Region 5 Meeting

Region Meeting:

Region 5’s meeting was held Friday, October 24, with 25 attendees, at Commercial Parts & Service in Columbus, Ohio. Dan Farmer, CP&S served as host and facilitator. Attendees divided into two groups in order to share ideas and then exchange results in a general discussion. The results of each topic is below in a recap:

Fuel Surcharges

Alternate Vehicles - Many agreed that adding a “fuel surcharge” led to customer complaints and that, by and large, was a bad decision to add as a line item on invoices. Rather, most accommodated fuel costs by adding it to their trip charge or zone charge. Others found it easier to change their mileage charge, which was of use when addressing customers under contracted rates. None of the members in attendance advocated a “graduated fuel surcharge” that changed in a dynamic manner with fuel costs, like that used by UPS. The point was brought up that, if you were pro-active and asked the manufacturers to allow for a fuel accommodation, some allowed for it. Another fuel-saving measure was to add a parts runner to your staff.

GPS and Navigation Systems - The TomTom unit was viewed by most in attendance as a useful unit. About half of the companies in attendance had some type of GPS system in use. It was agreed that a simple savings of 15 minutes a day more than paid for the unit.

Collections and Handling of Bad Debts - There were mixed results about taking customers to Small Claims court. However, one attendee stated that she had created a customer history of banking information with each new customer. This information was extremely useful when collecting bad debts in court. In many cases she was able to have the courts take funds directly from the account on record for that customer.

After the discussions above a panel, consisting of those listed below, discussed “Choosing your Best Business Partners.”

Several key points were made including, “We need to get lean and mean so that when the rebound comes, we’ll be ready to capitalize on it.” And, “Every business relationship is a two-way street. Cost isn’t everything. A few dollars more doesn’t affect me if the service is there.” Ms. Fatseas stated, “Do I always look at money and cost, no. I want to know it’s fixed and that it will work in the years to come. With dollars for school systems getting tighter every year, I need to keep old standbys running vs. buying new.” She further stated, “When money gets tight, I have to weed out some of my marginal suppliers. This is typically the times that I have to make each piece of equipment last even longer, so service is vital to my operation.”

The date of the next meeting is to be discussed at the CFESA Spring Conference in Orlando, However, John Sappo, Daubers, Inc., offered their facility and support for the next meeting.

Date: Friday, October 24, 2008

Location: Commercial Parts & Service Inc – Columbus, Ohio
5033 Transamerica Drive
Columbus, OH 43228