A Clear View. The Hometech Window Corporation is a Canadian success story. While other manufacturers have faltered or closed due to financial difficulties and foreign competition, Hometech has survived and thrived through the challenging economic times of the past decade by building high-quality, stylish vinyl windows. The company has served communities in and around Ontario, Canada, since 2001.
Customer service is a key element of Hometech’s success, and the company offers service appointments to end users. These customers can live anywhere in the province of Ontario or neighboring communities such as Manitoba or Alberta, so scheduling these appointments in an efficient manner is a high priority for the company.
Krista Bruhm, who works in Hometech’s accounts receivable department, is responsible for scheduling these appointments, which can range between 1 and 20, depending on the amount of time required for service. As Hometech grew, so did the need for improved efficiency in planning the routes for these service calls. A quick Google search led Krista to MyRouteOnline.com in November 2011, and she was impressed with the demonstration explaining what she could accomplish with the technology.
Krista started with a Pay-As-You-Go plan, and then updated to a fixed-monthly-subscription in January 2014. “I switched to the monthly plan because I was going through credits rather quickly as it is busy season — and the monthly plan seemed better for us at the moment,” she explained.
The company has three technicians on the road during the busy season. Different employees prefer different methods of receiving route information — some prefer an email with the time breakdown and exact addresses, others use the MyRouteOnline maps on an iPhone.
Krista organizes routes by area or volume required at each stop. “Sometimes I have a general idea for routes and use the planner for timing, or sometimes I enter all stops in one area (like Toronto) and make 2-3 routes based on locale,” she said.
Among MyRouteOnline’s features, Krista’s favorites include the ability to import and export saved routes via Excel. “I am constantly changing and modifying routes, so the export option is VERY helpful,” she said. Other key features include allotted service times, the lunch break option and the ability to create multiple routes.
Efficiency has been the biggest benefit of an online route planner for Hometech. “Time would be the biggest thing we have saved on,” Krista explained. “As a result, we schedule more service calls each day because of the time savings.”
Previously the technicians used map books to manually plan their own routes. After Hometech started using the MyRouteOnline route planner, they saved approximately 2 hours a day per route. “Prior to using the route planner, the techs would be out in the field typically 9-10 hours,” Krista said. “Now they are usually only out 7-8 hours a day, depending on the workload.”
Those savings add up, helping Hometech maintain its reputation as a quality window manufacturer while improving the company’s ability to provide quality customer service. Plus, like any business, efficiency makes a difference to the bottom line. As Krista explained, “We can get the most out of our day because the routes are accurate, concise and realistic.”
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