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Of burgers and Burberry: A day in the life of a Royale engineer

It’s a fascinating, fast-moving career with Royale! Our engineers are always on the move, responding to requests from customers as part of our ‘reactive service’ that ensures a resolution within four hours in the event of a business-critical problem.

Each day is different. With jobs varying from a quick part replacement and testing to a prolonged investigation and repair, a typical day is hard to summarise!

Ensuring that his van is adequately stocked with equipment and parts before a full day on the road, our response engineer Tim Dummett is a long-standing member of the Royale family and a trusted expert.

Rise and shine

6 AM: The usual early start for a Royale engineer. Eye of the Tiger is playing, and Tim’s getting ready for another day on the road.

Royale engineers will, on average, do anywhere between three and five callouts in a day. But the time spent on each callout varies, and it’s often down to commute distance as much as technical difficulty. London, of course, stretches things out – a popular area for Royale support in many famous locations and landmarks.

6:45 AM: His first call from the office as Tim drives down the M4. Sofitel, the well-known hotel franchise, has a walk-in cold-room emergency in Heathrow. Tim gets the details sent to his tablet device from the office – a handy tool that lets him quickly handle administrative tasks digitally – and he’s good to go.

This is a big deal for businesses like these. Cold-rooms, as the name implies, are used to store produce, drinks and more – often thousands of Pounds worth of perishable goods at a time. What might be a simple fridge upset for us can cost a hotel thousands of Pounds in spoiled goods, upset customers, and damage to their reputation.

Tim’s in there before the breakfast service starts for Sofitel and is able to identify the fault and make a quick repair. One more test of the system and a summary of the incident and he’s out and back on the road. One happy customer already while most of us are still in bed!

FACT
The ‘first-time fix’
is important for Royale’s clients. We achieve this 85% of the time on our callouts. A key aspect of keeping this number up is the knowledge of each engineer. It’s their job to make sure their vans are stocked with enough parts and tech, such as fan motors, controllers and contactors, that they can reliably replace and repair on the spot.

9:30 AM: Tim gets another call from the office. This time it’s in Croydon; a Starbucks store in the area has a broken display chiller that needs an urgent first-time fix. Once more, reputation and food spoilage are liable to cost this famous coffee shop chain if they don’t get a quick resolution.

It’s a one-hour job. Tim diagnoses the fault, replaces the necessary part, and after a brief summary report and farewell he’s on the road again.

Next stop... The Shard in London.

12:00 PM: London calling. It’s midday and Tim arrives at The Shard. It’s a famous structure in the capital, and its host to many businesses and restaurants that rely on their refrigeration systems to make money.

This time, it’s a fix for a display fridge and ice machine for a restaurant located high up in the building. Parking, as anyone who’s driven or lived in London knows, is a nightmare. Tim makes it inside in good time, fixing the ice machine and display case within an hour and a half. Another first-time fix. After this, it’s time to hit the West End.

FACT
Service Level Agreements (SLAs)
are important in Royale’s arrangements with our clients. For most emergency callouts, we guarantee an engineer on-site and repairing the fault within four hours. Less urgent calls are resolved on a 24-hour SLA.

2:30 PM: Tim arrives in the West End to handle another emergency request by Burberry, the well-known fashion and retail brand.

As with many such establishments nowadays, Burberry has a busy café in their premises that helps keep customers happy and in the store for longer – as well as making a little more money! This time, a broken fridge in the high-footfall area is costing the store money in spoiled goods and unhappy customers.

Tim arrives promptly and achieves yet another first-time fix. Doing this repeatedly across a single day really highlights the importance of having that van stocked. Thankfully, Tim’s been in the game long enough to know exactly what he’ll likely need on a given day. The job gets done on the spot, and he’s out within an hour.

3:30 PM: The job’s done. Tim’s on the way home when he receives one more request from the office. He’s happy to help and gets on his way to Uxbridge. A Burger King needs help with their freezer cold-room.

As you might imagine, these are sizeable units for such a busy fast-food establishment. Such cold-rooms are usually walk-in, and time is massively important in saving the chain money.

Arriving at 4 PM, Tim’s in and out with what is mercifully another quick first-time fix. Happy client, happy Tim, and minimal food spoilage. Great stuff.

Job done!

For real this time! Tim leaves Uxbridge at 5:30 PM and is back home at half six.

It’s been a long, but productive day. No less than five callouts have been serviced, and all have been concluded with a first-time fix. The experience, expertise and careful planning behind a day like this speaks well indeed of Tim. Aren’t we lucky to have him!

An interesting snapshot, then, of a day in the life for a member of the Royale team. Challenging, satisfying, and well executed. Let’s hope for many more like it!