GE industry experts answer questions

Ask the Expert question: Why is there an increased emphasis being placed on Driver Identification when it comes to renting trailers?

Alex Malcolm, Branch Operations Manager in Denver CO, answers: We continue to hear about the ever-increasing need for security in many industries around the globe. The events of September 11th brought a sharp focus for vigilance that is reflected in many aspects of our daily lives - both at work and at home. Security is much tighter at airports, metal detectors have been installed in many more public buildings and closed circuit cameras monitor the movements of traffic and people.

At our Trailer Fleet Services locations we have increased the level of security in a number of ways, including identification badges for our employees and the creation of policies regarding driver identification when renting trailers to our customers.

While the identification of employees, vendors, and customers is of great importance, it is the latter which has a much greater potential for enormous negative ramifications should we as a company and as individual employees fail to do our duty in protecting the public, our customers and ourselves. The Oklahoma City bombing of 1995, it should be remembered, involved a rental truck.

At GE, we need to ensure to the best of our ability that we "Know Our Customer". This goes far beyond knowing our customers from a sales perspective, and assisting in a particular customer's success through partnering with GE.

Speed is critical for our customers - GE's automated systems make the authorization process quick and painless. Every GE employee has a duty to protect customers interests, as well as our own, and that of the public. We need to verify whether a reservation requested by a customer is a valid request from a known individual employed with that company. If the request comes from someone other than those with whom we are familiar, we need to verify the request by calling the customer at a known telephone number. When the customer's driver arrives at the branch, we need to ensure the driver has a valid commercial driver's license, that the photo on the license is actually that of the person presenting the license, and maintain a copy of the license on file as well as ensuring the name on the license does not appear on the Homeland Security tracking list.

By following these simple steps, we observe our commitment to national security, protect the reputation of GE and preserve our relationship with a valued customer by ensuring no one takes false or unlawful advantage of their partnership with Trailer Fleet Services. Security is everybody's business, and everyone needs to maintain a vigilant and pro-active role.