Sometimes, it seems as though fleet management is akin to running an elementary classroom: dealing with hundreds, if not thousands, of individual personalities, likes, and dislikes, while trying to keep drivers compliant with company fleet policy.

What fleet manager hasn’t heard a driver complain about vehicle selection and equipment or reporting requirements? Vehicles are very personal items, and every driver has his or her own experience with various makes and models. Everyone is an expert. It may seem that the simplest answer is to just tell them all to keep quiet and do what they’re told.

That may work in the classroom, but the fleet manager needs driver cooperation in a way that teachers don’t need it from students. Some level of firm discipline, tempered by simple incentives can help a fleet manager navigate the waters of driver dissatisfaction.

Drivers can be ‘Fleet of Experts’
Drivers of fleet vehicles nearly all have personal cars and trucks, and they are very particular about what they buy and drive. Brand loyalty in the auto industry is every bit as strong as it is for any other consumer item, and it often causes driver objections to various aspects of fleet vehicle selection and policy. This dissatisfaction manifests itself in several areas:

• Vehicle selection – make and/or model.

• Vehicle selection – vehicle type.

• Company-paid equipment.

• Driver-paid option policy.

• Driver-purchase pricing.

  Drivers may not prefer the brand, vehicle type, or equipment the company provides, and such dissatisfaction can lead to lack of adherence to fleet policy and difficulty in communication. Dealing with driver dissatisfaction can take a number of forms, and it includes a level of firmness, communication, and willingness to compromise.

  Brand Loyalty May Pose Make/Model Issues
  The brand loyalty previously mentioned is probably the most common source of driver dissatisfaction and one of the more difficult to handle. Basically, no matter which vehicles are in the selector, some drivers will not like the choices, their aversion almost always based upon some personal experience.

  The problem fleet managers face is that maximizing purchasing leverage usually means single sourcing a vehicle manufacturer; it is nearly guaranteed some drivers will be unhappy with the choice. Fleet managers who single source, then, must be prepared to deal with the inevitable complaints.

  One way to proactively address this grievance is to negotiate with the manufacturer for additional equipment in lieu of a portion or all of the cash incentive. For example:
  

• Upgraded sound systems.

• Sun roof.

• GPS systems.

• Upgraded interior trim.

• Telematics service.

  If the equipment is researched carefully, vehicle resale value is enhanced, depreciation expense is reduced, and driver dissatisfaction can be eased.

  If the single sourcing method isn’t chosen, driver dissatisfaction with selection can be addressed by providing multiple choices at each level of the selector. In the past, this was an easy, almost total solution. Choices were essentially limited to the three domestic manufacturers. Today, however, far more choices are available, with import labels more available and acceptable. Avoid providing too many choices to prevent confusion and the additional administrative expense of dealing with multiple suppliers.

  Vehicle Type Presents Fewer Issues
  Vehicle type issues may be less common than the brand loyalty that bothers drivers when make/model selections are made, but they can be dealt with as well.

  Vehicle type selection results from careful analysis of the vehicle mission. “Can the vehicle do the job?” is the first question a fleet manager must answer when developing vehicle selection. Most drivers will prefer a larger vehicle, such as a full-size, four-door sedan, an SUV, or a minivan.

  If the mission requires capacity for cargo (for sales material, product, service parts, etc.) and passengers, or severe conditions (mountainous terrain) are encountered, larger vehicles are necessary.

  The criteria for determining such applications, however, are necessarily strict, primarily because operating costs, such as fuel, maintenance, repair, and tires, are higher for these vehicles. For that reason, drivers often work hard at making the exception for themselves. If denied that exception, issues almost certainly arise. For example, a driver traveling high in the Rockies, in severe conditions, requires a four-wheel-drive vehicle, with sufficient power and clearance to handle the job — an SUV. But drivers in other mountainous areas less prone to severe weather (the Appalachians, Ozarks), may not need the kind of clearance and four-wheel-drive power only an SUV can provide. Other automobile applications are available, provided they have enough power.

  Inevitably, in such cases, the “case” for an SUV is presented, and the fleet manager must make the decision, with few options to avoid this conflict. For the company to keep a reasonable lid on operating costs, all company drivers in mountainous terrain simply may not qualify for an SUV.

  Similar conflicts arise when the driver’s physical size is an issue. Very tall drivers, for example, may have honest difficulty spending hours every day in a mid-size car. In extreme circumstances, this is one situation in which the fleet manager and the company can compromise. The process should be a formal one, with approvals from the driver’s manager, a senior executive in the driver’s function, and ultimately the fleet manager. In this way, an otherwise talented, qualified driver can be hired, and the company can avoid his or her dissatisfaction, while keeping the exceptions to a minimum. Careful analysis of the front leg, hip, and head room of available selections assist in formulating a policy to handle the exceptions.

  Company Paid Equipment and Driver Paid Options
  Companies provide vehicles to employees for a purpose: reliable transportation in a job that requires a driver to travel regularly in the performance of his or her duties. The issue surrounding what equipment is provided and what vehicle equipment the driver is permitted to add at his or her expense can lead to dissatisfaction.

  Most cars today offer a much higher level of standard equipment than in the past. Power options such as windows and door locks, cruise control, tilt wheel, and intermittent wipers are often standard (all or in part). If not offered as a standard feature, a case can be made to include each of them.
  

• Power windows. Drivers who ring up miles, pay tolls. Power windows make this travel interruption far easier.

• Power door locks. Vehicles are often required to carry company equipment(computers), product, and other cargo that can be at risk for theft. Power door locks help ensure vehicles are locked when parked, and such material is kept relatively safe.

• Cruise control/tilt wheel. Driver fatigue is a common cause of accidents. Company vehicle drivers accumulate, on average, roughly twice the mileage of personal drivers. Cruise control and tilt wheel help drivers avoid fatigue conducting business in and out of their vehicles.

• Intermittent wipers. Certainly a convenience, the ability to set wipers on intermittent when weather requires also helps to maintain drivers’ concentration.

  In addition to these reasons to equip a vehicle well, vehicle resale value and ultimately depreciation expense can be seriously hampered if such equipment is not provided. All in all, if the “big four” — cruise control, tilt, power windows and door locks — are provided, drivers seldom complain.

  The vehicle is the driver’s “office,” and much in the same way employees in an office “customize” their work spaces, drivers should be allowed to do the same with their vehicles, within reason.

  Rather than review all options available for a particular model and noting those drivers are permitted to purchase, it is far simpler to list only those they may not buy. Forbidden options include:
  

• Upgraded powertrain. Larger engines mean higher expense, particularly fuel.

• Towing packages.

• Moon/sun roofs.

  Driver-paid option availability is an excellent way to head off driver dissatisfaction, but must be handled properly.

• Drivers must be notified that if they pay for equipment and do not purchase the vehicle when it is replaced in the fleet, they do not retain “ownership” of the equipment.

• It must be clear to the drivers what equipment they can purchase.

• Equipment must be paid for prior to vehicle ordering.

• It is also smart to note that the company does not pay for repairs on driver-paid equipment. Such equipment problems are the drivers’ responsibility. Additionally, to maintain the vehicle’s resale value, drivers should be required to have such repairs completed before the vehicle is turned in.

  The key to handling driver-paid options (as with nearly all other areas of fleet policy) is communication. Drivers should know from the moment they are hired and order their first company vehicle what is permissible, what is not, and what their responsibilities are. The simplest way to ensure such communication is to require driver “sign off” on the policy when the vehicle is ordered. A short paragraph on the vehicle requisition will work, for example:

  “I (undersigned) understand that in purchasing the above equipment that in the event that I do not purchase the vehicle, any and all value of the above equipment will be retained by the company, and that I will be responsible to report any breakage or problems with the equipment, and will be personally responsible for its repair”

  If issues arise concerning equipment value if the driver purchases the vehicle, the answer is simple: if the equipment adds resale value to the basic car, this value would not be added in to the driver’s price. If it does not add such value, no deduction is made.

  Setting Driver Purchase Price
  It is an axiom in the fleet business that no driver believes a fleet vehicle is worth what the company states. Drivers somehow expect to purchase their vehicle at the end of its service life for a nominal amount, completely unrelated to market value.

  The fleet manager must regularly communicate how employee purchase prices are determined and their relationship to the vehicle’s retail worth. Most companies price out-of-service fleet vehicles at either wholesale or “wholetail” prices (a price lower than retail, but higher than wholesale). In either case, drivers can purchase the vehicle for under its retail market price.

  This strategy works well if drivers are made aware of the advantage they have. Doing so is relatively simple, provided the fleet manager communicates all these values, on a regular basis, in their efforts to market vehicles to drivers. Don’t wait for a driver to ask for a price. Provide it, along with equivalent retail pricing, when the replacement vehicle is ordered. Retail prices can be provided from any number of sources: NADA, Black Book, even online retail pricing sources. If the driver realizes his or her purchase price is lower than a documented retail source, driver dissatisfaction can be avoided.

  Dissastisfaction a Perrennial but Manageable Issue
  Driver dissatisfaction is a perennial issue fleet managers must handle. Simple steps can be taken; however, to keep it to a minimum and deal with it when it arises:
  

• Communicate regularly with drivers on fleet policy.

• Be flexible, but stand your ground when exceptions aren’t reasonable. Keep such exceptions to a minimum.

• Offer drivers choices, in models, vehicle type, and equipment they can buy.

• Price out-of-service vehicles at an amount advantageous to both the driver and the company.

• Create formal processes to consider exceptions and stick to them.