Improving Long Distance Communication
The Challenge
The logistical difficulties posed for maintaining 17 Cooperatives scattered throughout 200 square miles in the state of Minnesota caused the Operations department to search for an economical solution for their dilemma. The Cooperatives would communicate their maintenance and housekeeping requests via phone to either the cooperative’s operations manager or the crew itself. These requests were sometimes scribbled down on paper, or taken by others. In either case, they were usually lost in the shuffle. Additionally, without a recognized module in place, it was hard to assign and track requests that came in, as well difficult to track which co-ops had the most requests and what those requests were.
The client needed a module that would allow them to better communicate their maintenance and housekeeping requests as well as to document their activity, streamline processes across long distance, and to improve communication amongst store management and staff.
The Solution
Sentact consultants worked with the convenience stores’ managers and staff to re-evaluate their current process and applied Sentact to enhance those changes. The client selected VIASANT’s Sentact XM service request platform. By selecting Sentact’s service request module, division managers can now log into Sentact for their work order requests and know that the central Operations department will dispatch the work order. This allows better customer service and enables stores to better communicate. Additionally, by having unique usernames and passwords, staff information is already populated in Sentact, meaning that the division managers only need to select the service that they would like performed and type in a short description before submitting the request.
The solution was implemented within three weeks, and 17 cooperatives utilizing the platform immediately. The end product increased support levels for the end-user community through automated dispatch routing, documenting work history and labor, and centralizing communication.
The Sentact solution:
- Allowed all service requests to be easily tracked and managed
- Provided history for all work orders
- Enabled store managers to submit requests online and check status, without having to manually fill out work orders or call in for status
- Provided easy to use reporting tools to track and trend real time results
- Automated the dispatch process
The Results
- Streamlined and automated process
- Increased user satisfaction
- Better customer service and service delivery
- Improved process efficiencies
- The Maintenance crew was able to see what is relevant to them while the operations manager can see the 'big picture'
- Enabled stores to communicate
