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Traffic - John Hall

John R. Hall
John R. Hall Member Posts: 2,246
in THE MAIN WALL
I read that the average rush hour driver spent 62 hours in traffic in 2000 and squandered $68 billion in lost productivity and fuel. Have any of you seen a marked increase in commute time for calls over the past ten years or so?

Comments

  • John@Reliable
    John@Reliable Member Posts: 379


    What I find is everyone knows all the short cuts that I only knew for years, I sometimes will put a call off due to time of day,a 15min. call in morning could be over 1 hour due to traffic in afternoon,I offen wonder where everyone is going!
  • Mark Hunt
    Mark Hunt Member Posts: 4,909
    We used to... Mark H

    but ever since we started driving snow plows our response time is much better.

    The commute to and from jobs is bumpier than it used to be but you learn to anticipate the bumps and after a while you get used to it.

    Obviously I'm kidding..................

    You never get used to it.

    No... seriously...... In my area the population has jumped in the past 10 to 15 years and yes... lot's more fellow human beings execising their right to GET IN MY WAY!!!!!

    As a side note to this, when you are driving a billboard with YOUR company name on it........

    SMILE!!!

    Mark H
  • J.C.A.
    J.C.A. Member Posts: 349
    Mark,

    I know the feeling . The billboard is a hinderance to the "single digit salute" or Boston salute if you will !
    It's just another thing that we all have to deal with . Explaining travel time to a customer is tough , but it IS still time spent on the job .
    Maybe it's time to start thinning the heard ?(just joking !)
    Happy Fourth ! Chris
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    Not only time traveling but...

    trying to find a place to park in some of the big cities or in Providence around the colleges during school time. Technicians some times have to walk a block or two to get to the job. Life ain't gettin any easier. I am down in Connecticut this past few weeks and route 95 in and around New Haven and also the Merritt parkway are terrible. An accident the other evening just before exit 53 on Merritt, I was in a parking lot for two hours- missed happy hour at the hotel. Talk to guys who work in New York City about some of the nightmares they experience. This all adds to the cost of doing business.
  • Mark Hunt
    Mark Hunt Member Posts: 4,909
    MR. MIDDLEFINGER Mark H

    Oh how true!!!

    But we must be professionals.

    Thinning eh'?

    Mark H
  • John R. Hall
    John R. Hall Member Posts: 2,246


    I gotta believe that longer commute times have influenced more contractors to let their techs take home the company vehicles.
  • Mark Hunt
    Mark Hunt Member Posts: 4,909
    Company vehicles Mark H

    Most of the companies that I have worked for allowed service techs to take thier vehicles home but not for commuting reasons.

    It is just easier to send the techs straight to their first call directly from home.

    Some installation techs bring their trucks home and go directly to the site from home.

    This cuts down on shop time and the BS sessions that can get going in the warehouse.

    Also with service techs, you can send a tech that lives closer to the call.

    You do bring up a good point though.

    Mark H
  • Floyd
    Floyd Member Posts: 429


    That's why......

    I LOVE it here in the booney's of Pa.!!!!! Don't have to put up with much traffic!!!! Grew up in the Phila. area and hate to go back!!!
    The only thing I have to worry about are the Mountain Cows jumping out in front of me, but you get pretty good at spotting them and dodging them after awhile!!!
    And then there are the darn "flatlanders" that come up here to hunt and forget that some of us still have to work!!!

    Hope everyone has a great weekend!!!
    The 4th is just around the corner!!

    Floyd
  • Wayco Wayne
    Wayco Wayne Member Posts: 615
    This brings up

    something I have always wondered about. I am a small company of 2 but when I worked for someone else that BS time in the morning was appreciated by me and contributed to a feeling of comraderie and team spirit, not to mention the sharing of information and ideas. The time saved is evident in sending them straight to the job from home but I feel that something is also lost. (By the way. I live in the Wash DC area and traffic really sucks)
  • ScottMP
    ScottMP Member Posts: 5,884
    Rush Hour

    Why do they call it rush hour, when nothing is moving ?

    Wayne, you have a brought up a very interesting point. I initiated that 1/2 BS time for exactly the reasons you stated. My thought is it builds a team spirit. It also waste alot of time when there is a crew of seven. I have started to cut down on this and "get" the guys out the door quicker. This can only help the bottom linebut, I need to remember that we need time to be a company.

    Scott " yes its a lobsta boat..pull over" Milne

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