Idiot Company of the day

[Steph]

http://road.cc/content/news/178644-jm-clark-ltd-threaten-legal-action-over-helmet-cam-footage-after-driver-filmed

[Pete Owens]

I'm not sure so idiotic. Spot a video featuring your your company, ramp up a bit of online outrage by issuing a mock legal threat and generate oodles of free publicity for your company.

[teethgrinder]

“We cannot accept responsibility for any self drive hire operators in terms of how they proceed to drive our vehicles.”

Tells me all I need to know.

[jsabine]

“We cannot accept responsibility for any self drive hire operators in terms of how they proceed to drive our vehicles.”

Tells me all I need to know.

They might have phrased it a bit more diplomatically (or just not pointed it out at all), but they're right in any meaningful way. If I rent a car and drive like a loon, Hertz or Avis can't be expected to bear any responsibility for it.

Sure, they can decline my booking if I've got too many points or convictions, and they can refuse repeat business if they find out what I've been up to, but they can't do an awful lot else.

[teethgrinder]

So they have no idea who is driving their vehicles and have no way of finding out? I find that hard to believe, considering they are paying them money to drive their vehicles.
Or is it that they think it acceptable for them to be driven that way?

If they don't like their name being tarnished then they should get their act together. They're chosing to defend criminals instead.

FE

[Jaded]

These are not cars.  To compare them to Hertz rentals is blx.

[jsabine]

So they have no idea who is driving their vehicles and have no way of finding out? I find that hard to believe, considering they are paying them money to drive their vehicles.
Or is it that they think it acceptable for them to be driven that way?

If they don't like their name being tarnished then they should get their act together. They're chosing to defend criminals instead.

FE

They know who's renting the vehicle; they don't have any effective way of controlling the driver behaviour before or as it occurs; their only sanction is to refuse another rental.

These are not cars.  To compare them to Hertz rentals is blx.

Er, why?

[Jaded]

Because it is. 

[jsabine]

Whatevs

[Jaded]

Declining future rentals for such a specialist vehicle is a reasonable sanction.

Last time I looked there weren't many Road Sweeper Hire Companies in my locality. There are, however (maybe surprisingly), a number of car hire establishments.

[jsabine]

Declining future rentals for such a specialist vehicle is a reasonable sanction.

Yes, but I imagine how effective it is will depend on the dynamics of the market. I guess that very few of these are hired to individuals: most of the rentals will be to businesses, and I suspect that many of them will use agency drivers rather than having their own staff.

"You drove it badly so we won't rent to you again" becomes hard to sustain if the response is "We're sorry - it was an agency driver who we hadn't used before, and we won't use again."

[Jaded]

A market where a major part of your marketing is your name emblazoned on the side of your lovely vehicles. Hmmm.