By Anonymous Fleet Manager



Why is it that some people believe that if they own a car, that automatically qualifies them to be a fleet manager and provide advice on how to run the fleet?

Who do they think they are?

If you were to have a look at the position descriptions of these people, I’m sure you’d find their duties to be things like mowing parks, repairing roads, etc. 

Nowhere in their PD will it describe providing fleet management advice.

The question is, why do they feel that they need to offer advice on how to run the fleet?
• Are they experiencing poor customer service from the fleet department?
• Are the ‘turn around times’ for repairs at their workshop unacceptable?
• Are the repairs that are being completed not to a suitable standard?
• Is there a perception that the plant hire rates are too expensive? • It might be that they experienced bad service 20 years ago, long before your time and still haven’t built a bridge?
• It may well be that they are an idiot, have a poor attitude or just don’t get it. 

Regardless of the reason, ensure that your offering professional services and exceptional customer service – no one can argue with this.

Throughout my career, I’ve found that education can be very helpful with these types of people.

Sitting them down and explaining the fleet management process can be an eye opener and often acts as an attitude adjuster.

As for the idiots and the people with the poor attitudes that you have to deal with, I’m still trying to find the answer. 

To stop our Anonymous Fleet Manager (AFM) blowing a gasket, we created Internal Combustion, a monthly column for fleet-related rants that lets him blow off some steam. Got a fleet gripe you'd like to get his opinion on? Email emily.ditchburn@ipwea.org and she'll pass it on to AFM – when he's in a good enough mood.