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Customer Service Evolution
How Keeping Up With The Service Needs of New Technologies Required The Creation Of A Resident Technician Program
Contracting Business
May 27, 1999
The vital role computer chips play in the daily operation of every industry, from technology to areas of manufacturing, has made it more important than ever to ensure their ability to function. While these chips are workhorses, they are still sensitive to their environment. As a result, many HVAC contractors are now faced with servicing industries for whom minutes of system downtime may cost millions in lost revenue.
Challenged by the rising demand for higher levels of service from its customers, Aircond Corporation developed its Resident Technician program. The program fulfills the needs of customers who cannot afford system downtime and require a higher level of service that can only be performed by a full time, on-site technician.
Is Your Company in Need of a Resident Technician Program?
For contractors who want to offer their customers the option of a resident technician, there are several factors to consider:
- Are your current or potential customers reliant on critical, temperature-sensitive equipment as a part of their day-to-day operations?
- Are you dispatching technicians to customers on a daily or weekly basis?
- Do you have any current customers that demand extremely fast response time?
- Do you have any customers that require more than 1200 hours of service labor per year?
Customer Service Benefits
Some of the benefits of having a Resident Technician in place are:
- Cost Savings -- We generally recommend a Resident Technician program to current or potential customers who forecast a need of at least 1200 hours of service per year. Once they reach this level, they will begin to recognize the cost savings from the potentially discounted rate scale that can be utilized with a Resident Technician agreement.
- "Smarter" Preventative Maintenance -- Having a Resident Technician on-site allows Aircond to maintain customer systems and proactively address issues before they become problems. In addition, by being on-site and focused on one facility, the technician can work smarter, forecasting labor and equipment needs and scheduling repair and maintenance work to avoid overtime and rush shipping charges.
- Familiarity -- By monitoring and working daily with the system, the Resident Technician is familiar with the system, building floor plans and service records. When problems arise, less time is needed for assessing the problem, which reduces system downtime.
- Immediate Availability -- When a technician is on-site, there is no time wasted traveling to the customer. The Resident Technician can immediately get the problem under control and then determine if a specialist is needed to remedy the problem. In addition, customers can speak directly about their concerns to their on-site technician, instead of picking up the phone and trying to describe the problem to someone unfamiliar with the facility. In addition, the customer does not have the inconvenience of tracking down their technician while he is on the road, and does not have to wait for the technician's response call.
- Peace of Mind -- Resident technicians often become key members of a customer's team and build lasting relationships with them. The Resident Technician establishes a level of trust with quality service and customer satisfaction that generates an invaluable asset for the customer -- peace of mind.
No Two are the Same
While you may find two customers with similar facilities and systems, it is rare that they will have the same service needs. With this in mind, we start every customer proposal from scratch and make no rules about how a Resident Technician program must be structured. We work with our customers to determine what their needs are and consider variables such as the number of days per week they will need the technician, the level of experience of the technician and the service responsibilities of the technician.
Many of our customers have asked us to take on additional responsibilities, such as maintaining Uninterrupted Power Source (UPS), plumbing and electrical systems, and have partnered with us to train our Resident Technicians. Other customers request that our technicians manage their employees who maintain other building services. Overall, the key to a successful Resident Technician program is that it must be a partnership between you and your customer with the goal of meeting their service needs.
Program Costs
Building a Resident Technician program does not require any significant expenditures, only the dedication to look for creative solutions for providing customer service. Aircond has a six-year training program in place for all of its technicians, so we are able to utilize that along with supplementary third-party training, to educate our Resident Technicians. The type and amount of training depend on the customer and facility requirements. Other additional costs include recruiting new technicians and marketing the program to new and existing customers.
The costs of running a Resident Technician program are usually similar to providing traditional preventative maintenance service. Customers pay less overall for technician time due to the fact that there are less overhead costs associated with this service. Reduced costs include: travel, vehicle, dispatching, and support costs. Even with lower hourly selling rates, the Contractor can maintain profitability due to the reduced costs associated with this type of service. Currently our Resident Technicians are supported in the field by the same staff that supports all of our other technicians. However, with the growth of the program, we are considering restructuring our staff to have a separate team to support the Resident Technicians.
Staffing Challenges
The biggest challenge we continue to face in expanding our Resident Technician program is one shared by many in our industry -- staffing. While it is a constant challenge to recruit and train qualified technicians for traditional HVAC positions, the Resident Technician program has an additional obstacle. We often find that many of the technicians we employ or recruit have joined the industry because they enjoy working with many different customers and are reluctant to work in just one location. Also, based on the amount of time they spend with the customers, these technicians must have excellent customer relations skills and be able to "fit in" at their workplace. To help assure that both the customer and the technician are comfortable with the assignment, the customers often interview the technicians before they are assigned to the location.
Continued Growth and Change
As we move forward with our Resident Technician program, many of our customers are looking to us to provide more solutions. One option we are considering is providing technical service coordinators -- technicians who can do more than just HVAC. These technicians would serve as the "first line of defense" for any facility problems including plumbing, electrical, UPS, and generators, as well as HVAC. They would be able to assess problems and immediately make a skilled determination of additional service needs. This has worked for our customers because many HVAC technicians are technically skilled in many different service disciplines.
The Resident Technician program at Aircond evolved out of necessity -- customer needs demanded an increased level of service that could only be provided by an on-site technician. As a result, this focus on customer service has made us flexible in developing the best, and sometimes unique, solution for each customer. While your customers may not need a Resident Technician, if you focus on understanding their particular needs and are open to developing the best methods for providing them service, you are certain to have them as a customer for years to come.
Alan Barnes Jr. is Chief Operating Officer for Aircond. He has graduate and post-graduate degrees from Furman University and the Georgia Institute of Technology, and is a member of ASHRAE and the Air Conditioning Contractors of America. A third-generation HVAC provider, Aircond was founded in 1937 by Lewis Barnes. The company now serves areas of Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Alabama. Alan Barnes Jr. can be reached at (770) 444-3355 or by Email.
