December 10, 2008 // Franchising.com // (Rockledge, FL)---PIRTEK USA, the world's leading service provider of ETA one-hour, on-site hose replacement, has recently unveiled two new franchisee development programs: PIRTEK POW-WOW and PIRTEK USA Mentoring Program (P.U.M.P.).
According to Gwyn O'Kane, PIRTEK's vice president of franchise development, both programs stemmed from the company's continued support of its franchisees and commitment to their success. The PIRTEK POW-WOW, for example, first began as a WebEx training tool for potential franchise candidates but quickly morphed into a monthly webinar series for existing PIRTEK owners, business brokers and those interested in learning more about the Rockledge, Florida-based company.
"What started out as a training tool has blossomed into a true resource for everyone involved with or interested in PIRTEK," said O'Kane. "Our existing franchisees have submitted a wealth of helpful topics on a variety of subjects - so many that we have enough to propel this program through the next two years - and are more than willing to offer advice and personal anecdotes to other franchisees. One of our franchisees in Pennsylvania was curious about making more inroads for preventative maintenance and it turned out that a franchisee in Michigan had a lot of insight into that topic. With their help, we were able to put together a very successful web presentation and informative question and answer session."
P.U.M.P., said O'Kane, was first hatched last year during an International Franchising Association (IFA) seminar about mentoring. It turned out that very few organizations had a formal mentoring program in place and PIRTEK's franchise advisory council decided it would benefit both new and more established franchisees to debut such a program. O'Kane found an IFA article to use as a guideline and began collecting applications for mentors and mentees across the system. Mentors and mentees then work together to create a schedule of discussion topics based on what each wants to achieve, speak at least once a month by phone and have an on-site meeting at both parties' locations. P.U.M.P. officially went into effect in October of 2008 and already counts 75 percent of the PIRTEK network among its participants.
"P.U.M.P. has huge potential and given our initial feedback, we hope to have nearly all of our franchisees involved in the program in the next year," said O'Kane. "Advice from peers is always well received that even our most seasoned and mature franchisees will benefit from. Both P.U.M.P. and POW-WOW really have been well received and because the owners are taking ownership, I am confident these programs will continue on, evolve and become even better as time goes on."
About PIRTEK USA
PIRTEK USA is the world's leading service provider of ETA 1 Hour On-Site Hose Replacement. PIRTEK offers a 24 hour, 7 day service that serves almost every facet of industry including construction, manufacturing, transportation, agriculture and engineering among others. When an equipment breakdown occurs, it often results in costly delays in time and labor before the proper replacement hose is located and installed but PIRTEK vans carry the component parts necessary to manufacture hose assemblies on site. Hose and fittings can also be purchased over-the-counter at PIRTEK's national network of service centers that serve as home bases to its mobile fleet. PIRTEK has locations in seven of the 10 most populous markets in the country, including Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego, Dallas and Detroit. Projections call for the opening of increasing numbers of service centers each year for it is estimated the United States could support 400 PIRTEK locations.
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