National Pride Equipment Sets Revenue Records with MaintainX
National Pride Equipment is a leading manufacturer of water treatment and car wash equipment, and they also provide maintenance services for more than 100 car washes across multiple states. For the company’s service division, one of the biggest productivity blockers was inaccessible information. Service requests were pieced together from data across several systems, which meant technicians often missed important details they needed on the job.
Jason Labadie, Director of Solutions, oversees the field service department. He joined the company to optimize and expand this aspect of the business.
“Pretty quickly, I recognized that the system we had in place just wasn't sustainable or scalable for our growth plans as a company,” Jason says. “That's how we started looking for a platform that could help us be better organized, more efficient, and at the end of the day, provide a lot more data.”
Challenges
Disconnected tools not built for service teams
Before MaintainX, the team ran on a patchwork of systems never built for service management, including Microsoft Teams for task assignment and a separate operational tool. This hindered communication and made work difficult to oversee.
"It was kind of a nightmare to keep things organized,” Jason explains.
Scattered systems meant technicians regularly missed requests. “Our customers were frustrated because maybe there were five things that needed to be fixed, and our technician only knew there were two or three.”
No data foundation for growth
Without centralized asset tracking or historical maintenance data, the company couldn't establish consistent KPIs or trust that processes would hold up as they scaled. It was difficult to monitor recurring issues, parts usage, and equipment history.
“There was definitely a glaring opportunity for data and organization," Jason says. “Prior to using MaintainX, we didn't have a lot of data, so we didn't have a ton of KPIs. It was more based on feel.”
Why MaintainX
Mobile-first and easy to use
The company was focused on finding technology their field technicians would want to use. MaintainX made it straightforward to get the team onboard.
“From a technician adoption standpoint, the technology is really easy to digest,” Jason says. “It's user-friendly, particularly with it being app-based, so they carry that with them in the field.”
Rapid implementation
The team also wanted to avoid a cumbersome implementation process, and MaintainX allowed them to get up and running quickly.
“The implementation process was really smooth,” Jason says. “Once you put the time in to get your asset list, it's pretty easy to upload, manage, and edit.”
A trusted brand
MaintainX stood out during software evaluations in part because it already had a track record as a leading CMMS, both in Jason’s previous work and within the car wash industry. Familiarity helped the team earn executive buy-in quickly.
“MaintainX resonated with us as a brand that was a known commodity, and that helped get the decision made, particularly with the CEO and COO.”
Results
Standardized procedures create consistency and savings
MaintainX’s procedures bring consistency to how technicians document and diagnose work, and a more disciplined approach to repairs.
“We have a standard procedure that's a template for the information we want on every ticket, so now we have uniformity from technician to technician,” Jason says. “We can force videos and photos to confirm that work was done the way we expected.”
That standardized approach has already led to savings on parts. Jason estimates that they’ve reduced their parts replacement rate by 15-20%. “Blower motors were a challenge for us. Before, 90% of technicians were replacing the motor,” Jason says. “Now that we're more standardized with our approach, probably 70 to 75% can find a different solution versus a replacement.”
Efficient work order management and scheduling
The team has seen a 4.5% improvement in billing efficiency (the hours a technician works versus the hours billed) since implementing MaintainX.
Managers have also reclaimed valuable time. “We've gotten really efficient on the scheduling and work order management side of things," Jason says. With the ability to create teams, filter regions, and reuse Work Order Templates, scheduling that could once consume the better part of a day now happens much more quickly.
"Work order assignment and visibility is night and day from what it used to be," Jason says. “What used to take minutes, we can now do in seconds. It's a click of two buttons, really. We've got it dialed in to create a work order from the request all the way to the ticket phase.”
That visibility helps the team make faster dispatch decisions. “We have the ability to see pretty much instantaneously what the workload looks like in each region,” Jason explains. “We know how many high-priority service tickets, low-priority, and preventive maintenance tasks there are, so it makes it really easy to digest everything visually in one place and make decisions on how to schedule.”
Measurable revenue gains
National Pride Equipment’s operational improvements are showing up in dollars. Since implementing MaintainX, the service team has set three consecutive monthly revenue records.
“We're crushing our targets right now and seeing improvements across the board in gross profit and revenue,” Jason says. "And our business model hasn't changed, our pricing hasn't changed.”
Insights to establish KPIs such as first-time fix rate
The team now has the reporting it needs to be truly data-driven. Today, Jason tracks a set of core metrics that simply weren't measurable before: billing efficiency, first-time fix rates, downtime, and on-time scheduling and completions.
The asset data MaintainX provides is also helping Jason discover areas where his team can improve. “We've used asset history to find opportunities for improvement from our installation teams. We analyze sites at 60 days, 90 days, and 6 months to look for recurring issues”
The customer experience has benefited from MaintainX’s shareable reports, too. “MaintainX makes us look more professional," he says. "If my clients have a question about an asset’s history, I can download that and show them reports with pictures and videos."
Customer satisfaction built with better communication
Communication has now become a competitive strength for the team.
Guest seats let National Pride customers track service history and asset health in real time, turning MaintainX into a shared source of truth between National Pride and their customers. MaintainX Request Portals have simplified the intake process. “We've created QR codes for most of our client sites. It makes it really easy for all our clients’ employees to make a request.”
“By the time the customer's reached out to us, we've already got two or three people that have had eyes on the request, and we're already thinking about a solution or dispatching support,” Jason says.
This responsiveness and real-time visibility have gone a long way toward building trust. Customer satisfaction went up six points on their most recent survey. “The things noted are the efficiency piece, communication improvements, and professionalism," Jason says. “I think some of that can be tied to MaintainX.”
Looking ahead
The data MaintainX generates is changing National Pride Equipment’s growth strategy. The team is now exploring how to package preventive-maintenance services.
“One of MaintainX’s strengths is the ability to create preventative maintenance tasks, track them, and set them to repeat,” Jason says. “We’re packaging preventative maintenance contracts because now we have the ability to build them out, and it’s something I've been talking to customers about. We're trying to get into more of the preventive side of things versus putting out fires when something breaks.”
Beyond developing preventive-maintenance contracts, Jason is focused on implementing AI features. “AI is the future. Any way we can leverage that to make us better, I think it's time to embrace it.”
Underpinning Jason’s vision for his team’s future is the confidence he has in MaintainX’s pace of innovation. “I've been really impressed with the ability to provide feedback. It feels like a real partnership,” Jason says. “In previous experiences with technology platforms, there’s often a roadmap that takes forever, and you don't see changes. With MaintainX, a lot of the things we've wanted to work toward, you already have in mind or are working toward. It feels really good to be heard, and to see someone working toward delivering the product you hope to have.”
