Your Truck Dealer, Friend Or Foe?
If your fleet's relationship with your dealer isn't what it could be, you pay the price.
Jim Winsor
Executive Editor
Question: Does your fleet "manage" its dealer relationships? Put it another way: Who's in control of your expensive assets when vehicles are sent to a truck or engine dealership?
Any time your equipment isn't available for your company's use, it's money out of your pocket. Same applies when equipment is tied up in your own fleet shop, assuming you do some or all of your vehicle maintenance.
About seven to 10 years ago, some fleets with well-equipped maintenance shops started depending more and more on local truck dealers for repair work. They began to have their own fleet shops focus on preventive maintenance, tire changes, replacing lights and wiper blades and other simple tasks. The argument was, dealership mechanics had greater expertise, often worked at flat rate labor charges and could do many jobs quicker and better than the fleet shop could. This argument was further amplified as more and more electronics/computers started showing up on new vehicles, leaving fleet mechanics in need of further training and technical resources. That proved particularly true when dealing with engine repairs requiring computer read-outs, blink codes, etc., rather than good old common sense.
The decision fleet maintenance managers face: when to repair in-house and when to farm out? They also have to live with nebulous dollar and time estimates from the dealer's shop for general repair work. Once the vehicle is out of your control, you're at the mercy of that service manager and you must "ride herd" daily. When you don't, days turn into weeks before you know it. (My column last month showed how a bad speedometer calibration job ended up costing a fleet the loss of a tractor for an entire week.)
Warranty repairs are in a world unto themselves. For instance:
• Some fleets discover that a warranty might not pick up 100% of the cost for every job.
• Expectations that a dealer will have parts on hand for all warranty work are often not met.
• Your trucks might just sit waiting for parts while the dealer searches for what is needed. That vehicle could be working for you.
If your fleet has multiple operating locations, getting warranty work done locally in a timely fashion can be exasperating. One fleet I've been tracking has seven operating locations and was dealing with seven different dealers, trying to get "campaign" work done on recently purchased tractors. It was a big project requiring lots of parts. Some of the dealers ordered in campaign parts; others didn't. Replacement tractors were being rented when the fleet's own vehicles could have been in service.
This fleet ended up appointing a senior member of its maintenance department to call each of the fleet's locations daily to talk to each shop manager about "down" vehicles. Then call service managers and even parts managers at truck dealerships to pressure action.
This was the only way management could get its arms around a problem that was affecting 30 tractors. On occasion, the "daily report" ended up in the president's office leading him to have "heated conversations" at high echelons at the factory.
In defense of often maligned dealers, it's fair to say that the pressure on today's truck dealerships to make money is tougher than ever. Dealer investments in facilities, people and equipment have never been higher.
What's a good rule of thumb for fleets to follow? Every day, go over all "down" vehicles and establish the cause - whether it's in your own shop or at a dealer's. Don't let a $15-an-hour service writer control your destiny. Do whatever it takes to make things happen.
Example: Be willing to pay $80 in expedited parts shipping charges if it will save a day's downtime. If it's afternoon in the East when you need parts and they aren't available, call a parts house or dealer in the West. You pick up three hours and can get your stuff shipped that day. n
