I recently broke out, in my opinion, why traditional dealer service fails to meet customer expectations. In many ways, our goal for Heave service is to offer the opposite of a traditional dealer service experience. What does that mean?
Independent Technicians Available to All
Independent technicians are the backbone of the Heave service app. Some customers have experience with independent techs, but they are largely invisible to the overall market. Independent technicians consist of formerly OEM/dealer trained mechanics who’ve gone out on their own or ones that learned the trade and never wanted to go work for a dealer. Every independent technician on the Heave marketplace has the current software needed to access the major brand’s computer systems and the majority have their own truck with a crane. Companies such as Diesel Laptops broke the software barrier for these individuals to exist as an alternative to traditional dealer service.
***As a side note, it’s been fun to watch the fight over ‘Right to Repair’, where OEMs and dealers have been trying to block their customer’s access to obtaining such software. They argue it’s over safety issues, which we all know is total BS. Customers don’t care to modify engine emission settings, they want to get an idea of what’s wrong with their $250,000 machine to see if they can fix it themselves. How many $1500 service invoices are out there for a $49 computer sensor? Dealers simply want to protect a monopoly and want customers dependence on their service departments. John Deere seems to have reversed course recently and is trying to promote the ability for their customers to acquire a version of the Deere software…
View Available Techs in An App Instantly
At this point, everyone in my life knows Uber. This is how the Heave service app works. Customers can open the app and input their machine with the location. They’ll see instant results displaying the matching technicians in their area along with the following info: Name, brands they are experienced with, hourly labor rate they charge (along with travel charges if applicable), years’ experience, and customer ratings. Customers can choose who they want to work on their machine, which is the opposite of the dealer experience. The dealer experience starts with a call to the branch, which many times leads to a voicemail that doesn’t get returned. With the Heave app, customers speak directly to the technicians.
Technicians are Incentivized for Maximum Customer Satisfaction
Independent technicians are independent contractors. If a tech takes 10 hours to complete a job that really should’ve been done in 5–6 hours, they’ll get a poor rating. That customer probably won’t hire them again in the future. This doesn’t happen within the traditional dealer model. Dealer mechanics are paid their wage regardless of customer satisfaction. There is no penalty for causing rework or excessive labor charges. With the Heave service app, a technician’s reputation is dependent on the quality of work they consistently perform. If they save customer’s time and money, they’ll build a brand on our marketplace that will drive more customer demand for their services. The cream will rise to the top.
