"WORK WITHOUT REPAIRS."
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Why the Announcement of a Good Record Should be Regarded as Sound Policy.
By 6' Vectis."
THERE IS A good deal of sound sense in the general contention of " Vim " to the effect that by giving publicityto the exceptional performance of certain of thew vehicles manufacturers:may unfortunately encourage undesirable practices among a considerable number of users. I question, however, whether a statement to the effectthat one lorry has run several years without repairs is at all likely to make very many users imagine that they can dispenseiwith the ordinary precautions in respect
of maintenance. .. In almost every sphere of utility, records are only established by the exercise of the utmost care and forethought on the part of those .concerned. When I read that Mr. So-and-So has run a mile in 4 rains. 15 secs., I do not immediately conclude. that I ought to be able to obtain the same results myself, and that the thing can be done without proper training. Tak • ing the case quoted by "Vim," a lorry does 50,000 miles and only, costs its owner Id. for repairs. Repairs and maintenance are not the same thing. Probably, the negligible repair bill is the result of an extraordinarily good maintenance system applied, to an exeeptionally perfect vehicle. The manufacturers of the vehicle are, naturally and rightly, proud of the performance, and the user should be at least equally proud of it Neither party regards the performaime as normal, and the mere fact that it is specially advertised shows that the manufacturer certainly cloes not.
The ease does not appear to be on all fours with that in which the manufacturers' claims that a certain type of vehicle can carry loads that are in fact much too heavy for it. There would be no paint in making such a claim unless it were to give users confidence in the ability of the machine to carry the load stated. Thus the claim is a positive encouragement to overloading. ,
The ekes of announcementunder consideration is quite different. An ideal record can only be obtained by an ideal vehicle handled and tended in an ideal manner. A repair bill of Id. for 50,000 miles constitutes a record as near ideal as makes no matter. Its publication -tends to show that the manufacturer of the vehicle is capable of producing something which, if ideally handled and tended, will give ideal results. The direct inference is that the vehiele is just about perfect, and that if another user of an . exactly similar vehicle finds -thathe is piling up a big repair bill, he should attribute the fact riot to the imperfections of the. vehicle, hut to the iriiperfeetions of his own organization. To ray mind, the publication -of such a record, if fully accredited by responsible people, is perfectly sound policy. It aerves to set a high standard, proved to be attainable and, thereby, to encouragc others to try and get as near to that standard as aoSsible. Preferably, publication should be accompanit d by the fullest possible. details. Probably.; the nate ze. of the work done by a vehicle which pets up such a record is, in itself, favourable to goOd results. If the roads habitually used were . of bad quality, -such a result would undoubtedly he unattainable. So it would be, also, .if the driver of the vehicle were unskilled or semi-skilled. In some cases, bad luck resulting in accident might spoil what might otherwise have been a fine record. We cannot all expect to equal the best, but we can, at least, strive to come near it. Now, it is a matter of eommon experience that the creation of every record is, largely, the consequence _ of careful'preparation in -advance. The runner mast get into perfect training; the racing car or the engine of an aeroplane must be perfectly tuned and the physical condition and the nerves of the driver must be up to a similar high standard. If a business puts up a new record 4:31 prosperity, as compared with its direct competitors, we all assume that this record is the result Of highly capable management and intelligent energy throughout the concern. If we hear that Messrs. So-and-So have declared a dHidend of 50 per cent., though they have sold their goads at thoroughly competitive prices, we do not jump to the conclusion that a fortune can be made by going into, the same line of business and then sitting down and waiting for the !shower. of profits to begin. On the contrary, we attribute great organizing powers to the heads of the. business in question. These organizing powers are evidenced by the wise selection of their plant, the wise choice of their men and the general efficiency of their organization.
-Similarly, when a motor owner puts up a "work without repairs" record we know three things. That his organization is good: that his men are thoroughly efficient: and that the plant put at the disposal of the men is exceptionally fine in quality. In this case, • the plant consists primarily of the motor vehicle, but, also, of whatever is necessary in a really well arranged maintenance depot. To my mind, "Vim" has entirely confused maintenance with repairs. For example, the regular painting of the woodwork of a house—the necessity for which he mentions—is a matter of maintenance. If the house has been thoroughly well built in the first instance, repairs may be negligible over a long period of years, but this will never happen, however good the house, unless the regular work of maintenance is properly conducted.
Thus, -the conclusion to which I am brought by a
study of " " argument is not that the manufacturer should refrain from advertising such exceptional performance, but that, when he does so, he should point: the moral by insisting on the credit that is due to those responsible for the maintenance as well as for the .original construction of the vehicle. It may be that the .vehicle, in the first instance, cost a substantial price. In that case, he can point out that the maintenance can certainly be no more expensive thanit would have been if a lower class and cheaper vehicle had been purchased and that, meanwhile, a great deal has been saved under the heading of repairs.
He can, perhaps, go further and draw attention to the fact that repairs mean a, temporary absence from service. The necessity for repairs as distinct from maintenance may arise at any time. Possibly, the breakdown ' will occur at the most inaonvenient moment, when work of exceptional urgency is in progress, with the result that, not only the cost of repairs, but the far greater cost of loss of business-has to be taken into account. Maintenance, on the other hand, takes place only at pre-arrangerl hours, and at a pre-arranged place. It isall part of the regular organizstien and the need for it does not arise unexpectedly. Therefore, proper attention to maintenance can never involve sudden dislocation of business through lack of delivery facilities when they are badly wanted.
Thus, the mistake of the advertiser, if there is any mistake at all, is not the fundamental one of advertising the wrong thing, but is, rather, the result of giving otherS' the credit for reading between the lines and making deductions obvious to the initiated, but possibly not nearly so obvious to the outsider.