Service Tech or Trusted Advisor

How does one become a trusted, professional technical service advisor?

In primary school, children are asked the question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Often you would hear, doctor, fireman, teacher, even Superhero, but never a Service Technician. This needs to change!

In our complex technical world our daily lives and business success depend greatly on the response and capabilities of essential service technicians. Service Technicians keep the lights on, computers working, and ensure the machinery of modern societ

y remains uninterrupted. Service Technicians are so very critical to our daily lives that they are indeed “Superheroes”, after all.

Where do these superheroes come from and how are they developed? First of all, Technical Service is a true profession requiring a multitude of skills beyond the technical capabilities in safety, electronics, mechanics, process and controls.The Service Technician’s journey from good to great, has all the development stages of any profession of responsibility. Over time experience and knowledge come together to achieve the ultimate status of a Trusted Advisor.

We have all experienced the Trusted Advisor, a combination of personal, technical and communication skills, delivered with confidence and professionalism. Even in extremely difficult situations, such as extended delays with equipment or parts, significant production disruptions, etc., the Trusted Advisor’s calm and professional approach leaves us feeling well looked after. A Trusted Advisor doesn’t just handle tough situations effectively, they also continually look left and right to identify every area where there are risks to the customer’s safety, efficiency and productivity. They give good advice and recommend additional services, updates and training to their customers to ensure their equipment runs at optimal efficiency and reduced risk of unplanned interruption.

As a customer once said to me, “If you are just coming here to repair my machine when it is broken, you are just a cost and a necessary evil”. However, when a truly professional Service Technician looks left and right, then gives advice which is in the customer’s best interests, they become a Trusted Advisor. Technical colleges do a great job in training new technology and safe practices. Unfortunately, the many complimenting skills needed to become a Trusted Service Advisor, are developed on the job, often from mistakes, resulting in unint

ended customer reactions.

Early in my career I was a Service Technician, and made many of the mistakes resulting in unintended customer responses. Later, while in management, I was burdened with cleaning up the unintended customer responses. It became clear to me that Technical Service was a true profession, with a complete set of skills, equivalent to an executive obtaining an MBA. Best in class suppliers view service delivery as a profession, recognizing the critical non-technical complimenting skills, such as communication, giving bad news respectfully and effectively, being a calming presence and many other important customer interaction skills.

There are frequent investments in sales teams to refine their customer interaction skills, and

rightfully so. However, the service technician has more frequent, and often significantly more challenging customer contact, with an equal or greater opportunity to advance the company brand than an account manager. Why not invest in developing these same skills in your technical service team?

Gary Hughes lecturing at Humber College, Toronto, Canada

At Catalyst Global we see best in class OEM suppliers investing in their service teams with professional development, realizing the power of their position. They prioritize finding the time, in the their demanding service schedules, to ensure their service team’s professional development.

Gary Hughes 2023