The silence inside the service manager's office was almost deafening.

DFW Service Manager Daniel Ketchum’s mind was riddled with loud thoughts in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, sitting at his desk. Service calls fell silent. Businesses had locked their doors and scurried home. The pandemic had flooded Datamax service departments with an eerie quietness that brought inevitable uncertainty.

“My first thought was, will I still have a job for even a month if this is the new norm,” Daniel says. “But, knowing that Datamax was a strong grounded company, we could weather the storm.”

When normal ways of doing things are flooded and torn down, it’s time to rebuild.

In “Gung Ho!” author Ken Blanchard writes candidly about “The Way of the Beaver: In Control of Achieving the Goal.” In this segment of the book, the narrator leads the reader down a trail, to the edge of a pond circled by a narrow trail. It’s here where the two characters witness the tireless work of beavers, the pattern of work almost a mystery as each one works independently, confidently, within their own space, to repair a dam.

In fact, beavers build their home with an entrance under water to protect them from harm. A dam is built to keep the water at a certain level to prevent the entrance from running dry (the goal of the beavers). When the dam is broken, all beavers immediately start repairing it. They trust each other in their dedication towards the common goal of the group.

So that’s what Daniel, his DFW team, and other service departments across the organization, did. There was little activity on the call boards, and little movement on technician GPS maps. But there was no time idleness.

It was time to stabilize the dam.

“When the dam broke in March, there was no sitting around. These guys have put their personal feelings aside, put their mask on and went into every situation they could to fix machines staring COVID-19 and a nationwide lockdown in the face. We cannot say enough about the work that they do.” - Mark McKinney

3 Qualities for Stabilizing the Dam: The Service Department Response to COVID-19

1. Preparedness.

Step no. 1? Safety.

“We had to get guys set up with masks, gloves, all the proper cleaning supplies,” Daniel said. “We had to make sure that we make the guys feel comfortable to go out and want to do service calls. Our message was: ‘we’re going to make sure you have the proper safety equipment on hand when you’re out in the field.’”

Daniel and fellow service manager Shawn Hay outlined specific sanitation procedures to ensure that we felt safe … and so did our customers.

Managers also had to prepare for what technicians would do if they weren’t taking service calls. With unforeseen circumstances, at times, comes opportunity. In this case it was extensive training.
Beyond manufacturer training, managers utilized Knowledge Wave and materials from Mike Riordan to build a holistic, valuable training experience to keep technicians not just busy … but more well-rounded when the time came to return to the field.

2. Adaptability

If the pandemic has taught us anything, it’s the ability to adjust.

When hand sanitizer was impossible to find, the DFW team made their own.

When managers ran low on training ideas, they looked internally. Joshua Singleton was brought in to do network training. Joshua even constructed his own test for technicians to complete.

When the need for resourcefulness arose, service management de-segmented teams so that every technician works on everything.

“The question becomes, where can we save as a company,” Daniel said. “Yeah, we’ve been fortunate to have no one be laid off, but we want to keep that up. We need to watch those dollars. Having technicians work on every machine, we don’t have to send two different technicians on site. It saves a lot of labor dollars.”

And as service call numbers have steadily rose, the training performed earlier this year has showcased technicians’ adaptability. One of the training exercises was learning Offic365, which is increasingly becoming a tool for businesses in a remote reality.

“Now, when a customer says, ‘I can’t get this to print from Office365,’ now the guys can go out and help with that. It’s more than just copier repair stuff. They’ve got application training now, which becomes increasingly important in this new norm.”

3. Trust.

DFW technician Tim Williams was in downtown Dallas finishing up a service call in mid-March when his phone rang.

“I was in a parking lot, closing out a ticket when I got a call from my manager saying, ‘we’re holding off preventative maintenance calls – only live emergency calls.”

Tim hung up the phone and only then did he realize his surroundings. Downtown Dallas was a ghost town. The few people walking the streets had masks on. COVID-19 was hitting close to home.

“It was suddenly like a different type of reality. We’re actually going to be affected by this,” Tim remembers thinking.

Like anyone else, Tim had his own concerns – for himself, for his family and for his company. But things slowly picked up. Businesses began reopening their doors. He saw distinct advantages in his training, and the ability to better do his job, particularly his EFI Fiery training.

Throughout the masks, the muted service calls, and the marked uncertainty, he never lost trust.

“Sure, it’s a little nerve rattling, all of it. But honestly, I was provided with everything I needed. We had masks, gloves. All the customers I dealt with, they were COVID aware,” Tim said. “I’ve expressed my opinions before on this, but I’ve been really appreciative of the protection they’ve given us. I’ve never not had what I needed to be safe and be productive.”

Back in April, Texas Director of Service Steve Kennemer put it like this:

"In no way are we medical heroes, but these guys are very much first responders," Steve said. "The guys are going out into the field without question. They know if businesses are open right now, we are an essential business to keep our economy up and running. They’re anxious for a phone call to come in. They're asking, 'how am I needed?' 'How can I help?' It’s just incredible."

The Way of the Beaver. In Control of Achieving the Goal.