Whether you’re searching for routine maintenance, testing, or emergency repairs, choosing a service partner can be challenging with so many options readily available. We sat down with Mike Jarmus, Strategic Marketing Director for Services, to hear his thoughts on the service industry, what defines an effective service partner, and where he sees this industry heading in the next few years.

What does it mean to be a field service partner?

The services industry isn’t just the action of providing field services. It's customer service and support, as well. Field service is important for customers and getting their equipment repaired and fixed, but how you go about fixing and supporting that customer is crucial. When a piece of equipment or hardware breaks, it can be extremely frustrating for someone, especially when they need to use that equipment. For us as a service organization, it's not only important to get there quickly and to service and fix that piece of equipment, but we need to make sure that we're not adding more frustration to the individual or company in general, as they already have enough to deal with. That’s why we as an organization need to optimize the entire service process to make service as easy as possible for the customer.

What does good customer service look like in a field service partner?

Good customer service varies based on the industry that it's in, as well as the personal interest of that organization. Some organizations like to be hands-on and like to track, especially if they have a large fleet of equipment out there. There are also customers that would just like to submit a ticket and have that piece of equipment serviced as quickly as possible with an automated process. An organization needs to make sure they build out a service package that fits their customer based on their expectations of whether they want to be a hands-on customer tracking every single service ticket or if they would like the process to be automated as much as possible for a hands-off experience.

What are some questions that a customer should ask when choosing a service provider?

The first might be, “Can you guys speak to the history of what service you've been providing in the past? Can you provide customer testimonials? Can you talk me through the satisfaction level of your current customer base?”

The second thing that you should ask them—or they should be asking you—is more about you and your business. They need to understand your business and where they, as a service organization, could provide value, cost savings, and less stress in your normal operations. They need to ask you about your equipment, your hardware, and how often it breaks down. What issues are they having? What are some pain points that they might be having with their current providers? They need to get to know you as an organization and the problems you're experiencing. If they're a good service company, they will take that information and build out a service package to try and alleviate or solve the problems of those pain points and stresses.

Another question you should ask is what proactive measures their service company takes to identify issues or potential problems before they occur. Good service organizations can have different service packages and visit your pieces of equipment to see which hardware is wearing out and to prevent that piece of equipment from breaking down and costing more in the long term.

How important are trainings and certifications when choosing a service provider?

A good service organization not only cares about you, but also cares about their employees and providing them with the tools to do a good job. You want to make sure that they have the proper training materials that allow them to successfully arrive on site and fix your specific piece of equipment.

What are some challenges that lie ahead for people who are responsible for keeping their equipment running in service?

Inflation has made a significant impact on organizations in terms of the cost of parts and cost of labor. Also, the supply chain has been extremely challenging for the people responsible for those pieces of equipment. When they order parts, they could be delayed for months, and the turn-times are not as fast because the supply chain has not necessarily recovered in certain cases since the pandemic.

On top of that, a lot of service organizations are struggling with staffing and don't always have the manpower to get there within the 48-72 hours that they need to. It's important to find a service organization that can handle those challenges for a customer and make it so that the process is a little less painful.

What does the future of service look like?

The future of service (for me, personally) is extremely exciting. There are all these different technologies that are being brought into field service that I think are bringing life to the industry. I think over the next 5-10 years, you're going to see a drastic change in how field service is being accomplished and what technologies are being used to fix a piece of equipment. It's a very exciting space and I'm excited about what the future holds.

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