Trek has announced that the School of Certified Service, which was originally unveiled in August 2015 at the company’s annual retailer show, is now fully operational and accepting students for the full schedule of classes recently released to Trek retailers.
Located in the heart of Waterloo, Wisconsin, at Trek’s manufacturing, research and development facility, the Trek Certified Service Center covers 2200 square feet of dedicated educational space and can accommodate between 12-20 students per course depending on subject matter.
The five courses currently being offered range from Service Operations Manager and Service Advisor to three levels of Technician training. Trek’s curriculum is designed to develop each student’s skills ‘beyond the wrench’, with an emphasis placed on maximizing employee retention, offering a clear career path, the importance and benefits of professionalism, and the customer experience. This is all while ‘increasing the efficiency and critical thinking skills of Trek retailers’ most valuable staff.’
In-person courses are billed as a multi-day immersive educational experience where students have one-on-one access to the industry’s most prolific educators. For certain advanced courses, representatives from development partners Fox, Shimano, SRAM, RockShox, and Bosch attend as guest lecturers to offer first-hand knowledge of their brands’ key technologies and how they are intended to be serviced.
Subject matter and lesson plans are designed in partnership with the same teams that developed the very products the students will be servicing.
Recent graduates of two of the program’s classes have reportedly seen clear benefits and results that go well beyond simple technical skills:
- “Having been a part of the inaugural Trek Certified Service Expert Technician Course, I was able to take away more than just technical skills that will help me as a Service Technician within our shop,” said Eric Turner, Trek Certified Expert Technician at American Cycle and Fitness.
He continued, “I left with plans for educating our customers in regards to maintenance and care schedules, ideas on how to help our store grow and advocate within the cycling community, and a renewed passion for providing the best service possible to our customers. The Expert Technician course didn’t just end with a shuttle ride to the airport.
- “We were able to connect with those who make Trek Certified Service possible and are now able to use them, as well as our fellow classmates, as valuable resources when it comes to implementing what was taught to us during our week in Waterloo.”
Michelle Schmiedeler, Trek Certified Assembly Technician at Trek Bicycle Store of Kansas City said, “As a store manager without pre-existing mechanical skills, other than changing a flat, I thought it important to attend the TCS Assembly Technician class. The class not only taught me how to assemble three different frame style bikes, but I now have a core understanding of how the mechanics of a bike work.
“This is great knowledge for me to be able to jump in during a rush and efficiently get a bike checked in for service, make small mechanical adjustments for my customers on group rides, and develop a higher standard in efficiency at my shop. Trek Certified Service instructors meet you at your level and give you one-on-one attention. The value of this class is tremendous.”
“The service business is a critical component of a retailer’s business that drives overall profitability and can have a huge impact on customer satisfaction,” said Ben Lassanske, Trek’s Global Director of Product Support.
“It is also one of the most untapped and underdeveloped areas in bicycle retailing today. With the options we now offer to our retailer partners, they can get their staff factory trained and certified on the very same products that they are selling and servicing. This creates a competitive advantage for our retailers selling the best products with the best support in the industry.”
Trek’s School of Certified Service is open now with courses scheduled throughout the year, covering more than 40 weeks. Several sessions have already been completed with technicians, managers, and service advisors visiting from across North America. Trek retailers interested in getting their staff factory-trained should contact their local Trek sales representative or consult Trek’s digital retailer portal.
