Aqua Clear Engineering
Water apprentice innovates his way to a bigger pond
Challenge
Growing fast team Growing organization of work and crew
Fixes
- Dispatch can see everything almost immediately and get them to the next job
- Upsells or added service volume
- Staff size to a minimum and labor costs slowed
- An organized field service team spread out as far as 400 miles
It takes a system to create a growing business.
Ryan Johnson was a young, eager, curious engineering student in the late ’90s. He dove headfirst into learning the science and trade of water treatment from his mentors. As he progressed, he learned ways to improve upon the service aspects of his business. Ryan was confident he could do better by the customer. It was in the early 2000s that Ryan decided it was time for him to go it alone. In 2004 Ryan started ACE in Phoenix, Arizona.
In the beginning, Ryan had himself and one tech. They ran fast and smart, and innovated along the way. They did this for a couple of years together. Ryan, being the pragmatic student, taught himself the business of water treatment. In those days, web-based software services were just beginning to emerge. He relied heavily on paper at first, but gradually developed a sophisticated spreadsheet system to track calls and maintenance schedules. His system was so successful that another software company adapted his design for the web.
Word spread quickly that there was a new kid in the pool.
Kickserv's 6 steps
for growing your business
- 1.Identify the pain points in the business
- 2.Write down and describe the pain points
- 3.Design a system to overcome the pain point
- 4.Implement the system
- 5.Designate a person to own the system
- 6.Measure the results
The pain.
With success came growing pains. In just 5 years, Ryan's customer base grew so large that he had to find innovative ways to keep up his high level of customer service. With 9 full-time technicians, the need for better field communication was obvious.
By 2010, the team at ACE had grown by 450% and they were spread across both Arizona and Nevada. Their call volume had exploded by a factor of 10. Ryan was feeling the stress of keeping everyone organized, working, and communicating. Again, Ryan sought out innovation to deliver top quality service to his customer base.
How did Ryan add new techs, keep the same delivery rate, and keep everyone providing the same standard of service to every customer?
The fix.
Out in the field, the ACE crew can share notes, pictures, documents and other attachments--and even track expenses.
It's so easy now--the techs just have to mark the job complete from the site before they leave."
--Ryan Johnson,
Aqua Clear Engineering, Inc.
Definition of success.
Ryan is maintaining an organized field service team spread across 400 miles, but doing more business and collecting payments faster than ever. He does it all from Kickserv’s mobile app--simply scanning the customer’s credit card and collecting online payments at competitive rates.
The resolution.
Ryan knew he needed a way to streamline his communication from his customers to his technicians to the office. His business had far outgrown the original spreadsheet system he built. Ryan went in search of a technology solution that was proven to handle the volume of call traffic and the size of his team, and could keep everyone in communication: customer, technician and office.
He found Kickserv® in 2016.
ACE is now able to share notes, pictures, and documents between the customer, technician, and office. They send estimates, quotes, and invoices back and forth with ease. New team members can see photos to help learn how to solve particular technical problems.
- Upsells and added service volume has increased now that the field crew can get estimates approved digitally with Kickserv
- Staff size can be kept to a minimum, helping with labor costs while still allowing the customer base and call volume to increase
- New technicians can get up to speed quickly thanks to Kickserv’s easy-to-use interface
- Revenue hits the bank faster when payments can be taken right in the field from the Kickserv app
