Customer Support Must-Haves in Fleet Management Platforms

Purchasing and implementing a fleet management platform is a long-term commitment that represents an investment in both funds and hours of working relationships. While you’ve probably researched most of the top recommended questions to ask when shopping for your new tool, it’s a good idea to pay special attention to the customer support offering from your potential vendors.

What should you consider when looking at a vendor’s customer support team?

When considering a new fleet management software tool, ensure your potential vendor offers these key capabilities:

1. Availability around the clock: Sidelined trucks mean lost revenue and disrupted schedules. Check to see if your vendor offers 24/7 support and if you will have a dedicated support team for your account. Additionally, some vendors provide access to resource libraries to help you troubleshoot on your own, and web-based ticket systems that keep you apprised of your request’s status.
2. Short response times: Time spent waiting for a response from your support team can prolong an issue and lead to frustration. Check into your vendor’s average call answer time, and the various channels through which you can contact them, such as by phone, email, or chat.
3. Installer support: Finding success from the start is made easier by a field team that not only comes onsite to train your installation trainers but is willing to jump in the cab when needed to troubleshoot. Check to see what kind of installer support your vendor offers, including health-checks and verifications before the truck rolls out of the shop.
4. Remote access: The ability to update software remotely through the cloud saves you time and headaches. Ask your vendor about its processes and capabilities for updating your system without bringing each truck into the shop. Reliable cloud service also helps ensure your business can scale with any new needs as they emerge.
5. Managed expectations: Not only does a strong customer service team ensure the vendor is meeting all of its SLAs, it can keep you updated on expectations for order fulfillment, app deployment, platform changes, incidents, dates, and more. Transparency in this working relationship helps you more efficiently plan and communicate with your team as well.
6. Proactive approach: Does your potential vendor’s customer support team help identify potential issues proactively, even before drivers report them? Advanced diagnostic analysis can inform on how to mitigate errors in advance – including detecting potential truck faults before they become an issue – and determine the best solution based on the vehicle’s specific requirements.
7. Support for the full fleet staff: From the driver’s cab to the back office and everyone in between, a quality fleet management platform offers improved efficiencies and more accurate insights for all involved. Check to see how the vendor’s customer support team assists with important administrative tasks like scheduling and executing executive-level business reviews (BRs).

Platform Science Customer Support

Platform Science Technical Support is dedicated to providing high quality and efficient day-to-day support to our partners, focusing on maximizing first-contact resolution and providing effective, timely solutions through highly trained technical staff. With support available 24/7 through multiple channels, it takes just 120 seconds on average for callers to be connected with our Customer Support staff. From there, we can typically resolve issues remotely in less than 10 minutes, saving fleets time and money by fixing problems without taking drivers off the road.

Learn more about Platform Science customer support and how we meet all of the must-have requirements for a fleet management platform.