Is Free Vehicle Tracking Ready for Business?

We all know that times are tough. Your drivers are wasting your money by using YOUR work vehicles for whatever THEY need. Personal errands, the lake on the weekend, you know the story. You want to put an end to this behavior. You want your workers to show up to the job on time. You’ve heard about GPS tracking and think that it will solve your problem. In fact, you’ve heard that Google Latitude will track a GPS –enabled wireless phone for free. It’s almost too good to be true. Can you track your employees and solve your problems for free?

First, let’s consider the wireless phone (handset) itself. Google Latitude must be installed on each handset. This brings us to the first issue with free GPS tracking:
Each handset must be compatible with the Google Latitude application. Generally, this means that all of your handsets will have to be fairly recent smart phones. Those five-year-old Nextel’s will have to go. You’ll probably have to sign contract for new smart phones, you’ll have to buy a data plan for each new smart phone -- that’s how Latitude reports its location -- and you’ll probably want to buy insurance for the new phones. The phones may only cost $99 with a contract, but if you have to replace one mid-contract you’re looking at $400 to $500.

You might also want to think of the wisdom of giving your employees a tantalizing, ever-present distraction. A smart phone with a data connection is a link to the ESPN, YouTube, the Internet, and beyond. It will present temptations that are too much for some to resist.

Now let’s talk about how Google Latitude works. Google Latitude was intended for groups of friends to find each other. In particular, Google Latitude is designed to let you know of chance encounters with friends. Let’s say you live in St. Louis and are visiting New York. Unbeknownst to you, one of your friends, this one from Chicago, is also visiting New York. In fact, this friend is in a restaurant just down the street. If you are both using Google Latitude, you will each receive an alert. Pretty cool!

Things aren’t all peaches and cream. If you’ve read this far you can see that Google Latitude was not designed for business tracking. The first thing that a business user needs is an accurate tracking history. Yes, Latitude can provide a history, but it turns out that this history is nowhere near dense enough for many business uses. You will be lucky to get a report once per minute. And in my experience many of those reports will be cell tower locations, not the actual GPS fix. So it’s good enough to tell you that your employee was in Forest Park, but not good enough to tell you for how long or how they got there. And there’s more.
Smartphone’s are notorious battery hogs. The biggest battery user is the radio. That’s talk-time to you and me. Every GPS position reported uses talk time, and battery life. So your employee had better keep a charger handy. Battery life is a problem with all handset-based tracking systems, not just Latitude. That’s why even commercial phone-tracking systems report once per minute at the most.

And here’s the real killer... the entire application requires extensive cooperation from the handset user, your employee. The user has to have an account with Google, has to start Latitude, and has to let you into his circle. End-user cooperation only works if the end-user has a vested interest in being tracked. This is not just a problem with Latitude. This problem affects virtually all phone-based tracking applications, even commercial systems. If the user doesn’t want to track, he just turns it off.

And what about reporting and all of those other features you expect from GPS tracking? Theoretically you could build all this yourself, but will you? Can you get a stops report from Google Latitude? Can you dispatch drivers with it? And I hope you’re tech savvy, because nobody is being paid to talk to you when you have a problem.

Last but not least, think a little bit about cost. Smart phone data plans start at about $29 per month with a two-year contract. High quality, 20-second tracking starts at $19.99 per month, with no contract. Yes, the device will cost you $150, but along with that you get reports, dispatching, tracking history, and somebody who will answer the phone when you call. Is it worth it? You make the call.

Vehicle Tracking: Keep Costs Down and Productivity Up

Are you thinking of investing in a GPS tracking system? If so, think about your business objectives before you start shopping for GPS tracking systems.

Are Your Customers Satisfied?
Your company needs happy, repeat customers. And in our increasingly connected world, customers expect timely service and detailed information. When customer expectations are not met, you lose customers. Some will complain. Others defect to the competition without a word.

Do you know if your employees are showing up on time? When a customer calls, asking where your worker is, can you answer with specific and detailed information? If you have GPS tracking, you can answer "yes" to both questions. If not, you're simply guessing. Here's a final question: Can you afford to guess when it comes to customer satisfaction?

Are You Compensated For 100% of Your Services?
In some cases (if you charge by the hour), customers will argue that they were overcharged, and that your employee was only there for a half hour instead of the 2 hours logged. GPS tracking shows you how long your car was stopped at the customer's address. This can resolve billing disputes in hurry, and will save you money.

Are Your Routes Efficient?
A GPS vehicle tracking system can eliminate overlapping routes and maximize route efficiency. More efficient routes ensure more of your clients can be served in a given day.

Are Your Vehicles Being Misused?
GPS tracking also eliminates unauthorized vehicle usage by employees. Tracking mileage ensures expense reports are correct, and that company time and fuel is not used for personal errands. Your company's fleet can be monitored and reported back to you every 20 seconds, saving you time and money. Employees who know they're being watched are less likely to run personal errands and lie on their time sheet. A FoxTrax Vehicle Tracking system can eliminate 15-30 minutes of wasted time per day.



FoxTrax GPS Fleet Tracking
Clever solutions for vehicle tracking
www.FoxTraxGPS.com