General Parts Group Goes Above and Beyond, Literally, for Commercial Appliance Repairs

Geoff Settle, CFESA Master Technician at General Parts Group’s Boise, Idaho location recently had a most interesting work commute. As an Authorized Service Agent (ASA) for Jackson Warewashing Systems, he got a service request for a Jackson DishStar® in a very remote Oregon location. Servicing a large rural area covering several Western states, the GP Boise service team regularly drive several hours for a commercial appliance repair but have never faced travel challenges like this before.

Challenging Location
The exclusive Minam River Lodge is in a very isolated location with three options to get there and none are for the faint of heart. The choices were an 8.5-mile hike one way, a long horseback ride, or a private charter flight with a landing on a grass runway. Most businesses say customer service is key but few would literally go this far out of their way to do commercial appliance repair service. General Parts believes in helping customers and maintaining their partnerships with manufacturers like Jackson and they said yes to the service call.

Team Effort
The logistical challenges of reaching the location made it extremely important to pre-diagnose the problem so it could be fixed on the first visit. While the lodge is in a remote area it is well patronized and serves three meals a day to its clients. A functioning dishwashing system is a critical component of their customer service. Jackson wanted a happy customer and wanted to resolve the customer issue as soon as possible. Although General Parts’ network of service locations includes two branches in Oregon, it was determined the Boise location was closest to the airport used by the lodge’s charter service. However, this still required a 5-hour drive each way!

Preparation Is Key
Geoff and his team worked closely and directly with the manufacturer Jackson to give the customer the best warranty experience possible. They triaged with manufacturer and client to troubleshoot and prepare for the most likely commercial appliance repair scenarios and repair needs. They put their heads together to figure it out and Geoff was prepared when he arrived.
It took just a short time to examine the problem and prepare for several potential issues and to figure out travel.

An Amazing Work Day
Geoff took a charter flight out to the beautiful old-growth Oregon forest. The lodge owners were very excited to see him arrive with his box of parts and tools. He quickly diagnosed the problem. A rinse pump failure caused a blown fuse and shut down the DishStar®. He had all the recommended parts and just what he needed. Geoff repaired the machine that day. He flew in at 10 a.m., repaired the machine, had a delicious lunch, and flew back out by 2 p.m. General Parts Group, met their goal of getting the customer back up and running as quickly as possible with a first-time fix.