[stuart mc]

I know it is a good thing to know where your vans and staff are but don't you think it can be a bit of a waste of time

a few weeks ago a lad does a lot of retail on our high street and normally is running from job to job, stops and lights up a smoke and blethers to me, I said your late you are normally gone by now, he said f,,ck that I will get back to Glasgow and they will have me working all day,


looks up the street and another national van with three lads are all sat there doing nothing, same thing they are on a tracker so don't want to finish to quick

years ago all window cleaners were paid on piece rates and could make good money, yes I suppose it opens up employees to cut corners to cut corners but surely it is better than them sitting in vans doing nothing

[Helen]

I know it is a good thing to know where your vans and staff are but don't you think it can be a bit of a waste of time

a few weeks ago a lad does a lot of retail on our high street and normally is running from job to job, stops and lights up a smoke and blethers to me, I said your late you are normally gone by now, he said f,,ck that I will get back to Glasgow and they will have me working all day,


looks up the street and another national van with three lads are all sat there doing nothing, same thing they are on a tracker so don't want to finish to quick

years ago all window cleaners were paid on piece rates and could make good money, yes I suppose it opens up employees to cut corners to cut corners but surely it is better than them sitting in vans doing nothing

Trackers should also show when the vehicle is not moving. It's pretty easy to check on "excuses" for this.
If the boss has any sense he will monitor this and then he will see a pattern forming, if there is.
On the other side of it, maybe these guys are good employees and the boss cuts them a bit of slack now and again, or maybe the van had broken down

[Steve CM]

Trackers are good so you know your vans are only being used for your work, that the fuel in them is not being cained in their own time, that if a customer disputes their proprty not being done you can prove it has (had this happen a few times)

I tend to use them to NOT be a little hitler but as a deterant for them not to be mistreated or abused

My boys still all get finished at reasonable times some days stupidly early. I have a certain figure i want to make each day once they have hit it they can go home

[formb]

Trackers are good so you know your vans are only being used for your work, that the fuel in them is not being cained in their own time, that if a customer disputes their proprty not being done you can prove it has (had this happen a few times)

I tend to use them to NOT be a little hitler but as a deterant for them not to be mistreated or abused

My boys still all get finished at reasonable times some days stupidly early. I have a certain figure i want to make each day once they have hit it they can go home

Does it give you return on your investment?

[Steve CM]

what do you think? on the black gold it does 

[formb]

what do you think? on the black gold it does 

I looked into it a couple of years back, it was something like £1 a day per vehicle which was going to run to 1000s a year.

Probably would have saved about that much but I decided against it on the trust issue (I wimped out).

Now I could technicaly 'track' them through their phone and Google Maps free of charge. Not going to though as it seems like alot of effort and drama.

I do trust the lads that work for me at the moment, but I trusted a lad that worked for me 2 years back and he did me out of £1500.

[Steve CM]

It happens dun it. I just fined having them fitted they are less likely to take the pee. because people will, its human nature

[bobby p]

what do you think? on the black gold it does 

I looked into it a couple of years back, it was something like £1 a day per vehicle which was going to run to 1000s a year.

Probably would have saved about that much but I decided against it on the trust issue (I wimped out).

Now I could technicaly 'track' them through their phone and Google Maps free of charge. Not going to though as it seems like alot of effort and drama.

I do trust the lads that work for me at the moment, but I trusted a lad that worked for me 2 years back and he did me out of £1500.

1500 jeez- whats the story behind that?

[Perfect Windows]

Get one of these: http://www.maplin.co.uk/gps-travel-tracker-227620?c=froogle&u=227620&t=module

No real-time tracking but when they get back you can look where they have been and see if they popped over to Auntie Mabel's for the afternoon.

All for £35.

Vin

[david washbrook]

How much are these trackers cause I'm hoping to put another van on the road soon which means employing a new guy so was thinking of these

[deeege]

Trackers are good so you know your vans are only being used for your work, that the fuel in them is not being cained in their own time, that if a customer disputes their proprty not being done you can prove it has (had this happen a few times)

I tend to use them to NOT be a little hitler but as a deterant for them not to be mistreated or abused

My boys still all get finished at reasonable times some days stupidly early. I have a certain figure i want to make each day once they have hit it they can go home

Just out of interest steve.

Being able to prove to your customer that your van was near/on their property is not the same as proving to them that their windows had been cleaned? Or am I missing something?

[Steve CM]

They also wear cameras mounted on their heads so you can record them cleaning windows...







...only joking 




Unless a window cleaner wants to sit outside a house for the time it takes to clean the windows with their feet up of course but really if that was to happen it would only take a matter of days to work out whats going on from complaints.

[Dean Taberner]

Haha,

Are you sure that you aren't boozing Steve 

[Steve CM]

I'm a good boy

[deeege]

Seriously though. If a customer denies their windows have been cleaned, proving the van was in the area isn't going to change their mind is it?

I'm curious about this not because I employ, but because I once did a couple of days work in a tracked van (not wc) and I seriously think the tracker was counter productive to the amount of work that got done.

[Steve CM]

Its worked when i said i could send them the tracker report

[Helen]

I'm curious about this not because I employ, but because I once did a couple of days work in a tracked van (not wc) and I seriously think the tracker was counter productive to the amount of work that got done.

Depends which side of the fence you are on......employer or employee

[steve123]

Get one of these: http://www.maplin.co.uk/gps-travel-tracker-227620?c=froogle&u=227620&t=module

No real-time tracking but when they get back you can look where they have been and see if they popped over to Auntie Mabel's for the afternoon.

All for £35.

Vin

Vin
have you used one of these? if so how good are they?

I am looking for something to use to try and look out for any wasted time my vans may incure. Not neccasarily to spy on my lads but more to help steamline the rounds.

However I can also see the odd time where putting one in a vehicle it could prove it was being missused.

Does the device need to be mounted in a place such as the dashboard to get a signal or could be be hidden out of sight and still work?

[Perfect Windows]

Vin
have you used one of these? if so how good are they?

I am looking for something to use to try and look out for any wasted time my vans may incure. Not neccasarily to spy on my lads but more to help steamline the rounds.

However I can also see the odd time where putting one in a vehicle it could prove it was being missused.

Does the device need to be mounted in a place such as the dashboard to get a signal or could be be hidden out of sight and still work?

Yes, I've used them and yes they work.  Needs to be mounted somewhere with sight of the sky, though a neighbour I recommended them to puts them on a shelf just under the roof of his sandwich vans and gets a signal.  You'd need to mess about with them for a while to be sure.  They are VERY small, though; smaller than a matchbox.

Software is very easy to use and gives you a track on a map with timings,

Vin

[steve123]

Thanks Vin,
I am going to give one a try.