TALES FROM THE ROAD
Fast fixes the ERSA way: Mobile mechanics drive great service

By Carolyn A. Newton

Customers who call MCI's ERSA hotline expect fast results — especially when it's their coach and passengers sidelined out on the road. Among the reasons ERSA can react as fast as it does are its mobile vendors — outside mechanics who have earned MCI's trust and are ready to step in day or night when or where there's no available MCI Service Center in operation.

When coaches go down in the Washington, DC area, we call Bryan Cebula, the Virginia Bus Doctor. Serving the industry with excellence since 1991, Cebula understands the need for speed when it comes to bus repair. Cebula says that he will often rush out to fix an A/C problem or a tire so that the customer can get to their next destination on time. "When your coach is broken down and you cannot move your bus, I may be able to go out to fix it without having to have it towed to a shop," says Cebula, who has gone as far as Virginia Beach, Virginia; Durham, North Carolina; and Delaware.

Like Cebula, Bill Wainford of Motorcoach Maintenance in Belgrade, Montana, has logged many miles helping customers in need. Area travel destinations are remote, so Wainford often goes the distance — literally — to help customers in need. "When people break down in Yellowstone, it's about the furthest place from anywhere," says Wainford. "Drivers and passengers are always very excited to see us."

Wainford derives great satisfaction from the job well done. "Passengers pay a lot of money to take these tours, so it's our duty to get the coach repaired as quickly as possible so they can continue their tour."

Cebula and Wainford are hardly alone. Wherever coaches travel, mobile mechanics such as Said Boulaich of Bus Doctor; SB Bus and Truck Repair in Orlando, Florida; Marty Hedge from Onsite Truck Repair in Louisville, Kentucy; and Carlton and Latres King from King Bus and Truck Repair in Atlanta, Georgia, are a welcome sight to many an operator out on the road. And there are many more, working the nation's roads for MCI customers.

MCI's ERSA program is honored to have these vendors to depend on for a quick response to its customers' repair needs. It's the "Going further" spirit at work, mile after mile.

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