When you urgently need something from storage, there’s little worse than a storage system that doesn’t work. Especially, when there’s a problem with a moving piece that makes it impossible for a hospital to access its medical supplies or a manufacturer to get a necessary piece to keep the production line up and running. Concluding our series of blogs outlining Patterson Pope’s process, let’s consider the importance of prompt and effective service to get you back on track quickly.
Heading up Patterson Pope’s Equipment and Customer Service departments, Kelly Beynon has a lot of experience keeping customers’ storage solutions operating at 100 percent. She’s actually been in the business for 28 years, having worked as service manager also at Southern Business Systems before the 2013 merger with Patterson Pope.
“Service success rests on a thorough, effective process communicated companywide,” Beynon said. With Patterson Pope’s growth over the past decade a number of different processes for servicing customer needs required integration. Today, Beynon can say with confidence that the comprehensive system is in place to coordinate service calls, preventive maintenance and address any customer concerns about their installs.
Centralized Service Empowers Customer
Patterson Pope’s service offerings are centralized in Atlanta where Beynon and Mike Eden field all calls from the 1-888-852-7339 service number. Where in the past customers might have called their local office, their sales rep or not known who to call, all installers know to put information about the Service Line in a visible place on the storage solutions.
The centralization helps keep customers from “bouncing around to everybody” and avoids “their service call getting lost” or the customer not hearing back. Service calls don’t fall through the cracks. Additionally, the service team is able to track the preventive maintenance needs of customers with service contracts.
“That’s very important,” Beynon said, acknowledging that a customer wants “to see somebody, so you know that you’re getting what you paid for.”
Of course, not every customer pays for the service contract, preferring to stick with the manufacturer warranty on the products installed. Still, Beynon is a big proponent of all the contracts offered.
A service contract means the customer doesn’t have to take their chances with billable time and materials. Instead they pay a set annual fee they can budget around. Additionally, those with service contracts enjoy:
- Preventive maintenance to keep machines running throughout the year, which can prevent issues and save down time later
- Unlimited emergency calls during Patterson Pope’s normal business hours
- Discounted parts
- Discounts on service to move the equipment
- Increased higher trade-in or resale value down the road.
Customers spend a lot of money on their equipment. The service contract offers peace of mind that they’re protecting their investment, she said.
Service Commitment to All Customers
Nevertheless, Patterson Pope promises good response times to all its customers. “The best installers in the industry work for Patterson Pope,” said Beynon. “I get very, very few unhappy customer calls.”
In 95% of cases, Beynon is able to send out a service tech that same day. It helps that she is pulling from a pool of 30-40 installers throughout Patterson Pope’s 18 offices in nine states. “I can’t even get my copier repair guy in that quick,” she said.
Of course response time can vary depending on demand and priorities too. For instance, a hospital with a prescriptions carousel that won’t turn could be considered to be more urgent than a law library having difficulty with its high-density mobile storage carriages.
Yet, ultimately, Beynon says there’s “nothing that we couldn’t figure out.” Sometimes the issue can even be resolved with the first call to the service number and Eden asking troubleshooting questions to offer solutions that don’t even require a service call.
The entire Patterson Pope process prioritizes the customer. Getting to know your needs, planning the most efficient and affordable solution and ensuring smooth installation without you having to lift a finger and making sure that every part of the solution is running smoothly involves a motivated team of experts. Find out more about the customized solutions that suit your industry today.
