When severe storms hit anywhere across Australia, O'Brien^® needs to respond with lightning speed – so to speak.

The main priority is always our customers and ensuring that all incoming enquiries and calls for help are answered efficiently, and solutions are provided to those in need as soon as possible.

Nowadays, strong storms and extreme weather patterns are a regular occurrence that affects homes and businesses, vehicles, and the people within them.

It’s reassuring to know that your local experts are there to help when these things happen.

Here’s a sneak peek into how the O'Brien^® team works when a major storm event hits.

Rising through adversity in response to storms across the country

Towards the end of October 2021, South Australians faced what locals described as a “freak” tornado, followed by a hailstorm in the Adelaide Hills.

O'Brien^® once again rose to the challenge, working together to provide support to those customers across Adelaide that were impacted.

While the Bureau of Meteorology had warned of severe storms approaching, nothing could have prepared locals for the destruction brought about by the extreme weather that hit. The tornado uprooted trees and destroyed powerlines, resulting in hundreds of thousands of households being left without power.

The hailstorm caused devastating damage to properties and rural communities. As the storm tore through crops, farms and greenhouses, reports of hail damage to doors and windows, as well as car windscreens, flooded into the O'Brien^® call centre.

While this was already an overwhelming time for O'Brien^® as the call centre team worked day and night to respond to the thousands of calls, COVID-19 restrictions continued to make it difficult for both local and interstate response teams and volunteer groups to join the cause and help manage the situation accordingly.

O'Brien^® streamlines response to help those impacted

As part of our commitment to the local community, we want our customers to know that O'Brien^® will always be there during times of need.

In working to overcome the challenges that storms present, O'Brien^® implements its Storm Response protocol that helps to provide seamless and immediate assistance to customers.

Within moments of a storm impacting a region, the Storm Response Team gathers to implement a predetermined plan based on various scenarios. These plans are reviewed regularly, particularly in the lead up to summer, and teams are trained thoroughly on the process, so they are at the ready.

The O'Brien^® team then identify and address the calls that require an immediate response. All divisions of O'Brien^®, including AutoGlass, Glazing, Electrical and Plumbing collaborate and pool their resources together to respond accordingly.

As an example, the O'Brien^® Customer Solutions team, answer the phones and take the details of those who need assistance. These call patterns also give us valuable insight into where a storm has hit the hardest, providing us with an initial indication of where to direct resources as a priority. If there is a peak in inbound traffic, other areas of the O'Brien^® group, such as Marketing and Human Resources, will also assist in answering calls where required.

Once job details are confirmed, the Customer Solutions team, alongside a task force that includes staff and branch personnel in affected areas, work on establishing bookings.

Depending upon border restrictions, teams of pre-selected technicians are flown in from across the country, to the impacted area, to support and get customers back on the road as quickly as possible.

This was the case with the storms that hit South Australia in late October last year. The O'Brien^® Operations team even set up a pop-up site in the most affected areas to help provide additional support. This move proved crucial as main roads and highways were blocked by flooding and debris.

In the past, we’ve even called upon our international colleagues. So, teams from as far away as the USA and Germany have dropped everything to fly to Australia and support our customers. And given all technicians are training the same 42 steps process for replacing a windscreen, O'Brien^® ensures the same high standard quality of service our customers demand.

Proven emergency response system at the ready

To help complement this process, O'Brien^® has created a storm response page that provides the community with the information they need to help them stay safe during these severe weather events. The page also directs those affected to an online storm damage booking form, providing an alternative for those in need to make a booking for repairs and assistance when the phone lines are busy.

Interested in some handy tips to keep prepared during storm season? Click here

Having experienced and managed many intense weather events across Australia to date, O'Brien^® is continuously finding improvements and new ways to manage storms both internally and for our customers to provide the highest level of service possible.

Since its establishment, our streamlined storm response process has proved to be a significant help to thousands of Australians amidst challenging times. Looking ahead, O'Brien^® is confident we can deal with what the Australian climate has in store for us.

Amidst the extra shifts and the many hours of overtime resulting from storm events, the team at O'Brien^® are always left enriched, satisfied, and proud of the support they provide for those in need by working together.

O'Brien^® – always ready to provide a lending hand

With over 95 years of experience, our expertise in quality service makes us Australia’s leading vehicle glass repair and replacement company, no matter what the circumstances.

For more information about our services, call our team on 1800 059 829, or send us a message. We’re here to help you.

The post How O’Brien Manages Storm Events Across Australia appeared first on O'Brien.

Daniel Lewis, Head of Central Operations, O'Brien^® said the response from his team to the recent storms in South East Queensland that created an excess of $60 million in damages, is proof the O'Brien^® team is well poised to respond to other similar storms in the coming months.

“Our priority always is to ensure that we can answer the incoming enquiries as efficiently as possible and give our customers a booking or a clear indication of when someone will be back in touch to arrange this for them,” said Daniel.

Although O'Brien^® monitors weather patterns and follows the Bureau of Meteorology for weather updates, quite often the most reliable indication that a storm has struck and caused damage is when the phones start running hot.

“Patterns of calls to our Customer Solutions team will always confirm exactly where that storm has struck and gives us the initial indication of its intensity,” said Daniel.

Once that has been confirmed, a task force including the regional and branch managers in the affected areas and the Customer Solutions team is established to ensure calls can be answered and request for bookings made. The effort doesn’t stop there, however, as all departments in the O'Brien^® network also step up in times of emergency to support the operations team and continue to provide our expert service to all customers across the country.

“Each of these teams will ramp up their resources appropriately and quickly. Customer Solutions and the Central Administration teams will all pitch in to create new capacity to deal with the volume of calls. At the same time, we open up as much capacity as we can so as to be able to solve as many customer problems as quickly as possible. Then we rally the techs across the country to get as many into the affected area as we can. The central teams work to organise flights, meals, accommodation, tools and admin support to make it all happen.”

Getting the techs on the ground is vital as well as ensuring the additional stock of glass and windscreens will be ready and available in the area. All of this happens on day one. The central team continues to work together to flex resources up or down as needed.

“The most recent storm in South East Queensland hit at around 2 pm on Saturday 31 October. Over the rest of that evening and all day Sunday, we experienced 20 times the amount of calls we would normally. People were calling through to report hail damage to windscreens, building glass and even solar panels! Everyone across AutoGlass, Glazing, Electrical & Plumbing has worked together brilliantly; pulling extra shifts, working overtime and evenings to ensure our customers get serviced.”

Daniel is especially proud of the teams’ response to the latest storm, the first since COVID restrictions.

“I am one on the lucky ones that get to see all parts of a storm response and whilst all of the things listed above are amazing, for me the most impressive thing is that we get to see our entire company work collaboratively for the same purpose but in such a caring way for each other and our customers,” said Daniel.

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