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There's Always Room To Be BetterBy Jack PhelanIt's not enough to sell the best lift truck or system design, to build and install the best possible system, or even to offer lift trucks and systems that meet the customer expectations. This may sound strange since that's our business, but let's take a closer look. As you know, each year manufacturers in the material handling industry name the “Best of the Best” dealers. MHEDA members consistently take 70 percent or more of the honors. In my estimation, that's no accident. This means that by at least one very high standard, a high proportion of our MHEDA members are among the “Best of the Best.” It also means that when we associate with the Best of the Best, we raise our own chances of becoming even better. If anyone is looking for a valid reason to belong to our association, this is it! Our objective is to take our industry and our members to the next level. As a friend of mine says, “There's always room to be better.” That's why it's no accident that service and customer service are such high priorities for MHEDA. They're the themes of a host of our training programs and live seminars, and the reason why we take networking so seriously. There's always room to be better. Being the Best of the BestWhen you think about it, selling a great lift truck or designing, building and installing the right system isn't enough to be truly the best of the best. What the customer remembers is how that lift truck or system performs over time. Simply put, the customer's judgment is based on the system's continued performance. When orders aren't being filled, product is piling up and employees are idle, that's when judgments are made about what we have provided. That's when we win or lose with the customer. Raising the bar and taking service to the next level is the critical component of being the Best of the Best. Based on my experience, this isn't just a matter of “quick response,” even though that's important. It isn't just having the best-trained and most-competent service technicians, although that's essential. The measure of best of the best service is minimizing down time. Instead of responding to a service problem, the goal should be to avoid having it occur. Putting out fires is not nearly as valuable as not having them start. This is why offering a Planned Maintenance program is so critical. We know how to avoid breakdowns and lost time occurrences. We know the value of regular system inspections and maintenance records. We also know the importance of taking the temperature of motors and reducers. Simply making sure we have an inventory of basic parts is in itself an enormous benefit to customers. We also know what happens when a lift truck or conveyor is used improperly. We certainly know what a difference training a customer's personnel in the proper use of equipment can make. We know that. Does your customer? I know that a Planned Maintenance program isn't always the easiest sale. The best approach is showing the customer the ROI—the true cost of idle employees, overtime, extra shipping charges to meet deadlines, damaged product and emergency service versus a Planned Maintenance agreement.
Planned Maintenance programs are not only right because they benefit our customers. They are right because they are key to continued customer satisfaction. Keep this in mind: without Planned Maintenance agreements, we place future customer relationships at risk.
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