Often maintenance managers are looking to solve specific problems with CMMS software—things like work order management, scheduling, inventory tracking, compliance documentation, and other maintenance-specific workflows.
But there’s another big benefit of maintenance software—improved customer service.
Every maintenance team has “customers,” whether they are people paying for services (like building tenants) or internal departments that need something done (that’s everyone, from accounting to production to the executive team).
When Aaron’s city maintenance department implemented MPulse Maintenance Software two years ago, the big concern was saving money. Serving their customers was certainly a fringe benefit, but not the top priority.
“After we went live with MPulse, we were surprised at the reaction from our community members—our ‘customers’ in this case,” he told me. “It’s made a huge difference in our response time, and people had fewer complaints.”
Improving Customer Service for External Customers
Aaron’s department fields all public works requests—everything from downed trees to potholes to missing signs. Each request is recorded in MPulse and assigned to the appropriate team.
“Everything is streamlined, from the initial call to the repair,” he said. “People have been surprised at our quick response. Now we know exactly who did what, when it was done, how long it took us to complete the task from the time of the request, and what parts were used.”
CMMS software enables maintenance teams to improve their customer service by streamlining communication and increasing access to information. Those two things make a difference to a lot of people who never use the software itself, but appreciate quick response times and detailed answers to questions and/or problems.
Improving Customer Service for Internal Customers
Maintenance affects pretty much everyone in an organization.
Sooner or later, everyone is calling the maintenance team—from the accounting person calling for inventory counts to the executive team asking for performance data to the production folks who need an asset fixed ASAP.
Aaron has internal customers too—including the maintenance and repair of the city’s open spaces and facilities. “When something goes wrong, we get the call,” he said.
MPulse has helped Aaron’s team by…
- Improving work order management so everyone’s on the same page
- Streamlining communication between requestors, managers, and technicians
- Automating scheduling of cyclical repairs and maintenance tasks
- Improving inventory management so the right parts are available at the right time
- Providing key information when it’s needed
- Strengthening health and safety procedures
How could CMMS software help you improve your maintenance team’s customer service? What’s your experience with working with internal and external customers? Leave a comment or contact me.
