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Health and Energy Tips For The Modern Fleet Manager

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How to create an energy explosion and take your energy to the next level and Replenish Your Emotional Energy.

A major challenge Fleet Managers face today is not having enough energy and drive. They are tired during the day, have a hard time waking up in the morning and feel sluggish.

Before we dive in, here’s a few of the benefits of being energized and healthy.

  • More passion and excitement
  • Improved productivity and performance
  • More happiness and fulfillment
  • Improved memory
  • Better mood
  • Reduced risk of disease
  • More resourceful and innovative


“It’s not about time management, it’s about energy management” Dr. Oz

Stop Seeking the Perfect Work/Life Balance

Is there such a thing as a work/life balance, or is it just a way to add more stress in our lives? Balance is temporary, brief and short lived. 

Start reflecting on what gives you energy and what depletes it. Spend more time on what gives you energy and guard against, or eliminate what depletes your energy. 

look for ways to get a better Return on Energy (ROE), and leverage it to create more moments of positive energy for living, fulfillment and happiness.

How Do I Get More Physical Energy?

Exercise, and I don’t mean extensive cardio. Working out for 10 minutes every morning can help stimulate the receptors in your brain and gives your cells more energy to burn.

Start with a couple stretches, followed with 5 or 10 pushups or sit ups or a nice walk or jog around the block. A good 10 minute work-out and exercising causes your body to release stress hormones and can make you feel energized.

man jogging

Start slow, two or three days a week and then move to four or five days a week. Just get started today! You will feel stronger physically and mentally. 

Nutrition equals energy. Learning how much and what foods bring you energy and what foods deplete energy can be a bit of a challenge. I’m not a health expert by any means, but I would like to share some of the success I’ve personal experienced and the foods that I have found that helps maintain and increase my energy level.

To kick start my mornings I blend up a green smoothie that consists of kale or spinach, an apple or banana and some frozen fruit or ice and orange juice.

For some of the best smoothie recipes and healthy recipes check out Fit Foodie Finds, they have some of the best recipes on the plant, and their fluffy pumpkin pancakes are amazing!

If you really want to ramp up your health, check-in with Kristina Carrillo-Bucaram for the ultimate raw food experience: https://www.fullyraw.com/ 

Good Digestion equals energy. It’s better to eat small meals and snacks throughout the day and keep from becoming full. The digestive process is one of the body’s most energy consuming processes depleting your energy. 

One of the reasons I like smoothies and raw living foods is the fact that it digests quicker and easier giving me more energy from the nutrients and it doesn’t deplete my energy in the process.

Here are some of my favorite snack foods to keep my energy levels up throughout the day:

Sliced cucumbers, walnuts, almonds, broccoli, celery and a variety of trail mixes all help reduce fatigue and supply a steady intake of nutrients.

Additional Tips:

  • Drink plenty of water. One of the first signs that you are not drinking enough water is fatigue.
  • Avoid processed foods. Consume as much organic and fresh living foods as possible.
  • Soak your raw almonds overnight, It really brings out the flavor.
  • 70% or more of your daily intake should consist of water rich foods. mixed greens, non-starchy vegetables, fruits and baked fish are a few examples of watery foods.

Replenish Your Emotional Energy

When it comes to building success and happiness in life, emotional energy plays a big role in the part. The National Institute on Aging supports the finding that 70 percent of the energy needed comes from emotional energy, whereas physical energy supplies 30 percent of one’s total energy.

Researcher and author Daniel Goleman believes we can learn how to increase our emotional energy by increasing our emotional intelligence. (EQ) is the ability to identify, use, understand, and manage emotions in positive ways to relieve stress, overcome challenges, and defuse conflict. 

You can accomplish this through diligent practice in the areas of self-awareness, impulse control and being persistent. In Danial Goldman’s book Emotional Intelligence, Goleman demonstrates that these traits can be nurtured and strengthened in all of us.

In Peter Voodg’s new book “6 months to 6 figures” he has you do an exercise where he asks you to write down the top five positive emotions that help you take action, deal with challenges and experience more out of life.

Here are some examples:

Passion, Love, Courage, Excitement, Creativity, Resourcefulness, Eagerness, Motivated, Ambitious, Caring, Curious, Healthy, Alive.

Next, he has you write down the top five negative emotions that you use the most, emotions that cause you to feel frustrated, repel people away from you and prevent you from taking action.

Here are some examples:

Resentment, Anxiety, Hostility, Distracted, Moody, Emotional, Inconsistent, Frustrated, reactive, Intimidating, Impatient, Stubborn, Rude, Depressed and Aggravated.

NOTE: When we dwell on negative emotions, the quality of our energy is hugely diminished. Stay focused on the top five positive emotions you wrote down and feel your energy increase.

6 Additional Ways to Replenish Your Energy

  1. Meditate
    Sit quietly and relax your mind and body. Relaxing your muscles will bring much needed oxygen to your cells.
  2. Drink a glass of water
    Dehydration is one of the most common causes of fatigue. Try drinking 8 glasses of water a day and see if you notice a difference in your energy level.
  3. Lighten up
    No need to make a mountain out of a molehill.
  4. Practice gratitude
    Avoid using the word want, and express gratitude to others daily
  5. Music
    Oh, the magic of music… it can relax you or energize you. A little rock and roll when cooking up a storm or doing your household chores. Try a little classical music if you are working on an intense project, writing a book or employee manual.
  6. Analyze
    Is the task at hand moving you or your team forward? Are you getting a return on your energy investment?

Conclusion:

If you enjoyed our article please subscribe to get the latest articles, ebooks, research and impac fleet happenings delivered to your inbox each week.

Please check out our blog page for additional real time tracking, fleet fuel card, and fleet fuel management solutions, along with other industry related articles.

Check out our article “How Do Fleet Managers Reduce Fuel Spend?” for more fuel saving tips and to compare our fleet fuel cards

Join the discussion on Twitter @ImpacFleet or contact an impac expert today.

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Fleet Management Resources for a Positive impac on your Organization.

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A locally-operated delivery company, a mid-sized drill rig operation or a large nationally operated trucking company or somewhere in-between are all considered fleets, and the type and size will determine how you proceed with the establishment of your fleet management program.

In this article we want to walk you through a few of the basics of fleet management, some of the duties of a fleet manager and provide you with some resources to help you build or improve your fleet management program.

The Role of the Modern Fleet Manager

Fleet managers are becoming more strategic and utilizing data from connected vehicles to predict and solve problems before they happen. Their role may also include: scheduling vehicle maintenance, route planning, record keeping, compliance and adherence to all rules and regulations. 

Fleet Managers are also responsible for registering, licensing and keeping inspections up to date; and working with management to meet all organizational budgets while developing procedures to maximize productivity and minimize expenses and waste.

Overwhelmed by Data?

data overload - telephone pole with hundreds of wires everywhere
data overload


Fleet Managers that are feeling overwhelmed by the data-overload can reduce stress by focusing on what matters most to them. If efficiency and environmental impact is a priority, focus on miles per gallon and emissions.

If fleet safety takes front seat, then focus more on accident and maintenance data. Learning how to analyze data to make key decisions is crucial to a well managed fleet.

Connectivity – a Trend to Watch

As we move towards year-end, some of the top trends for 2019 will continue to move forward into the new year. Fleet telematics will bring more data for fleets to manage, making connectivity the future of fleet management. 

To prepare for the future and drive excitement of connectivity it’s important to understand how new technologies will benefit your fleet. Connectivity is changing the way companies track inventory, reduce cost and drive fleet productivity. 

To keep up with trends and changes shaping fleet as we move into the new year – Join the discussion on Twitter @ImpacFleet or contact an impac expert today

Fleet Management Best Practices

Managing a fleet can be expensive and time consuming, following best practices will help you control your fleet, save money and ensure that you are properly maintaining your fleet.

Maintaining your vehicles may be the most important aspect of running your fleet. Staying on schedule with your maintenance program will save money and ensure that all of your vehicles will meet the highest safety standards.

Understanding and staying up to date with industry regulations is essential to staying compliant. Some of the current rules include emission laws, driver monitoring laws, licensing and reporting laws and fuel consumptions laws

Keeping up to date and tracking everything your fleet needs can be extremely difficult. A single fleet software system can provide you with the tools for real-time tracking, fuel monitoring and the necessary data to keep your fleet running as smoothly as possible.


To help you answer additional questions, we would be happy to schedule time to meet with you and discuss the available fleet management tools specific to your company needs.

Resource – NAFA Fleet Management Association

NAFA is the world’s largest not-for-profit membership association for individuals who manage the vehicular fleet and mobility responsibilities for their employers. NAFA propels the fleet and mobility profession through it’s world class certification, education, advocacy, and peer networking programs, and is an essential element of success for individuals involved in the profession.

The undeniable traits for which NAFA is know for are:

Integrity: Demonstrated by uncompromised dedication to being trusted, unbiased and credible source of information and expertise.

Leadership: Demonstrated by professional and personal pride in shaping the future of fleet and mobility management through education and advocacy.

Community: Demonstrated by professional and personal pride in being part of a collegial alliance of individuals with a common passion for excellence, mutual respect, shared experience and collective action.


FREE WHITE PAPER: To receive your FREE copy you will be required to sign up for their free membership. CLICK HERE to sign up and receive your FREE white paper – “Fleet Management and the Connected Vehicle” from NAFA Fleet Management Association.

NOTE: NAFA also offers a PAID MEMBERSHIPS and CHARGES for FLEET Solutions Publications, PAID GUIDES and Educational Material.

Impac Fleet is NOT affiliated with or offers any endorsements for NAFA Fleet Management Association. Impac Fleet is simply providing quality resources for Fleet Management and Fleet Managers.


If you enjoyed our article please subscribe to get the latest articles, ebooks, research and impac fleet happenings delivered to your inbox each week.

Please check out our blog page for additional real time tracking, fleet fuel card, and fleet fuel management solutions, along with other industry related articles.

Truck and Car on Highway how to manage a Fleet Program.

Understanding Fleet Management and Fuel Programs

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An organization that owns, leases or relies on some form of commercial transportation for their business is engaged in some form of fleet management. The purpose of fleet management is to improve efficiency by reducing the overall costs of transportation and staying in compliance by keeping up-to-date with legislation changes and new regulations.

The responsibilities of the Fleet Manager can include vehicle maintenance, driver management and route planning. Managing a fleet can be a real challenge and can include implementation of a fleet management software or vehicle telematics.

To help fleets streamline customer service they can implement telematics with navigation and transport management systems to track real-time deliveries and report an accurate ETA – Estimated time of arrival to the customer. Click Here to schedule a time to see what impac can offer for your specific industry.

Key Telematics and TMS Integration:

  • Safety and compliance reporting
  • (HOS)  Hours of Service 
  • (DVIR) Driver Vehicle Inspection Reporting 
  • Route optimization
  • Real-time navigation
  • IFTA tax reporting
  • Vehicle diagnostics
  • Driver behaviors

Why Should You Use Fleet Management System?

A well designed and implemented fleet management system can:

  • Save on fuel consumption
  • Reduce road accidents
  • Improve driving habits
  • Track and recover lost vehicles
  • Reduce cost of insurance
  • Prevent unauthorized use of vehicles
  • Improve on-time deliveries

Where Do I Start if I Want to Implement a Fleet Management System?

Start by getting organized. Get every piece of information you can – invoices, VIN, purchase records, etc. Do your homework, research, research, research. Meet with the drivers, discuss the importance of gathering accurate and timely data. Encourage feedback and participation, be clear on everyone’s specific responsibilities and the expected outcomes that come with them.

To help you answer additional questions and make sure you are on the right track, we would be happy to schedule time to meet with you and discuss the available fleet management tools specific to your company needs.

Fleet Management Challenges

As your fleet grows in size fleet managers will face more and more new and complex challenges. The modern day manager is tech savvy, business-minded and has to have an insight into fuel efficiency, federal and state regulations, driver safety and vehicle maintenance.

Some of the more complex concerns can be simply trying to cope with information overload. The selection and use of fleet software, tracking, integration of fleet data and making sure all assets are being fully utilized. 

Another challenge is solving problems on the fly while effectively directing assets and keeping drivers safe on the road. Time management, safety education programs, driver productivity, proper use of technology and finding and hiring experienced drivers with clean records, are just a few of the challenges of the fleet manager. 

TIP: Keep-up-to-date. Communicate and share your experiences and challenges with fellow fleet managers – utilize blogs and industry groups on social media sites like LinkedIN & Facebook. Sign-up for industry news.

LinkedIN Tip: in the search field at the top of the LinkedIN page type #fleetmanagement, this will bring up article posts from fellow fleet managers and fleet companies.

Fuel Programs

One of the quickest ways to minimize fuel spend is to integrate fuel cards with your fleet management program. With the right fuel card system you can compare actual fuel consumption to the amount of fuel a vehicle can hold and see exactly how much each driver spends on fuel. Check out our article “How Do Fleet Managers Reduce Fuel Spend?” for more fuel saving tips and to compare our fleet fuel cards.

To ensure a true customized solution, it is important to set the restrictions and controls of the fleet fuel cards that are ideal for the drivers and vehicles that make up a specific fleet. Check out our article “4 Purchase Controls Fleet Fuel Cards Offer“.

If you enjoyed our article please subscribe to get the latest articles, ebooks, research and impac fleet happenings delivered to your inbox each week.

Please check out our blog page for additional real time tracking, fleet fuel card, and fleet fuel management solutions, along with other industry related articles.

Photo Courtesy of Skitterphoto via Pixabay.

How Do Fleet Managers Reduce Fuel Spend?

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There are several ways a fleet manager can reduce their fuel spend and waiting for fuel prices to go down is NOT one of them. In this post I’m going to answer several questions and share some of our best strategies to save money on fuel, understanding fuel management and fleet fuel cards.

Will Improved Driving Behavior Help Increase Fuel Efficiency?

Yes, this could be one of the most important ways to reduce your fuel spend. Educating and monitoring your drivers to eliminate speeding, reduce idle time and avoid accelerating too quickly is all key to reducing your fuel usage.

Does the Type of Tire Impact Fuel Consumption?

Yes, a great option is low rolling resistance tires. These are specifically designed to improve fuel efficiency, and don’t forget to check tire pressure. A study by the U.S. Department of Energy found that for every one psi (pounds per square inch) drop in the tire pressure of your tires will lower gas mileage by 0.4%.

Does Fuel Grade Matter?

Yes, check the vehicle owner’s manual to determine the lowest fuel grade suggested by the manufacturer. Then let the drivers know the type of fuel to purchase.

Will a managed fleet fuel program reduce fuel spend?

Yes, the substantial savings associated with a properly managed fuel program far outweigh the cost of the program.

Managed Fuel Programs and Fuel Cards

While vehicle maintenance, tire choice and driver behavior play a critical part in fuel conservation, understanding how to implement a fuel management program can be like putting all the puzzle pieces together to get the big picture.

At impac we use a collaborative, consultative approach. The goal is to help the Fleet Manager be more informed when it comes to making decisions in the following areas: controls and fraud reductions, compliance, fuel and maintenance transaction integration, discount merchant networks and ease of reconciliation & payment.

Our impac fleet fuel card program is designed around the need for a single-source provider for all card issuance, billing, payment and customer service. impac brings it all together for a complete and comprehensive fuel and maintenance fleet solution. Click Here for a comparison of our universal card and truck stop fleet fuel card.

Best in Class, Individualized Fleet Fuel Management Solutions

  • Control costs and significantly reduce the risk of fraud for your fleet
  • Set fuel and maintenance limits using a wide variety of hard and soft controls
  • Fleet managers can review all fuel and maintenance purchases online
  • Unmatched and dedicated personal support & customer service
  • Customized solutions and recommendations
  • Receive a consolidated invoice and cut one check for all fleet fuel card purchases
  • Over 25 custom and standard reports giving you the information you need

With impac – it’s like having your own fuel management department.

Route Tracking

Another key element to monitoring fuel spend is route tracking. Tracking the routes that the fleet drivers take on a daily basis has become easier with the development of telematics and software.

Having a good GPS device and routing software will save on fuel usage and help maximize the most efficient routes, cutting down on out of route miles driven. With the right setup you can separate personal miles from work miles and allocate some of their fuel spend to the personal use category.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, aggressive driving can reduce highway fuel efficiency by 33% and city efficiency by 5%.

Labor Day 2019 Fuel Prices

“For Americans who bookend summer with road trips, they will find gas prices this coming weekend that are cheaper than this past Memorial Day and last year’s Labor Day holiday,” said Jeanette Casselano, AAA spokesperson. “At the start of the week, two-thirds of all states have gas price averages that are nearly a quarter cheaper than last year.”

Source: AAA Newsroom

Want to learn more about how impac can help you reduce your fleet’s fuel spend? We would be happy to schedule time to meet with you and discuss a custom designed program specific to your company needs.


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How Great Customer Service Skills impac Fleet Managers: Part 5

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“Any person capable of angering you becomes your master.” – EPICTETUS

How Great Customer Service Skills impac Fleet Managers: Part 5

Emotional Intelligence and Great Customer Service

Welcome to Part Five of our Six-Part Series:

Every interaction a Fleet Manager has with a customer matters. Making time to Improve your customer service skills to effectively communicate and build your brand is essential to your success and the success of the company.

Part 5.1 EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

Emotional intelligence, refers to how you manage your emotions, and your ability to read and react to other people’s emotions, empathizing with those emotions and responding appropriately.

How does this apply to customer service? The interaction your customer has with an employee can determine how they feel about the company itself.

What are some positive emotions? Happy, Grateful, and Joyful. If the customer you are interacting with seems happy and wants to chat, you should switch to a more friendly, happy tone. Show them a bit of your personality, joke with them and then give them a chance to share the same. This type of conversation will have a positive impact on the customer. 

Have you heard a funny joke lately? Be sure to check out Part 4.3 of our series for a little humor.

What are some negative emotions? Frustration, Anger, and disappointment. If the customer you are interacting with seems upset, angry or frustrated, it’s critical for you to be patient and empathetic. When you express your desire and use your skills to resolve their concerns, talking calmly, and allowing them to vent their frustrations will have a positive effect.

Emotional intelligence is something that will be developed with time. A few basic elements to help you enhance your customer service skills include:

  • Empathy – you understand people’s emotions.
  • Social skills – you manage relationships and build networks.
  • Self-awareness – you recognize and understand your moods and emotions, and how they affect others.

Part 5.2 CUSTOMER SELF-SERVICE OPTIONS

While over half of your current customers want to problem solve on their own, your company can provide top notch self-service tools like a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page on it’s website. FAQ pages include standard answers to your customers’ most commonly asked questions about your product or service, business hours, prices, and more. When you provide self-service tools your customers as well as employees will save time. Therefore, your company’s customer service will improve.

TIP: Organize questions by category and include a search bar.
How Great Customer Service Skills impac Fleet Managers: Part 5

Part 5.3 INVEST IN CUSTOMER SERVICE TRAINING

If you expect your staff to provide great customer service you need to take time to train them. Continue to train new and seasoned employees about valuable people skills. The benefits of great customer service include customer loyalty, customer satisfaction and more quality referrals – leading to growing the bottom line, happy customers and employees.

“Conclusion”

This concludes part five of our six part series on “How Great Customer Service Skills Impac Fleet impac Fleet Managers”. If you enjoyed our article please share and subscribe to get email updates from this discussion as well as future articles. Please check out our blog page for real time fleet tracking, fleet fuel card, and fleet management solutions, along with other industry related articles.

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How Great Customer Service Skills impac Fleet Managers: Part 4

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Excellent customer service skills is just one of many traits of a great fleet manager. As we continue with our series we have listed a few traits of the fleet manager.

How Great Customer Service Skills impac Fleet Managers: Part 4

Part Four of a Six-Part Series:

In part 3 of our six part series we discussed the importance of time management and in part 2 we talked about product knowledge.

Part 4.1 LEADERSHIP

Leadership can put a lot of weight on your shoulders. A great manager commits to leading by example while they serve more than others serve them.

A great fleet manager leads as well as coaches their team, drivers and multiple management levels while they inspire their team toward a common vision.
Remember, you are a role model and your passion is the light that guides your success.

“Everything that human beings have created is only an imitation and modification of what is already there”. – Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev – Wikiquote.”

Part 4.2 ABILITY TO MULTI-TASK

As a fleet manager you will need to balance a multitude of tasks on a daily basis as you build and grow your skills and identify your many traits.

How Great Customer Service Skills impac Fleet Managers: Part 4You may find your focus stretched between areas like safety, fuel economy and fleet fuel card management while you deal with drivers as well as suppliers?

To maintain your status as a great fleet manager you need to effectively juggle and maintain balance to insure your fleet program runs efficiently.

Part 4.3 SENSE OF HUMOR

Did you know you can learn how to express a sense of humor? When a great fleet manager faces daily challenges, they seem to quickly develop a sense of humor.

When it comes to the day to day challenges of a great fleet manager, one may find that they will quickly develop a sense of humor. Here are a few tips and tricks to developing a sense of humor:

  • Be yourself. Trying to be something you’re not will just make the conversation awkward.
  • Make it relevant to the conversation.
  • Be Kind, showing kindness will help your humor hit the right mark.

Humor is a powerful force. When you employ humor correctly it can diffuse a tense situation or break the ice with a new customer.

HAVE YOU HEARD A FUNNY JOKE LATELY?

There was a man driving down the road behind an 18 wheeler, at every stoplight the trucker would get out of the cab, run back and bang on the trailer door.

After seeing this at several intersections in a row the motorist followed him until he pulled into a parking lot.

When they both had come to a stop, the truck driver once again jumped out and started banging on the trailer door. The motorist went up to him and said, “I don’t mean to be nosey but why do you keep banging on that door?”

To which the trucker replied, “Sorry, can’t talk now, I have 20 tons of canaries and a 10 ton limit, so I have to keep half of them flying at all times.”

CONCLUSION

This concludes part four of our six part series on “How Great Customer Service Skills Impact Fleet Managers. If you enjoyed our article please share and subscribe to get email updates from this discussion as well as future articles.

Please check out our blog page for real time fleet tracking, fleet fuel cards and fleet management solutions, along with other industry related articles.

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How Great Customer Service Skills impac Fleet Managers: Part 3

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“If it’s your job to eat a frog, it’s best to do it first thing in the morning. And if it’s your job to eat two frogs, it’s best to eat the biggest one first” – Mark Twain

How Great Customer Service Skills impac Fleet ManagersEssential skills for great customer service

Welcome to Part Three of our Six-Part Series:

Fleet Managers and customer service agents need to use their best customer service skills to effectively communicate in a way that will leave them calmer, satisfied and confident in your brand. Whether a customer simply needs a new pin number for their fleet fuel card, or they have been frustrated to the point of switching providers, quality customer service is key to the success of your company.

Part 3.1 CLEAR COMMUNICATION SKILLS

Communicate with concise and relevant information, not just a spiel of technical jargon. When communicating by email, social media, chat or SMS, use good grammar and make sure they understand what you are saying. Keep the content relevant to the customer’s needs and at the same time strive to use a natural, conversational tone whether it be verbal or written.

Be sure to check out Part 1.3 of our series if you missed it. We talk about “Old School Meets Technology” and how using technology like Skype, chat and ZOOM can create that personal touch.

TIP: Listen more than you talk. First listen to what your customer has to say. This will help you provide a more thought out answer.

Speaking clearly with your customers is an important skill. You will need to articulate policies and procedures and other aspects of your company leaving no room for error. Customers want to build lasting relationships with companies that can provide solid customer support to solve issues; therefore, if you do not articulate clearly your customer service will fail.

Speaking politely to your customer shows respect and reflects the quality of your customer service. I’m sure everyone can remember dealing with a rude employee, it doesn’t exactly make you want to return to their place of business anytime soon.

Part 3.2 TIME MANAGEMENT SKILLS

Do you have the skills or power to slow down time? Same here! I wish I did. However, I have several tips to help you “manage time” and maximize every minute of your day.

TIP #1: Spend the last 10 or 15 minutes of your work day organizing your desk and prioritizing your projects for the next morning.

TIP #2: Keep a notebook on your desk or workstation. Every year shortly before school starts I purchase several of the one subject, 70 sheet wide ruled notebooks. Then each day I write the date at the top of the page, and as my day progresses I will take notes from phone calls, prioritize new projects and jot-down any new ideas that may pop into my head. I also write a seperate daily to-do list down the left side of the page, checking them off as I go.

At the end of the day as I mentioned in Tip #1, I will take all my unfinished projects and move them to the next page along with any additional new tasks. I will prioritize them in order of importance and begin the next day tackling the most pressing or important ones first.

TIP #3: Recharge your battery and learn to focus. We all need to take time to recharge and clear our minds. Studies show that most people can only concentrate for a maximum of about 20 continuous minutes before they need a short break. I find that standing, stretching and taking a short 2-5 minute walk will keep me energized through-out the day. To stay on target for the day I plan 30 minute work increments, this is called the Pomodoro Technique. I also like to start each session with background music to help me get focused quicker.

I have been following the Team at Focus@will, a new online music service based on human neuroscience. They are working on a new large-scale trail to determine if they can establish which genres and intensities of music work best for different brain types, and which cognitive mechanisms improve as a result of focus at will exposure.

Part 3.3 FOLLOW THE 80/20 RULE.

How Great Customer Service Skills impac Fleet ManagersThe (“Pareto Principle,” n.d.) also known as the 80-20 rule suggests that 80% of results come from 20% of the effort put in. You can also apply this principle when it comes to time management. When scheduling your top most important tasks for the day, keep it to three or less and keeping with the 80-20 rule you will soon learn to scale up your efforts. Using the Pareto Principle will help you determine your most important tasks, allowing the rest to fall to the bottom or you may find yourself completely eliminating them from your list.

“Conclusion”

This concludes part three of our six part series on “How Great Customer Service Skills Impact Fleet Managers. If you enjoyed our article please share and subscribe to get email updates from this discussion as well as future articles. Please check out our blog page for real time fleet tracking, fleet fuel cards and fleet management solutions, along with other industry related articles.

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How Great Customer Service Skills impac Fleet Managers: Part 2

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“Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning” – Bill Gates

Impac Fleet

Why are customer service skills important?

Most businesses invest a lot of resources into their marketing and advertising to bring in new customers. As we mentioned in part one of our six-part series on great customer service skills The U.S. Small Business Administration reports that “68% of customers leave because of poor customer service.” Customer service skills are important in keeping them once you bring them in.

Part Two of a Six-Part Series:

Patience is key to keeping customers calm while you understand the customers concerns, staying cool under pressure is an important quality of a great customer service representative.

TIP: Don’t take it personally. The customer is upset with the company’s product or service, and they just need someone to listen and make them feel acknowledged, this is a good time to use your best communications skills.

Be patient and hear them out. When they are done venting apologize for their dissatisfaction with your product or service, and reassure them that you are ready to solve the problem. Take this opportunity to improve your customers’ experience.

After you have solved your customer’s problem take a short walk or break to clear your mind and be prepared to be at your best for your next customer.

Part 2.2 PRODUCT KNOWLEDGE

According to a survey by the Consumer Reports National Research Center, “70 percent of people are highly annoyed when they are transferred to a representative who can’t help or is wrong.”

Product knowledge is key to problem-solving. Regular product training and knowing how your customers account is set up is crucial to your company’s success. In order to truly assist a customer when a problem arises, your reps must be up to date and knowledgeable about every aspect of your product as well as your customers’ account.

“The difference between try and triumph is just a little umph! – Marvin Phillips

TIP: When a customer asks a question you cannot answer, make sure that you know who to seek additional information from.

Take interest in the products and services your company offers and try to figure out possible difficulties a customer might experience. This will increase your knowledge and may help you present a preventative solution saving your company and the customer frustration, time and money.

Part 2.3 GOING THE EXTRA MILE – or the “WOW” Skill.

“Our customer service reps here at impacfleet.com are so excited to “wow” our customers that they can’t help but share their experience.”

Impac FleetHow exactly do you “wow” a customer? Personal touch is a great way to start while you do what you say you will do. Make sure that everyone knows what was promised to the customer when they signed on with your company.

Follow up, good will goes a long way. Pick up the phone and give your customers a call and ask how your product or service is working for them. This element of surprise adds to the wow factor and lets you know that the customer is still satisfied and that you are thinking of them.

Your customer support team is the main connection between the customer and the company. Pay attention to the customers needs and bring attention to anything that may have a potential to escalate into a more serious problem.

Personal and unexpected? Creating an Impac Fleet impac and wowing the customer on a whim starts with giving your staff the freedom to think and work creatively. Give your staff some flexibility to brainstorm while sharing ideas on how they would surprise a customer, for example, they could have a local bakery deliver fresh baked cookies to a customer that was having a down day.

Most employees want to make a positive impression and grow with their company. Given an opportunity, they will dazzle both the customer and the company. All in all, wow moments are a result of treating your customers and employees like the truly valued human beings they are.

“Conclusion”

This concludes part two of our six part series on “How Great Customer Service Skills Impact Fleet Managers. If you enjoyed our article please share and subscribe to get email updates from this discussion as well as future articles. Please check out our blog page for real time fleet tracking, fleet fuel cards and fleet management solutions, along with other industry related articles.