Fuel card trick

His drivers started running out of fuel on purpose. Of course, they told my fleet manager friend that they simply hadn’t been able to reach the allocated fuel station, but really it was a fuel-card revolt. He switched, they missed their reward points. Simple as that.

Drivers can be such children, and a good fleet manager needs to recognise that. Sometimes playing the strict disciplinarian, though fun, isn’t always the right solution. Sometimes a little give is needed. Trouble is you can’t always cave at the fleet checkout, especially if what they crave will give the company indigestion. Case in point: expensive fuel.

We all know that some fuel stations are cheaper than others, and we all know that Nectar points have to be paid for somehow. I know from my fuel card data just how popular the BP network is, but it certainly isn’t the cheapest and, round my way, it’s becoming a lot more stunted as more and more stations shut down. So the drivers hunt further afield for a more expensive fuel. Not good for anyone’s health, except perhaps the driver with his £5 Beefeater voucher. Actually, not good for his health either.

So what’s the answer? Switch to a single-brand card issued by a retailer known for its cheap fuel? Not if you want to keep the toys in the pram (toys courtesy of a £2.50 Nectar voucher from Argos). And then you cut access to the cheapest fuel of the lot: the supermarkets.

The main difficulty I have is that the drivers just don’t care. And really, why should they? The fuel card to them is a magical piece of plastic, fully worth the grand most pay every year in free-fuel tax. Who I am to deny that happiness and freedom in a world otherwise groaning with motoring misery?

But I do want them to buy cheaper fuel, which is why I’m devising a competition. The driver who sticks most rigidly to my list of Insider-approved fuel stations gets a reward. Monthly and yearly. Monthly winners get use of a specially reserved parking space near the front entrance; annual winners get a bump in the company car allowance, but only if they take something ultra-frugal, like the Passat BlueMotion or one of those new diesel BMW 3s with the stop-start technology. I’ll keep an eye on mileage and economy, too, to make sure they’re not gulping down fuel to increase the cheap fills, or diverting 30 miles a day to Morrisons.

And I’ll call it Not Nectar, or No Ta for short. They’ll soon get the message. Rewards are sweeter from your fleet manager.