Will Bruser says Truckworx Kenworth is a dealership committed to “doing what is right for the right reasons,” and with its unending commitment to customer service excellence, it’s easy to see why.
There aren’t many dealers in the medium- and heavy-duty market that have done more in recent years to enhance their customer service response. Substantial investments include corporate marketing and employee training to expanding service department hours and developing a concierge customer service team created specifically to guide customers through service experiences. Together, Bruser says Truckworx Kenworth is singularly focused on providing the products, service and solutions that will keep its customers loyal and their trucks on the road.
“Everything we’re doing is connected to uptime and providing that quality experience,” says Bruser, Truckworx Kenworth president and co-owner. “We want customers leaving in a good mood, wanting to come back to do business with us again.”
It’s clear the method is helping their customers, as the company has doubled its number of locations in the past decade while also being named a finalist for the Successful Dealer Award for the first time.
A family-owned business with a strong focus on personal relationships, Bruser says Truckworx Kenworth strives for excellence in all facets.
On the customer side, most of Truckworx Kenworth’s recent efforts have focused on creating a high-quality, comprehensive and repeatable customer experience process that ensures customers know “how much we value them,” says Leah Stanton, director of marketing. “Our focus is centered around memorable experiences and building meaningful relationships.”
The biggest advantage in that area has been the Truckworx concierge program. Introduced four years ago, Bruser says the program uses Kenworth TruckTech+ technology to monitor connected customer vehicles and work in conjunction with vehicle owners and drivers to schedule service events in a manner that reduces unscheduled downtime. Like other areas of the business, Bruser says the program is constantly growing.
“We are always looking to hire,” he says. “We are always interested in talking to great people to try to determine if there could be a fit with our company.”
Those new hires also are immediately entering training. Truckworx Kenworth recently developed detailed onboarding and training programs for all aspects of its operation. These courses range from brief e-learning modules to multi-week classes and are supplemented by optional training programs available to any employee who “expresses interest and demonstrates potential to grow their role within the company,” says Stanton.
“We believe that one of our most important investments is in our people,” Bruser says. “We are more than willing to invest in our employees’ education so they can better themselves while also improving our customer experience.”
In its service department — where Truckworx has expanded its hours of operation as part of its effort to reduce customer downtime — Bruser says the company now gives technicians pay raises when they obtain specific certifications. He adds that they are also given shift differentials for working night or weekend shifts.
Truckworx Kenworth also has invested in its messaging to customers. The company rebranded its nine locations in Alabama and Mississippi under the Truckworx Kenworth brand in 2012 to help customers better comprehend the size of its operation and Bruser says the efforts have been overwhelmingly successful.
Customers now know how “our people work and understand how our locations operate. They know we are going to be the same no matter where they are,” he says. “They’ve really enjoyed that consistency.”
The company has been equally active in its community. In addition to supporting local and civic events in the communities it resides, Truckworx Kenworth donates or participates in the following charitable and non-profit organizations: March of Dimes, Salvation Army, Autism Awareness, YMCA, Lovelady Center, The Foundry, Susan G. Komen Foundation and Home for the Holidays (through Habitat for Humanity).
There are other programs, too. Bruser says Truckworx Kenworth receives input from employees, customers and community organizations about worthy causes and tries to support as many as possible. He says being active and supportive of its communities is “who we are and what we stand for.”
These efforts haven’t gone unnoticed. Truckworx Kenworth has been named a Top 10 Best Places to Work in Birmingham, Ala., by the Birmingham Business Journal two years in a row, and Bruser says employee engagement and performance is up across the company. Truckworx Kenworth employees are proud to work where they are and do what they do and customers are reaping those rewards.
“I think if you do the right things for the right reasons, [business] success comes naturally,” he says, “because those are the types of companies other companies want to do business with.”
This is the fifth of five profiles on our 2018 Successful Dealer Award finalists. Four Star Freightliner, Gordon Truck Centers and The Larson Group and River States Truck and Trailer were previously featured. The 2018 Successful Dealer Award will be announced Oct. 9, 2018, at Randall Reilly’s RSquared marketing summit.
