After-sales service has always been treated as a key requirement at Devon-based
XYZ Machine Tools. According to Nigel Atherton, XYZ’s managing director, the company’s engineers have over 300 years’ experience between them in the service of the wide range of XYZ machines available, ensuring a first-class service. He said: “We have around 25,000 machines in use in the UK and our primary objective is to keep them all cutting metal and earning money for our customers.”
There are currently 17 service engineers located around the UK carrying 150 of the most commonly required spare parts in their vans. They are backed up by a team of eight people at the Burlescombe headquarters that specialises in different technical areas, including software and control.
When a service call is received at XYZ, it is logged in the support system, prioritised and directed to the most appropriate engineer. Where a spare part is required by the customer, the serial number identifies the individual machine, and with 90% of parts on the shelf, it will be shipped out for next-day delivery. However, more than half of all problems are fixed over the telephone, rising to 90% for programming and software queries, and to assist customers in achieving a rapid solution, there are a whole range of ‘How To’ documents and videos designed to resolve the most common questions and support issues that are available.
General support cases are generally resolved within 24hr. If a visit by a service engineer is required, it can be arranged for the next day to coincide with the on-site delivery of any extra spare parts that are not carried in the van. Live tracking of the service vans’ locations ensures that warranty breakdowns are normally fixed within 48hr or less and non-warranty breakdowns within 72hrs. XYZ Machine Tools also offers customers the option of extended warranty plans as well as service plans where regular scheduled maintenance is carried out by its service team to ensure trouble-free machining.
XYZ’s engineers undergo continuous training programmes to ensure that they are up to date with new machines and understand new or revised technology and the company is currently building a knowledge base for engineers to refer to so that they can further optimise customer service.
Furthermore, XYZ Machine Tools has six showrooms and/or training centres sited throughout the UK. These are in Burlescombe, Slough, Nuneaton, Huddersfield, Livingston and Sheffield. A further five applications engineers work with the sales team to provide machine demonstrations and training either at one of the centres or at a customer’s site.
Mr Atherton concluded: “We invest heavily in supporting our customers, continually training our engineers, bringing on new talent and refining how we respond to customer demands. XYZ Machine Tools has built a reputation for first-class service, and we always endeavour to keep our standards as high as possible.”