Created in 2016, Certified Uptime is a process built around best practices determined by Volvo Trucks North America dealers. The process is made to increase quality, optimize service and repair efficiencies, and enhance the overall customer experience. Dealers must now consider social distancing requirements and other public health considerations for customers and staff while maintaining performance standards.
Key to the process is the ASIST communication platform, developed by Decisiv for Volvo Trucks. ASIST enables remote communications and automates the documentation for each service event. This keeps all information in one place and minimizing in-person contact with the customer. This also allows repair services to be completed with minimum internal interaction at the dealership.
Integrated within ASIST is JPRO, a diagnostic software system by Noregon. JPRO allows Certified Uptime dealers to remotely gather essential information from the truck including VIN, mileage, engine hours, diagnostic codes. Trucks are then serviced in dedicated Uptime Bays to get customers in and out quickly, decreasing potential exposure.
NEW PRACTICES
This commitment to uptime and sustaining a reputation for leadership has also led to new practices from North American dealers. Vision Truck Center in Ontario, Canada, has instituted a policy requiring a 100% paperless process. All service jobs are handled through the ASIST platform with no paper routing.
“The ASIST platform has made it possible to have a paperless process in order to minimize human contact,” says John Slotegraaf, owner and dealer principal at Vision Truck Center. “Our entire staff has remained focused on our Certified Uptime processes while making sure we don’t compromise the safety of our customers or employees.”
Affinity Truck Center, with two locations in California’s Central Valley region, created a process for quick, accurate service check-ins. As trucks enter, they trigger a bell in the service office. A technician thoroughly disinfects each truck before it is driven through the gate. Each new write-up is handled through a tented entryway equipped with a sensor that alerts staff when a customer enters. Specially installed plexiglass barriers separate the customer and service advisor during check-in.
“Now that the weather is heating up, we are actively looking into additional ways to keep our customers safe and enable them to practice social distancing in a comfortable, indoor environment,” says Chris Paris, service manager, Affinity Truck Center. “Along with custom plexiglass shields and floor markers in both the parts and sales sides of all of our facilities, we are in the process of opening a larger customer waiting room with dedicated restrooms in a building next to our service location in Fresno and have remodeled a storage room off the shop floor for an additional customer lounge in our Bakersfield location.”
VOLVO TRUCKS’ DEDICATION
“We’re seeing our Certified Uptime dealers across the US and Canada going the extra mile to maintain our standards of excellence while ensuring human safety throughout the service process,” says Conal Deedy, director of customer productivity solutions, Volvo Trucks North America. “The dedication from our dealers together with our collaborations with key partners to maximize efficiencies and streamline the service experience from point to point is a critical advantage during the ongoing health crisis.”
Additionally, Volvo Trucks’ upgraded its ASIST software platform, allowing dealers to update customer information for each truck in real time. This step previously involved a third party and could have delayed the service process. The upgrade is another example of how Volvo Trucks is supporting and listening to dealers, developing tools and processes to drive throughput and offer the best customer experience possible.
Find out more, visit www.volvotrucks.us.
