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Tracking devices fitted to engineers vans

Number of messages: 15

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Bingo
N/a, United Kingdom

Good or bad idea I bet not many salesmen/women have them fitted???

Posted 6 Nov 2009 00:33 AM

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johnr_j
Georgia, United States

Bingo,

There is a whole thread on this subject in this forum on the pros & cons of GPS on service vans.

But yes sales people are not exempt. On company provided cell phones for sales types comapanies can track them to via the GPS unit embedded in the cell phone.

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Have An Exceptional Day!

Posted 6 Nov 2009 03:08 AM

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alan_m
United Kingdom

All vehicles at our place have them fitted,i'm not sure whether it makes any difference to the sales dept.No change at my end.

Posted 7 Nov 2009 07:44 AM

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tricky
england, United Kingdom

the only people that will complain about trackers being fitted are the people that are where they souldnt be.

The ones that ones that start late and go home early, the ones that park up by the side of the road and leave the work to there workmates.

The ones that trackers were invented for really!!!

Posted 7 Nov 2009 07:39 PM

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techman
Yorkshire, United Kingdom

All vans at our place have them fitted but the cars do not.

Posted 9 Nov 2009 03:51 AM

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sean_d
uk, United Kingdom

Seems like a good opportunity for taking the companies concerned to the European Court of Human Rights. This sneaky policy by some companies represents a gross intrusion of privacy.Best to put a halt to it now before Orwell's predicted nightmare becomes a reality!

Posted 10 Nov 2009 02:12 AM

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sean_d
uk, United Kingdom

Do you know me Tricky?

Posted 10 Nov 2009 02:14 AM

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alan_m
United Kingdom

Its only an intrusion of privacy whilst you are not working.While you are driving around and getting paid for it there is nothing you can do.I am sure there is a company that have been instructed they must not use their system to monitor vans out of hours,can't think who it is though.
The employment rights act does say that if a company wishes to install/monitor (cctv,trackers etc) they have to give good reason.Eg..."we have installed a service monitoring system for our customers...."we have installed it so our vehicle insurance premiums are reduced" etc..

Posted 10 Nov 2009 03:13 AM

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Bingo
N/a, United Kingdom

Alan,

You seem really up on this, what if we have no mention in our contracts of employment relating to what the tracker is used for!!!.

Posted 10 Nov 2009 05:14 AM

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alan_m
United Kingdom

Its not mentioned in my contract,but i'm sure you have had some sort of meeting with management and they explained the reasons why it was installed.

(yourprivacy.co.uk/YourPrivacyRightsAtWork.html)
dont forget the w's

Posted 10 Nov 2009 05:20 PM

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sean_d
uk, United Kingdom

Wake up Tricky :-)

Posted 10 Nov 2009 09:05 PM

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Bingo
N/a, United Kingdom

Alan,

Absolute no mention at any time, I only found out when a workmate told me ???? do you think they are in the wrong!!!

Posted 13 Nov 2009 02:25 AM

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alan_m
United Kingdom

I'm not sure about being in the wrong.But if they have to fit trackers under the cover of darkness it shows a lack of trust,in my opinion.I will try and find out what FLT company had been told they could not monitor engineers out of normal working hours.

Posted 13 Nov 2009 02:51 AM

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edward_t
North Carolina, United States

If they fit tracker, not only does it -show- "lack of trust", I think there is a valid arguement that it -proves- "lack of trust", and it doesn't matter when or how they do it.
I think everyone should be aware that people almost always expect others to be thinking the same way they do, so someone who is often considering how to work less expects everyone else to be considering how to work less, someone who steals expects others to be considering how to steal, someone who is honest and hard working expects others to be honest and hard working.
The method/timing of the install may have as much to do with management not wanting to create any -extra- friction as it does with trust.
I still have never seen a valid side by side comparison of the costs, strengths and weaknesses of the different available tracking systems, to be able to make an -informed- decision about the quality/pricing and what is my boss getting (to be able to look over my shoulder and second guess me) for the money my sweat earned for them. I have also never seen any ROI numbers/arguments that do not include the phrases "hard to quantify" unless they appeal to the argument that the customer will always complain that the tech took too long or was not really on site that long, and the tracker can prove they were on the site that long of a time frame.
I would also like to note that "lack of trust" should not really be considered a negative thing, since blind faith (which seems to me to be the opposite of lack of trust) qualifies as rushing blindly off a cliff.
To me, "lack of trust" more qualifies as "question everything" and/or "critical thought".

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webhome = forktechs.com/mailman/listinfo/techs_word

Modified 13 Nov 2009 09:39 PM
by poster.

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griffman_23
Michigan, United States

I do drive a company Van that is fitted with a gps tracking device.  It has helped me when I had a competitor (acting as a civilian) call in my van number and tell my service manager that I was doing 80mph and swerving all over the road.  The gps showed me doing exactly the speed limit, exactly where I was supposed to be.  Without it, I would possibly have gotten a write up.  Now on the other hand, I've had to move my van on a saturday to snowblow my driveway (I live in Michigan), and got a call first thing monday morning asking why I had my van running after hours.  Once I explained myself I was in the clear.
      To me it's necessary since you can never trust anyone in this world, but the problems occur when the management confronts an employee in the wrong manner, as if they're TRYING to catch you doing something.

    -The eye in the sky doesnt lie-

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--Just an opinion from some punk ruining the world--

Posted 14 Nov 2009 09:30 AM

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