Published December 2007
Billing Windshield Time
(page 82)
How do you make up for huge labor and fuel costs associated with traffic bottlenecks and long drives to pumping jobs?
Question:
One of the necessary evils of the service business is driving time. You drive to and from service calls, back and forth to supply houses, from home to the office and back again, return trips to jobs; and then there are the times when you send a second truck to the same location. You spend a good deal of time wiggling through neighborhoods trying to avoid traffic lights. We even take pride in knowing those shortcuts. Then there’s rush-hour traffic that we all try to escape as if it were the plague.
When I lived in Los Angeles, driving distances were not measured in terms of miles, but rather by the driving time. “How far is it?” “About two hours.” It could only be 10 miles away, but the traffic is horrendous.
Whether you charge by the hour or use a flat rate or menu-pricing system, all of those driving hours get factored in as part of your non-productive hours. The customer has to pay for those hours at some point. The more hours you drive and factor into your pricing, the higher your price has to be to sustain profit levels.
I don't think it’s far-fetched to assume that on average, the industry at large spends about one third of its workday holding a steering wheel. I know of two companies right now whose trucks average between 150 and 300 miles every day. They're crazy — but that’s the territory they cover and a reflection of the depressed market. Contractors are reaching farther and farther for work. Imagine ... $100 per day per truck for fuel. Then there’s the accelerated maintenance on the vehicles and the danger factor of falling asleep at the wheel.
Yes, you can reduce windshield time through a variety of “intelligent” dispatching methods, but it can never go away completely. Windshield time is very, very expensive. How can a service company increase its return on investment for all of those hours behind the windshield? How can you take those hours and convert them into cash?
Answers:
I run a profit and loss (P & L) sheet on each piece of equipment, so I know how much money it makes, and when to replace it. I incorporate “windshield” time into quotes. It’s that or go broke. I like what I do for a living, but not enough to lose money every time I send out a driver.
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I took an early retirement as a technician from the largest service company I know of. All the things you suggest not to do are exactly how a larger corporation runs the business. If six service vehicles are on the same street, that’s six customers that wanted service in the same time frame. These are elite businesspeople making the decisions. The list is endless from a technician’s point of view. Anyway, I think you are on the right track. Common sense isn’t all that common from my experience.
What do you look for in a new service truck?
Question:
I am buying a new vacuum truck and have narrowed it down to a couple of manufacturers. I know there has been discussion in the past about good and bad dealers. If anyone has any comments about buying experiences that I should know, I would be interested in hearing them.
Answers:
I have found that Dodge with a Cummins engine is good for a smaller truck; a 400-gallon waste/200 gallon freshwater tank on a 1-ton chassis does golf courses. Adding four-wheel-drive will take you in some tough areas. The front end is high in maintenance. International is great for bigger size, 1,200-gallon waste/400-gallon freshwater tanks. You can depend on it. Aside from what you buy, it comes down to warranty and a shop that is open morning to night. We have a very close relationship with our International guys and it works. Doughnuts and coffee every once in a while really helps when push comes to shove.
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I am also interested in a new-to-me truck for septic cleaning jobs. I want a 2,500-gallon tank, and everybody is telling me to go with diesel. I have found a truck with a Caterpillar 3116, but don’t know if it’s a good engine. People I talk to suggest getting an International DT 466. Any advice?
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My International 466 has been awesome. Good mileage, around 8.5 mpg, and it runs like a champion with low maintenance costs.
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We have bought International within the last five years and are satisfied with our trucks. The warranties have been great for us, and we have an outstanding relationship with the shop where the work is done. I think that makes all the difference in the world. I would not use anything but a diesel, for any of my trucks.
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I personally would go with a higher horsepower/torque engine. The DT 466 is a good engine, but I think they only go up to 300 hp/860 ft./lbs. of torque. I have a Detroit diesel with 350 hp and around 1,000 ft./lbs. of torque. I have a tandem axle with a 2,600-gallon tank and would not want any less engine pulling it around. I have purchased another truck and went with a 427-hp/1600 ft./lbs. torque engine. It’s always better to have more than you need if you can afford it. Driving around with an underpowered truck is no fun, and I would think it would put more wear on the engine.
