SunSkips handles traffic complaint, then meets famous owner

Moving fully loaded skips in Cambridge requires a good balance of highly-trained drivers, sophisticated safety technology and top-quality vehicles.

But unfortunately, accidents happen, and when they do, there’s a right and wrong way to handle the situation.

Earlier this year, one SunSkips team member took a unique approach to addressing an incident that left a parked car needing bodywork – and became part of a valuable lesson on crisis management in the process…

Car trouble

Back in March, a Cambridge resident opened her front door and headed out on what seemed like a normal day. But when she got to her car, she was shocked to find the entire side of it had been scraped by a larger vehicle.

The woman called her daughter, who happens to be a police officer, for help, but she learned that without any evidence to point to a suspect, the police would unlikely turn anything up.

With no help from the law, the desperate car owner decided to conduct her own investigation and started asking neighbours if they’d seen anything. No luck.

The woman stared at the damage to her car with worst case scenarios of the impending bill swirling round her head. It was then that she spotted something…

Deep in the dents and scratches, the woman noticed flecks of orange paint.

Armed with the tiny scrap of evidence, the woman returned to her neighbours to see if anyone had seen an orange vehicle that might have caused the damage – and it was then that she discovered the security camera footage.

The video revealed a SunSkips lorry had passed through the street around the time of the incident.

But because it didn’t capture the lorry making contact with the car, the woman assumed getting the police involved wouldn’t get her anywhere, so she took matters into her own hands and called SunSkips directly…

Nervous as to how the conversation was going to go, the woman prepared what she was going to say and was connected with the company’s group transport manager, Joe Neill.

What happened next led to the woman firing off an email to the managing director…

Taking responsibility

The woman in question was Helen Morris Brown, a renowned management trainer, consultant and speaker who specialises in helping businesses deal with crises just like the one she was facing.

“I didn’t have solid evidence and I was apprehensive about approaching them because I was expecting to have to fight,” Helen explained. “But within about five minutes, Joe had put those fears to rest.”

“From the first moment I spoke to him, he was switched on to receive information. He wasn’t trying to justify anything, he just listened, which is so rare.

“In situations like this, all you want is for someone to hear what you’re saying. I got the impression that it comes naturally to him. He definitely put himself in my shoes and considered how it would be feeling for me.”

After listening to Helen’s story, Joe got in his car and headed out to meet with the Cambridge resident, who happens to have a popular TedX talk on the psychology of communicating effectively.

“She’d been dealt a rough hand, so I wanted to put a name to a face,” said Joe. 

When he got back to the office, Joe promptly checked the cameras and GPS on the truck and found that a SunSkips lorry had indeed been on Helen’s road around the time the damage was caused.

“From that point on, Joe did everything he said he was going to do,” said Helen. “I trusted him quite quickly. At no point was I stressed or wondering what was going to happen next.

“I didn’t feel at any point that he was doing it to pay lip service. It was all quite genuine.”

Joe gave Helen constant updates. He looped her in with the body shop and made sure everything was being resolved to her satisfaction. But according to the transport manager, this is all just part of the job.

He explained, “We send big lorries into small areas, so unfortunately, things happen sometimes. In this case, we were given an opportunity to put it right. If it’s clear you’re in the wrong, you’ve simply got to do the right thing.

“I had no idea who Helen was. But why should anyone have to suffer when you’re responsible? If that was my wife’s car, I wouldn’t want her having to battle a company to come clean. I wouldn’t say it was anything out of the ordinary, I handled the situation in the way you should.”

SunSkips: A shining example

Helen – who has worked with the likes of BP, Honda, the Home Office, London Fire Brigade and a number of NHS trusts – was so happy with how Joe resolved the issue that she wanted to make sure SunSkips managing director Mathew Stewart knew how well the situation had been handled.

She wrote to him in an email, “Joe was professional, courteous and kind from start to finish. 

“Once he had clear-cut evidence of your truck making contact with my car, he took responsibility, apologised and made sure my car was booked in for repair as soon as it was practical to do so. His response and attitude was first-rate.

“Despite this starting with a problem, I feel great about your business. I’ll be recommending you to anyone who asks where to get a skip from. If I ever need a skip, I’ll be coming to you.”

Helen claims that the way Joe handled the situation was so impressive, that she has written the case study into her business presentations as a lesson in making people feel listened to, understood and cared for.

Joe added, “We could have come away from that situation with a stain on our reputation, but instead Helen is actually saying she would recommend SunSkips to anyone.”

SunSkips managers like Joe go to great lengths to ensure the safety of their team and the public. When mistakes happen, we think it’s important to communicate with integrity and make amends. To learn more about Helen’s work as a communication expert, visit her website at www.helenmorrisbrown.com