Dallas Plumbing Company Slashes Costs by Switching to Verizon Connect GPS Fleet Tracking

Dallas Plumbing Company has met the plumbing needs of the Dallas, Texas area since 1903. During that time, the company has expanded to become the largest plumbing, air conditioning and Heating service and repair company serving Dallas, Collin and Tarrant Counties.

In order to ensure continued growth in the competitive Air Conditioning and Plumbing industry, Dallas Plumbing turned to GPS fleet tracking to help improve efficiencies and lower costs. Mark Wissler, Service Manager, knew what results he expected when he installed telematics on the 54 vehicles in his business fleet. Unfortunately, the GPS fleet tracking company Dallas Plumbing initially chose for their tracking did not meet all of their needs. 

After evaluating several other companies, Mr. Wissler and Dallas Plumbing settled on the Verizon Connect GPS fleet tracking solution. "We were very impressed with Verizon Connect," said Mr. Wissler. "We appreciated the pricing and all the unique features - especially the alerts."  Since installing Verizon Connect, Dallas Plumbing has reduced fuel costs, improved security and gained complete control over their entire vehicle fleet.

Always On High Alert

Verizon Connect provided a number of features that made installing the system an easy decision for Dallas Plumbing. However, the alerts feature proved to be an essential tool for Dallas Plumbing.

Verizon Connect provides four different alerts:

• Geofence Alerts: Notifies you when a vehicle enters or exits a specific area.
• Vehicle Activity Alert: Notifies you when a vehicle moves during a specific timeframe.
• Speeding Alert: Notifies you when a vehicle exceeds a set speed threshold.
• Idling Alert: Notifies you when a vehicle idles longer than a specified length of time.

Mr. Wissler mainly uses the Vehicle Activity Alert, Speeding Alert and Idling Alert to help manage his fleet and reduce costs. He set up the alerts to be sent straight to his cell phone the instant a violation occurs. This is especially helpful since many of Dallas Plumbing's vehicles are taken home by drivers. "Even if a vehicle is started after midnight, an email is sent to my phone," said Mr. Wissler. "I can then call our driver to find out what is going on."

The Speeding Alert has also helped Dallas Plumbing reduce speeding violations and costs since excessive speed burns more fuel per mile driven. In addition, improved driving behavior has helped with public relations. "With the Speeding Alert we know if a driver is speeding and can make sure it doesn't happen again," said Mr. Wissler. "It has really reduced the number of people calling in to say that one of trucks was spotted speeding down the highway."

Essential Management Reports

Another feature that encouraged Dallas Plumbing to switch to Verizon Connect was the detailed reports suite. Verizon Connect provides easy to understand reports that include all the information necessary to quickly assess your entire fleet and make adjustments to optimize fleet performance.

Dallas Plumbing has utilized reports to further cut fuel through reduced idling. As fuel prices climbed, Dallas Plumbing sought to reduce idle times. The Idling Report allowed Mr. Wissler to see which drivers posted excessive idle times and take corrective action to prevent wasting fuel. "Guys want to idle the trucks so they can keep cool on hot days and warm on cold days," said Mr. Wissler. "I don't blame them, but it costs money. So, we needed to lower time spent idling."

Reports also helped Dallas Plumbing improve customer service and eliminate customer disputes. If a customer calls to dispute the amount of time an employee spent on their job, Mr. Wissler can pull the Management Report and verify the exact times spent at the site "The alerts tell me immediately when something happens," said Mr. Wissler. "And the reports give me details about what has gone on every minute during the day."

The Verizon Connect Difference

Once installed, the Verizon Connect's solution provided Dallas Plumbing with additional perks beyond what they expected. The Verizon Connect system is web-based, which means Mr. Wissler can access his fleet from any computer with internet access without having to install additional software. The ability to track vehicles from his home computer has helped Mr. Wissler improve fleet security."In the past, if a vehicle was stolen, we eventually found the truck, but all the equipment was stripped from it," said Mr. Wissler. "With Verizon Connect, I can track a stolen vehicle from anywhere at any time. It can help us get the vehicle quicker and get our equipment back before it's stripped."

Verizon Connect also provides a renowned guarantee of service to all its clients. All service, training, and upgrades are included at no cost and to complete satisfaction. Verizon Connect makes sure every client receives the attention and quality service needed to maximize the potential of our GPS fleet tracking system. "Everything went real smoothly when we had Verizon Connect installed," said Mr. Wissler. 

"Every little bit helps right now," added Mr. Wissler. "With Verizon Connect, jobs come out better and we can route different ways to save gas and time. The system really does pay for itself."