BIRD'S EYE VIEW
Page 68
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Inadequate salesmen and disinterested management are one of the biggest problems in the commercial vehicle distributive trade. My words'.' No, they are the strong opinion of The Commercial Motor" editor, Alan Hal ard. He said so in no uncertain terms on Saturday, when he presented a paper on trends in commercial vehicle design to the third conference held by Stewart and Ardern, the London distributors of Morris commercial vehicles.
A heavy moral and social responsibility rested on the shoulders of the commercial vehicle salesman, he said. "The salesman who knows neither his own nor his competitors' vehicles too well cannot hope to place the right vehicle in the right job. Managements who fail to provide service facilities for the vehicles they sell; these, too, I blame", Alan added. The Salesman:
Very Impressive: In case you think our editor
was indulging in unwelcome sideswipes, let me tell you it was the biggest single message that came over. Speaker after speaker (Jack Clark, Boots transport engineer, Bill Lyddon and John Nightingale of B.M.C., to mention only some) said much the same thing about goods vehicle salesmen.
Did Stewart and Ardern object? Not in the least. Commercial vehicle sales manager Lawry Bartrick slammed home the same lesson. Alan tells me he came away very impressed that Stewart and Ardern. at least, are a highly advanced concern.
Anyone want to buy a couple of brand new FJs?—they're parked in Alan's back garden!
Storage Gets Moving: Seven talks in a day and a half is good going for any conference. The National Association of Warehouse Keepers did just that at Harrogate last week and in so doing dispelled any notion that storage was ,a static service in all senses of the term with discussion of automatic, computerized warehouses fed by teleprinters and a trailer shuttle service.
But Mother Nature still has her say. Against himself. Mr. F. J. Snowden, NAWK pest control adviser, told the joke of an inquiry received from a warehouseman that mice were eating goods in store "by the hundredweight ". And what were the goods? Whisper it—mice poison!
So even pest control must also be always on the move searching for improved methods to outwit self-preservation societies!
Amongst all the frenzied activity associated with Press day at the Motor Show, strong rumours were going about that a major British 534 Baby Diesel? manufacturer was to introduce a small tractor at the forthcoming Smithfield Show with a diesel version of a 1,000 c.c. petrol engine. This in itself would not be unique, as Coventry Climax have on their stand a 750 c.c. fourcylinder diesel. But it raises interesting possibilities as a future option for the mass 5 cwt. van market—although if this comes to pass, petrol stations will have to give thought to having more diesel pumps available.
The Missing Lions: A considerable number of BRS vehicles are running around without the customary lion symbol, which dates back to the old British Transport Commission. Its railway wheel motif (and, indeed, the rather mouse-like lion) was never particularly appropriate, and many road transport people would be pleased to see a more suitable road haulage symbol devised.
Leeds supper: Four drivers with long
records of exemplary service received presentations at the Archbold (Freightage) Ltd. supper in Leeds last Saturday. A silver plaque went to Mr. John Keats, who has spent 261 years with the company and in the course of his driving career has covered nearly 2 m. miles. In the very beginning, before he joined Archbold, Mr. Keats was handling model T Fords and Leyland RAF types. Mr. Charlie Lazenby, Mr. Arthur Whitehouse and Mr. Harry Mace each carried off a nice line in clocks.
I notice from this week's North Western Applicaliqns and Decisions that, as from November I. public inquiries in Manchester will commence at 10.45 a.m. instead of 10.30 a.m. I wonder why this is? One thing you can be sure of, the court won't sit 15 minutes later than it has to. A Later Start: Incentive: A certain transport manager
dropped in to see me the other day. On and off, I've known him for some time as a knowledgeable and conscientious man—and having quite a bit of service behind him with his particular company. To my surprise, I discovered he had resigned.
Why? Because some time ago he started butting his head against a brick wall. His board of directors kept reducing maintenance expenditure. The G.V.9s started appearing with increasing regularity. The final blow was when he found his authority restricted to minute sums of expenditure. above which he needed Board approval.
I'm glad to say he's inundated with offers of employment.
By the Hawk