I am filled with gratitude and humility to announce that we have received the Haier Golden Key Award at the Annual Service Training Institute hosted by the United Appliance Servicers Association in San Antonio, TX. To be recognized among the best in the industry, out of 23 overseas markets, 100 countries, and over 30,000 Service Partners, is truly an honor.Â
The award was based on top overall Quality of Service scores, top net promoter scores, and key service partnership for the Haier brands, and we are proud to have received recognition for having the nation’s best Quality of Service and Net Promoter scores. Haier is the number one global appliance brand, and Ortega’s Appliance Service is proud to be the first company in the United States to receive this award.
Ortega’s Appliance Service Contributes to the Improvement of GE’s Service Network
In March 2016, I received a call from Tracey Janey at GE. I was familiar with Tracey, so I took the call. He asked if I would be interested in becoming a Premier service provider for GE and I said yes, because I learned a long time ago that if you say no, someone else will say yes. However, by November 2017, I was having second thoughts about my decision. Things were not going as well as I had hoped and I was beginning to rethink my choice.
Before resigning, I thought it was important to share my concerns with Tracey. I sent him an email explaining my thoughts on the processes that needed to be changed and why it would benefit everyone in the GE service network. Tracey shared GE’s goal of becoming the number one company in sales, as well as the number one company to work for in service. I let him know that in order to achieve this goal, GE needed to be easier to work for, as it was anything but easy at the time.
To my surprise, Tracey agreed with me 100%. He listened to my concerns and paired me with Tim Burdick to work on finding solutions. Within a month, we were already working on a process to improve the way we could get parts for our warranty customers. Previously, we could only purchase directly from GE and receive full credit for the parts. However, this process needed to change if we wanted to run an efficient service company. By early 2019, the authorized independent service network could purchase parts from their local parts distributor and receive full credit.
Ortega’s Appliance Service’s Involvement in the Growth of Smart HQ
One of the projects that my team and I are particularly proud of is our early testing of a diagnostic device called Newfi in mid-2018. At the time, only GEA Factory Service had access to the tool, but it didn’t take long for us to realize its potential to revolutionize the way service was provided. Today, Smart HQ is available to any service provider, authorized or not, and we are proud to have been a part of its journey.
In late 2019, Tracey Janey at GE formed an Advisory Committee consisting of some of the top current GE service companies. The committee held a landmark meeting in February 2020, just before the Covid pandemic hit, where they were asked what GE needed to change to achieve its goal of becoming the number one service provider. Tracey wanted to hear it all, good or bad, and my team didn’t hold back. They left him with over 100 action items to work on.
Although the process has been slow, mainly due to the Covid pandemic, many of the items have been addressed, creating a better service network. GE has become a better manufacturer to work for since 2016, and I am honored to have played a small part in helping with the changes. Tracey deserves all the credit, and my team and I are grateful for the opportunity to be a part of the journey. The future of appliance service is bright, and we are excited to be a part of it.
Thank you again for your support,
Manny Ortega
