Rohrer's one hour HVAC gains control and reduces insurance costs using Verizon Connect

Rohrer’s One Hour Heating and Air Conditioning has served the Lancaster, Pennsylvania area for over 50 years. The company specializes in providing high-quality installation and repair of heating and air conditioning equipment backed by a 100% satisfaction guarantee.

But as the business grew, so did the need to increase the size of its service fleet. With a larger fleet, insurance costs began to skyrocket. In addition, since the company provides 24/7 service and allows its techs to bring their vehicles home, the need for a way to track company vehicles became critical.

According to Scott Rohrer, President of Rohrer’s One Hour Heating and Air Conditioning, the Verizon Connect fleet tracking solution helped his company overcome these fleet management issues and many more.

Lowering Insurance Costs

There are few things a company can do to lower insurance premiums on its vehicle fleet. And many insurance companies are hesitant to offer coverage to inexperienced drivers. However, some insurance providers extend discounts to companies with Verizon Connect installed. “The bigger our fleet got, the larger the insurance plan got,” said Mr. Rohrer. “We needed to make sure we were doing everything we could to keep insurance costs low.”

With Verizon Connect, fleet managers know the exact location of every vehicle in their fleet. In the event of theft, any tracked vehicle can be recovered quickly. Since the GPS devices receivers are hardwired inconspicuously inside the vehicles, they are virtually tamper proof and theft resistant.

Verizon Connect GPS fleet tracking also monitors vehicle speed and discouraged improper driving behavior. With this type of control, insurance companies realize that drivers of vehicles with GPS tracking present a lower risk. “Our insurance company was worried about speeding and the safety of some of our younger drivers,” said Mr. Rohrer. “But once they knew we had GPS fleet tracking, they felt better about putting the young drivers on the policy because we were monitoring and controlling speed.”

Mr. Rohrer specifically uses the speeding alerts to ensure his drivers maintain proper speed. If a driver exceeds a set speed threshold, an alert is sent immediately via email to Mr. Rohrer. He also makes the information readily available to his insurance company as proof of compliance.

Staying “Always on Time” and Reducing Costs

Rohrer’s One Hour Heating and Air Conditioning prides itself on offering timely service. The company’s motto – “always on time, or you don’t pay a dime” – attests to its commitment to customer service. Verizon Connect helps the company exceed customer expectations while also helping to reduce overall costs while allowing the company to know the exact location of every vehicle 24/7. Combined with the Find Nearest feature, dispatchers and fleet managers can quickly determine which vehicle can get to any job site fastest. Dispatchers can also be sure drivers take the most direct routes to job sites and can even get current traffic information to route drivers around potential delays.

“We have seen a great increase in response time to emergency calls since there is less travel time between jobs, “said Mr. Rohrer. “The techs have more time at the job site now, so the jobs are done more thoroughly and customers are very happy with the attention paid to their job.”

Verizon Connect also helps companies ensure their vehicles aren’t used for unauthorized purposes. Techs at Rohrer’s are allowed to take vehicles home at night, so it was important to be sure the privilege was not being abused.“Since Verizon Connect tracks the vehicles 24/7, I can make sure techs aren’t going to places I don’t want them going,” said Mr. Rohrer. “I can come in the next morning, look at the Verizon Connect report and see if there has been any activity during the night or on the weekends.”

Mr. Rohrer also uses the Verizon Connect Hours Worked Report to verify payroll. The company still uses manual timesheets, but the report provides a way to confirm that drivers are recording their proper hours. “Using Verizon Connect, we found that one driver was fudging his timesheets,” said Mr. Rohrer. “We were able to catch it immediately and put a stop to it.”

With Verizon Connect installed, Rohrer’s One Hour Heating and Air Conditioning has experienced nearly immediate return on investment and has significantly boosted its bottom line.

“We saw immediate savings when we installed Verizon Connect,” said Mr. Rohrer. “Once drivers knew they were being tracked, anything they shouldn’t have been doing before Verizon Connect was installed was immediately straightened out.”