The Employee: Barry Burton

Location: Little Rock

The Fans: Future Fuel Chemical Company

 

Ask Barry Burton about his recent service call to Future Fuel Chemical Company in Batesville, Ark., and he’ll shrug and tell you he was just doing his job.

Barry is a humble professional with a unique personal touch with every customer he visits. And make no mistake… he’ll go to great lengths to Create a Raving Fan. Need proof?

Not long ago, the staff at the City of North Little Rock Police Station threw away their full waste toner bottle. When told that ordering a new one would present a delay, Barry “dumpster dove” into the office’s trash bin, pulled out the waste toner bottle, and refurbished it for reuse.

Creating Raving Fans is part of his DNA. Future Fuel is no exception.

“I try to look at my approach from their side. Not every technician is willing to take the time to interact with a customer on a personal level,” Barry reasons. “We’re all people. We all have the same needs and desires when we get down to it. What would I hope for at the end of this interaction (if the situation were reversed)?”

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The Organization's Need

The company’s Konica Minolta C3601 was printing a blue line along the edge of documents. The issue included scanned/copied documents as well. The office itself is highly secured and difficult to get into.

Barry’s point of contact rode into the facility with him as he carried in three drums and a tool bag. He ran some tests and realized quickly that the charging roller on the blue drum was interfering with the toner layout.

The Team’s Approach

’The fix was relatively fast. What made the difference was Barry’s willingness to communicate and to educate on a variety of other potential issues.

“She said something about the waste toner just being replaced, and they didn’t have an extra one. So I went ahead and ordered her a new one.”

He showed her how to pull out the sight glass and make sure it’s clean. He helped her identify the laser lenses (sometimes toner will drop into one of the lenses) and how to clean them. Barry also explained the nuances of the narrow glass on the left side of the copier board. If there’s any dirt on that glass, he explained, it will create a scan line. Finally, he educated her on what worn feed rollers look like vs new feed rollers.

“If I’m visiting with someone who has responsibility with making service calls, I try to give them as much information as I can to do some preemptive service before they call us. It’s certainly not a waste of time in my opinion,” Barry said.

Equal parts copier technician and consultant, Barry took the extra time. Even if he shrugs a bit at the customer’s feedback on his call, his actions were worth raving about.

What Made Them a Raving Fan?

Barry may shrug a bit at his impact... but the customer sure wasn't! 

"Barry has come out to assist us with this machine before. Each time he has given me training and insight into how to troubleshoot issues and what to look for. He also took care of ordering an additional waste cartridge,” the customer wrote in the post-service survey.