One of Maxair’s goals for 2015 is to improve their use of Timberline Service Manager. Rob Lehman (Maxair) said they’ve known for a while that they are not using all its capabilities, but when they launched Tech Tool (a mobile work order platform for Service Manager) in the fall of 2014, that really highlighted wrong ways they were using Service Manager. “When I met Kim O’Connor of Air Comfort at The Unified Group Service Leaders Forum and heard she had just overseen a launch of Tech Tool, I thought there is a good chance they are doing some things better than we are, and vice-versa,” said Rob. “I asked Jim Bartolotta if I could visit and bring Maxair’s Accounting Manager (and former Timberline consultant) to spend a day swapping best practices, which Jim quickly agreed to and encouraged.”
Over the next few weeks Rob and Jenny prepared a list of questions for their April visit to Air Comfort. “We learned that we share a lot of practices as well as struggles, but do have some differences that are worthy of consideration,” said Rob. “Aside from the deep dish pizza, the best part of our visit was learning that Air Comfort has fully integrated Timberline and Service Manager, something we have been hesitant to undertake. We are also using Service Manager better than I thought, there are some limitations that require checks and balances.”
Having established new relationships in a face-to-face setting, Rob said he feels confident reaching out to Air Comfort in the future if they have specific questions about Service Manager and Tech Tool, and hope they are equally confident reaching out to them. “The trip was certainly worth the cost of two airline tickets. I encourage other members to visit each other to share best practices and build relationships,” said Rob.