As service manager at Dysel, I am the first point of contact for our customers. Whether they encounter a problem, implement an upgrade, improve business processes or want additional functionality; I offer them a helping hand. Every day is different and brings unexpected moments and new situations. But that is precisely what makes my job so much fun. To give you an idea; this is what a typical day looks like in the life of a service manager:
8:30
With my first cup of coffee in hand, I review our "project backlog. This is the list of tasks/items performed by the project team in the various ongoing projects. I check the list for specifics that require extra attention and I estimate whether the planned work can still be completed within the remaining capacity.
9:00
This is followed by the daily standup with the project development team. This is a short meeting that takes place every morning. Together we discuss progress since the previous standup, today's expected progress, and we discuss any obstacles and how we are going to overcome them as a team.
10:00
Together with one of the business consultants, I discuss the results of a diagnostic we performed at a customer's site. This customer would like to upgrade to the latest version of our system, and it is therefore important to properly analyze what impact this upgrade will have on business processes. The diagnosis made clear that the customer is going to benefit directly from some new functionalities in the latest version, but a number of important business processes are going to change significantly. With the business consultant, I finalize the report and send it to the customer. Next week we discuss it together. During the meeting, I receive a few phone calls. For urgent issues, I immediately call in a support consultant. Issues that can wait I take up later.
12:00
Just quickly cramming a sandwich down my throat! Then into the car, on the way to our office.
13:00
With some colleagues, I discuss how we can improve our processes internally to serve our customers even better. The world around us is constantly changing. In order to provide the best service to our customers, we need to make continuous adjustments.
14:00
Together with the lead consultant and the client, I discuss the progress in an optimization project. How is it currently going, what challenges remain and are we on track? By speaking frequently and openly with each other, we manage the project together.
14:30
After this conference call, I discuss another project with the same lead consultant. We are soon organizing a three-day workshop at a customer who is also going to use our system at branches abroad. There is a lot involved in setting this up properly. The workshop will make it clear what the best setup of the system is.
15:30
In the hallway, I run into a project developer. He's struggling with one of the tasks in a project and doesn't quite understand what the customer wants. After a brief discussion, he soon knows the right solution direction.
16:00
One of our customers recently received a proposal for an upgrade to the latest version. Our proposal describes in detail what work we will do together, when we will do it, and the division of roles within the project team. Collaboration is crucial in these projects, so we ask for active participation from our client. I discuss with the customer what responsibilities his people have in the project and how much time should be set aside for them.
17:00
On the way home, I call another colleague. Tomorrow we carpool together to a customer who will be working with the customer portal. Tomorrow we will discuss the customer's wishes regarding the portal and how we can realize them by providing the right setup. Handy to discuss this appointment beforehand.
Once home I see that the mailbox is well filled again, but yes: another day tomorrow!
Teun Arts is Service Manager at Dysel and ensures that customers make optimal use of the software's capabilities, now and in the future.
