When did Customer Service Start Meaning the Customer is responsible for Their Service?
Think about your last interaction at a business where you were the customer on the receiving end of the service. Was it an over-the-top, all-needs-met, all-expectations-exceeding connection with a positive, knowledgeable, and motivated person, or was it more of a transactional “going through the motions because this is my job, and I need the money to pay my bills” kind of vibe?
All too often these days, interactions are commonly like those of the latter. You end up getting just barely what you need, and it is given to you by a zombie of a human. Even getting a human to connect with is becoming rare. Think about going to the grocery store or other big box stores. How many people are cashiering compared to how many self-checkouts there are? Are there even employees working cashier positions, or is your only option to use self-check-out? How frustrating is it to try to ring up produce? How unbelievably disappointing is it to have to wait for a cashier to come and help scan an item when you cannot proceed due to too many items in the bagging area or having a large item under your cart?
When did you last stop at a fast food location for a quick bite? Most of the ordering is now self-service, completed by the customer on an automated ordering machine. If you’re anything like me, it takes you an incredible amount of time to complete this task, which can become frustrating. It makes no sense to force your customers to have to do the work of what should be an employee. I mean, you’re paying for complete service, which includes ordering your food and the service, right?
Why is it ok for these massively wealthy companies to force their customers through this frustrating path to procure the goods and services that they desire?
The team at McIver Engineering & Controls and DLS Custom Engineering know that these big companies have it all wrong. We understand that the way to build long-lasting relationships is to provide exceptional customer service alongside goods and services of top quality. I can’t be the only one who orders everything possible on my Amazon Prime account instead of going into a store where I may not find exactly what I need and, if I do, be forced to wait in a long line to use self-checkout. I will open Amazon Prime and search, click, and go. The amount of time, effort, gas, wear-and-tear on my car, and frustration of going into the store is far outweighed by the small premium I will pay to have my exact item delivered right to my front door the next day.
How does any of this relate to Wisconsin Automation or Industrial Control panel Manufacturers?
If you can relate to the descriptions above, then you’ll enjoy working with our team. Whether the customer interaction involves purchasing bananas, a fast-food combo meal, or a custom automation solution designed from scratch, the customer should always be our top priority. This commitment to quality is the foundation of every project at McIver Engineering & Controls and DLS Custom Automation. Our customers will always receive exceptional automation services, regardless of the project size, whether it’s just a couple of spare parts, a small electrical control panel, an industrial control panel, a custom machine, or a fully automated production line. Regardless of the project scope, we are dedicated to delivering high-quality products through industry-leading customer service.
What Does an “Enhanced” Automation Experience Look Like?
At McIver and DLS, our customers are our top priority. From the very first interaction, whether it’s at a tradeshow, on social media, over the phone, or in person, we put our customers at the center of our universe. As a potential customer, you can expect us to listen intently to your needs and ask open-ended questions to facilitate a conversation led by you but guided by our expertise. We recognize that our customers are the experts in their products, just as we are the experts in automation systems and industrial control panels. Our role is to listen to our customers, learn about their processes, products, and services, and guide them to the right-sized, high-quality solution that not only meets their needs but exceeds their expectations.
What to Expect When Partnering with McIver Engineering & Controls and DLS Custom Automation
When you contact our team, be prepared to have your expectations blown out of the water. We believe that being friendly and approachable is the way to work together. We don’t use internal company jargon and technical terms to talk over our customers’ heads. We aim to speak in plain, easy-to-understand words to avoid losing details. We encourage our customers to stop and ask questions if they ever feel they are missing critical information. Our experts, which include engineering specialists, machinists, and master electricians, understand technology so well that they can quickly remove all technical speak to teach anyone how a process or machine concept works, no matter their technical aptitude. We love to have open two-way communication to ensure our customers get exactly what they want AND need. We do this by meeting with you either over teams or in person to get the full vision of what you want in your automation solution.
After we uncover all your needs, our team will collaborate internally to begin preparing your proposal. Should any additional clarifications be needed, we will contact you to discuss them further until there are no gaps. We want to make sure we understand and do not make any assumptions. This way, your automation and industrial control panels will be exactly what you need.
Communication and Collaboration Enhance the Automation Experience
Our project managers, sales team, technicians, and even our engineering specialists will collaborate to complete the proposal to complete your project. This way, we ensure that we offer the most competitive pricing, up-to-date technology, and the leanest process. Wi Automation projects will have a detailed process outline, a proposed layout, ROI details, and an estimated project timeline. We will provide information on the project for electrical control panels and include up-front and any known lead time issues. If possible, we will offer you alternative solutions. For automation projects, we prefer to host meetings in person or on Teams to allow a complete discussion and open brainstorming between our company and yours. We find that offering an in-person dialogue to deliver a proposal instead of sending an email is a much better way to ensure alignment on the front end. This avoids misses in the process once the project is kicked off and reduces the possibility of change orders.
At McIver Engineering & Controls and DLS Custom Automation, we are committed to enhancing the automation, custom machine building, and industrial control panel buying experience, one project at a time. Our focus on exceptional customer service, high-quality solutions, and open communication is designed to make your experience with us as smooth and rewarding as possible.
Once you place your order with McIver Engineering & Controls and DLS Custom Automation, you will be introduced to a project manager who will be your point of contact throughout the project. For small-scale projects, you can expect confirmation of receipt of your purchase order, a scheduled production date, and an estimated ship date. For larger-scale industrial control panel or electrical control panel builds and wi automation and semi-automated projects, you can expect to get a Gantt chart with an outline of project deliverables, which will include an estimated design approval target date and project completion date, in addition to weekly communications, whether meetings or emails, to provide updates on your CapEx investment. You will have peace of mind knowing your project’s state throughout the entire timeline. Suppose there are any issues, such as lead times or obsolescence of components. In that case, you will be notified promptly and presented with alternative options for progressing the project. We believe offering solutions is an integral part of our enhanced automation experience.
How do we enhance the automation experience?
Our enhanced automation experience isn’t limited to only exceptional project management. It extends to our entire organization. Our technicians, or wiremen as some may call them, are unlike those in other industrial control panel manufacturers and wi automation companies. First, our technicians are cross-trained, meaning they can complete the entire manufacturing process, including layout, drilling, tapping, assembly, wiring, and modifications. Many other companies hire low-cost, high-turnover labor to complete one task repeatedly. This helps give the customer low prices but also lowers the quality standard. When there is an influx of business, organizations without cross-trained individuals cannot pivot resources and end up with bottlenecks. Our technicians and engineering specialists work together to complete jobs, and the business influx doesn’t slow us down.
Because we cross-train our technicians, we have another leg up on the competition… LOW TURNOVER!! Over half of our technicians, or as we call them here, craftsmen, have at least 20 years of industrial control panel manufacturing and electrical control panel experience. While many shops that experience low turnover have also been stuck in the “that’s the way we have always done it” rut, our team prides itself on staying current on technologies, introducing efficiencies, working as a team, and sharing knowledge to make tribal knowledge, well TRIBAL. We avoid attrition like the plague. Instead, we strive for improvement on every project that enters and leaves our shop floor. We are constantly adding new tools, improving processes, offering new training and new certifications, and searching out new technology to deliver the very best to our customers. Our technicians, aka craftsmen, are just one of the many ways we aim to enhance your automation and industrial control panel buying experience.
Does your wi automation company have a machine shop?
Our team includes experienced, knowledgeable machinists. Who operate in our fully functioning machine shop, complete with expanded machines from our 2024 acquisition. Our machines are run by highly skilled machinists who meticulously craft every custom part for our custom automation equipment, provide custom solutions to not-so-common problems, and can offer custom modifications to enclosed industrial control panels. With so many capabilities under our roof, it is a rarity that we need to subcontract for trade work. We have talent right in our building and can offer high-quality solutions directly to our customers. This results in a higher quality end-product with a long-lasting life. We can make them right here for you if you ever need replacement parts.
We have Engineering Specialists for Your Projects.
In addition to exceptional project managers, highly skilled machinists, and expert artisans, we have a team of engineering specialists who work alongside our team to ensure we deliver safe, right-sized, high-quality solutions to our customers. We have a great mix of electrical and mechanical resources to support our customers. From initial concept to final design, detail drawings, and wiring schematics, our engineering specialists have you covered. Not only do we build the best high-quality solutions, but we also focus on safety, future expansion, and extended product life.
Safety Features Enhance our Automation Manufacturing Process
We build the best high-quality solutions and focus on safety, future expansion, and extended product life as part of our enhanced automation process. We build to ensure ease of installation, field serviceability simplification, safe troubleshooting, and future expansion. Every electrical control panel and automation system we manufacture includes computer-generated wire labels. This guarantees legibility and durability. Every wiring harness is neatly combed, and we include 20% spare conductors for future expansion. We run every PLC/IO point to terminal strips, including spares and door-mounted devices. Additionally, we mount all heavy and oversized components to studs. These features are standard on every build to enhance the automation, industrial control panel, and custom machine build buying experience.
High-Quality and Safe to Use
While testing and quality standards vary significantly from company to company and can even vary within organizations, we pride ourselves on following stringent quality standards on every project. With established standard operating procedures and documented quality processes, our customers have learned that our name means quality. Our standard Quality Inspection includes point-to-point, continuity, and power-up tests, done by our Senior Technicians and Master Electrician, and a final inspection, completed before shipment by the Project Manager and Technicians. In addition to our standard testing, our customers can also request it, and we can complete additional testing, such as hardware (HFAT) and software factory acceptance testing (SFAT). Every automation project that leaves our facility will also complete a rigorous factory run-off as a standard quality practice, and the customer can request an on-site factory run-off test upon completion and installation at their facility. Every single control panel, automated system, and custom machine build is shipped with a documentation package attached to the unit. This documentation folder includes a copy of the test reports and a “red-lined” and “as-built” drawing, which will help facilitate effective field installation for our customers.
For your next industrial control panel, custom machine built, or automation solution requirement, contact the best in business. Call us today at (262) 783-9912 of visit us at https://mcivereng.com/contact/
