Samantha Taylor: Welcome to the Amigo CartCast, the podcast where we roll through the ins and outs of material handling with Amigo carts. I’m your host, Samantha Taylor, here with my co-host Scott Chappell, and we’re on a mission to find a better way for material handling.

Scott Chappell: Thank you, Samantha. Each episode we’ll explore the innovative features, success stories, and the endless possibilities that Amigo material handling carts bring to the table. Let’s roll into a world of efficiency, innovation, and endless possibilities. This is the Amigo CartCast.

Samantha Taylor: Welcome to another episode of our Amigo CartCast. This one is a special episode as we are recording in the month of February. And when you think February, Scott, what do you think?

Scott Chappell: I think of Valentine’s Day.

Samantha Taylor: Yes. So our theme today is going to be around KISS.

Scott Chappell: Kiss?

Samantha Taylor: Yes, do you know what it stands for? The acronym KISS.

Scott Chappell: I’ve heard what it stands for. Keep it simple… stupid.

Samantha Taylor: Yes. So that’s what most people know it as. A quick Google search says KISS is an acronym for Keep it Simple Stupid. Its designed for a principle noted by the US Navy in 1960. The KISS principle stated that most systems work best if they are kept simple rather than made complicated. Therefore, simplicity should be a key goal in design, and unnecessary complexity should be avoided.

Pretty smart. So for this episode, rather than Keep It Simple Stupid, we’re here to talk about Keep It Simple in Service.

Scott Chappell: I like it. I like simple.

Samantha Taylor: Yes, as do I. And we have a special guest here, our Director of Customer Service at Amigo, Mike LaBrake, who is going to help us lead this conversation on keeping it simple in service. So, Mike, will you just share a little bit with our listeners, your history with Amigo and introduce yourself?

Mike LaBrake: Thank you, Samantha. So I am a 36 year veteran at Amigo. Started way back in 1988 in Engineering and then in 2000 took over as Director of Operations, and then in 2012 I took over as Director of Customer Service, where we started to build a customer service network across our country.

Scott Chappell: This does not sound simple to me, he sounds like an expert, so I’m a little nervous about this episode.

Samantha Taylor: Well, we are here to help dissect it and keep it simple for us simple folk.

Scott Chappell: I’m all in. So regarding service and simplicity, I think it… I think we need to just step back in time just a touch to how we started. And that’s all the way back to 1968, when the first Amigo was designed, back then it was very simple. It had a handle. It had an electric motor. It had a wheel, jackshaft and a chain, and a battery.

All of those components came together to make a product that would allow somebody that couldn’t get around to get around. The nice thing about our company since then is we’ve kept that same practice being simple throughout our whole product lines. So today I’m hoping that Mike will share his expertise on how we actually do that with our products in customer service.

Mike LaBrake: Yes. One of the things that Scott mentioned there was how simple it was in 1968. And I would say that Amigo actually invented the plug and play type service. So all of our parts, the tool that you might have to use the most would be like a wrench, maybe a screwdriver, but nothing more complicated than that. And with our diagnosis on our controller and our different pieces of equipment that we offer, it’s quite simple to figure out which part you need to replace.

Scott Chappell: So what is unique about that, Mike, is the fact that in ‘68 we started with folks that couldn’t get around. So it had to be simple because if you bought a product, you needed to fix it. So if you’re getting ready to go to church on a Sunday morning and the machine doesn’t work, what do you do? That’s a very good point.

The other side of that is as we’ve evolved in other markets, and I know you’ve been involved in the grocery store business, that’s another side of the business that I think… hasn’t that helped drive simplicity for us as well?

Mike LaBrake: Exactly. So back in 2012, when I started in the service industry side of it, a big part of it was to grow that network and to be able to take your work order, get out the store quickly, make sure that cart’s up and running. And in order to do that, you have to make it really simple to service.

Scott Chappell: I’m sure a retailer, when their product breaks, they probably want their stuff fixed pretty quickly.

Mike LaBrake: Exactly. They want it fixed yesterday.

Scott Chappell: Gotcha. So, Samantha, I’m hoping we can explain how this all fits into place with our industrial product line.

Samantha Taylor: Would you like to do that now?

Scott Chappell: I most certainly would. In our previous podcast we talked about when we started in 2016-2017 with our material handling line. When we started that product line, the same principles that we had from healthcare in ‘68 and the same principles we had with — Mike has just mentioned about retail, commercial stores — is what we put into play for these material products.

So when Mike says plug and play, our current products today offer those same features and we’re very proud because once again, you don’t need many tools.

Samantha Taylor: It’s simple.

Scott Chappell: Very simple.

Samantha Taylor: And if I can do it, anyone can do it.

Scott Chappell: Yes, I agree.

Samantha Taylor: And I’m learning more during this. So I think this is a good pause moment here. We have a little bit of an intro on how simple our service is, how the history came about. It’s a big part of what we offer at Amigo, ensuring that you’re able to get service to your products quickly. I want to play a little game. Are you guys up for it?

Mike LaBrake: Oh most definitely.

Scott Chappell: I’m ready.

Samantha Taylor: They’re in. Okay. So I’m going to explain the rules real quick. The rules are simple. You get two points per question. How you earn points are one, the first person to answer it quickly and correctly. Okay? That’s one point. The second one is your answer has to be simple.

Scott Chappell: I’m ready.

Samantha Taylor: Okay. Mike, are you ready?

Mike LaBrake: I’m ready.

Samantha Taylor: All right. All service related. When you have the answer, go ahead and hit the… [bell rings]

Scott Chappell: The bell!

Samantha Taylor: The bell. Okay, here we go. First up, I plugged my machine in overnight, and when I came into work this morning and turned it on, it didn’t seem to be charged. What should I do? [bell rings]

Scott Chappell: So I will take that, depending on which unit you would have, our industrial product line charge cord has a LED light at the end of the cord. The unique thing about that is once it’s plugged into the wall, if the light does not come on, the outlet is not putting out any juice. So the first thing that I would check is if the light is on.

And then you would have to troubleshoot it in a different way. That is an accurate answer, but it wasn’t very simple, my bad.

Samantha Taylor: I think it is simple, though, because the simple answer is the cord lights up. That’s going to be the easiest.

Scott Chappell: 100%.

Samantha Taylor: See if the outlet is working. It might not be a component issue. It might actually be the outlet. So, try a different outlet.

Scott Chappell: And honestly, the reason we designed that that way is we had some service calls that we’ve done in the past, and by golly, the product is not charging. We get in there, the machine, it’s not the charger at all. Oh by golly, we find out that the outlet has zero juice.

Samantha Taylor: It’s a bummer. I will give you two points for that. Alright, Scott is in the lead.

Scott Chappell: Thank you. You are gracious.

Samantha Taylor: Scott is in the lead. Next question. Do I need to adjust the belt or chain on the drive? [bell rings]

Mike LaBrake: Okay, so the answer is no. We have a sealed transaxle drive that requires no maintenance whatsoever.

Samantha Taylor: Wow! Two points, Mike. That was fast!

Scott Chappell: Oh my gosh. That was quick and simple.

Samantha Taylor: Simple. I love it.

Scott Chappell: Gosh darn it.

Samantha Taylor: All right. How much air do the tires require? [bell rings]

Scott Chappell: That’s a simple, easy question, Samantha. Our tires require zero air. All of our tires and casters that we use on the industrial product line are flat free tires that have no air whatsoever.

Samantha Taylor: Well, geez, Scott, you’re in the lead. Four points.

Scott Chappell: Thank you.

Samantha Taylor: Okay. I turn the unit on and the enclosure light is flashing a two code. What do I do? [bell rings]

Mike LaBrake: A two code relates to the motor. The first thing I would do is simply check if the freewheel switch has been activated.

Samantha Taylor: Okay. That’s simple. I would say 2 points.

Scott Chappell: Just let me expound on that for a second, Samantha, if I can.

Samantha Taylor: Of course.

Scott Chappell: Mike, tell everybody out there the code system on the Amigo enclosure.

Mike LaBrake: Sure. So the Amigo controller has eight different codes, and upon start up, it looks through the entire system. And if it sees that one of the components may not be up to snuff, it’s going to flash a code on the handle. And by simply looking at the owner’s manual, you can tell exactly which component that you may have to take a look at.

Scott Chappell: Thank you very much. In the back of the owner’s manual are all these codes, and on our theme of being simple, it is really simple because once you see the number, it points you in the right direction. Possibly no tools needed as well.

Samantha Taylor: So does he get an extra point for that?

Scott Chappell: Let’s give him an extra point. He’s our guest.

Samantha Taylor: He’s a– yes. The next one is going to be a tiebreaker. But right now, Mike is in the lead. He has five points.

Scott Chappell: Maybe, just maybe, I can get it.

Samantha Taylor: Well, okay, let’s see. Here it is. Do I need to water the batteries? [bell rings]

Scott Chappell: I got this one. Sorry, Mike. This might be the deal– this might be the deal and tiebreaker. The batteries we use in our industrial products are sealed lead acid batteries. Now, what does that mean? They are a lead acid technology. But when we say sealed, they require zero maintenance. Now, let me just explain. This is not a simple answer, but it’s a critical answer.

Why would a person want to use a sealed battery? Well, with not requiring any watering, that’s also going to allow acid to never leak out of the battery. And the last thing we want is acid into the — to touch the components, the wiring, the charger, the controller. Because at that point in time, it’s just going to possibly cause more damage and it might cause damage to your floor and your facility.

Do I get extra credit for that?

Samantha Taylor: I think you only get one point because you explained it. Important, but a little complicated.

Scott Chappell: I’ll try to make it simple next time.

Samantha Taylor: Okay, so now we’re tied up. Five, five. Last question. This is in it to win it. I’m located in zipcode. 48722. And I need service to my Amigo unit. What should I do? [bell rings]

Mike LaBrake: This is simple. There’s two answers here. First, I would go to my local material handling dealer and see if they offer service. And if they don’t, you can simply call 1-800-248-9131, and that’ll get you into the Amigo service queue. First, we’ll try and help you out over the phone and see if we can just solve it right over the phone. And if not, at that point, we’ll dispatch a technician.

Scott Chappell: Mike, what’s the time frame when somebody calls in that might need help to when a service technician might end up at their door?

Mike LaBrake: Yeah. You’re looking at about 3 to 5 business days. The techs are on the road every day, Monday through Friday. So if they happen to be driving by and we got the parts on the truck, you know, we’ve done a lot of work orders same day, but usually takes 3 to 5 days to get you in the schedule.

Scott Chappell: And then if the tech doesn’t have the parts on the truck, what’s that time frame?

Mike LaBrake: So if they have to order a part from Amigo, it takes anywhere from 24 to 48 hours for the part to be shipped out.

Scott Chappell: It’s pretty quick.

Mike LaBrake: Yes, it is.

Samantha Taylor: All right. So Mike took in the home run. Seven points!

Scott Chappell: He’s the winner.

Samantha Taylor: He is the winner. Keeping it simple and service.

Scott Chappell: He’s a director. He’s the expert. He should win.

Samantha Taylor: He’s our guest.

Scott Chappell: And our guest. Can I– can I touch on something, Samantha, before we go?

Samantha Taylor: Absolutely.

Scott Chappell: I think it’s very important that this product line that we’re selling today in the industrial space, the critical pieces are one, it is simple. We go to a lot of trade shows and people will come up to us at the trade show and go, “Boy, your product is simple.” And the way they say it, they almost are embarrassed because they think that they’re disrespecting us.

But that’s not what we look at here. The simpler we can keep it, the easier it is to service, the less requirement that you have to spend to have a service technician come out, we feel makes our product that much better, especially in an industrial space, because there are pretty good size rates out there to send somebody to your facility, whether it’s a service call, a service visit or the hourly rate.

The other thing about simplicity in our products are you just plug this product into the wall to charge it. You don’t need a special charging station, you don’t need a wet– a watering station. So once again, the nice thing about these features on our products is that we are keeping it simple. So when you are out there looking for something to use in your warehouse for a solution, if these things are important to you, I think you have to think about us.

Samantha Taylor: So before we go, Mike, is there anything you’d like to add specific to service?

Mike LaBrake: I would just like to add during that design process of our products, service is always there on the forefront. So it’s really our goal that anything we design and put out the door, any person that has basic mechanical skills can walk out there and fix that cart. So that’s something, you know, that we look at and we try and do all the time to make sure that you don’t have to have four years of college to build a repair our stuff.

Samantha Taylor: But I think that’s important. And another thing is if you don’t have those basic mechanical skills, you are able to call the 800 number and we will be able to walk you through.

Mike LaBrake: Yes, definitely.

Samantha Taylor: Have service people in-house that can help walk you through, whether it be those diagnostic codes or simple fixes that don’t require a lot of mechanical experience.

Scott Chappell: You know, Mike’s comment just brought up another question for me. So, Mike, earlier you mentioned plug and play, which I think that’s a great buzzword because I believe people listening right now can get that, can understand that. So regarding plug and play, can you just basically say, like, the five main components that are plug and play on our products?

Mike LaBrake: Sure, Scott. So those five are the controller, the charger, the throttle assembly, the drive assembly and the batteries. It can all be simply taken out and the other piece put right in.

Scott Chappell: And most of the tools require are like what you said earlier, possibly a wrench, possibly a screwdriver.

Mike LaBrake: Correct.

Scott Chappell: Very simple.

Samantha Taylor: Simple. So we love to end our podcast on a story and how we have been able to Improve Lives Through Mobility. And I know Scott always has one top of mind. Mike, if you can think of one, we’d love to hear from you too. But Scott, let’s go ahead and share. What’s the story on your mind today?

Scott Chappell: Of course. So we were in North Carolina and we sold a few machines — material handling machines — to a hospital. And when you deal with hospitals and you’re selling products, the last thing you want to do is have some– hear something has broken, because everybody was with budgets and all that good stuff.

So what happened was we got a phone call after we just delivered the products and they said, “Scott, the gosh darn Amigo is not running whatsoever. When we pull the throttle back, it doesn’t go forward or backwards. What should we do?” My first thought was, hey, turn the key off. Make sure the electromagnetic brake lever and the back left hand corner is plugged in all the way. The next thing I heard was, “Oh my gosh, it’s up, it’s running, it’s ready to go.”

So that’s just a simple, once again, a simple situation where it wasn’t operating, it was brand new. They just spent good money on that product and we were able to do it just with a quick phone call. No service tech, no dealer, no anything.

Samantha Taylor: Keeping it simple.

Scott Chappell: That’s correct.

Samantha Taylor: That tied in well with our theme. Mike, do you have a story that you would like to share?

Mike LaBrake: Sure do. It was on a Friday night, I recall. I was ready to go home and we got a call in, and they wanted to use the cart on second shift, and they couldn’t figure out why they couldn’t get it running. And as I talked them through it, found out that the AC cord was still plugged into the wall.

That’s a safety feature that Amigo adds to all of our equipment that doesn’t allow our carts to run while it’s plugged in. So they simply had to unplug it and away they went.

Scott Chappell: So if I hear Mike properly, that is KISS, which is Keep It Safely simple. What do you think about that, Samantha?

Samantha Taylor: I like that. You will notice in our episodes we have re-occurring themes and safety is always going to be one of them, so we can just add that kiss for safety. So in recap, thank you guys both for joining today and sharing how we like to KISS, Keep It Simple in Service.

Scott Chappell: Until next time. Keep it rolling.

Samantha Taylor: Keep it rolling.

Samantha Taylor: And that wraps up another episode of the Amigo CartCast. We hope you enjoyed this exploration and to finding a better way for material handling with Amigo Carts. Be sure to subscribe as well as go to myamigo.com/podcast to see pictures and videos mentioned in today’s episode.

Scott Chappell: Thank you for tuning in. And until next time, keep rolling with Amigo.

Samantha Taylor: Until next time.

Scott Chappell: Keep it rolling.

Samantha Taylor: Keep it rolling.