Driving of work trucks

Each time you or one of your work crews cruises down the road, people see the vehicle. It is logo'ed and that advertising is there to be noticed. If you cut some one off, believe me they will know who did it. They'll tell their friends and you'll be sorry. If you see a lady trying to pull out into bumper-to-bumper traffic, let her cut in. If you see a mom in her minivan with kids at a traffic signal, be courteous. Signal her with a pleasant hand motion to 'please go ahead of me.' Mouth the words also and as they pass salute her and wave at the kids or flash your head lights. You are such a nice guy or gal they'll think. With every one in such a hurry, it's refreshing to know the crews in your company vehicles still care. If you work in a big city with a population of 100,000 or more, your gesture will be remembered, recognized and appreciated even more. You see in a big city, you will be outside the norm. They will think you are from a far away city where people are still friendly.

In our company we heard about a competitor who made a really poor choice while driving. It was their company's loss and out company's gain. We are in the mobile car and truck washing business.

Stories are fun ? let's look at this one:

Ron, a small time competitor of one of our franchisee's, did a pretty quality job. Even though he had a beat up pickup and a scruffy look about him, he was an awfully nice guy.

Ron had done good for himself washing vehicles over the years. Nothing spectacular but he managed to pay the bills. In any case, he had one major industrial account, a beer distribution outfit with 45 trucks. He charged $15.00 per truck and washed them one a week. The price was more than the local Car Wash Guys franchisee bid but the owner of all those beer trucks kept Ron around because he had been washing trucks there for five years. One day one of Ron's workers was speeding down the road with Ron's trailer on Ron's truck. A lady mistook the speed of the rig and almost caused an accident by pulling out in front of Ron's rig. Ron's worker tailgated the lady with his high beams on for about a mile. He also had honked at her for about 20 seconds. To top it all off, he gave her 'the finger'. Ron showed up late for washing the beer trucks on Saturday by only 30 ? 35 minutes. He had only been late four times in the past five years. He was fired and lost the account on the spot. The owner didn't tell him why, just asked for the gate key.

Our franchisee had been trying to get the account for over six months and rushed over when the owner of the beer distributor called. Ron never knew what happened but the story was explained to our franchisee. The lady in the car was the wife of the owner of the beer company. Also, his two kids were in that car.

Ron, a nice guy lost not only a great account, but a lot of money. The Beer Company had 45 Trucks multiplied by $15 price per truck which is $ 675.00 gross income per week. There are four weeks per month so that is $2,700.00 gross income per month.

Ron should have hired responsible workers who cared about his business as much as he did. A hard lesson ? poor Ron and he doesn't even know.

It is surprising what a single figure and a little road rage can do for your business? Hire good employees and be courteous. Think about it.

"Lance Winslow" - If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs

---

Counseling Interviews for the Marginal Employee

ACTIVE LISTENING: The most frequent cause of failure in therapeutic... Read More

Christmas and Business Gifts for Your Clients and Employees!

Tis' the season for business and corporate gift-giving! If you... Read More

Is Your Company in Need of Family Therapy?

How Companies Are Like FamiliesLike a family, a company is... Read More

Learn to Assert Yourself

Pinpoint your own blocks to assertiveness: fear of disapproval, need... Read More

Spirits in the Corporate Boardroom.......Oh, sure......

There is a growing movement in the spiritual... Read More

Innovation Management ? how will we make the go or kill decisions?

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation... Read More

Why Half of All Mergers Fail After the Honeymoon Ends

Marriages and corporate mergers in America have at least one... Read More

Business Fails When We Do Not Talk

You may remember being told as a child, "Keep quiet!"... Read More

Five Problem-Solving Success Tips

The ability to solve complicated problems quickly is more important... Read More

7 Tips for Growing Your Business You Do Not Want to Ignore: Business Strategies To Easily Implement

Growing companies must always be ready for the next challenge.... Read More

Performance Appraisals: Nightmares or Sweet Dreams

Some managers think of performance appraisal meetings and recollections of... Read More

Five Principles of Effective Communication

The problem with communication is the illusion that it has... Read More

Can Your Corporate Policy Pass the Monkeys, Bananas, and Water-spray Experiment?

Five monkeys were placed in a cage. A banana was... Read More

Effective Meetings by Phone - Part 2, How to Hold a Teleconference

Even a well-planned teleconference can go poorly. Some people treat... Read More

Teaching Large Companies To Think Like The Little Guys

Q: I am an executive at a large company and... Read More

Its Not Always What You Say

A major source of communication breakdowns is incongruence between the... Read More

Reducing the High Cost of Absenteeism

Employers pay a high price for absenteeism, often more than... Read More

The Professor Makes A Minus Power Move

If you think the power move has costs, consider the... Read More

Keeping and Motivating the Best Employees

Keeping and Motivating the Best Employees ... Read More

Have You Fixed the Broken Window?

Left alone it doesn't take long for a building with... Read More

Employee Success! - 7 Ways Feedback Works

By sharing how well you are doing and how well... Read More

Accountability Equals Meeting Success

Leslie was the new manager of the group. She was... Read More

Developing Your Mission

"The best Leader is one who knows how to pick... Read More

How to Hire the Right People

One of the biggest challenges any business owner or manager... Read More

How to Approach Group Decision Making

GROUP DECISION MAKING -- IDENTIFY THE PROBLEM: Tell specifically what... Read More

Agendas Make Meetings Productive

Having an agenda template that works well for you, week... Read More

Have You Always Thought That The Best Ideas Come From Research Or Management? Think Again

Many entrepreneurs and chief executive officers are unaware that there... Read More

Invoice Factoring for Goverment Vendors

Assignment of Claims Act of 1986"....What does this mean for... Read More

The Top 10 Requirements for Your Business to Become and Remain Profitable

We live in a relentlessly competitive world. The daily pressure... Read More

Deciding What to Delegate

DECIDING WHAT TO DELEGATE: Once the benefits of delegation are... Read More

Internal Communication: 12 Essential Elements

There are 12 essential elements of a successful internal communications... Read More

Does Your Management Style Remind People Of Something They Read In Dilbert?

With thanks to Jeff Foxworthy, the comedian who does the... Read More

HRM: Contributing to Well-being or Ill-being at Work?

If you were to take the people out of an... Read More