by Patrick Peterson | May 11, 2011 | Strategy & Leadership
The bulk of a company’s reputation is in the hands of the service technicians. The receptionist may have the latest training in phone etiquette right down to smiling through the greeting, and the scheduling may be spot on, but the technicians will make or break...
by | May 10, 2011 | Service Transformation
Last week, I won American Idol! Or at least it felt like it. I competed in the Technology Services Industry Association (TSIA) Vision Award competition. Each competitor gets six minutes to present, and then after comments from the panel — a group of industry...
by Sara Suddes | May 10, 2011 | Mobile & Tech
With gas prices hovering at $4 per gallon nationwide, field service fleets are looking for ways to keep fuel costs under control. Passing rising gas prices on in the form of higher prices to customers may seem like an obvious solution for field service teams. However,...
by Derek Korte | May 10, 2011 | Field Service Spotlight
ATMs are small machines with big jobs, allowing consumers to acquire money in a variety of locations — even during non-bank hours. They also give businesses a way to enable their customers to pay for goods and services, and provide the owners of the ATMs...
by Derek Korte | May 9, 2011 | Field Service Spotlight
Motorola Mobility and Sprint have announced two new smartphones that target business users, particularly field service managers and technicians. And field techs will be happy to see that the phones resemble the devices they may already use outside of work, as opposed...
by Steve Berman | May 9, 2011 | Field Service Spotlight
After health care reform legislation was passed 13 months ago, businesses including field service companies waited with trepidation to find out how things would change — and so far that change hasn’t been good. With all the uncertainty the legislation has...
by Derek Korte | May 6, 2011 | Mobile & Tech
Mobility was a recurring theme throughout last week’s Field Service 2011 conference, with many of the panels focusing on how service managers could use mobile to streamline all areas of their businesses, from improved first-call success rates to proactive...
by Steve Berman | May 6, 2011 | Field Service Spotlight
As tablet computers become more commonly used by service techs, the race is on to provide devices that can withstand the hazards of the field. That leaves field service companies switching to tablets with a choice: Buy a durable device like the ARMOR rugged tablet...
by John Ragsdale | May 5, 2011 | Customer Experience
John Ragsdale is vice president of technology research for the Technology Services Industry Association. Ragsdale’s attending Technology Services World Silicon Valley and providing reports from the scene, where several sessions are so popular the crowds are standing...
by Derek Korte | May 5, 2011 | Field Service Spotlight
Field Service 2011 generated a lot of buzz around how managers can adapt to the influx of new technologies that are remaking the service sector. The conference brought together more than 300 service and support professionals across myriad industries. While attendees...
by John Ragsdale | May 4, 2011 | Field Service Spotlight
John Ragsdale is vice president of technology research for the Technology Services Industry Association. Ragsdale’s currently attending Technology Services World Silicon Valley, where he recently made a presentation on the major tech trends for 2011. Republished...
by Steve Berman | May 4, 2011 | Customer Experience
What’s the most valuable asset of field service businesses? Simple: Long-term maintenance agreements that lock in base revenue and profit, and which largely determine the company’s value. HVAC finance expert Tom Grandy, in fact, calls the agreements...
