“RDO Service Support, this is Scott speaking.”
Over the last seven years, that tagline has been used approximately 36,000 times by Scott Christenson in his role as Technical Communications Specialist for RDO Equipment Co. In this role, Christenson answers upwards of 25 calls a day to provide over-the-phone support for RDO customers experiencing equipment maintenance issues.
From day to day, he listens as customers spanning the United States explain their maintenance questions. In return, Christenson provides support, troubleshoots codes and aims to get customers back up and running.
At times it may be connecting that customer to the nearest RDO store and service technician or fixing the equipment technology remotely.
Christenson explains, “You never know what your calls are going to be, one call could be about a lawn and garden tractor in Montana that needs a snowblower attached while the next could be about a field cultivator that doesn’t lift properly in the Midwest, to a combine and back to helping a farmer with their sprayer.”
However, fielding this variety of calls also means that Christenson must have an arsenal of information in his back pocket.
He credits his depth of equipment knowledge to the hands-on experience he has had throughout his life. Christenson began his career in 1983 as a service technician for a local equipment dealer in Fergus Falls, Minnesota. He maintained that role through the RDO acquisition in 2008 before serving as Service Manager for five years prior to transitioning to his current role in 2016.
Christenson explained, “I worked on everything in the shop throughout my career which gave me a basic understanding of machinery. Now I can help customers with equipment like a two-cylinder tractor from 1947 or the brand-new technology they have today.”
These experiences cumulatively add up to a career that spans 40 years.
This span of experience also means that Christenson has been at the forefront of technology as it has shifted throughout the years. “When I started, if something was broken, we had to take the machine apart and put it back together in order to learn,” he explained. Now, even from hundreds of miles away, Christenson can diagnose issues using Remote Display Access and Tethr It to video chat. “I can use my mouse to hover over the screen to make sure the customer and I are on the same page. We’re able to interact and troubleshoot as if I’m right there with them.”
From a service truck to a service desk, Christenson is able to keep doing what he loves most: building customers for life.
At the end of the day, even though he is not physically in the field, he is able to get the job done and build relationships with RDO customers as a direct reflection of our Core Values.
When asked what advice he would give to the next generation for those beginning their careers he said, “Listen to the customer, learn from your peers and get the problem fixed right the first time.”
