Why General Parts Group Enjoys Challenging Restaurant Equipment Projects

At General Parts Group we are usually quietly getting on with the business of making food service equipment run smoothly. As anyone involved with foodservice will know, it’s a busy industry with constant pressure to perform. But, every now and then we get a thank you note which gives us pause for thought, they remind us that hey, ‘we did do a good job, didn’t we’ and they remind us just why we love working in our industry. So, as we’re proud of the work we did we thought we’d share this story with you starting with the thank you note we received after the project: “Thank you again for your help with the Pizza Ranch installs, I truly appreciate it. Russ and Robert did a great job when on site, but the rest of the GP team was amazing coordinating this install on such short notice in a place that is difficult to get to.” Jon Schroeder, VP National Accounts West, Middleby Corporation.

The assignment began when the Pizza Ranch in Sturgis, South Dakota needed help with an overnight pizza oven installation. It was critical for their business to not have to shut down the restaurant for the installation. They desperately wanted to avoid closing during business hours, but local installers were not available, and another major restaurant equipment repair group couldn’t do it either. Mr. Schroeder reached out to Guy Jones, General Parts Group Regional Manager to see if General Parts was prepared to help and ‘ship in’ the help needed. It is unusual for General Parts to be asked to do such a long-range remote installation, but it was a dire need for Pizza Ranch and Middleby was determined to deliver and because General Parts, Kansas City location could help and were happy to do so. Also, in the meantime, the Pizza Ranch in Mobridge, South Dakota had their pizza oven go down and needed emergency restaurant equipment service. This oven turned out to not be repairable, resulting in an emergency equipment replacement being needed. Middleby overnighted a new unit, and the General Parts crew to stay on for an extra day to install the commercial oven. You can image what happens at Pizza Ranch when there is no pizza, just salads!

With Pizza Ranch’s location being a 14-hour drive away (28 hours round trip), so why did General Parts say yes? General Parts’ mission is “Providing Unparalleled Service with the Finest Staff.” The Kansas City location had authorized technicians with the necessary experience in handling Middleby ovens. As each oven weighs 1,500 pounds, they require trained people to handle them. “We knew the Pizza Ranch needed experienced help with the right equipment, and we had what they needed. These installation projects were the perfect chance to put the mission statement into action and show we have the best workers to solve a customer problem. We never considered saying no because we enjoy a challenge. We had the right people, and we were excited to think outside the box and create a solution” stated Mr. Jones.

‘Serving those who feed the nation’ is not just our tag line, we stand behind it, it is what we are proud to do. We relished the challenge of getting our Technicians out to South Dakota and helping two restaurants, so they in turn can service their customers. It was a satisfying experience, and we’re proud that our Kansas City team did such a great job. It is important to build strong partnerships with manufacturers and restaurants; this has been a great example of how powerful these partnerships can be in delivering even on the most demanding projects. General Parts is proud to say that, whether you are in a major metro or a rural area we’ll do everything we can to help you with your restaurant equipment repair, equipment installation, and other service needs.