As fans of Record Breakers will no doubt remember, if you want to be the best and you want to beat the rest, communication – that’s what you need. Actually, it was dedication, not communication, but that does not help with the point I am hoping to make!
There are a multitude of ways in which we can get our messages to staff and customers. The employee WhatsApp group, software that generates drivers’ worksheets, vehicle trackers so we know and can share accurate locations, and social media platforms that give an instant way to provide up-to-date information on road closures that affect services.
We now rarely advertise in the local newspaper. It simply is not worth the cost and has nowhere near the agility and reach of a social media site that can be updated instantly. One of our trips has been so successful that I half-jokingly suggested Oasis-style surge pricing, but I am not sure that would have gone down at all well with our clients.
Of course, all this does not come without risk. We recently appeared on one of those Facebook pages called something like ‘Driving like an idiot’. We were told that our driver had overtaken the poster in the third lane while doing 75mph.
We have detailed telematics and dashcams. Neither accusation was true, and despite me politely pointing out that what cannot speak cannot lie, the person in question still published their Facebook rant.
You then have two choices: Politely reply with the truth, or just let it wash over you. Debating things on the internet is like playing chess with a pigeon. Eventually they will foul the board and declare themselves the winner!
The other big downside of easy communication is that is it far easier for drivers and other staff members to abdicate responsibility.
I know of a driver who called their boss to ask if they should go under a bridge they were approaching. Our drivers and technicians are professional people, and I expect them to make decisions on things like routes and ordering parts without me needing to micromanage them. I have neither the time nor the inclination to do so.
On balance though, I believe that the information and communication age we now operate in has far more positives than negatives.
It helps to drive revenue, and it increases efficiency. Vehicle trackers allow the office to see who is best placed to cover a home-to-school contract. The accounts package and cloud storage mean that I can work from home, while the advertising budget has gone to virtually zero and we still get our message to thousands of members of the public quickly.
So I can live with the occasional appearance on the odd community Facebook page, no matter how much it annoys me. I don’t respond. I just scroll on by.
