In my previous blog, I wrote about comparing our all-in prices with those of traditional single-serve coffee, equipment and service providers. In this article, I like to zoom in on the service component, especially technical service, with a real-life example.
In a tight labor market where technical staff is scarce, more and more organizations are running up against their coffee supplier's inability to resolve breakdowns within acceptable times. Where previously you were sometimes surprised by the speed with which the mechanic arrived at your doorstep, this has long since ceased to be the standard in the coffee industry. Let's not forget preventive maintenance; this is rarely, if ever, performed on time and adequately, which actually makes breakdowns more common. This leads to unnecessary equipment downtime, annoyances internally, strain on customer relations and pressure on the coffee supplier's technical staff.
A fine example we recently encountered in a quotation process. Another coffee supplier had a guaranteed solution time of 24 hours. Seemingly a good service level. However, the supplier in this case meant a solution time of 24 working hours, or a solution time of three working days after notification! You can imagine the situation technicians will find themselves in if they have to live up to such agreements while visiting the customer.
For this reason, we increasingly emphasize that our prospects should check very carefully what service levels they can expect if they unexpectedly do not choose us. Because indeed, more and more organizations (large/small, public/private, profit/non-profit) are choosing us, but not all of them. Those who did choose us experience a resolution time of no more than one day, or 8 working hours. Easily said, actually done. And, of course, no bill for parts, labor and call-out fees. We don't do that.
