Don't drop the ball as I did

There is a very pertinent article in this edition headed Beware of Euphoria masking the rot. Written by our technical correspondent Dave Scott, it warns that the incredible success being achieved in the vehicle sales arena is coming at a price with victims of the current retail euphoria being quality, new product testing, parts availability, sufficient trained technicians, databases, driver training, staff structures and all the other 'basics' that really make trucking work. I don't want to repeat the article here as you can read it on page 49, but Dave goes on to give a solid example of what he is talking about via a recent trailer audit he undertook in a fleet. What he found was that two new trailers - only two months old - were in a worse condition than much older ones in the fleet. Rust, shocking welding, unconnected ABS systems and so on are what he found, forcing him to come to the conclusion that standards and quality have been cast aside to match the production schedule. And no, they weren't built by some backyard outfit. It's a 'reputable' outfit which built this junk.

Let's face it, in a booming market, companies do battle to keep up with increased production demands and especially so in South Africa where the skills base has been eroded over the years and top class skills are hard to come by. This market has never, in 20 years, seen the sales boom we are currently experiencing and it was only about three or so years ago that the boom started taking off. Staffing levels before then were geared to cater to much lower production and service levels and most, if not all, companies were caught with their pants down in terms of gearing up to meet spiralling production demands that came with the boom. The skills shortage, which we have written of so often in this magazine, was always known but never acted on as the true impact was never really felt when sales were low and steady. Now, however, the impact is being felt and it is showing, not only on production lines but everywhere in the industry. The service arena is one which is facing major headaches due to workshops being unable to secure good staff to service the increasing number of vehicles on the roads. Deon Alberts, branch manager of Tyco Truck Centres' new 24/7 service facility in Elandsfontein, tells me that the conversion of diesel mechanics from interview to appointment runs at a ratio of 15:1. In other words, for every 15 interviewed, only one is suitably qualified for the job. Similar sentiments have been expressed by everyone else we have spoken to in the service field. It is perhaps ironic that in an era of booming sales, the impact is also being severely felt at the very coalface where the sales are taking place via a shortage of qualified salesmen to service the boom. Speak to any truck dealer and he will tell you that if you find a qualified truck salesman looking for a job, send that salesman to the dealer immediately. He'll be able to start on the day. Although recognised as a flaw in the days of low sales, here too no-one acted on attracting new youngsters into the industry. The folly of the past is catching up on us on many fronts.

I know that many companies have good intentions and, given the market circumstances, are trying their best to continue giving the quality products and services that they have in the past. To those companies, my plea is to say stop the production madness for a while and concentrate on how to recapture your traditional ethics, values and methods. When doing so, please take into account a most pertinent comment made by Professor Andy Andrews at a recent Nissan Diesel conference. "Success lies in relationships and not transactions." Has the current climate of high sales moved your business away from one of building relationships to one of conducting transactions? If so, your success is going to be short lived for the when the downturn comes - as it invariably will as we all know from experience - the transactions will cease and when you look around for the companies with which you previously has a loyal relationship, they will have moved on.

Please hear me on this as I speak from personal experience. We try so hard to build up quality relationships with our clients but I'm sorry to say that I dropped the ball this year on a project I was doing for one of our long-standing clients with whom we have built a solid relationship over the years - since FleetWatch was launched in fact. It was the first time in 10 years that I dropped the ball with this client but the fact that I disappointed the client in doing so, led to me experiencing a gut-wrenching, sinking, awful feeling which I never want to experience again. And here's the point. Because of our relationship, this client decided to forget the dropped ball and give me the opportunity to make right what I had wronged. I am grateful for that because the thought of losing that wonderful win-win relationship which has been built up trust and quality service, hurts more than the thought of losing the income that would dry up. It is thus that I didn't mention the name of the 'reputable' company which manufactured those junk trailers mentioned above. I was given a chance by my client to pick up the ball that I dropped. He spelt out in no uncertain terms the ramifications of my actions to our relationship and he then took the decision not to end it - as he had every right to do - but to continue it so long as the ball is not dropped again. There is a humbling Biblical verse: "Let he who has not sinned cast the first stone' and in this light, I say to that trailer manufacturer - who will know who he is - that you too are dropping the ball as evidenced by Dave Scott's quality audit on your products. Just as my client extended to me the graceful courtesy of giving me another chance, I reciprocate by extending to you that courtesy for I too have known your company for a long time. You are dropping the ball and it has now been pointed out in no uncertain terms. I understand how it can happen because, as mentioned, I have personal experience of this. I too have 'sinned'. However, if you continue to drop that ball, we will drop your name in our magazine. Don't drop the ball guys. Losing a relationship is so much worse than losing the money.

Patrick O'Leary
Managing Editor