lol heres another one
one of the factories considers metro NY a "unique business area" lol
at one point they wanted us to use PSSR's
that didnt go well
poor girl got cursed out everywhere she went (think about selling and servicing forklifts to people whos attitudes resemble that of the characters in Goodfellas lol)
i thought i saw her break down at one point i think she was crying
they never tried that again

McLift, what a great name for your new company, i think we could start a whole new discussion about sales nightmares here. Here's one, I worked with a guy that progressed from field tech (1 year & couldn't handle it )to PSSR, new truck sales, service manager?, left the company to sell pickup trucks, left that comany to sell salsa (which is big here in the SW) lost track after that. As far as sales nightmares, unfortunitly they are far to common in the business. And since all field tech's are one on one with the customers (iv'e heard field tech's refered to as "director of first impressions") firld tech's sometimes ussally are the customers first contact other than maybe a phone call first. So field service is might say "the clean-up crew" we clean-up after dispatch, service office, billing, sales, and any other issue the dealer promised and failed to deliver. All you dealers, service managers, parts managers, sales managers & admin should listen up. If you have a degree that's great but that does not make you an expert in any given field. Experiance has more meaning to a customer than any piece of paper. They do not want or have the time to listen to your *)!(&^%, so wise up, listen, and use the resource right under your noses. Justin, you brought back some sales nightmare memories, that just sets me off.

that must be one of the biggest posts in here. ha ha. your a brave man going solo but if you can get the work good on you. i,ve been doing this job since 16 and now 33 but still you learn a little each day. good guys are a plenty in this job but we will always be outnumbered by crooks and cowboys

i didnt either and id be a fool if i didnt try to get in as a dealer at some point in the future
but you gotta start somewhere lol
and thanks for all the help from you guys and every1 else on the forums here
this site is a great tool for vets and upcoming techs alike
i tell a lot of people i know in the ind to check this out

lol isee your dislike and i know how you feel
obviously i feel the same lol
hey no problem apology accepted

i started in forklifts when i was 23 now im 34 (all at my old job) in all those years i only had 2 really honest sales people most of the others were either bad at the job or liars
my WORST pet peeve with them is when the salesman walks into a customer and tries to diagnose a machine himself, with no tools, no tech knowledge and without even bending over to look at it closely
i had a huge blowup at my old place over that
guy goes out and has a customer spend approx $1000 on new batteries, he didnt even call in to get a tech for diagnostics
after that didnt help, i show up and adjust the tiller switch
no more problems to date
and this wasnt the 1st or even 2nd time that this guy tried to "play mechanic" and failed horribly
my fav was when he tried getting load wheels for a reach
all on his own, looked at the machine, sourced and picked up new load wheels, and handed them to service with the new customers addy
i go in with his parts
take apart the old ones then found out that the new ones were approx 5 mm too big to fit in the brackets (floating LW assy)
i bring them back and reorder the correct parts
but then this sales guy starts in with me "how do you know they didnt fit? did you even try to put them in?" i lost my sht on him
and then even after all of that
the customer tells me when i came back with the right parts the this sales guy came and says "i know what happened here, Justin came in, took a quick look at it , and decided the wheels wouldnt fit" the the customer told him "no, he took it all apart and found out they wouldnt fit cause he tried getting them in and looking for anything else wrong besides the parts being incorrect"
needless to say that guy got a "talking to" lol
but that didnt stop him

now (along with my old boss) this same guy is going around and badmouthing me lol
again needless to say my reputation stands alone and that guy has no shot at denting it

a lot of customers HATED dealing with my company but they loved me and the work i DO for them
going through my old co was a "necessary evil" to get to me
add to that unpaid commissions,being promised and then being passed over for management twice by guys that were there 2 years and the other 7 months (the only reason i got passed over was to keep my wrench on the road, but how could any1 with half a brain not see that those decisions would push me out the door completely)
with that business opportunities presented themselves

i dont know what was sadder walking away from a place that i poured my soul, sweat, and blood into or walking away from all the money they owe me (get all promised commissions in writing guys, i thought i could trust these people and when you handshake with me i consider it a HUGE disrespect to go back on what was shook on)

if that guy gave me the chance i would have 180degreed that place and made it efficient, SAFE, and profitable
...

now my old boss is going around and flat out lying about me
its real sad i prob made that guy a million bucks or more in my time there

ive been chomping at the bit on some threads over the last few months (mainly those GPS and TRAVEL TIME threads i wanted to go off) cause i know my old boss looks at these forums (thanks to me lol)

FYI the name of my company is McLIFT llc (a play on my last name and irish heritage) my email if you guys need anything is
justinmclift at gmail
another reason i didnt use my own name is that theres a dealer in upstate NY (im downstate) who uses his last name which is the exact same spelling as my last name, i just foresaw legal issues with that down the road so McLIFT was born lol

again thanks for the encouragement guys
(im already making more than what i used to lol, like i always say im gonna get whats owed to me, one way or another)

I apoligize for the sales remark, as a former field tech of 30 years and now 5 years as a customer I to have a dislike for sales so I aplogize for that. Justin I wish you all the best with your new business, if you concentrate on excelling your service to your customers and have your resources in line watch your overhead I see no reason why someone can't do well as an independant. This web site is the absolute best out there for the support your asking for and going to need. You have a world wide network at your finger tips justin, I think we should all say a thank you to forkliftaction for providing us this service. With "service excellence" at the dealership level declining as it has been now for several years, most cudtomers out there are looking for something different so offer that difference, again you sound like a real "go getter" I certain you will be successful & if you need help in any way just ask.

Justin dude I didnt think youd ever go it alone with no factory support in this day and age.I wish you luck my man.I have thought of the same thing but this job the requirments change to fast.You still got my e mail I ll help you if I can as you have helped me.Keep on Keeping on

ok i wish you guys read what i typed in its entirety (hopefully thats just for message boards and not service manuals lol jk)
1 i said he gets help when its needed
2 i said the jack sitdown split is 50/50

also most of his trucks are under 5 years old so theyre in relatively good shape

also im in NY not arizona
i went to training at nueman hobbs (i thinksthats how its spelled) in phoenix
the difference is like night and day when talking about the pressure work loads etc (based on my convos with those good folks) between the two

i still really take offense to the "sales" comment since that statement implies untruth or lack of trustworthiness on my part
i hate sleazy sales people and hope never to be put on the same level as them
and i still cant understand why you would think i would lie about that

fyi: i am no longer a dealer tech
i quit 3 weeks ago and started my own shop (van lol)
doin real good so far and i hope some of you guys can help me out with info when i need it (prosh lol)

Let's say your fleet is only 25 machine but, it happens to be a foundry type application, is one tech enough? Maybe. All the talk back and forth within this forum is a very positive thing to happen, i'm all for it but, anyone that's been in our business any length of time should know what's reality and productive. If everyone would read between the lines you can narrow it down to just a few factors.

1. type of equipment (IC, type of fuel, elec)
2. how much equipment location has to maintain
3. application (match equipment to applications)
4. in-house support (tech experiance)(safety)
5. external support (dealer)
6. pm frequency

All factors listed above will determine how many tech's, in-house & local suppot is needed to safely maintain your fleet. If you have the experiance, if you keep current with mobile equipment products, have good local dealer support as well as, in-house support such as, pro-active management and safety departmen will increase your ability to maintain your fleet. Maybe even a fleet as large as 200-250 machines. Personally I think it's impossible unless your fleet happens to be only pallet jacks.

I aggree with the statement you need 50-60 trucks to keep a tech busy. Any less would be a waste of money on your part. The post that stated 1 tech handles 250 - 300 trucks, I dont believe. NO tech can handle 250 - 300 trucks - correctly. Which means PM's on time, repairs done correctly the first time, battery & charger maintenance. The only way a tech could handle a count like that would be to have a service company in constantly helping which defeates the purpose.
Theother thing to concider- the age of the fleet. If your talking a new fleet, theres not much for an in house tech to do. You will have your usual warranty fixes and some damage, but not untill the hours start adding up and the PM's start. You also may want to look into a full maintence package where you pay one fee, which takes care of the truck, PM's, and repairs. Again depending on the amount of trucks you are concidering.

Well Im glad he had mostly elec trucks.And the rider pj do help a lot,As in not as much to break.But still man 250 to 300 pcs of equip to take care of W>O>W Id have gotten a new job.If a place with 50 or more trucks had a way of keeping up with industry change the way big truck shops do.Id say cost reduction would be a benifit.But the way things are going now they will soon be spending more time finding information if they can than fixing trucks.

lol what do you think youre paying the dealer 120$ an hour for?
all that plus their profit margin

with a large fleet of trucks you save big money in the long run by keeping the labor in-house
plus you control the parts inventory and can probably work out volume discount deals with the dealers on the parts, saving more money than the markup of the same parts installed by dealer techs

o and dont forget the travel fee
shop supplies
disposal fees
all marked up to turn a profit

if you have 1 or 2 machines even 10 its not worth doing the work yourself
but at 100 units youre looking at big savings

Keep in mind, with an in house tech, you have to consider more than his salary & training. You have to look at benifits, insurance, uniforms, vacation & sick time. Also continued training, with technology changing all the time.

I agree with justinm,
We had a tech that had 250-300 units and could handle the work load. He was and older guy that loved to get in there and get it done. Loved a challenge.
Keep in mind ,they all don't break at the same time and if you have regular P.M schedule it helps.
There are day's when i have to pick up the phone to make sure it is still working, it's so slow.........the next day............30- 50 calls. The joy of the lift truck industry

the guy actually retired like 2 months ago, they replaced him with 2 techs and theyre downsizing now

i dont understand how a sales person would like a story where the service company isnt getting any of those labor hours (except warranty) and im not the biggest fan of sales people

i never said that i thought that he didnt need help
but
their safety record was actually very good as far as the machines go (union shop)
he usually had about 10 machines in the shop at a time

the supervisors and operators took the machines out of service at the first hint of any trouble (mostly cause they would get a lil break to take the machine to the forklift shop or going to get the mechanic and a replacement unit)

i also said "he gets help when he needs it" from the delivery truck shop (more inhouse techs) next door to his shop

its was about a 50/50 split of sitdown electrics and rider jacks of all brands (a lot of toyota and linde) the only gas unit was a large pneumatic

I agree with u crowd and if it is true if i was the tech i would be looking for a new job lol. 300 trucks he would struggle just doing the servicing properly never mind breakdowns.I maybey be speaking out of turn but i would say about 50 trucks max would be more than enough for 1 tech there is some places with 30 trucks and has site engineer