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Mrs E. FaIce
• Mrs E. FaIce has been connected with road haulage since 1926 and in the days of carriers' licensing she was fortunate enough to have 50 vehicles on a "General Goods Great Britain" licence.
Petite and demure, Mrs FaIce would appear to be more at home in an olde worlde English garden than masterminding one of Britain's biggest and busiest tipping organizations. With her four sons, Thomas, Frank, Eric and Robin looking after the day-to-day running she acts in the capacity of consultant.
The principles on which the business has been built are customer service and a stout refusal ever to cut a rate. These have been the two prime planks in the company's policy since she and her late husband Tom began operating.
As tipper operators they were not nationalized in 1946 and so the business enjoyed continuity. But Mrs FaIce recalls that their biggest problem in those days was holding on to drivers.
Employees apparently saw a smooth running business and deluded themselves into believing that as owner-drivers they could enjoy the same success. In too many cases," says Mrs FaIce, "they were wrong, and it was common practice for them to come back and ask to be bought over."
In her home-cum-office in Chislehurst, where she is surrounded by fine china and delicate ornaments Mrs FaIce talks bulk transport with the best of men. She can describe the best route between coalfields and consumer points.
Each of her four sons, all of whom are directors, are interchangeable in their four separate functions in the company and Mrs FaIce confesses to only one real concern about her follow directors and that is son Eric's motor-racing exploits.
To put her expertise to the test I asked how she ensured that vehicles would not be overloaded. With a sense of logic which I had never associated with women in the past, she replied: "We always send a bigger vehicle than the job requires." But then Mrs FaIce is a very logical person. Her company is in business to make money she says. If she cannot get the rate she requires then the vehicle remains in the garage. She is firmly convinced that this is the only way to run a business.
Mrs FaIce could be the attractive lady sitting next to you in a tea room who might appear to be contemplating how to organize Saturday's garden party. Be not deluded —beneath that bonnet lies a transport brain as sharp as any man's and in her heart a determination that she will maintain a business as reliable and energetic as did her husband Tom. I.S.