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& More

Our ampersand means more!

With over 60 years in the equipment industry, “& MORE” has become our specialty. We are more than sales, rental, parts & service – we are Hugg & Hall.

& MORE Our CULTURE allows employees to work together and create comprehensive solutions for customers. Without support from peers, the specialized equipment and product support that Hugg & Hall has become known for would be impossible to provide.

& MORE Formed in 1956, Hugg & Hall has a HISTORY that other companies strive to reach. With equipment brands and relationships that surpass industry standards we truly make our customers’ needs our own. Each year we continue to receive awards from our distributors and partners that reflect the true efforts of our team. 

& MORE Our company has a strong VISION that through team leadership, teamwork & dedication we can achieve any goal. This is possible by providing products & services to our customers; opportunity & enrichment from our employees; & value to our suppliers.

& More

Our ampersand means more!

With over 60 years in the equipment industry, “& MORE” has become our specialty. We are more than sales, rental, parts & service – we are Hugg & Hall.

& MORE Our CULTURE allows employees to work together and create comprehensive solutions for customers. Without support from peers, the specialized equipment and product support that Hugg & Hall has become known for would be impossible to provide.

& MORE Formed in 1956, Hugg & Hall has a HISTORY that other companies strive to reach. With equipment brands and relationships that surpass industry standards we truly make our customers’ needs our own. Each year we continue to receive awards from our distributors and partners that reflect the true efforts of our team. 

& MORE Our company has a strong VISION that through team leadership, teamwork & dedication we can achieve any goal. This is possible by providing products & services to our customers; opportunity & enrichment from our employees; & value to our suppliers.

Product Support Team Gathers for Unprecedented Meeting in Little Rock

The Hugg & Hall Equipment Company (Hugg & Hall) Product Support Team gathered for a meeting like no other. For the first time (in anyone’s memory) all parts and service managers, as well as all product support sales representatives (PSSRs), gathered together to build comradery and talk about upcoming changes in the coming year. This unprecedented meeting took place in downtown Little Rock, Ark., from May 14 to May 15 at the DoubleTree Hotel and the Robinson Center.

Vice President of Parts and Service Operations, Chris Shields, set the tone for the next two days by offering definitions of comradery and what it means to be a team player in a company of this magnitude. Shields also spoke on the game plan for the meeting, noting that the first day would be difficult because he was going to be talking about the various struggles the departments face internally. He said that he hoped by the end of it all each department would have a better sense of what it means to be a team.

“One objective, one team,” said Shields. “Relentless passion to be the best provider of services that deliver maximum equipment up time to our customers.”

Before diving into the struggles of the Product Support Team, Shield’s spoke on the team’s achievements from the previous year. The Product Support Team had a record-breaking year, they contributed about 45% of the company’s total gross profit. With technicians bringing in 72% of total revenue deriving from product support operations.

“We are in a great place as a company, not only to provide quality service to our customers but to provide quality service and training to attract and retain skilled technicians,” said Shields on the importance of the role technicians serve. “Saying things like ‘they could’ve done better’ or ‘they should’ve tried harder,’ is unacceptable. The value of our techs can’t be understated.”

Larry Denson, Parts Operations Manager at the Hugg & Hall Oklahoma City branch, was surprised by the impact technicians play in the overall success of the company.

“To see the average number in dollars of their (technicians’) contributions to the company’s gross profit and the bottom line was eye-opening, to say the least,” said Denson. “I think if more of the employees understood this it could and should help to eliminate some of those negative views technicians are saddled with.”

Shields was also proud to announce that the team is currently doing business with 55 Fortune 500 companies and 17 Fortune 1000 companies, a large majority of which are located, or have a substantial presence, in Arkansas.

“You should be very proud to do what you do and you should be very proud to do what you do with this company,” said Shields.

When it came time to address the struggles and hardships that the Product Support Team has been facing internally, Shields addressed it head-on, owning up to his part of the problem.

“I receive that, I own that, I believe in that,” said Shields.

The room grew quiet as everyone seemingly began to realize that the problems and issues they were having with specific departments were universal.

“The great thing about old walls is they can be removed,” said James Burgess, Product Support Sales Representative at the Hugg & Hall Fort Smith branch. “Our culture is changing with the business landscape, we are proving to be progressive and self-reflecting. I’m excited to be a part of the Product Support Team and look forward to the great things ahead.”

After the meeting, everyone gathered at the Flying Saucer, a local restaurant near the River Market, for dinner. This was also a great time for everyone to decompress and enjoy meeting people from other branches.

“It is always a neat experience when you get to put a face with a name,” said Denson “You hear these names of your counterparts that are in the same position as those you work with at your branch and then you finally get to meet them.”

The next morning, everyone gathered for the second half of the meeting. Shield’s kicked off the meeting by introducing structural changes within the Product Support Team’s leadership. After the new introductions were made, Mitch Perry, Regional Vice President of Product Support for the southern region, and Mark McLarty, Regional Vice President of Product Support for the northern region, conducted break off meetings with their respective colleagues to answer any questions and set the tone for future meetings.

“This isn’t going to change today, we aren’t going to be all huggy dovey as soon as we leave here, but you’ve got my trust and I hope I’ve got yours,” said McLarty to his group.

“We have the resources and people to do something incredible,” said Perry.

After a short break, everyone gathered to conclude the meeting. The meeting ended with small presentations from Lucas Hall, Product Support Software/Data Developer/Business Analyst, Tracey Gibbs, Corporate Parts Manager and Tom Mitchell, Product Support Manager at the Hugg & Hall Springdale branch. Each presented on new initiatives to minimize downtime and maximize productivity. Each of these initiatives will be detailed in future blog posts.

“This unprecedented meeting provided a unique opportunity to share real-world experiences that may be brought to bear for the benefit of our customers both external and internal; time well spent,” said Mitchell.

 

Part 2: Taking Ownership of Customers’ Needs

John Impson, Product Support Sales Manager, on Taking Ownership of Customers’ Needs

Hugg & Hall Equipment Company is dedicated to providing excellence in customer service. The company strives to continuously improve and created the “Customer Service Spotlight” as an outlet for sharing customer service ideas and strategies with the purpose to both enhance the experience of the Hugg & Hall customer and to provide a place for collaborative thinking.

 

Hugg & Hall’s business structure, with independent business units for each sector of the organization (parts, service, rental and sales), spawn’s unique challenges for the professionals in each sector. With unique challenges comes unique strategies and different approaches to delivering excellent customer service. John Impson, Product Support Sales Manager for the Southern Region, recently spoke on the challenges that product support team members face and the importance of conveying a message of consideration and caring to the customer.

“A big part of what we do is taking care of people whose equipment is not operating properly or as designed and they are needing our support,” said Impson. “In those cases, when someone has a piece of equipment that is critical to their business operations, we have to communicate the message that we genuinely care about their issue and that we are going to do everything we possibly can to get them back up and going. Whether we are face-to-face with them or talking to them via phone or email and regardless of the words we use.”

Product support professionals are an integral component of the overall Hugg & Hall business model. As is common among many industries and sales professions, the Hugg & Hall whole goods salesman is credited for the first sale, but the Hugg & Hall product support sales and operation teams are often held responsible for the second and following equipment sales. Customer service is critical to the long-term success of company. Impson believes that another key to great customer service is proactivity and having timely and effective communication with the customer.

Impson emphasized the importance of a sense of urgency, proactive problem solving and effective communication. 

“A keen sense of urgency and integrity is especially important in the product support role,” said Impson. “Good news needs to travel fast, but bad news has to travel faster. Customer service will always be better when it’s proactive rather than reactive. The ability to figure out what options are available coupled with a sense of urgency with the goal of resolving the issue as quickly as possible will always be a big deal in the world of product support.”

In product support, when a customer has a problem and time is limited, it’s especially important to work with persistence and to operate with complete transparency.

“The way we teach our people, which is the way that John and Robert taught me a long time ago, is that if you stop at the first no, you will never succeed,” said Impson, referring to John Hugg, President/Owner, and Robert Hall, Vice President/Owner. “It’s all about problem solving. It’s the element of figuring how to solve a specific or unique problem as quickly as we can. I tell our people and our customers that we will reach into as many hats as it takes to pull out the proverbial rabbit. And in most cases, we succeed but in those rare instances where we don’t, that’s when it’s critical that the customer know and believe that we did everything in our power to get them back to happy, healthy and whole.”

Impson stressed the importance of implementing the Hugg & Hall policy to “make the customer’s needs your own.”

“It’s the Golden Rule,” said Impson. “You’re always going to take great care of yourself. For instance, if you are traveling on your way to a dream vacation and you get to the airport only to find out your flight has been cancelled, you don’t cancel the trip. You dig in and make other arrangements and make it happen. It’s amazing how much more effective we are when we engage our jobs with this simple but profound rule: treat others as you want to be treated.”

Treating customers’ needs with a sense of urgency and as one’s own helps to develop a healthy and professional relationship with the customer. One of the priorities of the Hugg & Hall product support professional is to establish mutual trust and respect so that the business relationship will withstand difficult situations.

“When you’ve earned the customer’s trust and confidence to the point that they know that you’ve pulled out every stop and made use of every available resource to resolve a particular issue, then in those cases where we don’t fix the issue as thoroughly or as quickly as everyone had hoped, the customer may not be happy, healthy and whole, but they usually aren’t looking for a new vendor either,” said Impson.

Impson spoke about the importance of spending time with customers and learning the details of their business as it relates to building professional relationships based on trust and confidence. 

“I think one of the biggest ways we can continue to improve our customer service is to focus on spending time in our territories, seeing customers and learning to anticipate frustrations,” said Impson. “Seeing the frustration before it’s ever articulated to us can only happen by being out in the territory. It has to be intentional.”

The operational policy of Hugg & Hall allows professionals to be creative and confident in how they provide great customer service, according to Impson.

“One of the admirable things about how our company operates is how John and Robert have created this environment and culture where we are able to go about doing our jobs of taking care of our customers as entrepreneurs,” said Impson. “Our culture puts each of us in the position of being an entrepreneur. It’s as close as you’ll get to owning your own business with the added bonus of not having all those additional stresses and responsibilities.”

Impson provided an anecdote of truly understanding how Hugg & Hall approaches customer service.

“Robert Hall has the best one liners,” said Impson. “One of my favorites that speaks to the core issue of customer service is ‘If you are going to eat crow, don’t nibble!’ The point of that expression is for us to challenge ourselves every day. To not do the least we can to resolve an issue, but rather, do the absolute most and best we can to make things right.”

When asked what advice he’d give to those trying to improve customer service, Impson kept it simple.

“I think genuine and sincere concern for others is the best way to improve customer service,” said Impson. “Do the right thing. Care about the person. Care about their business. It goes back to the Golden Rule.”