We’ve created two new positions to improve our company’s efficiency and performance.
We hired a purchasing agent/warehouse person, and we are stocking more inventory to make our service department more efficient and not have to wait on parts.
We tried buying [parts] as we go, but I found it to be horribly inefficient. My service techs would have to go out on a call to assess the problem, fill out a part requisition form and bring it back in. Then we’d have to order the parts and reschedule the tech to go back out, so he was making two trips. But the customer wasn’t going to pay for both, so one of the calls is free.
Now, we have a list of questions that our service department asks the homeowner, and we try to ascertain what’s wrong with the pool the best we can. The service tech will take all the parts he thinks he might need so he can do a complete repair while he’s there.
This new position gives us the ability to look around and buy products at the best price, rather than waiting to buy it as we need it and then spending more. As many parts as we buy a year, we feel like this new position will pay for itself.
And the homeowner is happier, too, because he doesn’t have to wait three days to get the pool fixed.
