Unlike auto shops, forklift shops are not situated every few blocks throughout the city. Consequently, when your forklift needs service, you may not have immediate access to a shop that is known to be top-notch. When you are faced with maybe three or four choices and your ability to identify which of these service professionals is limited, you should rely on basic identifiers and industry-related signifiers to help you make your decision.
Table of Contents
1. Customer service
Any company that offers quality repair services will have equally solid customer-care service. Service technicians should be able to answer all your questions about the nature of the repair your forklift needs, and the technicians should be able to provide a time estimate for the repairs. Equally important is the fact that the technicians should be able to convey confidence in their ability to fix your forklift.
Finally, a quality repair shop should actually offer a complete diagnosis of your vehicle. For instance, you might call about the forks no longer seeming to be level. A technician should be able to diagnose the specific problem, but he or she should also be able to let you know about all the contributing factors as well as anything else that is wrong with your forklift. Doing so ensures you leave the repair shop with a fixed forklift and not one that will break down again within another hundred hours of use.
2. Broad experience
To ensure your company’s warehouse functions efficiently, you might have two or three types of forklifts. For instance, you might have a side loader or a telehandler. If you conduct a lot of your business outside, you might have a forklift designed to navigate tough terrain. Moreover, you might have one that is electric, or you might have a smaller one that is centrally controlled.
In the same way, different forklifts are designed for different purposes, they will have different components that help them successfully fulfill their purposes. Any quality repair shop will have experience with multiple types. Ideally, the repair shop will have lots of experience with every type your company owns.
When it comes to electronics, a quality shop will be able to conduct repairs for simple light or switch issues, and it will also be able to take care of more serious problems, such as those that sometimes occur with a loom. It is critical that your repair shop is experienced with all electrical components because the electronics on a forklift are central to all the forklift’s safety features. If a repair shop can do mechanical or tire repairs but has no experience with the computerized side of a forklift, you could end up with ongoing problems.
3. Service and sales network
Obviously, a quality forklift shop will be able to service machines. The shop should be able to handle tire repairs as well as more complicated engine repairs. To ensure your business has as few interruptions in your daily operation as possible, your repair shop should also provide proactive maintenance on forklifts because anything you can do to prevent serious problems will always cost you less money and hassle.
However, a quality repair shop will often offer a variety of other services, and these services should include sales. For instance, a shop that has forklifts for sale on the Sunshine Coast will have experience with specific brands. It will also have a network with multiple manufacturers. In case anything odd shows up on your service call, such a shop will have access to suppliers to ask questions and order specific parts.
4. Big picture
The best shops have such a broad knowledge base that they can see the big picture of what is going on in your warehouse. For instance, if a forklift is dented, a good shop can immediately conclude that the visibility in your warehouse is low. Of course, most business owners might be aware of low visibility. However, a good repair shop will also be able to ascertain that a driver is inexperienced or is lifting too much weight if the motor or the hydraulics are damaged in certain ways.
5. Compliance
When it comes to safe operations, a repair shop will be able to ensure such things as gas certificates are renewed on schedule. These certificates must be renewed annually. If these certificates are not renewed, your operation will not be in compliance with recent legislation. However, a competent repair shop can actually make service calls when your certificates are about to expire.
