Leading Iowa RV Dealership Reaps Major Service and Communication Benefits from Astra G2 Upgrade

Download Ketelsen RV Success Story in PDF 

Ketelsen RV, located in Hiawatha, IA, began as small RV business in 1962 and has gradually expanded into one of the largest dealerships in Iowa.

The dealership attributes much of its success to being a larger business that still has a personal touch.  In order to help improve that personal touch, it needed a better way to maximize the efficiency of its service department and keep its entire staff on the same page.  Upgrading from the “blue screen” to Astra G2 has provided that connection from service to the rest of the business.

Watch a quick video to see how Ketelsen RV has streamlined its service operation with IDS Service Scheduler:

Business Challenge:
Improve Service Process and Create More Visibility Throughout Dealership  

As a rapidly growing business, Ketelsen lacked stability when it came to managing its service department and keeping the rest of the dealership informed on what service and repairs were being done.  The service department relied on a paper ticket for each job.  With such an active shop, if that ticket was lost, vital information was missing.  In order to improve service department management and customer relations, it needed a better solution.

Solution:
Upgrade to Astra G2

Ketelsen implemented G2 last fall focusing on the Service Scheduler first.  Since the implementation, the dealership has made vast strides in not only making service the heartbeat of the business, but also tying the service process to the rest of the business.

Results:
Streamlined Service and Full Dealership Visibility

Customer Footprint of Entire Dealership:

One of the biggest advantages to having G2 is that every department at Ketelsen’s now has visibility of the entire dealership.  For Vice President Jeremy Ketelsen, it’s made an incredible difference on how his entire staff is able to communicate to each other and most importantly the customer.

“We had the customer in mind when we upgraded from the ‘blue screen’ to G2,” said Jeremy.  “We wanted a full customer footprint and transparency of the entire dealership for not only department heads, but their entire teams.   Everyone in our business now knows everything that’s going on with our customers and can use that information to serve them more efficiently.”

Detailed Scheduling:

A big advantage for Jeremy and his staff is the detailed scheduling G2 is able to provide.   In the past Ketelsen relied on Outlook to schedule jobs which left virtually no track record.  With G2, there’s no longer a need to go outside of the system to make appointments and jobs are now detailed with customer and service history.

“In the past we’d go to an Outlook calendar and make an appointment,” said Jeremy.  “The customer would show up and we’d have to dig around and find where the appointment was made and what the customer wanted or needed.  We didn’t have a view into the past.  G2 allows us to make an appointment and distinguish what calendar we want it to go in based on wants and needs of the customer.  All the history is right there.  We can convert it to work order and dispatch it immediately without any hassle.”

Computerized Automation of the Service Process:

Ketelsen was able to eliminate a huge stress point for its service staff by being able to get rid of the paper tickets.  With G2, the entire appointment, customer history, and completed work are all tracked in their dealer management system and visible throughout the entire dealership.

“It was a big deal being able to get rid of those paper tickets for service orders,” said Jeremy.  “We still print off a ticket as a parts call tag, but if it gets lost it gets lost.  We also don’t have a lack of communication.  If a customer calls, we’re able to get in and see what’s been done and inform the customer.  Everyone is also able to communicate a clear message.  Since the information is typed, there’s no misinterpretation of what was entered.”

Teambuilding among Service Techs:

A pleasant surprise with the Service Scheduler is that it provided a new sense of excitement and unity among the service techs.  With the new touch screens, the service techs took on the challenge of learning a new process and found it both fun and useful in their everyday operations.

“We were skeptical of how the service techs would like G2 and the new touch screens at first,” said Jeremy.   “They all got together, pushed buttons for a week or so and now they wouldn’t go back.  It became an enjoyable thing.  They realized the capabilities and how it helps the customer.  Techs are used to working on things with their hands, so they like to log their processes by touch screen rather than keyboard.”

New Opportunities for Sales:

By creating an open line of communication between service and sales, Ketelsen now has the ability to provide its sales staff with more opportunities from its current customer base.  If a customer brings a unit in for repair and decides they’d rather trade it in, or they choose not to fix it and look for and upgrade, sales is notified.

“By having that customer footprint throughout the entire dealership, our sales staff gains an immediate advantage,” added Jeremy.  “If someone brings their RV in for repair and ecides it’s not worth fixing, sales has that visibility and can assist them.  It really brings all areas of our dealership together and drives our success.”

Download Ketelsen RV Success Story in PDF