Skip to main content

months to aquire, moments to lose


It is just hard to imagine that one of the most common reasons maintenance contracts are lost is because people don't show up and don't pay attention to the details.  In many cases maintenance is an investment to keep the life of your asset running for a protracted period of time. However the length on many maintenance contracts is not even close to the life expectancy of that equipment, so if you don't really have any idea what maintenance is being performed then how do you really know if it's being done to your specification? Thus, it really boils down to business elements, assuming that you are actually performing the work, our focus needs to be on how you are differentiated.



Let's take a look at a couple of the most common business-related reasons why people lose maintenance contracts.

  1. Not showing up; managing contracts can be complicated between the sites, number of assets, and the frequencies at which items need to be maintained, can all add up to a scheduling nightmare.  Even if everything is firing on all cylinders a problem can still exist related to unscheduled activity deferring scheduled activity depending upon the depth of your workforce. There is light at the end of this tunnel, with the cost dropping significantly on IoT, we will see the time in the not so distant future when the equipment is dictating its maintenance schedule. The challenge of course will be interpreting this information and making it as effective a process as possible.
  2. The second most common reason for losing maintenance contracts is really wrapped around all of the little things. To mention a few examples; make sure that you see Sally when you arrive, don't park in front of the building, we can only maintain this equipment and a.m. hours. While these little idiosyncrasies of a site or a client seem insignificant by themselves when they are grouped together they can create the perception with the client that you just don't care.  Competitively priced markets raise the mark and you should be aware of everything that makes that client happy and strive to satisfy even the littlest of requests.  Imagine alerting a worker via GPS when they arrive on-site of these idiosyncrasies.



So in many instances, losing a maintenance contract has little to do with the way that you are performing maintenance, instead it has to do with the way that you are approaching and managing your business. Paying closer attention to the details and leveraging emerging technologies you should be a master at retaining the lifeblood of any service business.



-----

Next post:  where is customer service?

-----

Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

resilience, do you believe?

Seeking out the closest spot to the door of the office was not a common practice; however, at 07:00 on August 24th, 2022 the temperature was already 96' and 98% humidity.   The building would have a hell of a time keeping up today, rolling black-outs and brown-outs would be inevitable.   It likely won't be an outright equipment shut-down, instead we will have to endure the impending "brown-out" conditions, a slow, low voltage and high amperage stressing of our electrical infrastructure and connected systems. Our deliberate and continuous leverage of Industrial IoT (IIoT) technology and the companion AI prescriptive models have positioned us well. It had to be around the year 2018 when we invested in IIoT.   Heck, most were comparing our endeavors to the "Nest" thermostat, a pioneer (yet very fundamental) entrée into home-based IoT.   Naysayers were laughing that we would never see the benefits; however, our fragile National infrastructure and Mothe...
Post a Comment
Read more

is your "score", you?

Avid Andy begins to wonder if he may be schizophrenic.   Or could it be a sign of true genius when he can see a problem from all sides? Andy was reflecting on a service meeting that happened last week.   Conversation was around our ability to objectively measure things and make better decisions. At the center of almost any measurement environment are the fundamentals of math. To determine priority or influence, it seems logical when dealing with inanimate objects like sensors, assets, and sites in a portfolio to move towards "point-based systems". The real dilemma for Andy seemed to comes when we begin scoring humans and letting pre-determined algorithms establish an individuals path. Our service meeting quickly changed from tactical to philosophical discussions and one of the technicians, Pragmatic Paul, made mention of a black mirror program (Netflix) named "Nosedive".    In this futuristic episode, an individuals score dictates their behavior and those ...
Post a Comment
Read more

In$pired

As the steam from Avid Andy's coffee fogged his glasses on this crisp January morning, he reflected on last year and thought enthusiastically about the year ahead.   Sometimes the noise of business is deafening, we rarely take the time to contemplate our moves, instead are often thrown one direction or another.   Hey, face it, if you are reading posts to gain perspective you fall in the group of folks who pride themselves as obsequious hoop-jumpers.   We live to help others and expect that all of those around us feel the same way.   I just love Influential Irene.   Okay, it is out in the open, she is an inspiration for me and so many others.   Irene reminds folks every year, without fail, these three statements which she fondly refers to as "the punchline" (although this is no joke).   Businesses, of any size, will be successful if they remember that it is people that make a company.   Put this advice into practice, today: Sincerity |...
Post a Comment
Read more