When "Facts don't add up" , when it stinks... let the business go!
Welcome! It's been a long time since I blogged.
Building a relationship is of primary importance in business. Relationships are the lifeblood of our business. We get referrals commensurate to the level of service we provide. You give good service, you get referrals.
We sometimes get challenges where you detect that something isn't quite right. We had a number of cases in 2022, where we had to let go of business because the referral(s) were not too keen to fulfill the Know Your Customer ("KYC") requirements. Another Insurance Agent or Company will take the business, no-questions-asked and you wonder.
Case 1: Mystery of the "Forgotten" Logbook
I got a referral from a client and hit a stone wall when the "prospect" claims not to have a copy of a motor vehicle logbook and claims not to know, or remember, to put it mildly, in whose name it was registered. Of course you guide the prospect on how to get a copy from the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA). It's not difficult. The catch was the prospect instructed my client to have our agency conduct this search and copy retrieval on his behalf.
Alarm bells go off!
How do you want us to access "your" NTSA portal??? By this time, we decided to find out more in order to see whether the prospect, who's been out of the country for a few years, was misguided on supposed "difficulty" in the process.
Then the trail went cold when the prospect stopped taking calls.
Case 2: Mystery of the "Undocumented Engine"
We meet transporters who share stories and at times seek advise. The transport business is not for the faint-hearted. Drivers, mechanics and brokers are out to milk your slim returns. Lets imagine we have a client in Mlolongo, a major transporters hub on the outskirts of Nairobi and Machakos, Kenya, with all types of trucks and spares being sold. The onset of the Covid pandemic and loss of cargo business to the Standard Gauge Railway ("SGR") resulted in many bankrupties. The result is that many truck were sold at throw-away prices and cut-up as spares. Yards are littered with a display of prime mover bodies and chassis. It's like walking through a graveyard of heartbreaks. Nevertheless, business seems to be picking up in 2023 with increased road freight cargo.
My client suspected that his mechanic had decided to "make-him-lunch", "muthokoi"! Muthokoi is delicacy in the Kamba nation comprising dehulled maize and beans, fried with vegetables and salad.
A bad driver had caused the breakage of the crankshaft. For a crankshaft to break, the driver must have overloaded the truck on the rough roads, a lagga as it was described. Frankly, drivers are the number one cause of failure of transport businesses.
The transporter was presented with a proposal to but what is called a "half-engine": meaning the lower part of the engine but, excluding the cylinder heads and injector pump. Alternatively, it was recommended he buy another full engine and keep the excess parts as valuable spares.
We advised the client to get a copy of the logbook from the previous truck owner to enable him register the necessary changes of the logbook details.
Alarm Bells go off when the broker declares that "No logbook was available"! Surprise, surprise!!! Shouldn't a used engine or chassis dealer have documentation. When you're desparate, indiscent proposals may intice you. Cheaper options... Just let it go!
The client is still looking for a solution but he didn't loose money.
Source: https://tims.ntsa.go.ke/login_csp.jsp
You don't have to lose money and have sleepless nights! Please conduct your due diligence even when under pressure. Click on the image above if you need to do a search on the NTSA website, hassle free!
