Profile at a Glance: Established in 1984, Preferred Surfaces fabricates and installs solid surface, quartz surfacing and natural stone products for Southwestern Pennsylvania and all of West Virginia. The company employs 14 people and installs 8-10 jobs per week.
The Problem: Scheduling jobs and tracking changes became difficult, especially when Preferred Surfaces began fabricating countertops for 25 stores in a home center chain. Documenting customer service calls were difficult and the scheduling system simply wasn’t adequate for the volume of work.
“We were using a paper calendar before,” explains owner Noel Houze. “There was a lot of scratching out and rewriting over the top of days. There were a lot of mistakes being made and we had no fixed method for tagging issues and notes with jobs. It was tough.”
The Moraware Solution: JobTracker offered a scheduling program that allowed changes to be made as needed quickly and efficiently. Project-related documents and notes could be attached to job files electronically, which provided a fool-proof method for documenting job history.
“JobTracker helped quite a bit,” says Houze. “The notes are attached to the job when we talk with a customer. The problem with a home center is the store says one thing and the customer says another. Regardless of who you follow, you are wrong. We would call customers and leave a message for them trying to schedule a measure and they would say we never called. So, with JobTracker we can attach a note telling when we called, including the date and time.”
“We had it up and running in a couple of days. Everyone really liked it.”
“With JobTracker you can grab the job and drag it to another day. It’s very flexible. If you have a paper calendar you have to scribble it out and try to re-write it in a different block. I have seen a job get shifted five or six times before it actually gets installed.”
“Homeowners, and especially contractors, tend to ask for a top before they are ready. They are afraid they will be ready and there will be a long delay. Everybody seems to want to get on the schedule but they don’t always fulfill their responsibilities. Since implementing JobTracker, the trust factor has gone up with our customers.”
“JobTracker has helped with the efficiency in the shop. If people don’t have a good idea of what they have to accomplish for that day they tend to drink more coffee. Anytime there is any confusion with a job, employees tend to just shuffle it off and do something else. The better you can direct them, the more production you will get. Using JobTracker helps focus them better.”
“I wouldn’t want to go back to calendars. JobTracker is a fantastic tool.”
