Care For Your Rental Trucks With These 4 Tips For Employees

The better you take care of your rental trucks, the better they will take care of you. When managing multiple trucks as well as multiple employees it can become difficult to make sure the overall maintenance of the vehicles are taken care of. When trucks are properly cared for, it saves you money when returning the vehicles. This as well better represents your company by showing you take care of the things you are responsible for. 

A well-maintained truck operated by a responsible driver is a great advertisement for your company. The overall cleanliness of the rental vehicle is an issue for a lot of companies. Garbage, dirty interiors and exteriors, dents, and used cigarette ashtrays are some of the issues. Not only are these things going to cost you money upon return of the vehicle, but it is also harmful to your company’s reputation. 

Here we have listed a few tips to get your employees on board with keeping your rental trucks clean.

1. One vehicle per employee

Sharing a vehicle can cause stress and tension between employees. People have different standards of cleanliness and when forced to share a vehicle, one person can become hopeless with the other and also lower their standard of cleanliness because they are tired of picking up after the other. Avoid tension and dirty cars by assigning each employee their own vehicle so they can take the responsibility of the rental truck solely on themselves. 

2. Create a Safety Manual

When you create a safety manual, it sets a clear set of rules and expectations for your employees. As well, it informs drivers of procedures that are expected to take place before entering the vehicle as well as when they leave their vehicle. The manual should include the responsibilities of the driver as well as maintenance expectations. It is key that before handing over the keys to a vehicle your drivers understand, acknowledge, and agree to what is found in the safety manual. It may even be wise to have the drivers personally and financially responsible for damages that might occur to the rental truck. Below is a list of items you may want to consider when creating your manual:

• How to report an accident and what information will be necessary.
• What to do if the vehicle is stolen.
• Company’s policy on smoking in the vehicle.
• How to properly store equipment and tools.
• Company’s policy on another person besides the assigned driver using the vehicle.
• Company’s policy on the transport of other individuals such as family or friends; as well as the transportation of materials not belonging to the company.
• A mandatory maintenance schedule that includes a list of items to be checked off.
• An acknowledgment form stating that drivers are responsible for their own traffic citations.

3. Utilize a Maintenance Schedule

The best way to ensure a vehicle stays in top shape is to put it through regular maintenance. It is important that fleet managers set up a maintenance schedule the drivers agree to abide by. This maintenance could be done once a day or once a week, whatever suits the needs of your business. Some items you could add to this list include:

• Washing interior and exterior windows
• Sweeping/vacuuming
• A weekly wash
• Checking for tool placement and that all equipment needed is ready and accounted for.
• Ensuring that work papers are properly organized if they are needed in the vehicle.

4. Create Incentives

It should be the responsibility of the employee to follow company standards especially when it comes to rental trucks. However, a fun way to ensure drivers stay motivated to take care of their vehicles is to consider incentives. Random checks that provide a surprise gift certificate, treat or case prize are great ways to get employees to stay on top of their vehicle maintenance. By implementing incentives and surprise check-ins, you can create consistency among your employees to keep their trucks clean. If employees know you won’t be checking their vehicles then their motivation to follow standards will drop. 

These 4 tips are just a few ways you can encourage employees to keep a clean and nice-looking company truck. When your employees are out on job, the way they treat and keep their vehicles represents your company. Keep your vehicles in top shape by renting with Barco.  At Barco, we trade out trucks 16-18 months old so that you will always have the newest and cleanest truck advertising your business. Contact us today for a quote!