FYI from MCI™

Blackwood Service Center welcomes surprise guests at Open House

When a driver for American Heritage Trails called MCI's Emergency Roadside Assistance in May with an alternator-light issue on its 1997 MCI coach, the operator wasn't expecting much more than a fast, professional fix at MCI's Fleet Support Service Center in Blackwood, New Jersey. Instead, the driver and passengers got a catered lunch for 50, complete with ribs, chicken and dessert.

The Blackwood facility just happened to be conducting its open-house celebration and had ordered plenty of food. "They were a very jovial group," said Blackwood service manager Gus Traficante. "Some of them were saying they had better luck here than in Atlantic City, where they had just come from. One joked, 'I'm glad you have food, because we're all broke.'"

Matthew Inlow, owner of the LaOtto, Indiana, operator, said, "Not a single person complained. And the group leader was very grateful." Inlow, who runs an all-MCI fleet with an upscale image, currently has two E4500s on order. "They're the only way to go," he says, adding that the Des Plaines facility is his normal MCI service center of choice, because of its proximity to Indiana, though he has visited other MCI facilities as well. Says Inlow, "They do a good job."

Blackwood technicians took as much care with the coach as staff did with the passengers. Within four hours, the shop diagnosed the problem, replaced a couple of belts and ordered another part to be sent directly to the operator in Indiana. And then they sent the well-fed passengers back on their way back to Fort Wayne.

Says Inlow, "I was very impressed with MCI for going that extra step."

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