Rig Customer Service Turns Emergency into Easy Experience

James Rice, drilling manager for Terracon, has spent the last two years overseeing geotechnical projects out of Virginia Beach. With a focus on SPT and CPT work, his branch sends crews and equipment to work on projects for offices all along the Southeast coast.

When he first heard about the North Carolina Service Center (NCSC) opening, he was already familiar with Todd Courbot, NCSC manager, from a previous job.

“I worked in Huntington Beach, California, from 2018 to 2021. That’s how I know Todd — he was the sales rep for us,” Rice said. “That was my introduction to Geoprobe^®.”

Rice ordered parts from the NCSC before, but he didn’t have a reason to bring in any of his rigs for service. Then his 7822DT Geoprobe^® rig had a big problem.

"It was the brackets that hold the mast to the carrier — something broke in there. The mast tried to pull away from the carrier into two pieces. It happened out in the field, but thankfully the operator caught it quickly. Somebody could’ve gotten really hurt,” Rice said. “We had to reach out to the North Carolina Service Center for help.”

Rig Customer Service Before Repairs Even Began

Even before repairs began on the machine, Rice was impressed by the rig customer service.

“We didn’t have a driver available to get the rig to Hickory, so Todd put me in touch with a tow service. They came to Virginia Beach the next day,” Rice said. “And within a day or two of them pulling it into the NCSC, I got a phone call from Todd and an email with rig photos.”

The 7822DT required substantial work — including several slide replacements, hose repairs, wiring fixes, and more. But throughout the process, the NCSC ensured that Rice was kept in the loop.

“Every three or four days, Todd was calling me with updates, sending progress photos, and explaining how much the quote was changing,” Rice said. “We’ve all experienced being left in the dark [with service providers] and not really knowing when a piece of equipment will come back, which can be frustrating when scheduling rigs and trying to tell clients that. But I never had that problem with Geoprobe^®. It was a pleasure to work with Todd and the whole crew out there.”

Ultimately, Rice’s crew got the 7822DT back in a timely manner.

“We’ve had it back for a couple of months, and it’s running like it’s brand new,” Rice said. “If it ever needs service again, we’ll absolutely go back. The whole team had a whole lot of effort going into getting this rig running.”