Hello, my name is Mathieu Herbaud and I manage two Schmidt dealerships in the north of France. One in Cambrai since 2017 and the second, which is more recent, in Villeneuve d'Ascq for the past year.
And hello, my name is Loïc Pruvot, and I've been Mathieu's technical manager for his two shops since March 2022. My daily challenge is to reduce the after-sales service rate to zero.
over the last few months of use, I haven't had any metered after-sales service.
How do you use the tool?
As far as using the mapper is concerned, it's light, easy to use, fits into a small rucksack pocket and is easy to handle. In terms of use, it's very quick, there's just one button. It's very easy to transcribe to InSitu, which also avoids any errors in transcription by a human being, because it's injected directly in 3D into the software InSitu.
When the room is cluttered, the mapper also works very well because you can, for example, extend the walls and by crossing them, you can get a hidden corner.
What do you think are the advantages of iMapper?
The right angles, but also the shape of the wall along its entire length:
Before the mapper, you always had to leave a bit of room for manoeuvre. For example, if you saw that a wall was twisted, you couldn't necessarily measure it, so you had to plan for a deeper work surface, which wasn't necessarily necessary and generated a lot of waste. That's where the iMapper comes in handy. It's really going to show me the wall, and allow me to order a worktop with the right dimensions.
It will also give me the angle of the wall, whereas before with a traditional 45 cm digital angle meter it would give me the angle over 45 cm, whereas the iMapper gives me the alignment of the whole wall.
Double-checking is easy and accurate:
It's true that you can make mistakes with the old tools, but with the mapper you can double-check. So you're always confident with this tool.
Be sure of any false plumb lines:
When you make a vertical cut with the mapper, it also allows you to take into account any ground level problems, and that's very important, as well as any problems with the plumbness of the walls. It also allows us to check all the openings, and that's where we had the most difficulty at the time, because we used a level, but it was more or less reliable. The advantage now is that we really do have precise information about the opening angle of the floor or ceiling in relation to this cross-sectional view.
On kitchen projects, for example, when you adjust the level of the legs, one leg may be set at 10 cm and end up at the end of the kitchen at 12 cm. If we plan to use 10 cm bases, there's bound to be a 2 cm gap that the customer won't accept, because it's not aesthetically pleasing. So when you place an order, you can order a 15 cm plinth for the fitter to re-cut, avoiding a second service and potential tension with the consumer.
What impact does the iMapper have on your customer relations?
They're often impressed by it. They say "wow, that's professional", they're immediately more reassured. There's a wow effect when you start up the tool, and the customer asks questions to try and understand. And, yes, there's reassurance and there's really the image of the professional.
And we can talk more. With the mapper, you're a little less stressed. Because you know that afterwards there's a second check.
Have you been able to identify a reduction in your after-sales rate?
It's difficult to say, but it's true that the after sale service rate is tending to fall. What's certain is that with the mapper we can carry out a second check, and today we're also sure of its reliability in terms of accuracy and measurement. And we can anticipate everything, and it's true that over the last few months of use, I haven't had any metered after-sales service.
A final note?
To finish, you asked me to be sincere, so in fact I had a lot of preconceptions about the iMapper, especially in terms of its reliability and accuracy.
I'm from the old school, I've been in the business for 20 years and I've been doing my own measurements for 20 years. So first of all I just used a tape measure and then I started using a tape measure plus a laser. And I really needed to be reassured about this precision. Now, after a few months, because well, I was a bit reluctant, I had to test it out and see quite a few different scenarios.
Today, I've told Loïc that we need to use almost exclusively the mapper and almost no other tools, because I'm so convinced of its reliability and what it can do for the quality of my shops.
