CROSSHIRE BEA T THE CHEA TS
I am sure that many of you will be familiar with the punter who regularly rings up on a Friday afternoon to off-hire a machine in the certain knowledge that, with our vehicles already busy and next week’s first deliveries committed, it will not be collected until Monday lunchtime at best. In the meantime, our kit can be used without us receiving a bean in revenue for up to two and a half days.
Over the years, I have used various wheezes to catch out those offenders who ‘try it on’ on a regular basis, ranging from sending someone out to log the hour meter, to actually paying a driver to work overtime and collect the equipment on Friday evening. Needless to say, this can result in an acrimonious dispute with the customer, who considers our revenue protection measures to be underhand. Of course, those that take this stance are exactly the ones who know what they are up to in the first place!
Many of you will be aware that help is now available in the form of technological solutions that can log whether a machine is being moved or used when it is allegedly ‘off charge’. The really clever gadgets even allow us to isolate our machines and prevent them being used at all. So we can present these solutions to the customer as being anti-theft measures, rather than suggesting that we don’t believe that they will not use our kit! The approaching long Christmas break might be a time to consider trialling these gizmos, as more and more punters seem to be sending out blanket letters to hire companies saying they will not pay for any equipment over the holiday period.
Last year, several independents in my area compared notes and it was proven that a number of well known names were using hired-in plant at some time over Christmas, when they thought they had absolved themselves of any charges by declaring they were on holiday. Our various trade association terms deal with this, of course, and we should make it clear that we expect professionalism and straight dealing from our clients on this issue.
Some of the worst offenders over the years have been well known national and regional contractors, who should be prepared to negotiate with us if they need to work over all or part of a holiday period. In the old days, the excuse used to be that subcontractors had gone back to site early and used the machines without the main contractor being aware! That was
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always pathetic, but in these days of draconian site management and security they all know exactly what is going on.
More and more of us seem to be opening for business for some of the non-statutory days, recognising there are opportunities for business from markets other than construction. In view of this, it is surely time for our industry to clearly state that we will only automatically give credit for the recognised bank holidays, with anything else subject to negotiation.
Of course, the festive season is not only a busy one for the chap in a red suit: it is also bonanza time for all your local plant and metal thieves. They will most definitely NOT be on holiday, but taking advantage of any opportunity to relieve us of our assets, thus ensuring an aggravating start to the New Year as we haggle with clients and loss adjusters in the aftermath of their endeavours.
I suggest we all keep a notebook and pen handy as we drive around over the festive period. If we see any plant being moved, especially at night, write down the vehicle number. Any truck with a driver bedecked with gold chains and scruffy dogs riding shotgun may be up to no good. He won’t be re-surfacing any drives because the tarmac plants are closed! Trucks without sign-writing and carrying plant, or where the machine and vehicle names do not match, may just be a little out of place between Boxing Day and New Year. I have asked all of my staff to do this on the promise that, if it helps recover anyone’s stolen kit, I will give them good drink to celebrate. Every little helps defeat the enemy as someone once said. Have a good Christmas - and many profitable hires during 2013.
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