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Medical Device Company Provides Superior Remote Customer Service

August 26, 2021

In early 2020, equipment specialist for Fresenius Medical Care North America (FMCNA) Mark Gotschall had a health scare. Severe pain in his legs sent him to the emergency room and it turned out he had five blood clots. The doctor sent him home with blood thinners and instruction to give up all the driving he’d been doing.

Gotschall has worked with dialysis equipment for more than 35 years, and has been a field service rep for the last 9 years. He’s put 80K+ miles on his vehicle driving to service calls. In short, he’s got a whole lot of experience and expertise in what he does. The order to give up so much long distance driving seemed like it would make it impossible to do his job.

“I thought my career was over,” Gotschall shares.

FMCNA is a leading medical company specializing in dialysis equipment, and the last thing the company wanted was for Gotschall to throw away so many years of field experience. They put him on phone support which he could do safely from home, but Gotschall found the experience frustrating because he could not see what his customers were doing.

Enter remote customer service software from Help Lightning. Download a shareable PDF of this success story.

Retain Specialists Who Want or Need to Work Remotely 

Help Lightning’s merged reality screen is a 3D shared view that allows people to work together as if they were in person. Users can incorporate tools and annotations overlaid onto the shared view of the screen, as well as pause and magnify the screen. This enables precise instruction in helping customers, and provides a highly supportive experience that feels hands-on.

Gotschall admits he was reluctant to start using Help Lightning, as introducing a new technology to his workflow sounded somewhat daunting. But he was frustrated using the phone to support customers, and was ready to give it a shot. He was on board as soon as he did his first Help Lightning call and saw how easy the platform is to use. It was also easy for customers to use, and they found it very helpful. When using the phone, the same person would often have to call several times. With Help Lightning, they are able to solve problems the first time.

I was working from home before using Help Lightning, but was unable to help my customers because I had no way to see what they were doing,” Gotschall explains. Now I see things I couldn’t see over the phone. The experience is so real I feel like I am in the clinic. I joke that I can even smell the clinic because of how real the virtual reality is!”

While Gotschall was unable to travel due to a health issue, his colleagues could not travel or visit customers due to COVID-19 travel restrictions. Help Lightning allowed them to continue supporting customers from anywhere. Specialists who’ve accumulated decades of experience were able to continue working, and hospitals and other healthcare providers were able to receive the support they needed.

Provide Customers with Remote Expert Oversight

Help Lightning allows medical providers to impart more knowledge sharing with customers so they get hands-on learning with expert oversight. With a shared merged reality video, and the ability to incorporate tools and annotations within all users’ view, remote customer training is highly effective using Help Lightning.

“Help Lightning is a great training tool for new technicians. They tell me they get more from a 30-minute Help Lightning call than 30-minutes of in-person class. I’m able to impart more information in a shorter period of time,” says Gotschall.

Gotschall says that Help Lightning is helpful in dialysis biomed. This makes it easier to help people who don’t have experience. “I can see something small on a machine that most people would overlook,” Gotschall explains. “You just wouldn’t get that from talking to them on the phone.”

Troubleshoot and Solve Problems With Remote Customer Service Software

Help Lightning’s merged reality allows you to see what your customer sees, and demonstrate exactly what they should do to resolve problems quickly. The ability to see and experience exactly what’s happening on the customer’s side of the screen enables fast and effective problem solving. Specialists are able to be more ‘hands-on’ and provide specific guidance because they can experience the issue as if they were in the room.

“Help Lightning makes it possible for me to feel as if I’m in the clinic with the machines,” says Gotschall. “When there’s a problem I experience how the machine is responding, and I can demonstrate exactly what to do. The technicians I work with are so excited by how easy it is to resolve problems with Help Lightning.”

Help Lightning Allows FMCNA Specialists to Do Their Best Work Remotely

Help Lightning allows specialists who cannot travel to be onsite with customers to provide customer support and training that’s as effective as in person. It enabled Gotschall to continue in his career, and allowed FMCNA to retain his 35+ of experience. Additionally, Help Lightning made it possible for him and others in his company to support customers remotely, even when COVID-19 travel restrictions made onsite visits impossible.

“Help Lightning resurrected my career at a time when I thought it was over,” Gotschall says. “I was getting ready to retire, and now I can keep working. It allows me to be in the clinic and around the machines. I like problem solving, and now I can do that effectively. It’s such an incredible troubleshooting tool, and it’s made my job more enjoyable.”

Request a no obligation demo of Help Lightning to learn how remote customer service software can support your company and its customers.

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