A job sheet in the pigeonhole, and a pick-up that moved
At five in the afternoon, the office prints tomorrow's job sheets and puts them in the drivers' pigeonholes. Each sheet has the customer, pick-up address and time, destination, return time, passenger numbers, contact number and some notes. At seven, the customer rings to move the pick-up from the church to the village hall because of a funeral. The duty person writes it in the diary and texts the driver, who is on another job and does not see the text.
In the morning, the driver goes to the church. The group is waiting at the village hall, three streets away, and the customer's first words are about the office not listening.
Paper sheets freeze the job at the moment of printing
Printing job sheets is a sensible habit from a time when that was the only option. The problem is that bookings keep changing after the sheets are printed, and the only link between the office and the driver is a phone call or a text.
- Sheets are printed the evening before and not reprinted after changes.
- Changes go by text or call, and the driver may be driving.
- Notes such as access for a coach, parking or a passenger's needs are handwritten or missing.
- Customer contact numbers on the sheet are sometimes the booker, not the person on the day.
- Finish times, mileage and extras (parking, waiting) are written on the sheet and handed back later, if at all.
Missed changes land on the driver
The driver is the face of your company. When they turn up at the wrong place or time because of a missed change, they take the complaint. Drivers also end up ringing the office for details that should have been on the sheet, from lay-bys and car parks.
In the office, the paper sheets that come back hold the information needed for invoicing: actual times, waiting, parking fees. When sheets are lost or incomplete, extras are not charged.
Job details on the driver's phone
We build a driver job view that is always current.
- Each driver sees their duties for the day on their phone, generated from the bookings and allocations, with vehicle, pick-ups, times, destination, return and passenger numbers.
- Notes that matter on the day are on the job: coach access and parking at each address, the contact on the day, passengers with mobility needs, luggage.
- Each address opens in the driver's navigation app, and the contact on the day can be called with one tap.
- When the office changes a job, the driver's phone shows an alert and the change is highlighted until the driver acknowledges it. The office sees whether it has been seen, and rings if not.
- At the end of the job, the driver records finish time, mileage, waiting time and any extras such as parking or tolls, with photos of receipts.
- Recorded details go back to the booking, ready for invoicing and job costing.
- A printable version remains available for drivers who want paper, and it is marked with the time it was printed.
| Job detail | Printed sheet | Driver's phone |
|---|---|---|
| Pick-up changed at 7pm | Text that may be missed | Alert, acknowledged, highlighted |
| Coach access notes | Handwritten if at all | On the job for each address |
| Contact on the day | Often the booker | Named contact, one tap to call |
| Actual times and extras | Written on sheet, handed in later | Recorded at the end of the job |
| Office knows driver has seen it | No | Yes |
The evening change, handled differently
The customer rings at seven to move the pick-up. The duty person updates the booking. The driver's phone shows the change, and he acknowledges it when he parks up after his evening job. In the morning he goes to the village hall. The office saw the acknowledgement at eight the night before, so nobody lay awake wondering.
When the job finishes, the driver records forty minutes of extra waiting and a car park fee. The invoice reflects them the next day, instead of a week later when the paper sheet surfaces.
Are job sheets letting drivers down?
- Job sheets are printed the evening before.
- Late changes reach drivers by text or not at all.
- Drivers ring the office for details that should be on the sheet.
- Waiting time and extras are not always charged.
- You do not know whether a driver has seen a change.