Skip to main content

is factory service better?


Often times we find ourselves competing against perception, and we all know that our customer's perception is our reality. Do you find it frustrating when faced with competing against OEM-based service? For some reason there is a belief that the OEM, or the manufacturer of the equipment, has the "inside" edge regarding service on a particular piece of equipment. In some cases when the manufacturer has controlled the ability for anyone to purchase materials this is indeed a distinctive advantage for the OEM (not to mention a BS move). However, savvy customers are now refusing to put up with this type of "lock up" process which restricts them to only use manufacture-based service folks.  Now don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with OEM-based service people. During my second decade in the service business I worked for a manufacture in Texas. We manufactured pump stations for oil and gas, chemical, offshore, golf and ski. I was brought in to help them configure a service network of subcontractors to commission and maintain these large pieces of equipment and skid assemblies.  More times than not the flow of relevant information was coming from the field to the manufacturing process and not the other way around.



When you are an agnostic service provider, working on anybody's equipment, you gain a broad perspective. In order to learn you must make mistakes. Repetitive mistakes on the same equipment simply limits your learning opportunity. There is more to it than that, often manufactures are constrained in ways to present all of the information to other service organizations. These constraints are often outside of the control of the service arm yet can impact you as a non-OEM service representative. Ways exist to get around this conundrum, get certified with the manufacture and be a representative (watch out for getting flat rated) , join an OEM service crew (we see this from time to time as technicians and mechanics work for an OEM and then go back to agnostic service organizations). The reality is that superior service is tied to the individual and the organization. If you continue to do the right thing for your customers, regardless of whether you are an OEM or not, you will provide high value for clients and yourself alike.



-----

Next post:  technical service crew mix

-----
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

why transform?

Why do I want to change, who said anything was wrong with my stack of papers and sea of Excel files?   We solve problems, that is a key characteristic of any successful service organization, if it isn't broke why fix it?   Often, when discussing a transformation from paper or cobbled together systems to a cohesive digital approach, folks struggle with the gap between what they currently do and how digital tools can help.   You really need to look at where the pain points are in your organization and how these compare to your business objectives.   Consider writing down these points on the whiteboard in no particular order, spend a few days shuffling and consolidating into a prioritized list.   Once you have the "why" and the "what" identified, the old remaining step is "how".   Some of the most popular observations over the years have been; Slipping through the cracks :   you know, not the major muscle movements, instead those little i...
Post a Comment
Read more

entusiastic about preventative maintenance

Why do I really care if my field technicians are enthusiastic or not? When you look at a person's work output, as directly related to workforce sciences, you come up with three primary ingredients required to achieve your desired results.   These ingredients are; attitudes, attributes, and capabilities and when mixed properly with enabling tools can yield unbelievable outputs. So what does any of this have to do with routine maintenance? If your maintenance routines actually become way too routine then pretty soon performance will be replaced with complacency. In order to keep any piece of equipment running as trouble-free as possible the maintenance performed, and the thoroughness of the inspection and tasks at hand, have a direct impact on the asset's life expectancy.   There are some strategies that help service organizations keep the enthusiasm at all-time highs. Switch techs from time to time :   One of the best ways to ensure maintenance is being performed...
Post a Comment
Read more

expert at everything...not a problem

Well... I would say sometimes there certainly is a perceived notion that one person is an expert at everything. For the worker "everything" may be defined as the specific area in which you were hired or are constantly scheduled. Our opinions are frequently influenced off of past experience, or information we've received from their coworkers. Unfortunately this only gives us partial insight to that workers expertise and often is limited to their most recent history. Narrowly focused accounting is made of the skills that this individual possess. Come on, can't we figure out a way to leverage all of the skills of a particular worker? One of the challenges has always been that relationship between the activities which need to be accomplished and the myriad skills of individuals within your workforce. In addition, even if you could inventory and get a pretty good handle on the skill sets, they are constantly changing (with any luck) and thus the ineffective process of ...
Post a Comment
Read more