International Door & Operator Industry

MAR-APR 2013

Garage door industry magazine for garage door dealers, garage door manufacturers, garage door distributors, garage door installers, loading docks, garage door operators and openers, gates, and tools for the door industry.

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by John Zoller & David Bowen, Zoller Consulting, Inc. MANAGEMENT Many garage door dealers started their business with a signi���cant amount of installation or service knowledge. These owners most likely worked for another garage door installation company, or maybe they grew up in the business. Those working for other ���rm, for a variety of reasons, chose to start their own company. Because of this past experience, the new owner most often understood a great deal about how to install or repair garage doors. Editor���s Note: This is Part 2 of a 3-part article on how to successfully manage a garage door dealership. Part 1 appeared in International Door & Operator Industry (Volume 45 ��� Issue 6) entitled ���Making Money in the Garage Door Business��� and discussed the ���nancial management side of the business. This second part article covers the operational side. While the operational side of the business involves installing and repairing garage doors, the new owner will soon realize that the garage door business includes much more than just installation and service. The operations side of a garage door dealership is often a major determinant of customer satisfaction. Customer satisfaction or dissatisfaction many times is measured not by just the quality of the installation, but rather by other factors such as timeliness of the installation or repair, the appearance and behavior of the installer, the after project clean up and many other factors. Installation Knowledge & Training The garage door industry has many capable installers and service personnel. For an owner to grow from a ���one-man gang��� to a true dealership with multiple ���eld persons takes training. It is up to the dealership owner/manager to make sure that the ���eld personnel not only understand the product and how to install or service it, but that the ���eld work is done properly and within management���s guidelines. There is always the right way and the wrong way to secure back hangs or to mount an operator or to weld up guides. It is up to the owner/manager to inform and train the ���eld personnel how they want the nuances of the job to be completed. This is training and it is not a one-time discussion, but rather an ongoing process. Ordering Procedures Ordering product for the job crosses over between operational management and general management of the dealership, but it is a critical component of successful operations. Understanding lead times and making sure the product arrives in time to meet scheduling promises is important. New vendors and new products need to be explained to technicians and sometime require that the vendor conduct an employee training session. Scheduling and Timeliness Most customers understand logical lead times are needed before an installation can be scheduled. Customers are quickly irritated when the dealership misses a schedule, especially when the delay is not quickly explained. An important part of successfully managing the operational side of a dealership is careful scheduling. This means that sales persons do not over promise and that ���eld personnel show up and complete the work on time. Consistent on time delivery is a critical part to building a good reputation for the company. Appearance & Behavior The appearance of both the ���eld person and the installation/service truck is a critical operational issue. Clean and well decaled vehicles assure the customer they have picked the right garage door company. Old, badly maintained worn out vehicles create customer doubt. Continued on page 52 50 50 International Door Operator Industr y International Door & Operator Industry��� nternationa Door ern perato Industry��� ust

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