Radio Broadcast (May 1929-Apr 1930)

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Defining the Scope of the Serviceman's Job RADIO AMBASSADORS OF GOOD WRX By HERBERT H. FROST President, Radio Manufacturers Association "The serviceman is not only a trained mechanic, but he must also have sales ability, personality, and tact." "In the long run, it is not the cost of giving service that is to be considered, but the expense in not giving it." A SATISFIED customer is your best advertisement." That is an old statement, but it's especially true in radio. In this industry, there are many ways of interesting a customer, but no matter what sales talk may be given him, what promises may be made, or how good-looking the radio set may be, unless it continues to function properly and to his satisfaction, you have anything but a satisfied customer. Here enters the serviceman. He is to-day different from the serviceman of the past, as he is not only a trained mechanic, but he must also have sales ability, personality, and tact to allow him to meet unexpected situations in his work. The importance of a serviceman having these qualifications is becoming more pronounced each year, and the capabilities of these men are advancing in accordance with advances made in the radio art. It has been proved repeatedly that when a dealer sells a radio set without having a capable serviceman, it results in the set being installed in a haphazard fashion. Eventually the customer has cause to become dissatisfied. He reports his dissatisfaction to the dealer, but finds no success. The ultimate result is that this disgruntled consumer tells his friends about the dealer, and before long that dealer realizes he has a poor reputation, which finally results in the closing of his store because he has lost his patronage. Traveling public officials are sometimes called "ambassadors of good will." I believe that a field serviceman, whether he comes from the dealer, the distributor, or the manufacturer, is in all truthfulness an ambassador of good will, as he is never called upon unless there is some sort of trouble to be straightened out, and if he is successful it most assuredly results in good will. Who is more appreciative than an ardent radio fan whose balky receiver is once more playing merrily? The reason for stressing the importance of a dealer maintaining an adequate and efficient service department, rather than having his service work done by his distributor or manu Herbert H. Frost facturer, is because he is familiar with the conditions surrounding that particular sale. If the service is handled by a jobber or manufacturer, all personal touch between the dealer and his customer is lost. In the long run, from the standpoint of the dealer, it is not the cost of giving service that is to be considered, but the expense in not giving it. Of course, there are some people who demand excessive service, and again this brings out the desirability of having the dealer handle the situation, as he alone knows that particular consumer's peculiarities. The distributor and manufacturer should also maintain adequate service personnel, as the dealer looks to them for technical information and necessary spare parts material. The more assistance that the jobber and manufacturer give the dealer in the form of instructions, the less that dealer is apt to call for assistance, and the more willing he is to maintain his own service department, as, having a thorough knowledge of the merchandise, he then realizes how easy it is to accomplish the normal service repairs. There is a growing tendency on the part of the manufacturer to maintain a staff of travel ing men, whose main duty is to give instructions to various groups of dealers, supply the dealer with a complete and easily understood service manual, and to assist the dealer in every possible manner to enable him to help himself. It has been found that most dealers prefer to handle their own service problems. A service manager has to be farsighted enough to study the products being sold by his organization and to be prepared to eliminate any defect which may present itself in the merchandise, in the course of the year. His clear directions on how to handle these possible difficulties are an important part of the service manual which makes a large number of minor service calls unnecessary. New Standard SEVERAL manufacturers, distributors, and dealers were called upon not long ago, by the Vocational Training School Board of Essex County, New Jersey, to give the qualifications for a successful serviceman. Following this, a general course of instructions was made up, covering a threeyear period of instruction for a selected group of young men, as it was the opinion of everyone that the efficiency of the average serviceman must be increased and expanded beyond that of an ordinary mechanic. A great deal of good can be accomplished by service companies, formed by a group of servicemen, to handle the service work of various small dealers, who are not in a position to maintain their own department, but unfortunately they do not have that much-needed close contact with the sales, the merchandise, and its acceptance by the consumer. The field of service work is fast increasing in its responsibilities and as soon as the responsibilities are recognized and advantages of a capable service department are appreciated fully by the dealer, jobber, and manufacturer, then will the sale of radio receivers increase still more rapidly. At the same time, the profits will increase, a result to which no objection has ever been found. • may, 1929 page 17 •