Gold-Certified Kenworth Sales Company – Salt Lake City Empowers Employees To Provide Responsive Service

Rich Halbersleben knows that when he calls his local Kenworth dealership with questions about his fleet’s Kenworth trucks, he’ll get answers quickly.

Responsive service isn’t something Halbersleben said he can always expect from other equipment vendors. “It’s certainly appreciated when we receive the same high level of responsive service from Kenworth Sales Company that our shippers expect from us,” said the managing partner of Salt Lake City-based truckload carrier Halbersleben Trucking. “This is particularly important because it helps our efforts to support our customers.”

Halbersleben hauls a variety of different freight in dry van and refrigerated trailers across the continental United States, with a focus on the Western United States and Upper Midwest regions. The company runs a fleet of 60 trucks that are predominantly Kenworth, including 20 Kenworth T680s with 76-inch sleepers and PACCAR MX-13 engines purchased from Kenworth Sales Company. Based in Salt Lake City, Halbersleben also has a large Phoenix operations hub and a terminal in Boise, Idaho, and maintains a strong presence in South Dakota and Minnesota.

The courteous treatment given by Kenworth Sales Company – Salt Lake City employees clearly reflect the respect that Kenworth Sales Company President Kyle Treadway shows them, said Halbersleben, noting that Treadway empowers employees to do the right things for customers.

“From my experience, it’s clear that Kyle trusts his people and gives them the leeway to do their jobs,” he said. “When I call with something I need, my sales representative (Robert “R.J.” Sessions) usually gets me an answer within 45 minutes, or lets me know when to expect one. And when my drivers walk into a Kenworth Sales Company dealership, I know they can almost always get answers from the person standing right in front of them.”

For 37 years, Tim Grace served as the dealership’s sales representative for Halbersleben Trucking until his retirement in December 2014. “Tim was a great sales rep and left some very big shoes to fill. At first, I wasn’t sure what to expect from R.J. when he took Tim’s place. But, R.J. came and spent nearly an entire afternoon getting to know our business – asking what lanes we haul and what driver comforts we needed in our trucks for driver retention. He also looked at our parts department and maintenance facility, and asked questions about our operations. After that, I knew he would be a great fit for us.”

Halbersleben Trucking is just one example of the dealership’s outstanding customer support. As a result of its overall efforts, the Kenworth Sales Company – Salt Lake City has achieved the prestigious Kenworth PremierCare® Gold Certified status. Under the Gold Certified program, certified dealers go above and beyond industry standards to help fleets and truck operators maximize uptime with a range of premium services.

This includes extended evening and weekend operating hours, rapid diagnosis of estimated repair time in two hours or less, and dedicated personnel for Kenworth TruckTech+, which enhances vehicle diagnostics by providing information on PACCAR MX-13 and MX-11 engine health to fleet managers and dealers to help optimize truck uptime and productivity. Gold Certified dealers also offer a large parts inventory, comfortable and productive driver's lounge, and mobile assistance.

Wayne Beal, district service manager for Kenworth Sales Company, said the dealer makes every effort to create a uniform experience for customers like Halbersleben Trucking, no matter where their trucks travel. Kenworth Sales Company operates 21 locations in Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming, and its customers also benefit from the overall Kenworth dealer network of more than 360 locations in the United States and Canada.

An example of that effort is a coordinator position the dealership established to take a more proactive approach to help customers maximize uptime. “Every morning, our service coordinator prints out a list of Kenworth Sales Company customers whose trucks are being serviced at locations across the United States and Canada, regardless whether the location is a Kenworth dealership, an independent service facility, or even a competing OEM dealer,” Beal said. “When there appears to be a delay or some other issue, the coordinator then contacts those facilities, to arrange service or order parts.”

Shown from left are Dent P. Curtis and his son, Alan Curtis, with two of their Kenworth T680s with PACCAR MX-13 engines.

A.C. Trucking owner Alan Curtis describes experiences similar to those of Halbersleben when dealing with his local Kenworth Sales Company dealership in Salina, Utah, located about 140 miles south of Salt Lake City. Curtis said he first developed a strong affinity for the Kenworth dealership after witnessing the level of service his father’s company, Richfield, Utah-based D.P. Curtis, received over the years. “The people at Kenworth Sales Company have always taken care of our family the right way, helping us and our drivers avoid spending unnecessary time in the shop,” Curtis said. “Our shop time at Kenworth dealers is practically nil compared to what we spend at other OEM truck dealers.”
Alan and his drivers operate a small fleet of five Kenworth trucks, including a new Kenworth T680 76-inch sleeper with a PACCAR MX-13 engine purchased through sales representative Scott Bair at the Salt Lake City dealership. Alan’s father, Dent P. Curtis, manages a fleet of 125 trucks, including 40 Kenworth T680 76-inch sleepers with PACCAR MX-13 engines.

Alan Curtis said Kenworth Sales Company’s after-the-sale support, led by the Salt Lake City location, is a big reason why he and his father remain loyal Kenworth customers. “I appreciate how the Salina location, and Kenworth Sales in St. George, Utah, can and often do count on the Salt Lake City dealership to help them in responding to our parts and service needs.”

Treadway, who was named as the American Truck Dealers 2014 Dealer of the Year, said he enjoys hearing when employees succeed in providing responsive service to customers like Halbersleben and Curtis. “I’m a firm believer that when you hire the right people, provide them with the training and tools needed to help do their jobs confidently, trust them to know when and how they should act, and hold them accountable for results, they can and will do some pretty amazing things for customers. Providing friendly, personal service continues to be one of our guiding principles,” Treadway said.

Kenworth is the driver’s truck. See what drivers are saying at www.kenworth.com/drivers.

Kenworth Truck Company is the manufacturer of The World’s Best® heavy and medium duty trucks. Kenworth's Internet home page is at www.kenworth.com. Kenworth is a PACCAR company.