Service Provider

This is an area that, as a service provider should have been dealt with by us much earlier.

Better late than never, though. The following information will work whether you are dealing with the service on your bike, car, computer or lawn.

We now live in an age called “The Information Age”. This era began in the mid 80’s as America no longer had the edge in manufacturing and people had to do something to make a living. America’s economy transitioned from a “Manufacturing” based economy to a “Service” based economy. With this change came an increase in hours worked per person per year and less free time as shown by the decrease in vacation time used per year per person and the fact that only 9% of the “traditional” households today have a full- time stay at home member.

This necessitated the increased reliance on outside sources for many basic services such as lawn care, vehicle maintenance, basic household repairs and many other areas such as these.

This reliance on outside service providers necessitates an ability to have an effective communication relationship between the service provider and the service consumer.

In the vehicle service industry, be it cars, motorcycles, trucks, etc. the pool of talent available is decreasing. Combined with the physical demands, relatively lower pay and the social perception of a service technician, fewer people are entering the trade. The satisfaction of successfully solving mechanical problems coupled with the inherent interest in mechanical devices are some of the reasons for the technician’s continued work in the service field. With these decreasing numbers will come rising costs and reduced availability, and in some cases, compromised quality of the commodity known as service.

Most service providers are very quality conscious and strive to provide the best quality service product possible, and should be viewed as such. The increased technical complexity of the new vehicles (with all their cool accessories that will begin to fail) coupled with the constricted flow of information from the OEMs (manufacturers) and increasing load per technician will combine together to make it even more imperative that the relationship between technician and vehicle owner be effective.

The following are suggestions to make this communication more effective and less stressful.

1.) Know the year make and model of the device you are dealing with. A registration slip with the Vehicle Identification Number (V.I.N.) or a receipt with the serial number is invaluable here. Please also be aware of and make note of any modifications to the vehicle or unit, such as exhaust, PowerCommander, big bore kit, etc.

2.) Whenever possible write down the issues that you are concerned with and the conditions under which these issues occurred. This makes the diagnosis, servicing and repair procedure less of a guessing game. If we have to subject the unit to every possible combination of conditions and operating methods, a lot of time (and your money) can be spent learning nothing. Writing down your expectations and anticipated uses often helps you clarify them in your own mind and is tremendously helpful to the Service Representative.

3.) If there are time constraints that could affect the transaction, you need to let the Service Representative know. Departure dates of trips, other appointments, etc. need to be mentioned ahead of time to keep scheduling from becoming more of a challenge than necessary. Scheduling is always a potentially contentious area as we all want it back as soon as possible and by the same token, the provider wants to complete as many jobs as possible, and return the vehicle (or unit) to you.

4.) When it comes to pricing of the service you are purchasing or contemplating purchasing, don’t be like the Geico jerk whose dog is floating across the living room on a pillow while the plumbing is gushing. Value received per dollar spent is the true measure of a “good deal”. The ideal relationship is quality/value- driven, not price-driven. Our service techs are well-paid and very experienced. This allows a higher quality level of service to be offered to you, the consumer. The least experienced member of the service staff has been in the industry for 6 years, the longest term is held by the grey-haired one with glasses who has been at it for 34 years. The equipment used here, shown in other areas of the website, is state-of-the-art and as extensively outfitted as any service facility in the country.

5.) The arrival on our doorstep of Mail-Order or Internet-purchased products (especially tires) is not an anxiously-awaited occurrence for your service provider. Try going to a restaurant with your own steak to have them cook it and see how enthusiastically you are received. If you really have an overabundance of brass complain that it wasn’t done quite how you like it. Part of the price of a product is the service you have a right to expect as part of that purchase. Service, as we explained in part #4 above, costs money to provide. If the part is purchased elsewhere, your service provider will see that it is installed correctly. If that product doesn’t perform according to your expectations or there is a warranty issue with it, the responsibility of the service provider stopped with the installation of that item, and now you have to ask a phone sales person (often in India these days) your questions. When I am purchasing a system of parts I purchase them from the person I have the most confidence in to provide the answers I will need to make those parts work properly. It is rarely, if ever, the cheapest place I find that level of competence. While I don’t like being taken advantage of, I don’t mind paying what is asked very often because I can then call that person and I know I am going to get a better reception than if I beat him up for every dollar possible. I know for a fact that this approach has made the difference that is directly responsible for at least nine of our 24 National Championships. I consider that a very good investment.

If I have ranted on about this it is because I am passionate about the providing of excellent service and have been so all the way back to mowing lawns when I was 11 years old. I am extremely fortunate in that I am surrounded by people here that feel the same way. I also have a number of customers, quite a few I am able to say have been coming here for well over 20 years, which I feel speaks for itself.

Most of the guidelines and suggestions that you find here will work in any service-oriented environment irregardless of the item being dealt with. I hope you find them helpful and thank you for your time taken in reading them.