Well, as my company still provides us company cars, the new ones will have built in GPS trackers Even if you have your own car, it will also be GPS'd as part of your contract. Anyone else running into this yet?

Put some tin foil over the antenna

quote:

Originally posted by drewsup:
Well, as my company still provides us company cars, the new ones will have built in GPS trackers Even if you have your own car, it will also be GPS'd as part of your contract. Anyone else running into this yet?

You've become (or confirmed) a number and not a person, it's a good time to float your resume.

As a business owner (although we are a very small shop) I've always felt like that level of micro-management is pretty dangerous.

The fact is that if I have a bad employee, I probably should know that by their performance.
Conversely, if I have a good employee and I'm scrutinizing every single stop everybody makes I may get unnecessarily irritated with an employee that is already performing reasonably.

The reality is that I don't really care if somebody makes a quick stop someplace to grab a personal item or grab something to eat. Also if somebody's not getting any calls done I can assume either they don't know what they are doing or they're messing around a lot and need to be dealt with.

I've always considered a little flexibility to be a perk of working for me.

Xerox is Australia tried this a while back. Resulted in strike action.

Personally I thought it was a good idea. The system interacted with the dispatching system, resulting (in theory) in good response times for the customer.

Obviously this would also be used to track the technicians who would slack off etc. This resulted in the strike.

If you are a good worker and work for someone who appreciates you, I wouldnt have an issue.

We'll be going to GPS when the company re-ups their company vehicles, but that is for liability reasons (not so much for "dispatching" efficiency as Shaynem mentioned, even though it would be a great implementation if we used a dispatcher). Those that drive "personal vehicles" won't have to have GPS installed. I would imagine that if it is part of a "contract" to have GPS installed on a personal vehicle, then it would HAVE to be for dispatching purposes... not for "big brother" concerns. I've heard of some companys doing it for "big brother" reasons, and I'm sure that if the technicians are "good" techs that do a good job and don't take advantage of the "freedom" of being in the field, then it's nothing for them to worry about. Sometimes when companys get big enough, and corporate doesn't have the means to actually "know" their local technicians in all branches, then this is a viable solution to relieve concerns about "liability" and such. I'm sure there is nothing to worry about for the "average" to "above average" field technician. But if you're one of those that is consistently taking advantage and going home at 2:00 but reporting a full day of work, then you're probably going to moan/groan/complain about a GPS being installed. Just my observation.

Do your work that your getting paid for. The company has this right. We have jobs be grateful. If you are cheating the company. You need to stop and give them what you are being paid for. If you are going to whine all the time, go get another job. Be grateful for what you have and do what your getting paid for. It will pay off in the long run. Set examples for the youth.

I'm not worried, I'm always where I'm supposed to be,( for the most part ), It just feels.. well.. just a bit icky knowing I'm being watched. Look, if you have a modern smart phone as part of your job, it has GPS enabled anyway.. but from what i hear, it's not that precise, especially if you work in a big city. I know it's their car, and it is a nice perk (especially in the Uk, where owning a car gets expensive REAL fast). If you guys in the states think $3 a gallon is pricey, try $7-$8 per gallon, that's what it is here.

Those gas prices do suck Drew. But think of the whole GPS this way: They're NOT always watching you... they'll only use it for efficiency purposes (the company makes a big investment in each vehicle and each employee... so they want to be sure that they get a good return in their investment). There may be some companies that do want to use it to "play big brother" but trust me... no company that I've ever heard of has the money to pay someone to sit and watch your every move. At worst, they'd use it to simply audit you on occasion (check that you're really onsite when you say you are). Which even then... they're just making sure that they're getting a good return on their investment. I'd want a good return too if I were investing 25-45k per year on a salary as well as an easy 10k per year on insurance premiums as well as 15k for a vehicle (not to mention auto insurance/gasoline/liability on that individual driving for me) and many of the other little benefits that I may provide. Especially if I were paying 7-$8 per gallon!!! Dang! I want my techs to only drive where they're supposed to drive for business! Which would require a GPS to audit that. If my company had to flip for $8 every 20-26 miles... I wouldn't blame them one bit for installing GPS. I know it feels "icky", but imagine yourself in their position: They'd feel icky if they felt the possiblity of one of their "thought to be" faithful employees was taking advantage of them. In a way, this may just be a "deterent" for folks taking advantage more than anything else. Kinda like a "nanny-cam". Even if you have "honest" employees... this just helps folks remain honest and provides "peace of mind" to the employer. As well as should provide you with "peace of mind" that if any of your coworkers aren't honest, this will help weed them out. You don't want to have others working with you that are "stealing" from the company because the more they steal, the more it takes out of your pocket (company profit sharing/bonus/benefits/etc...).

Just use some duct take to get a good fit for the camera to your head. Watch The freedoms that so many died for to defend this country go up in smoke. Then watch company profits slightly go up.

Oh, devdumper. 'tis not mandatory to work for a company that wants to utilize GPS. You still have your freedoms that so many people fought and died for. You have the freedom to say to your employer "I don't like it... so I'm gonna go somewhere else". We need to understand that this is just a technology that we're beginning to tap into in our industry. We ARE a technology driven industry! We ARE a technology driven country! We ARE a technology driven WORLD! If it weren't for the advancement and utilization of technology to improve efficiency, then we wouldn't have cell phones (did you think that "THE MAN" was just wanting to sit behind a desk all day and call his technicians to check up on them when the company distributed cellphones?), laptops computers (did you think that "THE MAN" was sitting behind a desk all day and auditing the browser history of each of his techs' computers to be sure that they only use it for company use?). Come on man! You're taking this to the extreme. Just because the company wants to utilize GPS to increase efficiency, doesn't mean that the manager sits behind a desk watching blips. I'm a service manager as well. I'm also a certified Factory Trainer on the equipment. Also and advanced troubleshooter in the field. I spend an easy 50% of my time in the field with my technicians/with my customers. Crying "give me liberty or give me death" because of a GPS box on your company truck is a bit far fetched bro.

That's why it's called the watercooler.I hope your right Dan that it's not taken to the extreme.But I do worry that this new technology may get out of hand soon by some.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Devdumper,

I hear ya brother. But a watercooler for one, is a watercooler for all.

When you vehicle gets caught at the Barber shop just tell your boss your hair grows on company time so you were getting it cut on company time.

Scotty has better PR skills than me, and I like his post.I am not known for beating around the bush after 20 years of this.I may get a haircut today Techboy.lol!Absolutely not,i`ve got crisis calls to do.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Devdumper,

Alpha??? why are you looking at this forum??? go do what you're getting paid for!!
(I hope you are doing well)

I have worked for a company that tracks it's cars, and I broke every speed law every day, just so that they could SEE how hard I was trying to cover my GINORMOUS territory
The simple fact is... wait for it...it may be too obvious...sure hope I don't hurt anyones feelers...
IF YOU AREN'T DOING ANYTHING WRONG, YOU HAVE NOTHING TO HIDE!!!!!!
Stop being a paranoid baby, your boss is trying to get things done efficiantly, and watch his investments, YOU are whining about it... STOP. Do your job, do it to the best of your ability, and be glad you don't work for the jerkwad con-artist that I do.

Rob... obviously your boss doesn't read this forum! LMAO!!

Hi Dan, I sure wish I had stayed in NC. Not sure if my boss reads it or not, take that any way you want.

quote:

Originally posted by robscopyr:
Alpha??? why are you looking at this forum??? go do what you're getting paid for!!
(I hope you are doing well)

I have worked for a company that tracks it's cars, and I broke every speed law every day, just so that they could SEE how hard I was trying to cover my GINORMOUS territory
The simple fact is... wait for it...it may be too obvious...sure hope I don't hurt anyones feelers...
IF YOU AREN'T DOING ANYTHING WRONG, YOU HAVE NOTHING TO HIDE!!!!!!
Stop being a paranoid baby, your boss is trying to get things done efficiantly, and watch his investments, YOU are whining about it... STOP. Do your job, do it to the best of your ability, and be glad you don't work for the jerkwad con-artist that I do.

Get off your high horse. Driving for a living is one of the most deadly professions, add the stress of $#!* drivers, PITA machines and PITA customers, constantly skipping lunches and working late.

A man should be able to pull over once in a while and take care of something for 5 or 10 minutes. Any service manager who ever worked in the field understands and looks the other way so long as you don't take advantage.

Now you got some bean-counting nerd putting a GPS in your car just waiting to tell you what a thieving, lazy malcontent you are.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: WeBeJammin,

quote:

A man should be able to pull over once in a while and take care of something for 5 or 10 minutes. Any service manager who ever worked in the field understands and looks the other way so long as you don't take advantage.

Now you got some bean-counting nerd putting a GPS in your car just waiting to tell you what a thieving, lazy malcontent you are.

You just said it WeBeJammin! You're right! Any service manager that's worked in the field looks the other way so long as you don't take advantage. The easiest/most efficient way to find out if you're taking advantage is with GPS. The bulk of these GPS's out there are NOT to call you out on "thieving, lazy malcontentness". They're a tool for efficiency. Just like your screw driver is to you. If you didn't have a screw driver, it would take you a lot longer to remove that back panel using a pair of pliers! So those of you using GPS, don't change your work ethic just because you've got GPS installed. Continue doing what you've always done. As long as you don't "take advantage" then there should be nothing to worry about. Corporate will let you know if you're beginning to venture outside what they consider to be "reasonable" usage of the vehicle. Personally, I would care one bit of my boss wanted to put a GPS on my personal car if he thought it would help him improve efficiency. I'd still run by my house for lunch or by the store on my way to a customer's office if they had something I wanted on sale etc... And you're right! My boss wouldn't bat an eye at me for it. Neither will yours! But take advantage of them and go home at 3:00 but report that you went home a 4:30 and be prepared to have some explaining to do (as you should!). \
Peace out!

Dan