Radio Broadcast (May 1928-Apr 1929)

The First Steps For Dealer s Profit PRACTICAL RADIO SERVICE RECORDS LET'S eavesdrop on the office end of a telephone conversation which runs something like this: "Jones Radio Service. Yes. Mrs. Green, we shall be glad to have a man call. What is the address, please? Which model is your radio? Are you using batteries or a power unit ? About how long ago did you last have new B batteries? Thank you. When would you like to have a man call? Only in the morning? Yes, I know we've been there a number of times, Mrs. Green, but we have such a large number of calls that it is quite impossible to remember all the special details of each of them. Yes, we'll have a man call to-morrow morning. Thank you." Now let's eavesdrop in another office. "Smith Radio Service. Yes, Mrs. Green." While Mrs. Green is speaking, the efficient young lady at the desk reaches about ten inches to her right, to the alphabetical file containing perhaps a thousand active records, and extracts therefrom — within five seconds — a card bearing the complete record of the last several calls made at Mrs. Green's home. The record makes questions unnecessary, and she immediately replies to Mrs. Green's statement of trouble by saying: "We shall be glad to have a man call to-morrow morning to take care of it, Mrs. Green. Thank you. Good-bye." While the example given in the first paragraph is exaggerated — the average service concern would not ask all those questions — every bit of that advance information is of real value in servicing a radio. If complete data is not on record, then it must either be obtained from the customer each time a call is requested, or else the serviceman must approach the job "blind" and hope he'll have everything he might need. Of course, it would be possible to have a serviceman so fully By JOHN S. DUNHAM Q R V Radio Service, Inc. equipped that he would be prepared at all times to meet extraordinary demands for any amount of supplies, but it would be neither practical nor economical. If proper records are kept, each man takes with him, each day, only the supplies he actually needs, plus a small amount for emergency calls, thus keeping the average inventory down to a figure of perhaps one-fifth of that which would otherwise be necessary. A Card System THE system of records we shall describe briefly has been used by one organization for the past five years and has proven itself to be very satisfactory. The 3 by 5 inch job card illustrated on this page is written up as soon as a call comes in, and is then immediately put in a numerical file under the date the work is to be done. If it is to be done the same day, it is put either into the individual job-card box of the man to whom it is assigned, or, if it is to be telephoned to him, in a special place on the desk until that, is accomplished, after which it goes into his box to be written up when he comes in. At the end of each day the job-cards filed under the date of the next day are assigned to the various men, a record is made of the assignments in a day-book used only for that purpose, and they are then placed in the men's boxes. There is no waiting in the mornings for work to be assigned. The reports written by the men on the jobcards, before leaving each job, are transferred practically verbatim, the next morning, to the 5 by 8 inch master-cards illustrated. These large cards, which have been filed in the "to be done" section pending completion of the work, are now put into the "to be billed" section, or if cash was paid, into the "completed" section. The "to be billed" section is removed bodily each afternoon, and after billing, the cards are filed in the "billed" section, where they remain until paid or written off. Statements are sent out monthly, and that fact is recorded on the cards. When payment has been made, the card is then placed in the "completed" section. When the first master-card has been filled up, and card number two has been started with the record of a call made, then card number one is placed in an inactive "old" file. Every six months, the cards in the active "completed" section upon which no call have been recorded during the past twelve months, are removed, carefully tabulated in a classified record of customers gained and lost, and are then placed in a "dead" file. Arrangement of File THE plane of the cards is parallel to the length of the drawer, so that the person at the desk is directly in front of the cards which are in either the right or left-hand drawers, when they are open. Each of the active alphabetical sections employs guides of a color differing from the colors of the other active sections. Each section has a special guide preceding it, with a large tab on which is printed the name of that section, and they are placed, from front to back, starting at the front end of the drawer, in the following order: "To be done", "To be billed," "Billed," "Completed." The small job-card file, and the supply of blank cards of both sizes, are kept in the upper left-hand drawer. The lower drawers on both sides are used for less active, and inactive files, arranged for accessibility in the order of their degree of activity. QRV RADIO SERVICE Job No. 251 m Deeler.SRl..-. Phone Customer...Jones. Carl.7... Phone Address JJl..B»..i2..S.t._ 4-B Work to be done.-SyOt Probably, .naefla Set Bft4lPla..25 I i.'Ji..Bl.ami.l,« 7-ute,.jnL-ia3„12a . Snnplj Dry A. 0 IS..H»*l9la.iDQ oy.Hnnt .Date 10/30... .Dote , Fig. I — These illustrations show a job-card and mastercard of the type described by Mr. Dunham completely filled out on both sides S-ji. hrd\ & vol . Qual. . Inspection or Service . hrd. & uoi._^EiEi..Krr.,._mH_ ■«Soo± Quol. -*..*s6._ it Sl^tO-ue C.4-,15.22^. Report Put In A'r. ninona^ ftT)1^ j rheo. Put In 3 now tubea. Best.Og Reoonmanded. me^ey _ _6Ai» 3.TOJ93_tula*_ CoiIe«ed...-=_ Bill to 1 DeldTFf QHV ( Customer Jones Z0KB I from E.C.A.) Address CARD No. * , >la 25 •199-120 | Dalc 10/30/C6 Dalel/3i4/27 Da,e 3/20/27 i Date , tlr. Carl J?. Res. Addr. 11 3ast 12th Apt. 4-B .. Set Tubes. TJX O. Inst. Res. Tel. Supply Dl •7 A,B,C :[."'.. '.1 ' Ola 100 Ant. eqp. Bus. Tel. GRA-3200 Bus. Addr. 30 T88t 23rd St. . L. S.Rad In. Inst. Date Done by Job No. Work done. Results obtained Date Billed Date Pd. Loop set hukup 10/30/26 Hunt 25101 SVC* Put In A' a. Gleaned and ad.l. rheoa. Replaced Service Zone I 6 2 50 5 00 2 50 2 50 3 tubes. Reoommended p.,1. roster. Rest OK. 17EAF, TOR As: 6 3 00 6 3 00 6 3 X 6 3 00 BVfZ Rood vol & qual. A 4.6 B 81-40-118 Bs: 10308 2 9 50 0 4.5-22.5 10/31 11/15 2158 2 4 00 1/3/27 K'hnf 368.17 Cs: 5156 1 1 75 SVC. Dpflri l<tr. r..f. pi nnt. Rrnt. In rtatnnrtmb fn» replacement. A'b and B'a needed 1/4/27 Prioa 2696-1 SVC. Put In new oata. A's. B'a. C and one tube Tubes: HZ 199 3 6 75 1 2 25 Shifted tubea. Ad.1. L.S. and loop contacta. Rest OK 1/6/27 3/1 Looals Rood vol & qual. A 4.6 B 92-46-138 3/20/27 C 4.5-23 Sold d.J. meter Cataoomb replaced B 0. H.M.I.. 2*452 SVC. Put In A'e. Rent 01?. mif. mail. TUN mod Weston pin Jaolc mat r 1 7 00 vol & qual. A 4.6 B80-40-120 C 4.5-22^ 3/21 6/4 Radlola 100 oolls 1 pr 1 65 6/5/27 Pede 31004 SVC. Put In A'e and replaced open L.S. oolls. Plied Vol oontrol rhaosta : 1 45 loop wires. Replaced ooen vol oontr oartrid^e. 1V.TZ Trav. Exp. good vol 4 qual. A 4.6 B79-38-119 C 4.5-22£ 6/6 6/10 Taxi Total 12 £5 Total 32 50 Total 5 50 Total 7 60 Total • april, 1929 page 392 9