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his locations, setting a monthly ser-
vice sales record not long after making
cosmetic improvements to a customer
waiting room.
"The place just took off," he says.
Gonzalez isn't surprised. A facility that
elicits a positive customer reaction builds
trust, and trust builds the opportunity to
make more sales.
"When a customer can see the issue
— when they can see what is happening
and they know there is an issue — it cre-
ates a type of discussion that was never
there before," he says.
But facility changes alone do not
guarantee sales success, says Hill. Em-
ployees also must be trained on how to
use those changes to their advantage.
They must understand a customer's
thought process and how to respond.
Why tell a customer what's wrong
when you can show them?
"Understand how well your com-
pany is prepared to positively infl uence
customer perceptions. Make sure your
employees and processes are in the right
direction to help the customer fi nd an-
swers," he says.
Because when trained employees are
matched with an aesthetically appealing
and transparent service facility, the sky is
the limit.
"It defi nitely has changed custom-
ers' perceptions of who we are," Schro-
eder says. "We've kept a lot of the same
customers but we've also been noticed
more [by others]. People see this isn't a
company that's puddling along; they are
making an investment."
"I learned a long time ago you can
only make that fi rst impression once,"
says Wensel, adding "This is how I want
to present my company."
W W W . T R U C K P A R T S A N D S E R V I C E . C O M S e p t e m b e r 2 0 1 5 | T R U C K P A R T S & S E R V I C E
Building a new facility has allowed Truck Equipment, Inc. to place its parts and service desks near each
other so customers have the ability to browse while waiting on their truck.
Cover Story
