MARCH 2023 TECHNICIAN OF INFLUENCE WINNERS
International® is pleased to announce the four winners of the Technician of Influence Award for the month of March. The individuals listed here have demonstrated their commitment to pursuing continuous improvement and delivering the highest level of customer service.
ROOKIES
These tech professionals have less than two years of experience at the dealership, have shown commitment to Uptime by being top producers, have gone the extra mile, and have proven they are responsible and trustworthy.
Service Technician
Greg has gone the extra mile day in and day out at Rush Truck Centers. Greg is someone who can be trusted and is very responsible. Greg is always early to work and asking what he can help with and if anything got towed the previous night. He listens to the shop foreman regarding what he is being asked to do and discusses the best game plan possible to get the customers up and running. No matter what task Greg is assigned to, he always maintains a positive attitude and makes the hardest work look so easy.
He attacks every truck with a great attitude, has an open mind, is always open to feedback, gets along with his team, and is always reliable. He has never let our customers down.
We had a truck that needed a lot of work done to it in a short period. The truck needed the transmission and both differentials replaced, the engine overhauled, and a lot of other work that was detailed and time-consuming. All this work had to be done right and fast. Greg heard about the intimidating scope of work and the time frame we needed to complete the truck, however, he volunteered for the job and did not stop until it was done. He followed up with management to know if we had all of his parts and what else he could help with while he was in the middle of fulfilling this commitment. When the truck was completed, the customer was very happy with the turnaround time and the quality of work. Bock went the extra mile on this truck.
When you say "top producer," Greg Bock comes to mind. For the past 6 months, he has been 137% efficient on the repairs he has performed with no comebacks. His trucks leave the shop diagnosed and correctly repaired every time, and he always says yes when we need him to take a minute to triage a truck that just came in the door. His warranty parts are always tagged with the correct information, he always follows the proper processes for warranty repairs, he always writes a story that contains the complaint, cause, and correction, he always asks for help when he needs help, he always helps fellow team members when they need his help, and he always has a smile on his face, and it is my pleasure to have the opportunity to work with this professional every day.
Greg is active in the Reserves and is a Staff Sargent. He has his pilot’s license as well. Greg is an outstanding individual and complements our team greatly. He is a pleasure to work with.
Service Technician
When you think of the future of the service department, you think of young talent with bright futures, and Josh is exactly that. He is quickly becoming one of the top-producing technicians at Tri-County International. His fearlessness to step out of his comfort zone and take on bigger jobs paired with his willingness to learn from more experienced techs gives us high hopes for him and his future with us. He has completed International training and is working toward his Cummins certification.
We had a customer come in with a taillight out that he had received a ticket for, and the customer thought it was just a bulb that was out. We pulled Josh off a job to perform the quick fix, but Josh identified that not only did the customer need a bulb, but the wiring harness was falling under the truck and there was corrosion at the terminals. Josh came in and explained all this to the customer and that we would hate to see him go down the road and have the wiring get snagged on something and pull everything out. The customer approved the repairs and was appreciative of the time that Josh took to identify a potentially bigger problem. Josh takes pride in his work and goes above and beyond when it comes to customer uptime.
Josh comes to work every day with a positive attitude and eagerness to do his best. He is very thorough in his work, which is why we recently asked him to perform his first rebuild on an A26, and he did a great job. He has started doing some diagnostics and has been spot on. He is always willing to help fellow technicians when they need an extra hand or a customer who has a quick repair. Josh has been mentoring a young apprentice for several hours a week. Each month, Josh shows improvement in his productivity and proficiency. He is very thorough and takes great pride in having a very low comeback rate. He goes the extra mile to find solutions when parts are not available to maximize uptime for our customers. Josh is a huge asset to our team, and we have no doubt that with experience and knowledge, he will be a star for years to come.
VETERANS
These tech professionals have two or more years of experience at the dealership, have shown commitment to Uptime by being top producers, have gone the extra mile, and have proven they are responsible and trustworthy.
Lead Technician
Waldez is an exemplary employee and a leader at Riverview International Trucks. Recently, Waldez took care of a large International customer. Despite working in a union shop with no flexibility in the schedules, he agreed to start 3 hours late on a Friday and drive over 3 hours to the customer’s facility to do A26 knock recalls on a list of USPS units. He worked 12 hours on Friday and then offered to stay in a hotel away from his family and worked another 12 hours on Saturday, which is his normal day off. Waldez worked with the Transportation Manager on site, Eric Zhou, and got all the documentation needed to complete recalls for the fleet.
Waldez's professionalism and willingness to be flexible and work long hours enabled the emissions and knock recall for the fleet of trucks to be marked complete and saved the customer money by not having to do another trip.
Waldez is a lead man in the shop and trains the new guys. I recently gave him an entry-level technician with no diesel experience to help him get trained. It has been a few weeks and the new hire is already helping our Eaton repair backlog by removing transmissions for my Eaton tech to diagnose and repair.
He is willing to do all the training provided by the OEM, including Allison, Eaton, and Cummins. He is putting pressure on me now to get him to EV class!
Waldez is friendly and happy. He has a positive attitude, which is very underrated in our field. He is often requested by other internal departments to do their work to help with their projects.
Service Technician
Matt has worked for North Central International, Inc. since 2009. He is International Diamond Certified and is certified in Cummins Heavy Range Engines. He also holds some Maxx Power and Air Tronic training along with Eaton training. He goes above and beyond as a technician, solving complex problems and challenging himself to do better for each customer. We had a coach bus that broke down and was unable to drive with an entire load of high school students from two states away. Matt spent the time to try and diagnose a failure on a service call for a machine that he had no training for or certifications in. He went home and spent the night continuing to research the issue and contacted the company to get schematics. After getting schematics, he was able to resolve the failure and keep their trip on schedule. He even went as far as to pick up the driver at his hotel and brought him back to the repaired bus.
Matt continues to exemplify leadership to new technicians at the shop, but he is a shining star in electrical work. Any time we are training new technicians on electrical work, Matt is the favorite for advice and help from his peers. He truly teaches others in a way that they can understand and comprehend. He leads by example and takes the time to further the other technicians in their training and truly lifts the whole team.
Matt also recently helped us revamp our shop layout for efficiency. He took the lead to change and implement some significant ideas. He always considers efficiency, speed, and cost savings in all facets of his work. Matt is an information seeker when it comes to his work. He commits himself to learn, whether that is working on other OEM equipment or learning about the truck sales process. He tries to understand the full role so he can serve the customer better. He takes immense pride in his level of service to our customers, and his reputation in our area backs that up.
