Fleet Maintenance - 29

sure that we keep track of all that so that we can
relay the information to the customer to justify
the bill," says Dean Dally, president and CEO of
Blaine Brothers.
When questions arise or the fleet wishes to
dispute a charge, they should remain calm and
talk through any concerns.
"Stay calm and be reasonable while the investigation is being made," Dally
says. "We will get calls at times
where the first thing you hear is
somebody very angry and quite
vocal. It's not nearly as productive of a discussion when the
person is taking that stand."
"It is certainly within a
fleet's rights to request an
itemized invoice and that
should be expected," FleetNet
America's Godwin says.
Another option may be to
get another opinion from a
trusted source, Riker suggests.
"If this is a company that
you do not normally deal
with, such as a non-consent
tow or recovery, ask one of
your trusted service providers
to give the invoice a review,"
he says. "They can often help
you understand what the other
company did, why they did it,
and if it was justified."
Note the itemized invoice
may include separate billing for
the tractor and the trailer load.
When following up on a
tow or recovery, ask for the
invoice soon after the event.
This can help to expedite
the process and ensure both
parties conduct a respectful transaction.
"If you pay a tow bill immediately and their service was
reasonable, timely, and with
minimum loss and additional
damage, the tow company will
appreciate your timely payment
and be most willing to help you
in the future," said Resch.
"It is in the fleet's best
interest to secure the quick
release of the vehicle and
cargo, especially if the vehicle is repairable or the cargo
is perishable," Riker adds.
"Preserving salvage value will
help control the total negative
effects of the loss."
Once the full service is
completed and the bill is
settled, fleets would do well to
review the process and ensure
the response was as expected,
Riker suggests. He advises to
keep records of both the good
and bad service providers, and
to make adjustments to the

response plan if needed.
"Document everything," Riker says. "Telematic
records, dash cam[era] footage from responding
[law enforcement] agencies, and other resources
can help paint a better picture of what happened,
why, and when, so as to educate the fleet managers
how to better respond."
"Every situation is different and reviewing the

event after the fact may allow insight into preventive maintenance that may have avoided the cause,"
Godwin says. "The key is to not only review the problem and the solution, but to identify what led to the
issue and to mitigate where possible."
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Fleet Maintenance

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Fleet Maintenance