Inventory/stock in Helpers/Apprentices trucks.

[julianaf]

So, we are working with ST since Oct 2021 and 2 weeks ago, our helper/apprentices (which are "technicians" no manageable, and it is because then we can see them on dispatch board and book them as helpers with the plumbers) are having negative stocks.  The sales now with 2 or more people booked apparently get items from any truck (inventory) of the people on the job.

The help of our "success" manager is miserable, his first answers is always "no" "we can't" "it is not possible" etc... and now said I have to check invoice by invoice before to export and then change inventories and technicians if it's the case.

IT'S THE CHAOS actually.

Anyone in the same sinking boat? (sorry for my words... I am really frustrated with the system and it's everyday new problem...)

[michael21]

If you were tracking truck inventory, I can't imagine what you were doing that it wasn't a problem.  We started truck tracking just over a year ago.  Like you, we assign our assistant techs to a "fake truck".  We have had this problem since day 1.  When the helper charged product to the job, the system always assumed that it was coming from his "fake truck".  We tried moving helpers to the real truck of the day, but that proved difficult to do.  Then we had jobs in which 2 techs with actual trucks and the problem compounded.  I don't think that the problem is new, at least for us, and I also don't see a solution other than a software change.

[michael21]

Hi Julianaf.  Unfortunately, there is not a clean solution to the problem you bring up.  When more than 1 truck is on a single job, there is no easy way to control what truck stock is removed from.  While I do share your frustration with the limitations of the mobile ap's material charging capabilities, I think that the correct place for this discussion is in the ideas area.  I created an idea, COMMUNITY-I-870, on this subject and suggest that you and anyone else who has this problem add comments and up-votes there.  That is much more likely to catch ST's attention.  Also, if you haven't seen it yet, get a copy of the pre-announcement letter for the upcoming changes to both office and mobile inventory.  They are exciting and may or may not solve this specific problem, but they definitely show that ST is paying more attention to inventory.  ST has a lot of really great capabilities, but it also has a lot of holes, pretty much like every software system.  It's up to us, the users, to help ST see those.  After all, we work with the product in a real life mode every day.  The developers at ST are probably good programmers and all, but they need us to know how the business really works.

[julianaf]

My point Michael, is that never happened before a month ago.  And we haven't changed anything here.

We always had our helpers/apprentices and their "fake trucks" (otherwise we cannot have them in the dispatch board) and never was this problem.

[rstare1]

You can also assign the helpers to be on the same truck as the lead. That way if the helpers add materials it still comes out of the same location. 

[julianaf]

Yeah, our helpers are not attached always with the same tech.

[rstare]

I would still recommend using this method, even if you have to have a CSR switch their assigned truck every morning as it's the most straightforward and doesn't require any different processes on the techs end or on the office after the fact. I always have the helpers do the material documentation while the lead is doing the discussion with the customer - so I don't like the idea of having only the lead add materials, but that may work fine for your purposes.

[julianaf]

It doesn't work for us, and unfortunately looks like a bad review I saw once about Service Titan... "we have to adapt our business to the system and not the system to the business". 😡

[JessicaSmith]

Okay, if these solutions don't work for you, you can have the person doing your invoice review prior to export change inventory location to that of the lead technician. They have to open the invoice anyway, add that to the process.

ServiceTitan is a highly customizable/configurable software, but you won't be able to 100% customize it- sometimes you'll have to adapt.

[julianaf]

As I said, we are using ST since Oct 2021 and the mess started on April 28, 2022... something changed and we can't believe nothing could be done by them, because we were working like that before.

But it's fine... also as I said, the bad review I saw once looks pretty true and clear now "your business to adapt, because they won't..." 😭