International Door & Operator Industry

NOV-DEC 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.

Issue link: https://idoi.epubxp.com/i/216705

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Page 70 of 131

TECHNICAL (continued from page 66) homeowners to do themselves. Sharing this information and investing time with your customer will pay large dividends. Almost always, I invite the customer into the garage with me. Having them stay a safe distance away I show and teach them all I can. I explain not only what I'm doing but, why I'm doing it. I, like most door techs am proud of my truck, and I use it as a customer relations tool. My truck proudly displays company information including my name, phone numbers, license numbers, etc. I display the manufacturer's logos whose products I sell as well as my IDA and IDEA logos. I fgure since I called the customer in advance, they are watching for my arrival. I want them to see my clean truck and be impressed by what they see. In addition, I always wear my tool belt and will bring up my ladder on the frst trip and leave it by the garage door. I strive to always maintain a professional appearance by keeping my beard well groomed and my clean uniform shirt tucked in. My hands are as clean as hand cleaner will keep them. this customer doesn't care about my next call. Customers want my undivided attention to their call. When they have concluded, I communicate what I think they meant. The customer telling me, "My door thing works slowly" has a multitude of meanings. But when I know what needs to be done, I can begin. When I knock on the door I remove my sunglasses (I work in Arizona) and step back from the front door. I believe everyone prefers eye contact and doesn't like it when a stranger invades personal space. I'm not one who pushes for a handshake. That can be met with resistance from the homeowner. Ever tried to shake Howie Mandell's hand? He's a Germaphobe. I always start on one side of the closed garage door. I inspect each hinge's nut or screw because many will loosen, especially on wood garage doors. Frequently, this inspection will show a cracked hinge, which is fairly common on older 18 gauge narrow bodied hinges. One of my personal challenges is letting the homeowner fully explain what kind of problem they are having. The ability to not interrupt someone can be diffcult. I have a friend who has mastered that skill, and I have never heard him interrupt a conversation. I struggle with this skill because I already know what they want to say, mean to say, but just don't say. I justify this impatience due to a busy work schedule, but I continually need to remind myself that Permit me now to cover a controversial subject which is lubrication of the rollers, hinges, and springs. There seem to be three schools of thought here: Grease, Oil and Solvents/ Cleaners. For the past thirty years I have recommend the latter - WD-40. Let's discuss each. GREASE: This is good to use when you have a method to deliver it directly to the moving parts of the component. Let's start with the tracks. Applying grease to the tracks of a garage door that uses rollers is like pouring grease on the highway to reduce tread wear on your tires. We want rollers to roll, not slide – don't grease the tracks. Applying grease to a hinge simply smears the lubricant on the metal surface of the hinge…it doesn't apply it to the moving components. If you apply grease on the springs I recommend not leaving your company sticker behind. When that spring breaks, the rapid spinning of the coils will deposit that grease all over the front wall, ceiling and back of the customer's car…messy, messy stuff. I know I'm not going to want that phone call. Grease is not recommended anywhere on the garage door. Continued on page 70 68 68 International Door & Operator Industry™

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