Bracing for the flood
President Jerry Garbutt convened his team to discuss the most pressing issue – how to service customers – amid the crisis. Shutting the doors for three days and leaving doctors with no technical support or replacement parts weighed heavily on him.
St. Louis, MO (PRWEB) May 09, 2017
A Dental & ENT manufacturer began preparing for the worst on Monday, after the deluge of rain over the weekend hit St. Louis. Employees at Global Surgical are all too familiar with the flooding. Inside the 48,000-square ft. building on Tree Court Industrial Boulevard, they pitched in to elevate everything off of the floor. Machinery, production inventory, and contents from lower desk drawers all had to come up.
It was a déjà vu for most who had been with the company 16 months prior, when the water rose rapidly over Christmas break. Peggy Scotino, a Customer Service Representative, has been working in this area for almost 40 years. She notes “in all the time I’ve been here, the Meramec River has only flooded this industrial park three times, including this week.” Controller, Bob Colie, recalls an employee using a boat to check on the office in ‘94 when water was just inches below the dock doors.
Disaster planning kicked in as workers raced to fill sandbags and protect the exterior doors. President Jerry Garbutt convened his management team to discuss the most pressing issue – how to service customers – amid the crisis. Shutting the doors for three days and leaving doctors with no technical support or replacement parts weighed heavily on him. The critical work employees do is tethered to the physical building. With rising flood waters, it would not be safe for them to be there.
The team quickly updated their plan with a stop-gap measure and rerouted the phones for customer emergencies. Dave Grant, the Technical Service Manager, led the effort to gather stock items and other necessities so his team could continue their work offsite.
The customer & technical support teams have in-depth knowledge from years of working closely in the office with other departments. Technicians can walk down the hall to discuss an issue with the engineers or out to the manufacturing line to solve a problem. This rapport provides an instant feedback loop for connecting trends in the field with development.
Global’s Technical Service heroes were able to fulfill the company’s mission and mitigate disruption for its customers. Although the facility was shut down, doctors using a Global Microscope were able to continue receiving help and support.
Tech support representative, Scott Hall, was on duty fielding calls from his home on Wednesday when a dentist in Florida called the emergency line. Scott diagnosed the doctor’s issue and shipped him a replacement part. Careful planning and quick thinking gave the doctor a speedy resolution. The equipment was operational the next morning to resume using in procedures. Without this foresight, the doctor would have been unable to use his microscope for an additional two days.
On Thursday, as water receded, Global Surgical reopened its doors, unpacking sandbags and moving supplies back into their proper place. Preparedness allowed Global Surgical to weather the flood relatively undamaged, aside from the two days of lost productivity.
About Global Surgical Corporation
Global Surgical Corporation is dedicated to helping doctors to realize their full potential by manufacturing innovative equipment for the Dental & ENT markets. An underlying commitment to total customer satisfaction drives decision making at every level of the organization; delivering high-quality products with superior customer service and technical support. Visit – http://bit.ly/2p5xylP for more information.
