Emergencies Require Preparation, Not Shortcuts

Our phones are always on, our reps and fleet are always ready, our trucks are fully stocked and our hours are 24/7.   That means we will be there when our customers need us the most.

We believe this is the only way to run a pump rental business.  A big part of what we do is respond to customers who are dealing with flooding situations, natural disasters, burned-out motors and busted pumps.  You can't predict these emergencies, and when they do hit, you can't put them on a to-do list.  They need immediate attention to prevent costly operation shutdowns.

So when a ship dry dock down in Texas broke apart and damaged the pumps, our right-sized, diesel-powered pumps were onsite in a flash and pumped nearly 50 million gallons of water back into the bay to enable repairs to start right away.

And when the worst flooding in years hit the world's largest coal-producing region in Australia, a leading mining contractor company quickly contacted Xylem to rent and purchase large centrifugal pumps capable of handling the pit-dewatering job.  That same day, the customer had a sales agreement, and Xylem delivery trucks – despite being rerouted around underwater highways and roads – had the pumps onsite and working within days.

Quick-response examples like these are the norm at Xylem, not the exception.  We've been at this for so long that we know exactly what has to happen to make things move fast when pressure situations arrive.  It may sound counterintuitive, but the key to getting customers what they need in a hurry is not to take any shortcuts.

Our goal is to be "always on and close by," and here's how we do it – in three simple steps:

• Our sales reps are always just a phone call away.  They will be there – nights, holidays, weekends, whenever – to take customers' calls and deliver personalized service.
• Our rental equipment is inspected and tested prior to being delivered to the jobsite, so there are no unpleasant surprises and slow-downs.
• Our mechanics' trucks are fully loaded and stocked to respond to all type of situations, so we don't have to make multiple, time-wasting trips to the customer project site.

That's it.  It's not a complicated formula, but it does take diligence and a willingness by everybody on the Xylem team to walk a mile – day after day, 24/7 – in our customers' shoes. We try to think about what our customers would want - someone that answers their call, shares their sense of urgency and solves their problem before it becomes a bigger issue. And that's exactly why Xylem is on the speed dial of so many companies don't want any delays when the clock is ticking.