Reliable's service team comes to the rescue

photo David Walker, center, and the rest of Reliable's residential service team are ready to keep customers' houses comfortable.

With the ever changing realm of technology, it can be difficult to keep up, but that's exactly what the service department personnel at Reliable Heating and Air Conditioning aim to do.

Company President Clayton Cornell said that by adapting to the times in regards to technology, they are able to manage customers' increased expectations. "Just like your smartphone, your laptop or the newest and greatest tablet, massive leaps in technology are just a part of life," he said. "Get better, get faster or get left behind."

Reliable's service department recently upgraded its technology again to a faster, smarter and more capable version than previous models, according to Cornell.

"Our newest upgrades have us poised to remain Chattanooga's premier service company without losing the personal touch that got us where we are today," he said.

The team is hiring more technicians to decrease wait times for new service calls, and team members are working with Verizon and a custom software developer to sync the entire department and fleet on a "cloud" network. Additionally, every service van is outfitted with dashboard- mounted laptops and printers, enabling the team to search customer history, warranty information, access wiring schematics and print out equipment bulletins and factory specs in the field. "All these efforts make today's tech more than just a handyman," Cornell said.

With GPS tracking on the service vans, the dispatcher is able to send the closest technician to an emergency call, reducing the wait time and getting problems corrected that much faster. Another way Reliable stays current is by having every completed service call automatically generate a "parts pull list," so that any items used that day are automatically pulled by the home office for each technician and ready the next morning.

"As the seasons change, our new software enables us to see which parts are most frequently replaced in the Chattanooga area for the coming months," Cornell added. "Forecasting reports are generated and trucks are stocked accordingly, thus eliminating unnecessary parts and speeding up the customer repairs."

Training is also key when it comes to keeping the service department at Reliable current. A state of the art training facility built in 2002 enables team members to receive factory training from online instructors, attend online webinars on the latest industry developments and more.

Even Reliable's website is tailored to respond to the way customers now want to do business, Cornell added.

"We now receive a large percentage of our service calls from our website, as customers can request a tune-up, a routine service call or an emergency service from their smartphone or home computer," he said. "These calls go directly to our service department or to our after-hours team and get prompt attention, so there's no more waiting for an answering service to relay the important information."

As a four-time winner of Chattanooga's "Best of the Best" public- nominated and -voted contest, the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce's Small Business of the Year Award and a BBB Ethics Award winner, Cornell said the staff at Reliable will not rest when it comes to bettering the business to make sure they get customers the best service possible.

"We are determined to be innovators in the Chattanooga service market, to evolve and change as new technology is incorporated to let us deliver a superior service performance," he said. "We continually ask ourselves, 'What do our customers want?' 'How do they want their service delivered?' 'How do we improve the experience?'"

Reliable Heating and Air Conditioning was founded in 1972 by Randy Cornell and is now run by his two sons, Clayton and David. The business is located at 404 Spears Ave. For more information about services or to schedule a consultation regarding a standby generator, call the office at 423-266-2424 or visit reliable-online.com.

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