Does Your Company - ServiceMatters.com - Whirlpool Corporation

VOLUME 4, ISSUE 7
JULY 2010
Service Pointers
K8178800A—Whirlpool®
Freestanding Gas Self-Clean
Ranges—Moisture dripping
from the door
L8178803—Maytag®, Aman®,
Jenn-Air®, Admiral® (U.S.
only), Magic Chef®, Performa
by Maytag and Crosley– Rework
#R173BV
L8178808—Vertical Modular
Washer Locked Lid after Delivery
or Uncrating
R4317488—All refrigerators
equipped with water dispenser—water
drips from
dispenser
R4317489—Tech Training for
19, 22 and 25 cubic foot, bottom-mount,
freezer drawer
operations
Inside this issue:
Insurance Tune-Up 1
In-Home Employees 1
Whirlpool®
Tech-Line Service
“Rewinder”
Service Contract “Over the
Limit” Process Changes
Welcome Barry Parker 3
2
2
Insurance Compliance—Does Your Company Need a Tune-Up?
Formerly known as IDS, or
Insurance Data Services, EBIX
is the insurance management
company Whirlpool
has contracted with since
2008, to collect and manage
compliance with our liability
insurance requirements for
the warranty Service Network.
Perhaps you have received
an email from CustomerService@ebix.com
and
weren’t sure what it was, or
In-Home Employees: Creating A Win-Win
For The Service Industry
In these days of economic
turmoil and uncertainty, we
are all looking for ways to
save a buck or
two, while
still not compromising
our
passion to
deliver world
class customer service and,
oh by the way, make a
profit. The past few years
have seen a shift from the
working office cubical and
everyday technician office
visit, to having employees
maybe it was automatically
dumped into a “junk mail”
folder. Please be sure to
add this email address to
your “trusted sites” to assure
this does not happen!
An email from EBIX means
that there is an important
deficiency in the insurance
we have on file for YOUR
company. Each authorized
service company is required
work directly from their
homes. Thought to be a
radical idea by many business
owners and large corporations
ten years ago,
today it is an accepted practice,
benefiting both employees
and employers
alike.
The field service industry
has recognized that having
technicians working directly
from their homes can add
up to nearly one extra completed
call per day. Cost
to (in fact, signing the Service
Agreement clearly
states you will) supply the
updated information every
year.
Following the email notification
from EBIX that the
insurance has expired, you
will have a firm, 30‐day period
to get the correct paper
See “Tune-Up,”
Continued on Page 2
savings can be significant,
with a reduction in drive
time and vehicle equipment
depreciation, and with improved
call efficiencies. For
the remote field technician,
each day begins at the first
call and finishes upon completion
of his last stop. Call
completion information,
parts replenishment, and
banking are all done on‐line
and/or by courier services.
See “Win-Win,”
Continued on Page 4
©2010 Whirlpool Corporation July 2010

LET’S TALK SERVICE
Whirlpool® Tech-Line Service Tips
Re-Winder...
It seems there is some confusion
on what products are covered in
the clean‐up option.
“Clean‐up” consists of Dishwashers,
Trash Compacters and all
Laundry products.
Beginning June 1, 2010, the
Whirlpool® Tech‐Line Service has
“specialized” our agents. We split
the service into three groups:
Refrigeration,
Cooking
Cleanup
Our goal is provide faster, more
consistent, information.
Phone options changed on June
1st , and correct option selection
is extremely important.
Option 1: Electronic Control PreAuthorization
Option 2: Service Contract Over
the Limit**see below
Option 3: Jenn‐Air® Brand Products
Option 4: Refrigeration Products
Option 5: Cleanup
Option 6: Cooking Products
Mike Churlik, Operation Manager
Whirlpool® Tech-Line Service
“Tune-Up,” Cont’d from Page 1
work to EBIX. If that is not done,
your service company will be INACTI‐
VATED in ServiceBench, and you will
not be able to file claims.
Do not assume your insurance company
has provided the annual update.
Ultimately, your company is responsible
to provide EBIX with the certification
proof that you are carrying:
General Liability (occurrencebased,
and listing Whirlpool Corporation
as Additional Insured)
Auto Liability (if your company
owns autos)
Workers Comp – or a completed
and signed waiver of Workers
Comp, depending on your state’s
requirements. Please assure that
either the WC Statutory Limits or
Other box is checked.
Also, we are continuing to receive
mail at our corporate office (553 Benson
Road, Benton Harbor). Moving
forward, we will no longer have the
ability to forward certificates as we
have done in the past. The address
your insurer should use must be
listed in the Certificate Holder box as:
Whirlpool Corporation – Insurance
Compliance
PO Box 12010‐WL
Hemet, CA 92546‐8010
Alternately, insurance forms may be
emailed to: Whirlpool.WL@ebix.com
This email box is dedicated only for
Whirlpool servicers’ information.
Or, you may FAX a certificate
(again, to a dedicated fax) to
770‐325‐3339.
Finally, there are knowledgeable,
customer service representatives at
EBIX, whom you should call with any
Whirlpool insurance compliancerelated
question: 951‐658‐4806.
Judy Wittmann, Editor, LTS
“Over The Limit” Process for Service Contract Claims
Changes, Effective 7/7/10
PAGE 2
Beginning July 7, 2010 ‐
All such calls should be
made to Assurant rather
than to the Whirlpool®
Tech‐Line Service line.
When you receive a dispatch
for a Service Contract
call, it has a preauthorization
repair
amount listed. What do
you do if the repair is expected
to exceed that preauthorized
amount?
You must call Assurant’s
Claims Team at 800‐732‐
7701 to review the needed
repairs and to obtain additional
authorization for repairs.
**If you call the
Whirlpool® Tech‐Line Service,
and select Option 2,
you will receive a message
giving this Assurant phone
number. Please have customer’s
information (name
and phone number) handy
to help Assurant expedite
the authorization.
Nadia Uhlemann,
Claims Processing Supervisor
©2010 Whirlpool Corporation July 2010

VOLUME 4, ISSUE 7
Earlier this spring we ran a
couple of articles in Let’s Talk
Service regarding the newest,
Whirlpool brand refrigeration
platform. Mention was made
of the need for different installation
techniques. Installers
and technicians should be
aware of these differences, in
order to best service the appliances
out in the field.
More information may be
found in ServiceMatters.com,
Technician Resources, Installation
Reference, Installation
Pointers...
Pleased to Meet You, Barry Parker!
With the shifting of Whirlpool
Field Service districts around the
country, most every service company
will experience at least
some changes to their
“touchpoints,” in the form of new
or different District and Regional
Service Managers. One district
will see their DSM, Megan Barclay,
rotate back into Whirlpool
Sales, and will welcome Barry S.
Parker to his new role as DSM for
West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland
and Delaware.
Barry is not a “newbie” to Whirlpool
Corporation, or even to the
Customer Services arena. Having
worked within Whirlpool Corporation
for 18 years, he brings with
him experience in the areas of
Factory Service, Customer Service,
and Inventory Management,
as well as his most recent assignment
as Operations Manager for
our Parts Distribution Center in
Plainfield, Indiana.
His diverse
background
and
wealth of
knowledge
in service,
parts and
customers
will add
valuable
tools Barry Parker
to our
organizational toolbox.
PAGE 3
©2010 Whirlpool Corporation July 2010

WHIRLPOOL
CORPORATION
Whirlpool Corporation
553 Benson Road
Mail Drop 8020
Benton Harbor, MI 49127
Comments or Questions? Email to:
NAR‐FSA@Whirlpool.com
Fax: 269‐923‐5342
Let’s Talk Service® is a monthly publication of Whirlpool
Corporation. It is designed and intended to be used by
Authorized Whirlpool technicians. This publication may not be
reproduced, in whole or in part, electronically or
otherwise, without the express written permission of the
Whirlpool Manager of Publications.
®Registered Trademark/ Trademark of Whirlpool, U.S.A.,
KitchenAid, U.S.A., Jenn-Air, U.S.A., or Maytag Corporation,
or its related companies. All other trademarks are owned by
their respective companies.
“Win-Win,” Cont’d from Page 1
The in‐home office employee is
asked to perform the normal office
tasks and phone duties directly
from their “home” office. This
again does seem risky. How do
we know they are working and not
just “relaxing at home”? Well,
thanks to the much improved cyber
technology, that is not an issue.
The home office is equipped
with all the computer and phone
equipment that is present at the
business office. A simple connection
to a high speed data and
phone line completes the employee’s
virtual attachment to the
business. Once they log in, all
their time spent on phones and
computer
metrics
can be
monitored.
It may
not
Example home office
seem that there is a financial advantage
to the in‐home office employee.
Either way, you still pay
their hourly wages. What about
the need to visually manage them
at the business office site? As it
turns out, those phone agents are
over 20 percent more productive
at home than at the office! Once
again, interaction with that many
more customers increases efficiency
and improves profitability.
All employers should review the
local and national DOL and zoning
regulations, as well as insurance
coverage and liability exposures.
By working from their home, employees
reduce travel stress, increase
company productivity and
profitably, while decreasing the
impact automobile pollution
causes our environment. All
of this, at minimal risk to the
employer. A negative case
could be made that they may
feel a personal disconnection
to the company team. Of
course, this is an argument
won by effective phone
meetings, on‐line chats and
even webcams! While remotelybased
employees may be less able
to bounce ideas and suggestions
off their peers and get immediate
feedback “around the watercooler,”
when you realize
the commute to
work is just down the
hall or stairway —
dressed in the most casual
clothes, at that —you can
imagine this makes it all worthwhile!
In short, we like to think many
service businesses can benefit
from at least a few in‐home employees.
A win for the company in
a more flexible workforce, improved
efficiency, reduced overhead
cost and increased bottomline
profits. And, a win for the employee
in less hassle and wasted
emotional stress created by everyday
travel and local office politics
and a cleaner environment. It is
definitely worth exploring within
your company. You just may find
that the successes outweigh the
failures, at a minimal risk to all
concerned, and without compromising
your company goals, values
and integrity to your customers.
Cliff Chewning,
Regional Service Manager
©2010 Whirlpool Corporation July 2010