When there is muck to be raked, it must be raked, and the public must know of it, that it may mete out justice.. . Publicity is a great purifier because it sets in action the forces of public opinion, and in this country public opinion controls the courses of the nation. Charles Evans Hughes: Address, Manufacturer's Assn., May 1908.

From the story in this issue on the operation of a leading fleet dealer our casual reader might get the mistaken impression that we feel all is rosy on the dealership front.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Dealer service is currently maintaining its decade-low level according to letters, field interviews and a review of our own personal business fleet at Bobit Publishing.

Personal instances include:

A hood ornament that has been back ordered for more than two months.

One of our working gals has had continued electrical problems and an exhaust system that kept falling apart (after three dealer service visits). Beginning a busy morning schedule that included dropping kids off at three different schools, she came into the dealership about 8:45 a.m. each day. She found they were booked for those days. She was asked to "get in early" as they do not make appointments. Since the car was dangerously close to the 12,000 mile mark, we had to lend a hand.

The retail sales manager had a customer hot for one of the (also) hot intermediates that were awaiting fleet delivery. Since he could cut it for a big six (hundred, that is), he "stole" the car. The poor fleet driver, who had waited two years for exactly the car he wanted, had to make a secondary choice.

There are any number of stories, all add important cost to a company's fleet operation. Perhaps one of the most tragic is another story that happens all too often.

I happened to ride in this particular less- than- one- year-old wagon to Milwaukee and remarked to my fleet driving friend that it was in magnificent condition. He related that he treats a car like his home, and even though it is not his own, it deserves good attention. He was also excited because he was picking up his new replacement three days later.

Well, the dealer fleet man agreed with me when he turned the car in; it was fresh. The condition report is reproduced here to verify that not only was nothing noted wrong with the car, but he voluntarily wrote "Sharp" across it - hopefully reflecting his personal view.

A few weeks later my fleet driving friend receives an invoice for $235, yes, $235. For what, I asked. For "repairing the transmission" (it functioned perfectly) and "removing the decals". Now I was in the car. There was not even a city sticker on it. And it was not a replacement for side panel covering sometimes referred to as decals (it did not need it), as the charge was only for "removal of decals".

The leasing company had never seen this car - from inception to replacement - which is normal. The whole point is that there still remains a number of dealers that are costing fleets a ton of money, with productive sales or executive people not getting efficient service and instead getting the "schtick" on replacement.

It is incumbent on every fleet manager and their lease company that may represent them, to narrow this tragic and expensive margin of error. Fleet business should be good business.