In 8 days, Althoff Industries got its very own in-house ServiceTitan expert. Here’s how.

There’s one thing you need to know about Ashley Leege, the customer service and dispatch manager at Althoff Industries: She likes to win.

This trait came in handy when Althoff ditched its old field service software and joined ServiceTitan in 2021. It was a far more robust software than what the team at the Chicagoland commercial HVAC, plumbing and electric shop was used to.

“I was the kid you wanted in your group project (in school), because I was going to make sure it got done,” Leege said. “I kind of did the same thing with ServiceTitan. I was like, ‘(...) I'm just going to learn how to do all of it, and then at least somebody knows what they're doing.”

So when her ServiceTitan customer rep suggested she become a ServiceTitan Certified Administrator, or STCA, Leege was intrigued. With seven sections, 18 exams and a host of practice tests and readings, the STCA program would grow Leege’s ServiceTitan expertise. 

Leege asked how long the course took to complete. 

“Everyone’s a little different,” the rep said. “I had one customer finish it in two weeks.” 

Two whole weeks? Leege bet she could do it faster.

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Race against the clock—or don’t 

When Leege first opened the STCA program, she was ready to breeze through every lesson and collect her certification in short order. 

But the lessons surprised her. She found herself learning lots of new tricks and capabilities, even in areas of the software she thought she knew well. 

“I just kind of hunkered down and started taking the tests,” Leege said. “I would go through a test and match it up with the content they gave me to find the right answers. I learned a lot when I did it.”

Leege kept the program up on one of her computer screens at work, turning to it when she had a quiet moment or a lull between tasks. Sometimes, she’d stay at her desk a little later in the evenings to wrap up an exam. 

“I liked the fact that it wasn't timed,” Leege said. “I could focus on a couple of questions, then go get done what I needed to get done (for work), then come back to it.”

And besides, Leege is the last person who needed a timer. Instead of two weeks, she finished the course in eight days. 

Pass the tests—then share the knowledge

Since completing the STCA course, Leege has improved how Althoff uses ServiceTitan across the board. Here are her favorite lessons she’s learned:

• Service history: When Althoff switched over to ServiceTitan, Leege realized their service history records were lacking. Thanks to the STCA program, Leege was able to teach the HVAC techs to better track what equipment is at a site and what was there previously.

• Invoicing: Leege learned a lot about financial workflows while becoming an STCA. She inspired the accounting team to revisit the “process of how we handle financing on the back end (...) so that we can send (accurate) invoices to customers.”

• Dispatch: As a dispatch manager, Leege thought she knew ServiceTitan’s dispatch board inside and out. While going through the STCA program, she learned time-saving tips on how to configure notifications, messaging settings, forms and more. 

Are you game for growth?

When Leege first approached her boss about becoming a certified administrator, he had one question: Was she just trying to “win Titan?”

He was referring to the company’s Titan Score, a numerical grade ServiceTitan generates to show users if they’re using the software to its fullest potential. 

It’s no surprise that Leege was dead set on hitting a high score. And by going through the STCA program, Leege would learn processes that would improve Althoff’s Titan Score—as well as the efficiency of the whole team. 

It was a win-win, she told her boss. Plus, companies with higher Titan Scores tend to have stronger growth metrics. Althoff’s current score is 202.

Today, her boss is no longer skeptical of the STCA program—or of “winning Titan.” He’s thrilled with how much the whole team has learned, thanks to Leege’s efforts.

He’s “brought it up in quite a few meetings,” Leege said, and even insisted she frame her STCA certificate and hang it prominently in the office. 

“This makes me the expert in ServiceTitan, so now I'm not just self-proclaimed," Leege laughed. “I have a little certificate that says I am."