What makes a successful service engineer?
March 1st 2005

Service engineers are the unsung heroes when it comes to keeping the wheels of industry turning.

Machine tools, with their diverse mix of mechanical, electrical and electronic components, present a particular challenge. Here Nigel Atherton, MD and founder of XYZ Machine Tools discusses his ideas on what makes good service

This year XYZ Machine Tools celebrates 21 years in business. In that time the Tiverton, Devon company has become one of the UK’s leading machine tool distributors, selling around 40 to 50 machines a month. This, says founder and managing director Nigel Atherton, is the result of a long-standing commitment to “competitive pricing backed by a comprehensive service and support operation”.

But what of the people with the day-today responsibility for ensuring that XYZ fulfils this after-sales commitment to its customers? “It takes a special kind of person to be a good service engineer,” says Harry McNiven, XYZ’s service manager. “They have to be a good team player while also being an independent thinker, capable of responding to whatever challenge is in front of them. We look for individuals who, in addition to their engineering expertise, thrive on not being tied to a routine and who can cope with being on the road for several days at a time. They must be multi-skilled and able to deal with mechanical, electrical or electronic faults, and combine this skills set with dealing with customers in a diplomatic, friendly and understanding way.”

Put like that, it seems that service people really are a breed apart. Harry McNiven again: “I have been involved with aftersales and service all my working life and, in my experience, good service engineers are driven by the satisfaction that comes from resolving the customer’s problem.”

XYZ’s customer base ranges from subcontractors and toolrooms to major OEMs, including Formula One and aerospace, and machines – whether manual or computer numerically controlled – are covered by a ‘no quibble’ warranty. This is backed by a nationwide service operation with access to an extensive stock of spares held in bonded stores. Three months after installation, customers receive a free-ofcharge service visit that involves a complete machine inspection. “The intention is to detect any incipient faults before they can become a major problem for the customer and for XYZ,” says Nigel Atherton. “This is an increasingly important aspect as our product range extends from manual machines through manual/CNC mills and lathes to the more sophisticated machining and turning centres.”

The service department is located at XYZ’s 60 000 sq. ft. headquarters from where Harry McNiven oversees a team of 10 service engineers. He responds to all initial requests, many of which can be dealt with there and then on the ‘phone. The remainder are delegated to individual service engineers, taking account of their current workload and location.

“I see my priority as maximising the time a service engineer spends with a customer and minimising the time it takes to get him there. Jobs are allocated initially by the degree of urgency: clearly, it is more important to get to a customer if a machine is down than if it is a routine servicing requirement. If necessary, our service engineers are prepared to set off in the evening so as to be with a customer first thing the following morning. Each engineer carries a full complement of spares, but should another part be needed we will ship it direct to the customer and it will be waiting for our engineer when he arrives.

This means that the majority of requests are dealt with in one visit.”

It is this attention to detail that makes the difference between a satisfied and a dissatisfied customer, believes Nigel Atherton, adding that XYZ’s ongoing investment in after-sales support has a sound commercial basis. After all, he points out, it is the satisfied customer who will return for his next machine.

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