service agent. We have learned the hard way."
He added: "There are
some fantastic service agents out there. I would only ever buy Scania in Scotland as no-one else has got their act together there. In other parts of the world I have had some really poor performance and in the next 18 months we will be moving the marques about to improve on that."
Potter is demanding. He expects dealerships to work 24-hours a day, with MoT preparation over Saturday and Sunday and the test first thing on Monday morning. "If I am paying a premium it is extremely well hidden," he said. "Why are the manufacturers not more active in performance and managing the dealerships? All the truck manufacturers are well known international businesses. Why do they allow some of their dealers to operate so badly? That is what surprises me. I would like to know why they fail to manage their dealers."
Paul Frampton, owner of Framptons Transport Services in Somerset, defended dealers (he is an operator who runs trucks and a workshop). "There are some fantastic dealers. They
are not rubbish. I am sure that the manufacturers know their weak partners. All I would say is they should have the courage to sort it out." He added: "It amazes me that vehicle manufacturers can complain about some of their network members but they are not doing anything about it."
Kevin Hill, southern region fleet engineer for Hotpoint, said that while he gets good service from Daf dealers, there are good and bad dealers around the country. "If everyone wants their vehicle serviced at night and have an MoT test over the weekend, it is not possible for everyone to have it." He pointed out that there is a shortage of people with skills. "Maybe a super dealer would be the answer. Rather than have a dealer that is tied into one particular brand, is there not a case for a super-dealer, maybe funded by the manufacturer?"
But bigger is not always better. "I know of a company that moved from three units into a single unit. It is diabolical. It has thrust people together. The systems are not in place. We have voted with our feet," says Gavin Rawson, transport manager working at Dairy Crest's central distribution centre at Nuneaton.
But our expert panel say that they are prepared to pay for better service. "We have an agreement for our tractor units with a provider that is more expensive than the guy next door. If the guy next door had been up to scratch, we would have used the cheaper service. Now we have a six- mile round trip to another marque that costs us more but the service justified it."
It is not just trucks that are affected. Ross Baxter of Unichem runs 450 vans as well as 50 trucks. "We have exactly the same issues," he says. Out of ten maintenance providers we have a problem with one. We have voted with our feet and are moving from the one we were unhappy with, which was next door, to one that is 12 miles away."
So what makes operators unhappy? "It should not be about the quality of work," says Baxter. "That is not where we have the problem." It is more often about evening servicing, collecting the vehicles on time and getting them back on time, he says. "If they cannot support you in getting the vehicles back by 6am what else are they not doing? Are they making serious mistakes? Are there other problems you only find out about when you have the vehicle pulled over by VOSA?"
Or as Paul Abbott of Knights of Old said, the job is increasingly about policing the supplier. "We tend to buy a repair and maintenance package from one of the Swedish manufacturers. We have a very good relationship with them but we still have to police them. It is our O- licence and if we got an MoT failure for something simple the black mark sits with us. You cannot wash your hands of it, you have a responsibility to ensure that you comply. You could argue that you are paying someone to do the job for you and managing it yourself."
Kevin Hill says the problem is getting approved documents back from dealers. "It should be straightforward to get back documents from the dealer network in a timely manner and completed correctly, dated and with odometer and brake readings.
It seems to be quite a challenge. I understand that because I also look after the in-house distribution unit and getting our own mechanics to fill in the paperwork correctly is quite a challenge. They are more interested in getting on with the job. It can also be a challenge getting the paperwork back from hire companies."
"I think manufacturers have a lot on their plate to build a product that appeals to customers," says David Farbon of Fraikin. He has workshops across the country to support customers. "If someone says my bumper has fallen off outside the workshop we will go and do it. It's not a question of booking it in a week's time, it is done there and then. It is about serving customers, it is not a profit opportunity. If you go to a dealer network they have to maximise the work to put through the business. Workshops are very expensive to run."
The dealership view
Framptons operates 55 trucks and looks after 250 in its garage that are on maintenance contracts from the manufacturer. "The time that we are given to do what is needed on a truck is extremely tight and sometimes to diagnose what is wrong is quite tricky. We are not paid for diagnostic time. The labour rates paid by the manufacturers are pretty awful and do not give us the opportunity to secure the skills that we need." There are few skilled technicians around but they are expensive, he adds.
Dealerships can also be caught in the middle of disputes between customers and manufacturers. A driver may knock out a clutch a month through driver abuse and will go to the manufacturer saying that he is not paying for the work. "We are caught in the middle. We cannot get our bill paid until it is resolved and our money is timed up because we have to put in the clutch."
While car drivers pay between £69 and £129 an hour for labour he has to make do with £35 an hour including all the paperwork. "If you want a full service on a 6x2 I dare not let an apprentice do it because it will take up too much time." He adds: " I don't understand why people pay the headline cost when they buy a truck and they fight and fight for the cheapest maintenance contract. The stuff they fight for is petty cash compared with the cost of a truck."
Frampton has seen bad service from dealerships. "We had an eight wheeler transfer into our area. The fleet knew there were some issues with it. We needed that vehicle for a week to sort it out and that was on a maintenance contact with a network member. We seriously needed a week to sort it out."
He also pointed out that he can do major work on trucks and not be required to do a road test, "I as an operator would want that done but there is no requirement for it and no payment for road testing."
Frampton also declared that he had never had work checked or audited by a manufacturer.
Taking in technology
One major problem in keeping a fleet running is technology, and ensuring that drivers and technicians understand it. "We are at the point where technology has overtaken the ability of the drivers. The challenge is to make sure that the drivers are trained to make the best use of that technology," said Gavin Rawson.
He gave as an example the introduction of the i-shift two years ago. "It is a great concept but if it is not being used properly you lose all the benefits. The question is whether the kick-down should be disabled or taken out. The manufacturer we are using is removing it on that marque."
Kevin Hill pointed out that instruction manuals for new trucks are as thick as a telephone book and it is out of the question to get a driver to read it all. "My issue is that there are so many sensors on a truck that will throw up a fault for no good reason and the driver will not want to take it on the road. So we have downtime when there is nothing wrong with the truck. We have moved too far forward without the drivers understanding what they are driving these days."
Yet not all of the panel found problems with new technology. Ross Baxter has recently had a trial of electronic proof of delivery equipment which means technology in the cab for the first time. "The response from the drivers was very enthusiastic. Without exception they wanted to ditch the paperwork and use the new technology. This thing is equipped with Tom Tom and all the technology. And even the vehicle check is done on this hand-held terminal."
MOT and six week checks
The abolition of the annual MoT or the six week checks was not supported by the panel, but there was some support for licensing or inspections of dealers and repairers. "You can find just as many defects on a one-year old vehicle as on a three-year old," said Ross Baxter. "I think we should stay with six week checks." Another panel member commented: "It would be a very brave operator who will apply to a traffic office to extend it from six to eight weeks."
Kevin Hill said: "I do not think anyone who operates a truck can afford not to do six weekly checks because of all the health and safety regulations. There should be no compromise here, it should go to workshops.
I think we need to stay with regular inspections. I don't think that a commercial vehicle should go 12 months without being inspected. I could not sleep at night if that was the case. Whether there is an argument for doing away with annual tests, that needs a lot more debate. I don't feel that we can get rid of the annual test without putting something in its place or making sure that the service provider has some sort of check up."
These are just some of the points raised by our panel of experts at the Motor Transport debate on "Keeping the Fleet Running", in association with Fraikin. It was a lively 90 minute debate which highlighted the problems operators have in getting high-quality service from dealers across the country.
The participants:
Reed Business Information Limited.©2008
