In today’s competitive marketplace, there is little room for error for owners and operators in the field services industry. Businesses are under more pressure than ever to deliver an exceptional service that aligns with what customers expect.
While the move to being more customer-centric gives businesses the motivation to grow and work towards retaining existing customers, small mistakes regarding scheduling, invoicing, and time can be costly. Unfortunately, with social media and the internet giving customers a forum to publicly share bad service experiences, these don’t always stay between the business and the customer.
Though advances in technology have enabled many field service companies to create efficiencies within their businesses, many customers are still yet to see the benefits of these improvements regarding service quality.
More companies are now turning to cloud-based software systems to solve these problems, with the technology allowing field service businesses to better identify and fix the top issues that result in customer loss.
We’ve listed these top issues and how you can avoid them.
Waiting too long for appointment times
This can be one of the most frustrating issues for a customer as most people expect help as soon as possible. Not only does this lead to customer dissatisfaction, inefficiency between jobs can also cost the business time and money.
With cloud-based software, managers can prioritise and schedule jobs, as they know exactly where each staff member is located, the duration of their current job, and their availability for the day. It will save your technicians time and get them to your customer sooner.
Not resolving the issue the first time
Sometimes a technician arrives at a job to find that an extra part or tool is needed, and must either return to the warehouse or, if out of stock, place an order for the item. This means the technician has to leave the customer and return a second or even third time to complete the job.
First-time fixes are an easy way to keep your customers happy. By giving your technicians access to an inventory database through the cloud, along with all the customer information history, you can significantly reduce the need for follow-up appointments. With field service cloud technology, technicians are equipped with all the information they need, allowing them to solve issues more efficiently the first time they arrive on the job.
Incorrect or unclear invoicing
Customers like to know exactly how much the service is going to cost before they’re charged. Invoicing a client more than was quoted or more than they expected is a certain way to raise a complaint, especially when they don’t understand why.
Cloud technology allows businesses to provide their customers with detailed and transparent quotes and invoices. Instead of having to go back to the office on the completion of a job to fill out the paperwork and then send the invoice back to the customer, technicians can generate itemised invoices and receipts on the spot and customers can pay immediately. It helps eliminate any error caused by technicians filling out paperwork in the hours or days after a job. Being efficient and transparent with costing creates a positive customer experience and saves much needed time for your technicians.
