Award-Winning Service and Safety
Jim and John Schroeder were thrilled when their company, Schroeder Moving Systems, won the “President’s Quality Award” from United Van Lines in 2005. Then came 2006, and they again won the prestigious top award that recognizes outstanding customer service.
Excellence in customer service has clearly become a way of doing business at Schroeder Moving Systems. The back-to-back awards, unprecedented since the national quality recognition program was launched in 1995, came on the heels of the 2003 Customer Choice Honorable Mention and the 2004 Customer Choice Award. The company was additionally honored in 2006 by being named United Van Lines’ Agent of the Month for October.
Schroeder Moving Systems stood well above the nearly 500 United Van Line agents who were eligible for the President’s Quality Award program in 2006. The award is based on customer satisfaction as determined by comprehensive post-move surveys.
“Surveys filled out by our customers showed that 95.6 percent of them would move with us again,” said John Schroeder, who operates the agency with his brother Jim. “Those are phenomenal numbers, especially considering the industry average of about 60 percent.”
Care, Custody and Control
“Moving ranks near the top of things people don’t like to do, so it’s a naturally stressful time for customers. We work with all of our Schroeder Moving Systems people to understand the stress and anxiety that many of our customers are under. We want to put them at ease, and assure them we will treat their belongings as though they were our own,” Jim said.
Schroeder Moving Systems handles full-service moving and storage from its facilities in suburban Milwaukee and Appleton, Wisconsin. Between the two locations, there is more than 200,000 square feet of storage space, used not only for storing furniture but also for the distribution of office furnishings and equipment.
The company became an agent for United Van Lines in 1948, then under the operation of Jim and John’s parents. It has grown significantly since then. Now, in addition to the 60 owner-operators who contract with Schroeder Moving Systems, the company has approximately 140 employees at its Milwaukee and Appleton operations.
Making Safety a Priority
Along with customer service, the Schroeders and United Van Lines have a keen focus on safety – a crucial area in a business that involves millions of miles of transportation across the U.S. and Canada annually, heavy lifting and other physically demanding work.
That focus on safety, which was promoted when Schroeder Moving Systems started working with The Horton Group for risk management and insurance services, has helped the company attain new levels of business success. The Horton Group developed a safety program for Schroeder Moving Systems and guided its launch.
“We now view safety as just part of the normal way of operating a moving and storage business. It was a lot of work setting up the program, but then it just became the way things were done; it’s not work anymore,” said John.
In addition to helping launch a safety program, Horton representative Curt Emery determined that Schroeder Moving Systems was paying considerably more for worker’s compensation insurance than needed, and helped the company slash those costs.
“Curt has done a terrific job helping us get a handle on a worker’s comp problem we had. He helped us initiate a safety awareness program and placed our coverage with an excellent carrier. With Curt’s help, we have saved hundreds of thousands of dollars on worker’s comp alone,” Jim said.
An Emphasis on Hiring
One factor that was determined to be severely affecting worker’s compensation costs was personnel turnover. “We had way too much turnover, and part of that was due to poor hiring practices,” Jim said.
With a strong human resources focus now in place and with a full-time HR professional on staff, turnover is at a minimum and safety at a maximum. “So many times business owners feel they can’t afford to have that HR role on staff, but you learn that you can’t afford not to have it. Our HR department really has helped us develop and retain a great staff. That experienced staff contributes a lot to our positive health and safety records,” said John.
Owner-operators who drive the United Van Lines trucks for Schroeder Moving and Storage typically have 20 to 30 years of experience. The company works with them to foster safe and customer-focused operations. That is partly accomplished through an incentive program that pays bonuses to drivers with good safety, claims ratio and customer service records. “We expect a lot in return, but most earn the bonus. It becomes part of their routine,” Jim said.
Claims frequency is another area where Schroeder Moving and Storage has improved by working with The Horton Group. “Before we worked with The Horton Group, we kind of just paid our insurance premiums and assumed that a certain level of losses was normal. The people at Horton helped us see that was not the norm, and that we could operate better and save money. Further, with claims advocates on staff, The Horton Group is able to drive down our costs,” John said.
It all leads to a more efficient, profitable operation. An outstanding customer service record is an invaluable sales tool. When safety records are strong, accidents that can eat into profit margins are avoided. “There is a lot of money to be saved through safe operations. Primarily, you’re taking care of the health and safety of your people. But in this business where profit margins are tight, you also have to ask yourself how much extra business you would need to have to make up for the direct and indirect cost of one accident,” said Jim.
The Schroeders also own Schroeder Solutions, an award-winning facilities management company in New Berlin, Wisconsin. Like Schroeder Moving and Storage, the entire staff of Schroeder Solutions is committed to excellent service, according to Scott Gierhahn, President and CEO, who runs this division. “Our customers expect a lot from us. With our collaborative approach, we can come through for them. We encourage our employees to help us be a great company and participate in our continuous improvement process.”