What if You Could Ride Along With Each of Your Staff Every Minute of the Day?

By Drew Sheahan, Virtual Fleet Supervisor, www.virtualfleetsupervisor.com

   

Well, with the technology being offered today... you essentially can!  With your employees and your vehicles being two of your largest investments, making sure that each of them is exactly where they are supposed to be at all times is critical.  In the past, you simply had to "trust" that your technicians and salespeople were doing exactly what they were supposed to be.  And let's be honest.... most of them knew this, so taking the additional break, arriving late at a customer's home or finishing their day a bit earlier than what they wrote down on the timesheet was basically just a "cost of doing business" for you.  Not Anymore.

Not only can GPS Fleet Tracking eliminate these issues, but it can also help you to track idle times, speeding and unauthorized usage periods; for instance, during the weekends if your employees are allowed to take the company vehicles home with them.  What this information provides is a decrease in fuel bills, vehicle wear/tear and your overall liability.

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Cost Compression, Third Party Contracts, and the Efficiency Imperative

By David Borsani, Complete Appliance Repair, Inc.

 

     

The service world continues to be dogged by the disease of price compression of new products on the retail side and cost increases on the service side. In general, new appliances cost less and offer many more features than five years ago. The value added to the customer is very positive, even if the quality of what they are buying is suspect. If anyone is paying less for gas today, paying lower wages to their technicians, paying less for a truck or for parts than they were last year, I would like to know your secret.

One foreign major appliance company had such disregard for opposition they sent out contract addendums to service companies without as much as a phone call. I made numerous phone calls to discuss the issue and never received a single phone call from any of the powers that be to explain why my company was expected to service an over-the-counter microwave for $90.00. Many of these repairs require two trips and the removal and reinstallation of the unit. We are expected to do this repair for $90.00 and thank them for the opportunity to lose money on the call. Not!  

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Coming this fall, USA partners with Mega Group USA, Mr. Appliance, NEW and a local parts distributor in six regional cities to bring technical and business management training to a city near you. We've taken the format of the successful national four-day ASTI program and condensed it into a comprehensive Friday and Saturday program. Each event will have up to four OEM training sessions, one business management session and include an  open roundtable discussion on current challenges.  Registrants will be able to attend all 6 sessions. Event registration is only $99 per person and includes 5 meals, course materials and a first year membership in USA. RSM's require a shorter time commitment and are easy to travel to. 

Click on the city nearest you for details and registration.

Seattle, WA - October 7 & 8                      St. Louis, MO - October 7 & 8

Columbus, OH - October 21 & 22              Dallas. TX - October 21 & 22

Albany, NY - November 4 & 5                    Atlanta, GA - November 4 & 5

  

A really great 2012 ASTI convention is being planned for February 15-18 in San Antonio. At the 2011 ASTI, there were over 85 hours of technical training and 40 plus hours of business management training. We want to keep the ASTI curriculum fresh, relevant and targeted to your appliance service business and are asking for your ideas. 

We know you come upon problems every day in your business. You can be sure that you're not the only one grappling with those issues. Just let us know what the 2012 ASTI can do to make your business run smoother and more successful. No idea is too big or too small!

If there is a topic, area of interest or a suggestion for a class you'd like to see at the 2012 ASTI, let us know. Just click the link below to take the short survey. All respondents to the survey will be entered in a drawing for a free 2012 ASTI registration. Thats a $399 value. Good Luck!

A really great 2012 ASTI convention is being planned for February 15-18 in San Antonio. At the 2011 ASTI, there were over 85 hours of technical training and 40 plus hours of business management training. We want to keep the ASTI curriculum fresh, relevant and targeted to your appliance service business and are asking for your ideas.

We know you come upon problems every day in your business. You can be sure that you're not the only one grappling with those issues. Just let us know what the 2012 ASTI can do to make your business run smoother and more successful. No idea is too big or too small!

If there is a topic, area of interest or a suggestion for a class you'd like to see at the 2012 ASTI, let us know. Just click the link below to take the short survey. All respondents to the survey will be entered in a drawing for a free 2012 ASTI registration. That's a $399 value. Good Luck! 

Click here to begin survey