Fleet Contracts

[keith]

I have searched the forum and been unable to find this topic. Have those of you who concentrate on fleet accounts ever entered into a contract with the fleets. I was wondering if this woutl be an advantage or disadvantage in the wsr. I was considering marketing to fleets and having a contract with each that contained a 30 day discontinue clause. I would appreciate any insight on this topic from you expeienced wsr professionals.

Thanks
Keith

[glassdoctor]

I have never had such a contract, but I know some national companies in my area have contracts with "national" wsr companies. I lost an account once because of one of these contracts, when a new guy from a franchise wsr co. came to town.

That's all I know...

[Scott Tyner]

Fleet accounts....Pros and cons!

Hi Keith,

Fleet accounts can offer a steady stream of income and there are repair techs proving that on a daily basis.

But, are they profitable? I have talked to repair techs who after bad experiences wouldn't go near a fleet account ever again. The reasons being:

1) Too much competition! They work hard to land an account and show up on a consistenet basis...even emergency work on days they aren't scheduled to work, only to have their account given to someone who underbid you by a $1.00 a repair.

It can be very disheartening and frustrating.

2) Low profits! The price per repair with fleet accounts varies widely from area to area. I know a tech getting $35.00 per repair (but he has no competition in his area). I also have talked to techs who are getting as little as $5.00 per repair (they justify it with volume).

3) Slow pay! I know all car dealers are not like this, but it seems that a majority of them take months to pay for work you've done.

I wish I could tell you that it's easy and profitable, but "fleet accounts" are one of those things that a person has to decide for themselves after researching their market (is their a viable market and is it profitable).

I myself concentrate on "retail customers" at the present time. My area just has too much competition for fleet accounts. I refuse to do a repair for $5.00.

Good luck in your quest! 8)

Scott

[Repair1]

This is my spill on Fleets,

First thing you must have a good first impression make sure you have a shirt with a logo on it unless you know the people then it

[desertstars]

Other than a city, county, state or federal fleet account, we've never signed a contract with a private account.

Concerning the former, they are usually on a closed-end bid basis, anyway.

Concerning the latter, that comes down to service, satisfaction, follow-through, employee-relationships and a whole bunch of other variables not excluding donuts or remembering the name or birthday's of the fleet manager's only son or daughter.

Especially if you are genuinely interested.

I remember a 300 plus vehicle fleet-manager I approached about nine years ago who told me he didn't believe in repairs.

He was told it was a scam kind of like squirting WD-40 into a screeching attic fan.

I repaired two dings on his w/s.

When he asked to pay, I told him it was on me; I intended to take a walk as long as he understood ny only intent was to make a liar out of the replacement company who gave him the bogus information and that I expected nothing in return.

He asked me to look over the fleet for repair potential.

I did.

They are still an account and we have no contract and he is no longer with them and hasn't been for over four years.

But, I know the mechanics; I know the drivers; I know the management people.

Many of whom are friends, now.

I know the potential replacement of the present fleet manager and stay out from between the two.

It is called account penetration.

I can't count how many of my competitors over the past nine years who have tried to blow my company out of the water with price or written agreements as entrees and themselves got blown out of the water because price isn't always the answer and because the account is SATISFIED with us.

There was no easier or less simplistic way to answer your question about fleet contracts.

Go get them and then concentrate on keeping them.

I gurantee you this, Keith.

The former is much easier than the latter.

[glassdoctor]

I don't think we need contracts for what we do. At least, not if you are talking about local fleets that you will be servicing personally.

#1 I don't think you could get most companies to sign a contract... why should they? I think it gives the wrong impression.

#2 What is the contract for? It's to hold both parties accountable... bind them so they can't change. Look, I don't want to be doing work for someone because they "have to". That's not a good working atmosphere. I want to go there knowing it's because they want me to do their work.

See, what happens if they want to stop doing repairs, or want to use someone else? Are you going to pull out your contract and hold their hand to the fire? Cry like a baby? It's not worth it... your pride or you reputation. That's why I say it gives the wrong impression, as if a handshake is not good enough.

Large companies, with several fleets or cities might be a different story. That's more than just a one to one deal. You might even be dealing with an office geek that you have never met.

If the fleet wants a contract or a written bid, that's also different obviously. I would never suggest one myself though.