Project Details

Customer: 7-Eleven Food Stores

Location: 460 Stores across Western Canada

Contract Type: Full facility service and maintenance contract for refrigeration equipment, hot food equipment and HVAC

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Project Summary

THE PROBLEM‍

7-Eleven Food stores were facing problems with their equipment service providers that were affecting their business:
• Slow service response times
• Equipment downtime
• Inadequate work
• Lost sales

Convenience stores face many unique challenges. They must be open and operating at peak performance at all times – which is typically 24/7/365. 7-Eleven stores are no exception.

7-Eleven stores across western Canada were losing customers and sales, due to equipment being down – including coolers, freezers, chicken fryers and hot dog grills. Because of this, at times customers would simply walk out of the store and go down the street to a competitor for what they needed... potentially never returning.
To add fuel to the fire, 7-Eleven found that their current service providers just weren’t giving them the fast, efficient service they needed. They spent too much time waiting for parts and frequently experienced very slow service response times. They were finding that the quality of work the technicians were doing just wasn’t adequate and the equipment soon failed again.

In addition, 7-Eleven found themselves working with dozens of different companies to service all the facets of their facilities which was time- consuming and a logistics nightmare. They needed a solution for this problem.

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THE SOLUTION‍

Techni-Craft worked with 7-Eleven to design a service program tailored to their needs:
• Pre-set / guaranteed response times
• Factory trained service technicians
• “One-stop-shop” service
• Parts inventory on hand in service trucks
• 24/7/365 service

In 1996, Techni-Craft approached 7-Eleven with a proposal to service and maintain HVAC & refrigeration for a handful of stores in the Edmonton, AB area. The proposal was well received and the work started.

Within 18 months, Techni-Craft was providing service for 63 stores in the Edmonton area.

Then, over a period of time, 7-Eleven asked TC if they could not only maintain their HVAC & refrigeration, but also take on other types of work such as facility renovations, electrical, plumbing, roofing and food equipment service!

Of course, being the entrepreneurial spirited company TC is, they jumped at the chance. They now provide a “One-Stop-Shop” style service to 460 7-Eleven stores across BC, AB & SK!

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To meet this challenge, Techni-Craft:
• Hired an additional 30 service technicians in AB, BC & SK
• Opened a major warehouse in each province
• In addition to 38 service trucks, added 4 delivery trucks
• Stocked each service truck with over $40K in inventory
• Stocked the warehouses with over $1M in inventory
• Updated the ERP system to accommodate Field Service Software APPs and real time reporting.
• Enlisted dozens of Sub-Contractors in remote areas

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Services Provided:

• Refrigeration
• Heating
• Air Conditioning
• Food Equipment including things like Roller Grills, Chicken Fryers, Ovens, Microwaves
• Facilities Maintenance including General handy-man repairs, facility renovations, grease trap maintenance, electrical, plumbing, roofing, interior & exterior painting

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THE RESULTS‍

7-Eleven has seen some very positive results from the service programs implemented by Techni-Craft:‍

• Improved service times
• Less equipment downtime
• Improved sales
• Satisfied customers

With a lot of hard work and collaboration between 7-Eleven and Techni-Craft, the development of a “One-Stop-Shop” business model has benefited 7-Eleven both financially and logistically.

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IN SUMMARY‍

Gone are the days when customers would walk out of a 7-Eleven store (and not return in many cases) because their favourite snack or grocery item was unavailable due to in-store equipment failure.

7-Eleven is happy to report that their sales, and customer satisfaction, have consistently improved with this ‘One-Stop-Shop’ model of service. Also, store owners and facility managers are experiencing a more streamline service process, reducing stress and wasted time.

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