TMC committee to explore service relationships

The American Trucking Assn.'s Technology & Maintenance Council has formed a committee to look at ways to improve maintenance practices and relationships between independent service providers, OEM dealer networks and transportation providers.

"The Service Provider Committee (SPC) has taken on the task of raising the bar on service," said SPC chairman Chas Voyles, service manager for Truck Centers Inc. "The committee will rely on the interaction of TMC's fleet members and its growing service-dealer membership. As we gain a better understanding of the challenges that both the fleets and service providers face, procedures can be created that will benefit both parties."

The committee, originally formed during TMC's annual meeting in February, has begun working, identifying seven task forces that will target problematic issues. The task forces are:

• Repair assessment task force will create a recommended practice to provide customers with a repair diagnosis within a specified period of time.
• The warranty task force will create a recommended practice for each OEM to follow that will allow them to determine a customer's basic coverage and extended coverage.
• The approval and authorization task force will create a recommended practice for estimating repairs and determining the approval process for repairs to begin.
• The customer notification task force will create a recommended practice for communicating the status of a fleet's truck being repaired at a service provider.
• The customer satisfaction task force will develop a training outline that will cover the elements needed to facilitate a successful and repeatable service event from a customer satisfaction perspective.
• The successful practices task force will identify the practices that successful providers employ to achieve the highest levels of trust with their customers.
• The fair bill times task force will define a fair industry standard for repair times.

For more information about the SPC, contact Chas Voyles at 10800-669-3454, ext. 3241, or email cvoyles@truckcentersinc.com.