Most of my career has been focused on providing service vs. receiving service. However, I now find myself with assignments that place me in the role of a customer. Because I have always thought like a customer this new role is not completely foreign to me. Instead, it provides an opportunity to reflect on what it takes to obtain new customers and most importantly retain their business. It sounds like a simple process however it takes patience and attention to detail to be successful in the fine art of retaining customers in the MRO business.
What do customers want? In reality their needs are very simple, i.e., work performed on time, within budget, defect free, and to be treated with respect. Theoretically with a bit of care and planning this should be an easy task. Unfortunately, with poor attention to detail, customers are needlessly disappointed resulting in the service provider losing money and losing the customer in the process.
For the sake of this discussion let’s assume I have qualified three service providers as technically competent to perform the work at hand on my business aircraft. Now I look beyond the technical expertise to four basic components that will affect my initial decision and whether or not I will return for future work. The four basic components of all service projects are: the quotation process, incoming briefing, ongoing communication and reports during the project, and the delivery process.
Quotation process
Customers expect the service provider to be the expert. A customer may ask for a strip and repaint or C Inspection quotation once or twice in their career whereas a service provider performs this work on a regular basis. The customer is looking to the service provider for guidance and will hold the provider accountable if the service providers are not proactive in the process. MROs cannot assume the customer’s request for quotation (RFQ) is complete and accurate. A customer will welcome an in-depth discussion to be certain they have not missed any items and to evaluate options to improve efficiency and lower costs. Most customers are required to get three bids; however, they often find themselves unable to make an accurate assessment because they have not provided the exact same information to each service provider. The wise MRO helps the customer in the bidding process and in the end helps itself by ensuring all parties are bidding on the exact same project. Although the MRO may see this help as self-serving the customer appreciates the guidance. In the end an accurate and complete RFQ containing the same information, disseminated to the three competitors will level the playing field.
Incoming briefing
Once the quotation process has been completed, the job scope defined, financial parameters established, and the downtime agreed upon, the incoming briefing becomes the critical point in the service project. Most likely some time has passed between the time the contract was executed and the arrival of the aircraft. The customer will need to “fill in the blanks” regarding any recent discrepancies and additional work items. In addition there may be the last minute squawks generated on the flight just prior to arrival. The customer is expecting to be greeted by a customer service representative and immediately begin the debriefing.
Nothing establishes a negative atmosphere more quickly than a customer realizing that no one was expecting him or the blatantly obvious panic that ensues when the service provider clumsily tries to recover from this faux pas. Unfortunately I have heard the following many times, “I signed the contract and established the input date with your concurrence three months ago and you are surprised to see me.” Starting off on this negative note begs the customer to question if the manpower and resources for his job have been allocated and if the work will be completed in the allotted time. Compounding these concerns will be the fear that the quality of work will be compromised. The customer who moments ago arrived with a positive attitude is now suspicicious and agitated. In addition, the lack of preparation is viewed as disrespectful and can turn the most docile customer negative. Getting off on the right foot sets the tone for the project.
Ongoing communication and reporting
Once the aircraft is in house, good communication is paramount whether the customer is on or off site. In the quotation process, the work scope and associated costs were defined, and during the incoming briefing, additional items were addressed. Now the customer should expect to have a single point of contact that will, on a regular basis, keep him informed regarding the contracted work and immediately notify him of any significant discrepancies or problems. It is not the customer’s job to make numerous inquiries to determine the current status of the project. Once the project begins, the customer enters the uncomfortable realm of unknown discrepancies, the general uncertainty that occurs anytime an aircraft is having service performed. Good communication is the only answer to alleviating this anxiety.
Initially, the customer expects some form of milestone chart with all the major events annotated, supplemented by brief emails which summarize daily events. Digital photographs are particularly helpful when the customer is off site. Significant events such as major discrepancies and aircraft damage should be reported immediately and followed up by a phone call.
Customers are often willing to streamline communication by granting a blanket authorization for minor discrepancies. Example, a discrepancy requiring five man-hours or less with associated parts of $500 or less can be corrected without specific authorization. In addition to the daily progress report the customer expects to receive a periodic financial update if the aircraft is down for an extended period of time.
All MROs have a system that allows them to analyze each work order and determine the number of man-hours and cost of materials applied tothat job in real time. Therefore, it is not unreasonable for the customer to ask for a periodic reconciliation of where they are financially from a labor and materials standpoint. This is critical on lengthy projects. It doesn’t take long at $100 plus per hour to have the project escalate into the tens of thousands of dollars. It is better to know about any financial and schedule changes sooner rather than later.
With good communication comes the greatest gift of all — “no surprises” thereby avoiding an unpleasant conversation with your boss and the owner/operator. Unexpected events occur but good communication and reporting will minimize any negative impact and allow time for analysis and alternate planning.
Delivery process
Many a stellar job deteriorates at the point of delivery. Projects that have gone well often degenerate into a contentious situation between the customer representative responsible for the aircraft and the service provider. If the pilots and the owner/operator are added to the equation you will have a volatile situation. MROs in general have difficulty executing the delivery process simply because they do not understand the customer’s expectation. Let’s define what “ready for delivery” means. The aircraft is outside (weather permitting), it has been cleaned internally and externally, pre-flight performed, the paperwork is complete (returned to service), the logbooks and associated documents are on board, the inventory of loose equipment has been accomplished, and all items installed in the correct location. In addition customer service personnel have previously requested the fuel load, ordered catering if necessary, and are standing by to help facilitate the departure.
The reason customers are often disappointed starts long before the delivery day. MROs ask their personnel when the aircraft will be ready and consistently receive the same answer “the work will be completed on Friday and the aircraft will be ready for delivery on schedule (Friday).” On face value this sounds great, however, as a service provider for many years I know this sets the stage for a disorganized and unprofessional delivery resulting in an unhappy customer. The opportunity for error increases exponentially under these conditions.
Aircraft scheduled for delivery tomorrow must be ready today. Otherwise on delivery day you will hear these dreaded phrases; “QC still has the books,” “we are just closing it up now,” and the most common “we have to check a few things once it is outside.” Meanwhile the customer’s team gets a front row seat to the delivery fiasco. If the customer is picking up the aircraft on Friday, demand the work is completed no later than Thursday afternoon. This will give the customer and the MRO facility some breathing room if a component fails at the last minute.
The MROs that focus on the service business from the customer’s point of view succeed. In the final analysis, the customers’ experiences and perceptions are all that really matter because they write the checks and only they decide if they will return. AMT
John Rahilly has more than 36 years of aviation service experience. Based in North Carolina, he can be reached at [email protected].
