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Excellence
25
P a s s i o n f o r B r a n d
us. We are a small company, and we
fight for each customer, fulfilling all the
civil works — we prepare a project and lay
the cable, if necessary. Therefore,
our customers choose us. There is
another advantage — our own shop of
metal structures, where we can quickly
manufacture any mobile building.
– Why did you decide to take up
servicing?
– We encountered problems, supplying
equipment of other manufacturers. All
the sales first promise that that there are
materials and parts, but then it turns out
that, when an accident happens, long
correspondence starts. Therefore, I said
at once that I did not need any warranty.
It is easier to repair a failed unit ourselves
than to make the customer nervous.
I guarantee to our customer that any
failure will be repaired, and we have
round-the-clock customer service in place
for that. In the daytime, we come to the
site within two hours.
– Do you often travel to fix
emergencies?
– Once every two or three months. We
regularly come to examine the plants on
the sites. On each site, we have a logbook
for maintenance works, where we put
down the complaints. We are interested
in uninterrupted work, aren’t we? If the
charge in a battery is low, we put down
that the battery needs to be replaced.
Actually, we always have extra batteries
with us.
– What if some part is missing both in
Irkutsk and in Novosibirsk
warehouses?
– Today we can receive any part — you
just pay, and in 1 or 2 weeks they will
bring everything you need both for an
Olympian and for other DGS from
Moscow.
– Are there any principles you follow
when working with customers?
– Customers are always right. There are
difficult customers, and we explain to
them that unfortunately we cannot
satisfy their requirements and have to
part with them. That is rare, though.
In for a penny, in for a pound
Five years of working on the market is
not a long period; however, when
speaking to Andrey Borodin, the
impression is that this man has rooted
into stand-alone power generation.
– Andrey, do you have a degree in
power engineering?
– No, I actually came to this industry by
chance. I worked for a company which
was involved in the supplies of electric
tools, construction equipment, including
generator sets. I have never wanted to
own a business and, if the company had
been stable, I would have never left it.
However, it turned out that there was no
alternative, and I had to start the
business.
– Did you find partners?
– I started alone. I worked in my
apartment. I was both a sales manager
and a mechanic and I learnt how to
operate the equipment by the
trial-and-error method. If I didn’t
understand something, I engaged
professionals and learnt from them.
I read books, attended seminars,
including VT workshops, and exhibitions.
From the very beginning, I made a focus
on standby, basic and uninterrupted
electric supply; I supplied only advanced,
quality equipment. However, customers
needed more. We had to redo, finish and
connect things. Some people needed
remote access and control by several
communications channels, etc.
Requirements were different.
– Perhaps, you should have done only
sales?
– We would have been happy to do that
but, as I have said, our customers wanted
more. Otherwise, we would have lost
them. In general, service is a loss area,
and it is difficult to make money by this.
With us, it has started to bring profits
only recently. Before that, there were
only expenditures.
– If a customer challenged you, did
you always agree?
– No, I didn’t. First we sit down and
compare all pros and cons and see
whether we can meet the requirements.
The problem is not fines; they can be
paid. Our reputation is more important.
If we do not fulfil a task in time or we
cannot guarantee quality, we refuse.
Reputation is the key. Today, we service
standby plants installed in suburban
towns, where the regional leaders live,
and this is great responsibility. I believe
we should better say right away that we
cannot do something, rather than
promise and not fulfil the promise.
– What is the most important for you
in customer interaction?
– Trusting partnership relations.
– Do you trust your partners, too?
Dmitry said that you even offer your
customers to pay for equipment in
instalments?
– Even large companies work on loans,
we say — pay 30 % as down payment,
and the rest may be paid in instalments.
We never charge interest for that.
– What if they do not pay off?
– There has been no such a precedent.
No one has ever tried to cheat, and we
are friends with all of them. Customers
recommend us to the people they know.
станции в городском аэропорту. Было
много участников в тендере, техзада-
ние: участие в разработке проекта
и поставка трех машин по 700 кВА
в резерв для зданий международного
аэропорта, внутренних авиалиний
и стоянки авиалайнеров. Все сделали,
так что летайте к нам, не бойтесь.
Второй — поставка ДГУ в термоконтей-
нере типа «Север» в Ангарский перина-
тальный центр, разработка, изготовле-
ние и внедрение автоматики в суще-
ствующие цепи с согласованием четы-
рех независимых подстанций, пяти АВР
в разных корпусах с перекрестным под-
ключением секций подстанций и рас-
пределением мощности от генератора
на два независимых фидера.
– Есть новые перспективные
направления, которые хотелось
бы развивать?
– Да. Во-первых, будем заниматься
установкой небольших электрических
станций, работающих на газе. По стои-
мости они даже немного дешевле, чем
ДГУ. Пока смонтировали четыре еди-
ницы по 40 КВт. Было интересно позна-
комиться — американское оборудова-
ние. Нас попросили и мы сделали.
Второе направление — солнечные бата-
реи. Такое голубое небо, как
в Иркутске, редко где еще можно уви-
деть. Сейчас появилось новое поколе-
ние солнечных батарей, стоимость
одного киловатта значительно ниже,
чем было раньше.
– Будущее все же за газом?
– Газ — это самое перспективное,
но пока все магистрали проходят мимо
Иркутска.