Easy to install vehicle and tool trackers improve customer service for a plumbing business
Vehicle and tool tracking technology supplied by ABAX has led to enhanced customer service, increased business efficiency and better time management for a Buckinghamshire plumbing and heating firm.
With over 70 years’ experience, award-winning Red Van Plumbers currently has a fleet of around 20 vehicles consisting of small to medium vans, providing a range of domestic heating and plumbing services.
With the rising cost of materials, the company was looking to increase its efficiency – particularly when it came to locating tools and streamlining the process for managing its fleet of leased vehicles. It also decided to save money on its old, time-consuming tracking method by working with ABAX.
Within half an hour a business can transform its operations
From the digital method of signing the contract, to using the simple and easy to follow online tutorial to install its own trackers onto vehicles as well as tool trackers to help with the quick location of items – it was clear that ABAX could help Big Red Van Plumbers innovate.
Ash from Red Van Plumbers said: “The tutorial was simple to follow and within 30 minutes I was logging all the vehicle and driver details.”
Immediately improving the customer experience
Almost immediately the business could level up the service they provide to customers and improve value proposition. Previously, locating an engineer was a labour-intensive task involving a string of phone calls and an undetermined amount of time, if engineers were unable to answer – but using ABAX has changed that.
“It is a tool that allows us to find out exactly where our engineers are without having to interrupt them while they are working. If a customer calls to find out where the engineer is, we can use the tracker to give them an accurate time of arrival without having to contact the engineer and calling the customer back.”
The benefits are three fold in this situation alone – engineers are no longer disrupted while on jobs, not tempted to answer calls while driving and office staff are not wasting time executing this task.
Employee wellbeing
While often times, employees can view vehicles tracking solutions like ABAX as ‘Big Brother’ but as explained in this video - the tracking system also offers a duty of care to staff; making sure that engineers are safe.
On one occasion the tracker was used to locate the vehicle of an engineer who was having a heart attack, enabling emergency care to be sent directly to him after he had called his wife to raise the alarm, but didn’t know his exact location. The ABAX system meant his location could be passed on to the emergency services and he was taken to hospital where he recovered.
Other benefits of the trackers to Red Van Plumbers include:
The ability to better allocated time
The time saved through the use of ABAX technology means the business has more time to be proactive where customers are concerned or spend more time on other tasks – that always seem to need doing!
Accurately calculating overtime pay
ABAX has enabled the business to move away from manual calculations. By seeing the time engineers arrive and leave jobs through the vehicle movement, exact overtime can be determined.
Faster location of specialised tools
Previously, time was often wasted tracking down the specialised tools that are required for jobs such as gas analysers. Using ABAX tool trackers in equipment bags, staff can quickly locate the items using the online map – instead of following the breadcrumb trail of ‘who had it last’.
If you want to understand how an ABAX solution would benefit your business, please get in touch.