Technical Support Specialist II

About Franke

We, the Franke company with its three divisions, are a world's leading supplier of products and services for domestic kitchens, the professional foodservice systems and the convenience store sector as well as for professional coffee making. With around 60 companies, we are at home on five continents. Over 8,000 employees constantly take on new perspectives to identify opportunities and turn them into inspiring, innovative solutions for tomorrow’s demands.

About the job

The Technical Support Specialist II is responsible for the quality and execution of technical phone assistance and training for Franke equipment in both English and French. They play a key role in the ongoing maintenance of service and support documentation and resources relevant equipment lines. They are also responsible for projects and tasks to ensure the implementation and efficacy of after sales support with regard to best practices, preventive maintenance programs, parts stock recommendations and field service activities.

Please note that this position is Remote but candidates will be required to be available for on-call and after hours support for customers potentially in other time zones.

Candidates must have the ability to work effectively from home, including access to a dedicated workspace and reliable internet connection. 

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Provide technical training: 
• Conduct initial training classes for new service provider technicians. Work to ensure that the Franke product
knowledge is transferred and understood by service partners. 
• Support ongoing advanced training at Regional Training Centers and site specific training requirements.
• Maintain a mindset of continuous improvement, in terms training curriculum and strategic execution of class 
materials. 
• Development and implement service provider and internal training programs and materials for current and 
future lines.

Support field service and other special projects. 
• Work with managers to support customer technical requirements, such as installations, PM execution, 
operator training. 
• Maintain and facilitate Franke internal programs 
• Prepare equipment and spaces for customer and provider display or use     

Provide excellent customer service directly or indirectly through interactions with service providers and customers: 
• Communicate highly technical information to service personnel. 
• Maintain high level customer satisfaction by clarifying customer needs and ensuring they are met. 
• Provide technical assistance to answer questions or resolve problems for customers and technicians over the phone. 
• Be available for occasional on-call and after hours support 
• Maintain a mindset of continuous improvement in terms customer satisfaction and the development of 
resources for field support. 
         
Provide technical assistance and resources: 
• Work to ensure that the product know-how (technical competence) of Franke products is transferred and 
understood by internal and external service partners. 
• In collaboration with relevant engineering and support teams, provide and/or release relevant direction and 
documentation to internal service departments as updates to current and past equipment are made available.
• Work to facilitate customer resolution for escalated issues and engage the necessary internal and external 
stakeholders to find a resolution that meets the customer’s satisfaction. 
• Recommends changes to products or services to fulfill customer and service provider needs.
• Collect and communicate repetitive failure analysis to aid in quality improvement process.
• Collaborate with Technical Product Support team to implement and modify equipment maintenance programs, 
in cooperation with relevant engineering and support teams that meet the cost and reliability needs of the
particular market. 
• Develop relevant relationships with operational and technical department personnel of key customers. 
 
Provide phone assistance to service providers in order to: 
• Assist in technical troubleshooting questions in relation to service activities including warranty status. 
• Provide part and sub-system identification and assist in placement of parts orders as necessary.
• Distribute technical bulletins and resources as field scenarios dictate. 
• Assist in quoting of large scale extensive repair. 
• Document details of calls taken to maintain an accurate customer and equipment service history. 
• Dispatch service providers as necessary. 
• Handle and resolve more complex customer requests or complaints when necessary

Requirements

• High School Diploma/GED; 2 or 4 year degree in technical field preferred.
• Minimum of 2+ years of technical support, field service, or related equipment troubleshooting experience.
• Experience supporting technical products in a phone-based, remote, or field service environment preferred.
• Strong mechanical aptitude with working knowledge of electrical systems, refrigeration, and equipment maintenance principles preferred.
• Excellent customer service skills with the ability to handle complex or escalated situations professionally.
• Reliable attendance and flexibility to support on-call or after-hours needs when required.
• Ability to travel up to 50%
• Must be bilingual: French/English

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skills, and/or abilities required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. 
• Customer Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer service. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction. 
• Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance. 
• Language Skills: Intermediate Skills - Ability to read and interpret documents such as safety rules, operating and maintenance instructions, and procedure manuals. Ability to write routine reports and correspondence. Ability to speak effectively before groups of customers or employees of organization. 
• Mathematical Skills: Basic Skills - Ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide in all units of measure, using whole numbers, common fractions, and decimals. Ability to compute rate, ratio, and percent, and to draw and interpret bar graphs. 
• Reasoning Ability: Very High Skills - Ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions. Ability to interpret an extensive variety of technical instructions in mathematical or diagram form and deal with several abstract and concrete variables. 
• Computer Skills: Word Processing Software, Spreadsheet Software, Order Processing Systems, Database Software 
• Other Knowledge: High mechanical ability, good working knowledge of refrigeration theories and mechanical systems preferred.