Customer Story

ServiceTrade was the first software we looked at that actually brought a holistic view of customer information.

— Jeff Lewis, VP of Inspections

The strategic team at VSC Fire and Security has never shied away from technology. Even before the first service management software solutions hit the market, VSC was utilizing a custom-built database to streamline the creation of their building-specific inspection reports. When they exhausted the database’s abilities, they adopted early (and ultimately cumbersome) software solutions before arriving at ServiceTrade.

In a conversation with the ServiceTrade team, VSC’s VP of Inspections, Jeff Lewis, shared the story of how VSC came to partner with ServiceTrade and how the application’s ability to centralize customer data adds big value to their business. Here is an excerpt from their chat.

ServiceTrade:
What was one of the biggest game changers when you first started using ServiceTrade?

Jeff Lewis, VSC:
ServiceTrade was the first software we looked at that actually brought a holistic view of customer information. It wasn’t just an inspection manager sitting there looking at a database. It was now your service manager, your deficiency manager, your install crews. The data was accessible to anyone in our organization, and anyone could update it.

Previously we had to rely on techs to document deficiencies on their service ticket or remember to call a service manager and tell them. With ServiceTrade, anyone can create a deficiency that immediately comes back into the system. We then can quote it, we can move forward with it, so it’s this all encapsulating way of communicating. That’s been a game changer.

ServiceTrade:
What are some questions you think commercial service contractors should ask when considering a software solution?

Jeff Lewis:
Say a customer signs on and you’re going to go there two times a year, four times a year, one time a year. How do you track that? How do you know when you’re supposed to show up? And if you’re showing up four times, or maybe you’re providing different services each time you go, how do you track that?

The next question would be: how do techs get billables back to you? Any given week we had a hundred thousand dollars worth of billable service tickets riding around in our service trucks. Just work tickets that weren’t going to be turned in for days. And work tickets got lost. It happens. I know this problem isn’t unique to VSC, so I’d ask: how much revenue are you missing out on?

ServiceTrade:
Did you track revenue growth after you implemented ServiceTrade?

Jeff Lewis:
Absolutely. And most of it was from efficiency, from being able to get those tickets back into the office and then having someone act on it.

ServiceTrade:
Which ServiceTrade feature has had the biggest impact on your business?

Jeff Lewis:
There’s a wonderful service opportunity feature where we can go in and set up budget calls. We can get alerted before a customer’s contract is up, we can contact them, we can give them budget pricing for their six year fire extinguishers. That’s huge.

You know, you can get to them the year before, when you know they’re preparing their budget for next year and say: “Hey all 400 of your fire extinguishers are due for six year maintenance and your number is going to be X.” They now have the time to budget for it. And it’s really helped. We’ve had customers tell us: “You know, you’re not the cheapest game in town, but you guys bring a whole lot more to the table than your competitors and that’s what we’re paying for.”

About VSC Fire and Safety Inc.

VSC Fire & Security delivers integrated, cutting-edge fire protection, life safety and security solutions, including fire suppression and detection systems, fire sprinklers, alarms and security systems throughout the southeast. At the time of this posting, VSC has 18 US locations. You can find out more about VSC here.