Heavy Duty Trucking, April 2018
HDT APRIL 2018 76 WWW TRUCKINGINFO COM onnectivity has raised the bar about what fleets expect when they bring their trucks into the dealership for service says Rick Reynolds president and dealer principal at Peach State Truck Centers and ATD HDT Procede Software Truck Dealer of the Year They expect that we should be able to diagnose the problem quicker and with The annual Truck Dealer of the Year award presented by American Truck Dealers Heavy Duty Trucking and Procede Software honors excellence in business practices industry leadership and community service Faculty members from Indiana Universitys Kelley School of Business chose the winner and finalist from a field of seven dealers We spoke to all the nominees to get their insights into industry trends affecting dealers and truck owners alike Connectivity specing trends market disruptions and market conditions are among the issues challenging Truck Dealer of the Year nominees and their customers By Denise L Rondini Aftermarket Editor drondini@ truckinginfo com AS THE EXPERTS ON TRUCKS DEALERS SUCCEED that quicker diagnosis communicate with them about what is occurring throughout the repair he says adding that their expectations are very legitimate and realistic He sees one of the benefits of connectivity as eliminating waste and adding as much efficiency as possible John Arscott CEO and dealer principal at The Pete Store and ATD HDT 2018 Truck Dealer of the Year finalist agrees that communication is huge but adds Somebody might have put a bracket around uptime and put it up on a wall but it has always been important He says today it is more about developing a service culture that includes trust efficiency and communication Those three components need to work together with communication being the biggest one Jon Vandehey president and CEO of Mid State Truck Service Inc and Truck Somebody might have put a bracket around uptime and put it up on a wall but it has always been important John Arscott The Pete Store TD Truck Dealer of the Year 2018 Dealer of the Year nominee believes connectivity gives his dealership the opportunity to problem solve with our customers and form a relationship with them It is also another area where we can differentiate ourselves and provide additional value because it allows us to be involved earlier in the decision making process Craig Young president of Young Truck Sales Inc and another Dealer of the Year nominee says connectivity speeds up the repair process but he adds that not all his customers like the additional communication Some he says see it as an interruption to their business He also cautions that it is imperative that the diagnosis of the problem be accurate You find a sensor that is bad and fix it Everything seems okay but 100 miles down the road the truck has a problem again He says this raises the issue of how far C
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