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• Telematics providers are quick to point out that despite
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the survey's findings, they have a lot of satisfied customers. Neil Cotton, a spokesman for Minorplanet Systems, says: "We have an 80% re-sign rate in the UK when customers get to the end of the lease. With around 4,000 UK customers, that means there are a lot of happy people out there."
Cotton adds that drivers could probably be made happier with such systems if management ensured they got some financial benefit from them. "At one user site I can think of, they've reinvested the savings they've made from their system in their drivers, in the form of Increased pay," he says.
Richard Gartland, UK MO at Thales Telematics, says he's not surprised by the survey's findings and that the way such systems are sold to customers is key to their ultimate satis faction. "One thing we hit on some time ago is that you're not just installing a black box in the vehicle, you're really changing the customer's business processes, so there are change-management implications. We make sure we talk to customers about integrating our systems and help them with that. We also spend a lot of time working with the people en the ground. Not all our competitors will be doing that..."
Cartland also says it's hardly surprising that drivers don't like telematics systems. "it's effectively a device to improve the productivity of a mobile workforce, after all—and it's a very powerful tool for keeping drivers on the move."
But he adds that their attitude can be improved if they are encouraged to understand how the system will help the company improve its efficiency. "It's important to tell them up-front what's going on and why," he says.