“It’s been a validated success,” said Charlie Walters, general manager, fleetHQ Solution Center. “We have more than 11,000 fleets and owner operators enrolled in the program, which provides roadside assistance, national tire pricing, and centralized billing through local dealers.”
According to Walters, the program is available to truck operators big and small. “You don’t have to be a national account to get national account benefits from Goodyear and its dealers,” said Walters. “A core component of the program is the reduction of downtime through our emergency roadside service program; more than 1,500 dealers are ready with service 24/7.
“With that type of coverage,” Walters added, “we can get our customers back up and running quickly. And we can help save them money in the process. There are no fees of any kind for calling our toll free number 1-877-4-Tires-Now, (1-877-484-7376). Other emergency tire service programs have incidence fees that can range from $25 to more than $75. Plus, the price our customer pays for the replacement tire is the same price he pays at ‘home,’ with his local dealer providing the invoice.”
Purchase history is available through the Web for tires purchased through the solution center. Retread tracking and Web-based call reporting for emergency road service is also available. This helps fleet customers manage inventories and track work orders to support better business decisions.
For Clean Harbors Environmental Services, based in Norwell, Mass., fleetHQ’s emergency tire service program provides convenience, fast response time and restful nights. “I’m on call 24/7,” said Susan McCarthy, Procurement Administrator of the North American company, which has 4,500 pieces of rolling stock. “With our previous tire service, I was constantly on the phone and our drivers would often be stranded for three hours or more, sometimes overnight. If the service didn’t have a dealer location in the area, we were out of luck and on our own.”
With Goodyear, McCarthy said coverage is excellent, tire prices are uniform and pre-determined, and drivers are back on the road quickly. “It’s a day-and-night difference in service quality,” she said. “As the leading provider of environmental services and the largest hazardous waste disposal company in North America, we need to minimize downtime. We don’t want to be on the side of the road when we’re hauling hazardous waste. And, we have tight schedules. We’re very pleased with how Goodyear has supported us throughout the U.S. and Canada.”
Joseph Copeland, vice president for Goodyear commercial tire systems, said, “Our service network is our value proposition. Our goal is to lead the industry in service consistency by optimizing our nationwide network – and even expanding it where necessary. It’s that simple, and it’s the way we plan to grow our business. We’ve already seen emergency tire service call volume increase 35 percent compared to a year ago. That’s a testament to how well we’re responding to customer needs.
“FleetHQ gives fleets of all sizes the consistency, efficiency and information they need to help reduce their operating costs,” Copeland continued. “No matter their size, fleet customers are most concerned about cost of ownership and operation, pricing, consistency of service, national coverage and the ability to maximize uptime. This service-business focus strengthens long-term relationships between dealers and customers. Together, we work to solve business challenges.”
Goodyear commercial tire systems offers products and services to the trucking industry, including a full range of original equipment and replacement tires and retreads. In addition, the company offers fleetHQ business solutions to fleets of all sizes. This includes the 24/7 fleetHQ Solution Center, national programs, tire management tools, on-line information access and business problem-solving for tomorrow’s trucking fleets.
For more information on Goodyear’s fleet management tools, go to www.goodyear.com/truck.
