Point Men: Canadian Fleet Support Managers keep country fleets rolling

Canada is a big country. But MCI's Fleet Support Managers make every customer feel like MCI is his or her local shop. That's because MCI Fleet Support Managers take care of or coordinate virtually every aspect of coach ownership — getting parts, training technicians and drivers, handling warranty repairs and more. Chances are, if you're a Canadian operator, you already know your Fleet Support Manager pretty well. If not, or if you're new to MCI (or even if you're not), read on.

Doug DePape

DePape, who lives in Winnipeg, has the largest territory in sheer geographic area, stretching from Winnipeg to the Pacific Ocean. He's on a plane most days, but he's known some of his customers for so long, it's like old home week wherever he lands. "A lot of my customers are friends," says DePape. "It's a nice feeling when they make the time for you. I never have trouble getting in to see people. You feel like one of the family, almost."

Carl Clark of Saskatchewan Transportation Company, is one of those who calls DePape a friend. "Whatever we need, Doug is able to find it, even when it's not through the normal system," says Clark. "He's very resourceful. We're lucky to have him and Guy [Tessier] taking care of us. And Doug is a heck of a golfer, besides."

DePape, when he's not working, enjoys spending time at his cottage — and golfing — with his wife and son. But, he says, he's always working for MCI. "The one thing I try to get across to customers is that they can trust me — that I'm loyal to MCI, and I'm loyal to them. It's a good mix."

John Leone

John Leone's territory encompasses Ontario, giving him some of the busiest accounts in Canada. Though he's been with MCI for a little under three years, he's already made quite an impact. Larry Hundt, owner of Great Canadian, credits him with selling him on MCI coaches, which weren't in his fleet plans until Leone came on a parts call. "He's a pretty exceptional person," says Hundt. "Because of his numerous calls and service to us, we realized that MCI was a viable alternative for us. It's very unusual to have a service rep come in the back door and open up the front. He's a tremendous asset."

Leone comes at his job with a long and comprehensive coach career. He's been in the industry since 1982, when he started as a mechanic. He's worked in manufacturing, quality assurance, technical publications, customer service management, warranties, engineering development and other areas within the coach industry, plus he did development work for major U.S. automakers and worked on military vehicles. In short, he's qualified to handle virtually any question an operator might throw at him.

That's a good thing, because Leone handles both private and public-sector accounts, and he has a lot of them. Go Transit alone has 300 coaches, and Coach Canada has about 180. And then there's Greyhound. Not to mention private tour and charter operators like Hundt. "One of my biggest challenges is to make myself available to everyone equally," says Leone, who travels five and sometimes six days a week. Leone enjoys being his customers' point person, and he does much of his own training of technicians and drivers. "Ninety percent of my job is service. I can't remember the last time I just hopped on a flight with a bunch of sales brochures and just sold. My relationship with my customers is very strong."

When Leone is not at work, he likes to spend time with his wife of 25 years and two kids, including a daughter on a soccer scholarship. He loves to entertain. And perhaps befitting a man whose professional life revolves around serving customers, he jokes that his hobby is "anything [my] wife puts on the honey-do list."

Simon Cloutier

Responsible for all of eastern Canada, Simon Cloutier has been with MCI for almost three years. For about seven years before that, he worked for competitors. But that doesn't mean he didn't encounter plenty of familiar faces during his initial customer visits. "I already knew most of the customers when I came to MCI," says Cloutier. "Overall, it's a big and a small industry. It's a nice industry to be in, to help people with their issues on a day-to-day basis. I like to make things happen for our customers."

He considers MCI's Montreal Service Center to be a huge asset in his job. "I drop by there as often as I can, and I encourage my local customers to deal directly with them. They do a very good job." Cloutier also credits MCI's bilingual support team for its service to MCI's French-speaking customers in Quebec as well as parts of New Brunswick and Ontario. Says Cloutier, "We have bilingual staff in key departments such technical, parts, customer service, service center, bus sales and fleet support. Customers see it as a great sense of respect for them, which they appreciate."

Cloutier is customer-focused. "It can be very puzzling for customers to know who to call about service issues, parts, warranties, training needs and technical issues. It's good for them to know that anything they need, I will take care of it. The customers are first. We support them, and we are supported as well by the team at MCI, especially our Canadian group. We do it our way. Together, we can make it happen for our customers and keep them out of trouble."

Cloutier's other priority is his two-year-old son, now that he's retired from his other position: semi-professional hockey player. He used to play with the Quebec Aces and the St.-Georges Garaga. The Garaga won an Allan Cup and in 2003 finished second at the Nagano Cup in Japan.

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