Executive Perspective: Panasonic’s Field Engineering Team Demonstrates Unmatched Support for Customers
At the heart of the Panasonic promise is our dedication to putting our customers’ needs above all. For Panasonic Toughbook Professional Services, this means being there when extenuating circumstances arise, because even the toughest devices need a little support. With years of experience and expertise in all things mobility, Panasonic field engineers support customers from start to finish, ensuring Toughbook products operate in line with their needs. We sat down with Brian Kestenholz, Director of Mobility Field Operations for Panasonic Toughbook Mobility Solutions, to learn more about the work his team does and how it will alter in the future.
Panasonic is known for reliable hardware, but many aren’t aware of the ProServices teams that work behind the scenes. Can you describe your team’s role at Panasonic?
The field engineering team for Toughbook wears many hats within the company with important roles both before and after a sale is complete. From a field engineering standpoint, we’re focused on providing pre-sale solution support for our account management team to help them deliver the value proposition of Panasonic Toughbook products that set them apart from the crowd. For anything technical or service related, our certified technicians serve as the first responders to ensure that the Toughbook devices, application software and any accessory technology will meet the customer’s needs. If necessary we provide onsite technical review resources, available nationwide. Post sale, our team offers consulting services to ensure successful deployment and optimized performance of the mobile devices and operating systems within our customers’ existing infrastructure. Offered as a package or a la carte, the services offered by the team ensure that our customers have the support they need beginning the moment the device is purchased through years of use in the field.
When customers are looking for support in the field, why do they choose Panasonic?
There is no doubt that there is a science to a successful mobile device deployment. For about 80% of customers, the key issue of buying a rugged device is getting it out of the box and properly deployed with existing infrastructure and business applications. The field engineering team is dedicated to walking customers through this process step by step. Because all field engineers are ITIL certified, customers can trust they are receiving the highest quality of service possible.
Our field services team really stands above the rest because of the strong, personal relationships they establish with each of our customers. Our customers enjoy the peace of mind that they can pick up the phone and get in touch with their technical engineer directly, without having to go through multiple organizations and escalations to find the right level of support. On average, mobility field engineering team members have been with Panasonic for eleven years, demonstrating a deep understanding of our product lines and the ability to provide expertise and answers efficiently.
How is the role of Panasonic’s ProServices technicians evolving to meet the needs of customers?
Increasingly, we’re being called upon to act not only as a technology supplier, but as a technology consultant. For many organizations, IT staffing has been reduced and we are running into more customers who aren’t prepared to face the challenges that come up when buying a new rugged mobile device. They need a partner who comes to them with real mobility expertise not only about the devices, but about the way that their industry works. At Panasonic, our goal is to have a team that can truly help customers overcome the mobile technology deployment and IT challenges that they face on a day to day basis. That means working every day to ensure that our customers are happy with the product and support they receive, because building this relationship of trust is what keeps them coming back. But of course, this is part of the way we have worked for the past two decades, reminding ourselves that the customer must always be our first priority.
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