Leading provider of independent living solutions AKW has added to its customer support services with the creation of a new technical team and the introduction of a mobile customer training facility.
The technical team works as a call centre offering installation and fault-finding support to customers while the Toolbox Training Van is available for on-site customer training.
The technical team consists of supervisor Sue Hicks, who has been with AKW for over 10 years and has extensive product knowledge, John Mines, Pete Tandy and Darren Kelly who are all three ex-tradesmen with plumbing and electrical skills.
Paul Tingey, AKW’s Director of Customer Support Services, says: “The new technical team completes the circle in our provision of customer support. We already have expert surveyors who help with the initial design of an installation and our maintenance team who are available to deal with any issues that arise post-installation.
"Now, with the addition of the technical team, we can provide practical support during installation. With the range of professional skills and experience the individual team members have, they are able to talk in detail with customers, taking them through installation processes, advising on the best way of setting products up and dealing with any problems that arise on the job.”
To ensure support throughout the working day the team work on a shift basis, covering calls from 8.00am to 6.00pm and can be contacted on 01905 560219 or via technicalenquiries@akw-ltd.co.uk. They are able to deal with any technical questions customers may have, helping to fault-find and advising on best practice.
The Toolbox Training Van is manned by Paul Baird, who has worked both as a surveyor and maintenance engineer with AKW and previously had extensive experience as an installer working for Birmingham City Council. Equipped with a range of AKW products, including working models of a Luda shower and pump to demonstrate set up and calibration, a Tuff Form shower former, set up so that it can be lifted to show how to support a former in a timber floor, plus a shower screen kit to demonstrate how screens should be fitted.
Paul Tingey says: “We are keen to offer training to installers of our products but we know that, for them, time is money so coming to our training centre isn’t always an option. With the Toolbox Training Van, we can take the training to them, anywhere in the country, and organise sessions at times that best suit their working patterns, be that for an hour first thing in the morning, at lunch time or after work.
"The van has been designed around the products the technical team receive the most frequent questions on and with his experience, Paul is able to offer practical demonstrations and guidance, talk through the best ways of fitting various products and, most importantly, explain how to fault-find. Customers can request training sessions via our customer support team and we are also taking a pro-active approach.
"If customers are making frequent calls to the technical team, we will suggest a training visit, and, already, this is paying divididends by significantly reducing the number of maintenance call-outs we are getting from customers who have had a visit. The visits are proving to be a major benefit for installers, both helping speed up the actual installation and saving the inconvenience of subsequent call outs.”
Bookings for a Toolbox Training Van visit can be made by contacting your local AKW sales representative.