Service has never been more important!

“Service has never been more important”

Service is an integral part of Geopal System A/S, which gives our customers an experience of safety, says Helle Ryssel Clemmensen, manager of sales and service department. Early on, she discovered that it would be beneficial to combine service and sales, which has been important for the company.

Geopal System A/S is a Danish based company, placed north of the capital Copenhagen. And from the beginning, Geopal System A/S made the active choice that service would be a part of their corporate DNA. This means that in creating company and management structures, service became an integral part of all departments.

” It is a part of our company values to give our customers quality service. This is how it has been since the company started in 1985. Something noticed by our customers”, says Helle Ryssel Clemmensen, who is Head of Sales and Service at Geopal System A/S

“You should never focus so much on sales
that the value in service is forgotten”

Comfort and Structured Maintenance
According to Helle Ryssel Clemmensen, one of the most important aspects of service is the comfort in knowing that all maintenance visits are handled on schedule and that the service technicians know what they will encounter.

Here the whole planning system has developed from manual to digital methods. When Helle Ryssel Clemmensen started as manager at Geopal’s sales and service department, twelve plastic folders were mounted on a board on the wall, symbolizing the twelve months of the year. Cards were inserted with the name of each customer and a note stating when they were due for their maintenance visit. When the service technicians had carried out the visit, the card was simply removed from the folder.

It was a simple and practical method that, most importantly, worked well, so no routine checks were missed. Today the method is just as thorough and elaborate, now it is simply digital.

”I started to note down whenever we had completed and installation. This system made it easy to see, when to offer the next service-visit at our customers. The system was very simple, but it worked,” explains Helle Ryssel Clemmensen, adding:

“Today this means that we can easily structure appointments for our customers so that they don’t have to worry. We handle the appointments, and our technicians know exactly what needs to be done when they arrive”.

Flexibility Increasing Efficiency
Flexibility is another element of service that is important to Helle Ryssel Clemmensen’s department. Several other market providers only service their own products. That means, that customers need to coordinate the service of gas detection installation with several different suppliers.  A system, that is both a higher expence and complex administration for the customer.

“It makes it much easier for our customers that we can help out with everything at once. If a company has installations from four different manufacturers, it is easier to have one person fix everything instead of calling in four different technicians”, says Helle Ryssel Clemmensen.

“With us, the advantage is that the same people
who handle sales, also handle service”

No matter whether you are a small or large company, what matters is a special mindset – a basic attitude, says Helle Ryssel Clemmensen. Being able to put on different caps when needed. Developing a flexible approach both in management and among the employees.

”We are very flexible. We have created a company with a flat organization. We don’t have a lot of tiers, and so we can reach the customer faster. This is service. You should never focus so much on sales that the value of service is forgotten. With us, the advantage is that the same people who handle sales, also handle service”, she says.

Geopal System A/S is also a manufacturer. This means that many spare parts are already stocked locally and in the service vans, and they can therefore quickly reach the customers if anything in the gas detection installation needs to be exchanged.

Nationwide service
Today Geopal System A/S has more than 20 engaged employees, and they can offer their Danish customers a national service. The service vans are carefully equipped, so the technicians are able to solve most problems and requests on site.

“Our technicians have usually all spare parts with them, when they turn up at our customers site. This makes it possible to solve most problems, or change parts, when they are there already. This makes our service effortless and fast for the customers. The service technicians have most knowledge of the products, and they are also the ones who meet the customers and recognize the problems they are facing. Our service technicians handle each individual customer so that the customer knows who to call in case they have any questions”, says Helle Ryssel Clemmensen.

”We have some very experienced service technicians.
This means that we can give our customers a unique and flexible service”.

And it’s not just about service, Helle Ryssel Clemmensen states. Sales is also something that they have a special take on at Geopal System A/S. It is about selling the right product and creating long-lasting customer relations.

“Our service technicians help find the best solution for our customers because they know each place by heart. Hardly any of our customers leave us again. Our technicians don’t oversell and they are very responsible. You have to be able to trust them”, emphasises Helle Ryssel Clemmensen.

”We must learn to work even smarter so that we can be even more flexible. Because service has never been more important. Our line of business is about acquiring detailed knowledge. It takes a long time to acquire enough knowledge when operating in such a small niche. But we have some very experienced people in our vans, so we can offer our customers a unique and flexible service. For us, qualifications and experience are important”.

Although service takes priority at Geopal System A/S, Helle Ryssel Clemmensen still wishes to focus even more on service and flexibility in the future.