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Workhorse Continues to Improve Service and Parts Businesses
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UNION CITY, Ind. " Workhorse Custom Chassis took another step in the evolution of its service and parts businesses recently when it graduated the first service technician from its new Master Technician Certification Program.
Adam Mollman is the first to complete each of the core-offered Workhorse master certified training courses on motor home chassis care. Master certification is the highest level of certification offered by Workhorse. This means that RV service is being pushed to a new level of quality, making more in-depth chassis expertise available to RVers. Workhorse also offers several elective courses in a wide variety of technical areas.
Mollman is rightfully proud of his certification and not just because he was the first. "It sets me apart. It sets my company apart," said Mollman. "People know that when they pull into our parking lot that we are striving to be as professional as we can be." Mollman is a service technician at Hanser's Automotive in Billings, Mont.
Since its inception in 1999, Workhorse, which considers itself the customer advocate to the RV industry, has made it a priority to give owners of coaches built on Workhorse platforms outstanding chassis service. "Providing world-class service is an ongoing project," says Alan Stegich, national service director for Workhorse. "Having the right parts, having the right tools and having trained technicians are all things that RVers expect from a service center."
"Customers have definite expectations when it comes to service. They want quality, convenience, proper treatment and a fair price," says Stegich. "We know from customer response that simply finding the problem and fixing it on time is not all there is to great customer service."
"People live in their motor homes while traveling, or all of the time if they are full-timers. This means the service technician is essentially inspecting, working and entering their home to handle their concerns," said Stegich. "It's important that we teach service center technicians to realize this and respond accordingly."
"You haven't just made the steering wheel of their car dirty " you've made the steering wheel of their home dirty," said Chrisopher Ekin, Workhorse manager of training and service publications. "Today's motor home owners are looking for a whole new level of service."
"We know from talking with RVers that when they find a service center that treats them well and does timely service work correctly, they tell their friends around the campfire and at RV rallies," said Ekin. "It's almost a cult following with some of them. It's not uncommon for RVers to plan service during the middle of a trip if they know of a reputable shop."
Workhorse constantly works to improve the level of RV service. Each year, Workhorse expands its course offerings to give the technicians more training options and to keep up with the expanding Workhorse product line. Workhorse also continues to make training more easily accessible for technicians.
For instance, this past December the company forged a relationship with Texas State Technical College in Waco to offer service technician training. Workhorse now has six such sites across the country.
Workhorse also makes service training available on the Internet with its "Workhorse on the Web" program and offers convenient mobile training courses that will travel to interested dealerships at remote locations across the U.S. and Canada. "It's important we have a high level of skill in our service technicians. We now have more than 100,000 coaches on the road on Workhorse chassis and we have an obligation to keep those RVers happy," said Stegich.
Workhorse continues to develop its nationwide network of service centers, which include a number of one-stop (chassis and coach) facilities. During the 2005-06 training year, Workhorse provided training to nearly 500 RV and commercial dealerships and about 1,500 technicians.
Parts Service Important
Among other things, the availability of parts plays a major role in customer satisfaction. Adam Schuler, RV marketing manager for Workhorse Parts, knows that nothing frustrates an RVer more than having to wait while a part is on order.
"We have two warehouse distribution centers " one in Reno, Nev., and the other in West Chicago, Ill., " each staffed by experienced parts interpreters that help our customers determine what parts they need and locate hard-to-find parts. Having two warehouses also ensures that parts are in stock and ship in a timely fashion to anywhere in the country, said Schuler. "This increases vehicle uptime and means the right part is used for each job."
Another facet of the parts business is to develop customization kits that respond to motor home owners' desires and concerns. For instance, Workhorse Parts now offers an all-wheel air-bag suspension aftermarket customization kit. "This is for those who want to change the ride characteristics of their particular coach with air-bag technology," said Schuler. Another custom kit is an air conditioner for those who want more cooling power. Other custom parts, such as aluminum wheels or steering kits, enhance people's enjoyment of their coaches.
"We understand that motor home owners are special customers. They expect service for their coaches that is as simple and hassle free as the service for their automobiles. That's why Workhorse goes out of its way to work with its authorized service centers and their personnel, helping them develop and follow the service procedures that will wow their customers," said Stegich.
Workhorse Custom Chassis
Workhorse Custom Chassis is ISO 9001 certified and a leader in the manufacture of chassis for motor homes, walk-in trucks and buses. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of International Truck and Engine Corporation. International produces IC brand school buses, school bus chassis, mid-range diesel engines, International brand medium and heavy trucks, and severe service vehicles. International also provides parts and service sold under the Internationalฎ brand. Both Workhorse and International are subsidiaries of Navistar International Corporation
(NYSE: NAV). For additional information call 877-294-6773 or visit
Workhorse.com.
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