By James Dolbeare, AAA Appliance Service Center
I am consistently struck by the fantastic camaraderie and helpfulness of a wonderful United Servicers Association benefit, ChatUSA, an Internet chat room hosted by UASA for UASA members. Experienced professionals instantly assist one another in an exchange of emails, and as a consequence, ultimately help the consumer.
Just this Saturday morning, there was a brisk exchange on a no-cooling refrigerator problem. A refrigerator was full of food and the technician was trying to save the call and contents inside, even though everything was closed for the weekend. A flurry of emails and a very creative and sound solution was recommended and resulted in a satisfied customer. Often the customer gets lost in all of this, and they are the focus and the reason we exist. This was more than a win for that service company; it was a win for the industry.
It might seem on ChatUSA that we are just helping one another through a jam, but the end result is the professionalization of the industry and another satisfied customer.
Error codes or other technical hurtles get in the way of our daily repairs. If you have not had the opportunity to subscribe to ChatUSA and you are a current UASA member you should do it now. You will instantly recognize the huge benefit to your company regardless of its size. The questions posted range from minor to highly complicated. Sometimes the answer is right there and you just need an outside pair of eyes or opinion to help you see the solution. Have you have ever been stumped on a service call with a customer staring at you? Chat UASA can help.
This is especially true and helpful to the small one and two man shops. To use a baseball analogy, with a small shop, there is generally no bench and no one to help bail you out to provide relief when you most need it. On top of being caught on a technical challenge, there are all those other calls that just keep coming in with no one to respond or cover them, except the competition. ChatUSA; batter up!
Companies of any size without manufacturer affiliation or authorized warranty service providers find that ChatUSA gives them needed technical support. We all have occasions where we get stuck and need a helping hand and ChatUSA is the answer.
Looking for obsolete parts or technical manuals? Do you want to know where to go to get a rebuilt timer? You can often find the answers through a short email post on ChatUSA. I have used ChatUSA successfully to answer these and other questions many times.
My company has been in business since 1950 and many things have changed. Appliance manufacturing processes and technology have changed multiple times. Electromechanical systems became obsolete and capillary sodium potassium and mercury capillary systems replaced them only to be again replaced back to the original electromechanical systems. This is a real life “Back to the Future” example.
The reality is it is very hard to keep up with all of this on your own. Even the best of us can fall behind. We all try to take advantage of training opportunities and update our company database. You would think by now the track record of documentation and the internal technical library would be full, but we all still need help from time to time. A short and simple email on ChatUSA can be the answer and provide a quick solution to a problem.
No man is an island; ChatUSA is the life boat on that artificial island we reside on as independent service companies. Membership in United Servicers Association is the ship to help you sail to the next level of service excellence. Outperform your competition and you will own your market. If you are not already a member of UASA, join today. Learn to use all the benefits of UASA including ChatUSA, and be sure and attend any of the fall Regional Service Meetings and the Appliance Service Training Institute (ASTI) conference in Orlando this March 6-9. Find more information on these and other training opportunities at www.unitedservicers.com.
