How did you first come to work in the field service industry? My first encounter was as a field service engineer in the late 1970s in Marib, Yemen, maintaining microwave distance measurement equipment in support of an irrigation project. You would soon discover spare parts in the desert don’t come easy, so you had better do a good job as part of the preparation phase of your trip. They say planning is everything, oh how true. What did you most like about it and has this changed in recent years? Being 20 years old and in Yemen was an experience in itself, but the satisfaction you felt when you had the correct parts when you needed them and knowing your alternative was several days away was extremely gratifying. If you had not joined the industry, what would you have done instead? I started in the electronics industry in the mid 70s, and have had many different roles including, field service, test, operations, engineering, development and marketing before moving into management positions (mostly customer facing). I had considered the printing industry, but glad that I did not take that path. Who has been the most influential person in your professional life? There has been no single person, but an accumulation of both positive and negative experiences. The most insightful comment from one manager was: ‘If you look at your manager and they are not adding value to you, then either your manager is poor or it is time for you to move on.’ This has acted as a guiding principle for several years. What is your most challenging example of field service? This links back to my first job in Marib, Yemen, when our small team managed to get caught in the middle of a local dispute for which we almost got taken captive and one part of the team was fired upon with automatic firearms. The local commander the following day reassured us: ‘If they kill you we will kill them!’. Made us all feel so much better! Name the most important issue for your company The electronics industry in America and Europe is now in the mature phase of its life-cycle. This results in significant portions of the industry (not all) relocating to low cost regions in Asia. A single product excellence strategy is no longer enough to remain number one. We need to continue to develop one strategy for low cost regions and another for America and Europe. Flexibility and understanding the customer is key. What is the most important issue for the service industry in general? The service industry is extremely broad covering many segments, as an example for product based services, ranging from mission critical complex capital equipment to inexpensive consumer products. Once you clearly know what segment you are operating in, you need to understand what your value proposition comprises of. It will need to provide a balance between, reliability, responsiveness, dependability and flexibility. It is surprising to find so many companies that do not really know why customers buy from them – do you? How will the industry develop in the future? We have all experienced the ups and downs of the low cost call centres with the understandable desire to reduce costs where practicable. The industry, when considering cost down initiative, needs to remember to check what drives their given market, as by going cost down may inhibit the organisation from meeting the needs of the market. It will be those service organisations that understand the balance that has to be made, that will win in the long term. What stands your company apart from its competitors? Global infrastructure providing all the capability of world wide logistics but delivered via a localised service in many key locations around the globe. Should there be more training for engineers, and if so, in which areas? There should always be training for engineers and assuming they have sound product knowledge, a key area is customer service itself. What you find in experienced engineers is understanding of the context their customers operate within. If you do not understand how the customer thinks and the pressures they have to deal with, how can you provide excellent service? Service is intangible and is measured at the point of delivery. The closer your engineers are to understanding the customers, the better they will be at supporting them to enable the ultimate in customer loyalty. Rod Willis' career to date: 2002 - Business Development Manager (Support, ATD) Teradyne
1998 - 2002 European Sales Manager (ATD) Teradyne
1996 - 1998 MD MPP (UK) Limited
1992 - 1996 European Support Manager (ATD) Teradyne
1989 - 1992 Account Manager (ATD) Teradyne
pre 1989 Engineering/Operations/Technical Management roles (Various) |
