How an HVAC manufacturer streamlined the handling of 200 tickets a day

About the client

Thermosilesia is a manufacturer of HVAC equipment, including air conditioners, heat pumps, recuperation systems, and VRF systems for commercial installations. The company works primarily with installers, providing them with technical and post-installation service support.

The technical support department is responsible for assisting installers during equipment assembly, troubleshooting, and providing technical consultations regarding system configuration.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIiuMgatnvI&list=PL_aPI9ozSEN1Q8CB2xRQB6tfEDeZh6r7g&index=2

The challenge

When Excel and phone calls are no longer enough

A few years ago, ticket management at Thermosilesia was very straightforward. The team relied on:

• Outlook
• Excel
• individual technician phone numbers

Installers would call specific specialists directly, whose numbers were listed on the company website. Requests were manually recorded in an Excel spreadsheet, primarily to keep track of the issues reaching the service department. This model worked while the company was small, but as the popularity of Thermosilesia devices grew, the number of inquiries began to rise rapidly.

• in 2019: 15-20 tickets per day
• currently: about 200 tickets per day

At a certain point, it became clear that the existing way of working was no longer sustainable.

“Everything worked well as long as the person handling a specific ticket actually remembered it. Our capabilities using Outlook and Excel were very, very limited.”.

Przemysław Olek, Thermosilesia

A turning point

A story from the roof

The decision to change was made during a service call.

Thermosilesia technicians were commissioning an air conditioning system at a large project site. A technical issue arose, and they needed to consult with a team member. They tried calling, but to no avail. The lines were tied up with other calls from installers.

For over an hour and a half the technicians tried to reach the team while standing on a rooftop in the rain.

That was the moment the team realized that their current support model simply wasn't scalable.

“Everything was focused on that one communication channel—a specific phone number or a specific email address. It was prone to bottlenecks, and that situation on the client's roof proved that we just couldn't operate that way in the long run.”

Przemysław Olek, Thermosilesia

Searching for a solution

The Thermosilesia team had no prior experience with help desk systems. They started with very simple steps—searching Google for ticketing solutions and help desk software. Only after exploring the available tools were they able to define what they truly needed:

• centralized ticket management
• contact history
• team performance analysis
• organized communication

“We had a problem in the back of our minds that we wanted to solve and weconducted a really broad market research, simply looking for a solution, for answers on how this could be handled differently.”

Przemysław Olek, Thermosilesia

System implementation

After choosing the Welyo platform, the implementation process began. It consisted of two parallel stages.

System implementation

• importing the customer database
• configuring contacts and companies
• launching ticket support

Organizational implementation

• creating ticket handling procedures
• establishing team work standards
• changing the way of communicating with installers

The change required adaptation both on the part of the service team and the company's partners, who were previously accustomed to direct contact with a specific technician.

“It turned out that the capabilities provided by the Welyo help desk platform offer a completely different approach in terms of both the type of information collected and its volume.”

Przemysław Olek, Thermosilesia

200 requests per day

handled by a 10-person support team

How does request handling work today?

Today, all inquiries go into the Welyo system as tickets. Each ticket:

• receives a unique number
• is assigned to a specific company
• contains a full contact history

If an installer calls, the consultant immediately sees:

• company details
• history of previous requests
• description of past issues

This makes it easy to quickly return to a previous case and check its resolution, even after several months.

Implementation results

Implementing the system has transformed the way the technical support team works.

Full request history

All cases are saved in one place and can be accessed even after many months.

Standardization of team workflow

The system allows you to define the request handling process and monitor how tasks are completed.

Data for analysis

The team can analyze, among other things:

• ticket handling time
• wait time for a connection
• first-contact resolution rate

Previously, such metrics were virtually impossible to monitor.

Team skill development

Call recordings and system data help develop both the technical and communication skills of the team.

“The solution itself definitely gives us something we never had before. We didn't have these capabilities because we didn't have such a system. First and foremost, it’s about setting certain standards. When using Outlook and Excel, it’s hard to talk about KPIs, for example. As it turned out, there is a better way.”

Przemysław Olek, Thermosilesia