"Our goal is: 'We help!'"
Interview with Jarno Bor, Managing Director of Service 24 Emergency Service GmbH
The 24/7 GmbH, in which the Service 24 Emergency Service GmbH from Austria together with the German ADAC Truck Service is currently merging, wants to become the biggest and best emergency call center in Europe and already today can rely on enormous clout throughout the continent. How the company wants to preserve its grown flexibility at the same time and why supporting professional drivers is a matter close to its heart was explained by Managing Director Jarno Bor in the interview.
Economic Forum: Mr. Bor, Service 24 Notdienst GmbH offers a very comprehensive range of services. What competencies can your customers rely on?
Jarno Bor: Our mission can essentially be summed up in two words: 'We help!' In doing so, we now support a wide variety of companies and professionals throughout Europe in the mobility sector, from sprawling multinational logistics providers with a fleet of nearly 10,000 trucks to smaller freight forwarders with just a few dozen vehicles in stock. For 42 years, the drive to keep the commercial vehicle sector mobile motivates us anew every day.
In this context, we act as the first point of contact for our clients and the drivers they employ, in case anything goes wrong – for example, in the event of an accident.
Wirtschaftsforum: So, in situations where swift action is required – how quickly can Service 24 provide support?
Jarno Bor: We have now reached a contact volume of 1.8 million customer contacts per year, 70% of which are via telephone. Despite this rapid growth, we adhere to our requirement to personally answer 80% of incoming calls within 20 seconds – that's why, beyond the professional staff in our call centers spread across Europe, every single employee in our company, from key account management to executive management, is trained to handle emergency calls on the phone if necessary. Through our extensive network, we have the capability to immediately assist any truck driver who comes to us in an acute problem situation, in their mother tongue – this language competence remains of particular importance in the united Europe, especially in exceptional situations. Beyond breakdown assistance and, if necessary, the immediate provision of required medical care on-site, we can also support in other acute situations: For instance, we are responsible for blocking fuel cards if a driver's wallet was stolen. Moreover, we implement comprehensive customer support services for tractor manufacturers and are also engaged in insurance claims management. However, our main focus remains on providing practical support to drivers, especially in difficult situations. This continues to be our core concern, especially in particularly challenging times: For example, during the pandemic, in cooperation with DocStop, we ensured that professional drivers could access hygiene products despite the closure of rest stops.
Wirtschaftsforum: How do you ensure that your motto "Big enough to handle, small enough to care" is also lived out in day-to-day business?
Jarno Bor: As part of the ÖAMTC, the Service 24 emergency service GmbH, together with ADAC Truck Service, now operates as a 24/7 GmbH in the market, aiming to become the best and largest emergency call center in Europe. With established structures in 27 countries, we can rely on a Europe-wide network, and this year we will expand beyond the European market into the MENA region with corresponding activities. Although we employ about 400 staff in total, the teams in the respective countries are of a manageable size and also have the necessary local know-how to face local challenges with as much agility as possible. At the same time, these local units are well interconnected to learn from each other and provide mutual support. In this way, we can best combine impact and flexibility.