A lot of automotive enterprises out there claim to serve the need for “Fleet Services.” To many drivers, however, this is a somewhat unknown term. What exactly do people mean when they talk of “fleet services,” and who are these services for?
Here at Gladney Automotive Solutions in College Station, Texas, we offer fleet services on cars, vans and light-duty trucks. In today’s blog, we’re sharing our knowledge on fleet services, what they include, how they work and why they are important. You might discover that your own business ambitions will include the need for fleet services like ours, one day soon.
What are Fleet Services?
The term ‘fleet services’ refers to the many maintenance and repair services that are carried out upon commercial vehicles that make up part of a business fleet. You might think the word ‘fleet’ suggests only companies with dozens or many hundreds of vehicles out on the road, but this isn’t the case. If you have one commercial vehicle, then we can call it just that, but if you have more than one, it’s officially a fleet.
Companies like Gladney Automotive Solutions offer fleet services to companies with multiple vehicles that need simultaneous monitoring and management to keep them roadworthy and dependable without any hitches. Commercial vehicles are typically bought individually or in batches, but at different times. It’s therefore common for vehicles within a commercial fleet to need servicing and repairs at different times.
Fleet services don’t only apply to vehicles within private companies. Public service vehicles such as ambulances and police cars also require servicing, as do all government fleet vehicles. The US Federal Government vehicle fleet, for instance, numbers some 600,000 vehicles. Imagine a single company trying to deal with all that every year!
What do Fleet Service Providers Do?
Different providers will offer varying levels of service depending on their capabilities. A strong fleet service provider will be able to offer all of the following things and more:
Pickup and Delivery Service
Companies and their employees are busy every day, and so interrupting the day to drop off vehicles to auto shops can be a real hindrance. A good fleet service provider, therefore, will offer to collect and deliver fleet vehicles from the company to save them the trouble.
Full Mechanical Services
A commercial vehicle doesn’t suffer differently from a private one mechanically speaking. The same kinds of errors can occur and the same kinds of regular maintenance are required to keep the vehicles running smoothly. One difference, however, is that commercial vehicles tend to be used a lot more intensively than many private vehicles, enduring more mileage and many more hours of continuous use over the course of a week or a month.
A strong fleet service provider knows the kinds of components and systems that are more adversely affected by the day-to-day grind in the life of a commercial vehicle. Common maintenance that the best providers always guarantee includes (but is not limited to):
- Wheel alignment
- Electrical diagnostics
- Oil changes
- Air conditioning
- Cooling systems
- Keys, remotes and locks
- Brakes
- Suspension
- Transmission
- Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) calibration services
The more comprehensive a provider is, the stronger the signifier that their facilities and equipment are the most up-to-date and in the right proportion to handle the potentially massive additional workload of managing multiple commercial fleets.
Work Backed Up by a Warranty
Finally, a dependable fleet services provider will ensure that customer confidence is bolstered with some kind of warranty offering. A decent offering would be 3 years or 36,000 miles, similar to what you might expect on a brand-new model from the factory. If the fleet services are carried out properly and competently, then there’s no reason not to offer such a warranty.
An Impressive List of Existing Clients
Proper fleet servicing on your commercial vehicles is incredibly important, as you’ll read more about below. Its value cannot be underestimated, which is why strong providers can and do showcase their current clients and testimonials on their website. Those with large-fleet clients are the ones that have both the capacity and reputation to handle volume and assure quality work.
Why are Fleet Services Important?
A fleet services provider will typically be in regular contact with the fleet services manager of a particular company. It is usually that individual, or someone from their department, who will notify providers when vehicles are in need of servicing, or perhaps pre-set the times that vehicles will undergo routine maintenance.
This partnership is a critical one to the success of any business operating vehicles. Below we’ll explain some of the reasons why:
1. Safety
The factor of safety has to be top of this list. The company in question should first consider public safety. The potential damage caused to a business’s reputation by one of its poorly maintained vehicles being involved in a fatal accident that hurts members of the public is biblical in proportion. Some companies may never recover from such an incident, their name having been permanently tarnished by an apparent neglect for others’ safety.
Besides the wider public, another more immediate party that the company has to keep safe is their drivers. The drivers operate the vehicle, and have a measure of responsibility to drive properly and safely, especially if that vehicle is also carrying additional passengers. This doesn’t mean much, however, if the fleet management department has overlooked key maintenance that impacts the road worthiness of a commercial vehicle. If the vehicle fails due to this negligence and the driver is hurt or, heaven forbid, killed in a resulting accident, the consequences for the business are also dire.
Therefore, for the safety of the general public, the drivers and passengers of commercial vehicles, fleet services play a crucial role and simply cannot be ignored.
2. Overall Cost Reduction
While it sounds counterintuitive, pursuing regular maintenance on your entire vehicle fleet is far cheaper than not doing so. The reason for this is that when it comes to vehicle maintenance, the general rule of thumb is that the longer a problem is left unattended, the more serious it becomes and therefore the more expensive it becomes to repair.
Any competent and experienced fleet manager will tell you that spending money now to keep the fleet engines ticking over properly is a no-brainer. To use a simple example, a simple oil change on a light-duty truck might cost between $60 and $100, possibly even a little more as an individual service, depending on where you live. What if you decide you want to save on this money across several of your fleet vehicles when times are tough? The potential result is a batch of ruined or heavily damaged engines, with repair bills running into the thousands.
For any vehicle, its maintenance is as important a periodic expense as its fuel. You can’t afford to ignore it, just as you can’t afford to skip on buying gasoline.
3. Boost to Productivity
A well-managed commercial fleet is a more productive one. When the vehicles can operate without any issues, they are more enjoyable to drive, more comfortable for passengers, more fuel-efficient and therefore more able to get where they need to be in better time. All of these things point to the conclusion that proper fleet services are necessary to keep a company’s productivity and overall efficiency high.
Fleet Services in College Station, TX – Look to Gladney
If you’re in the area of College Station, Texas, then the good news is that Gladney is already firmly established to be your ideal partner in fleet services. We can both meet and even exceed the standard and scope that we have described above, and our extensive list of current clients is a testament to that.
The team here at Gladney Automotive Solutions is made up of ASE-certified mechanics with years of experience in their field. They’ve seen just about every commercial vehicle out there and can handle everything from routine maintenance to major repairs. On top of that, Gladney also guarantees a superior customer service experience to back up its cutting-edge operational facilities.
From oil changes to ADAS calibration, from suspension and brakes to AC and cooling system services, the team is ready to serve you as we do our existing fleet services customers. All work is also guaranteed by a 3-year o 36,000-mile warranty. Join our growing Texas-based customer list by getting in touch with us at Gladney Automotive Solutions today.