CHAPTER 10
Best Practices in the Field
Just as the CSR is the first voice the customer hears from the company, the technician is the first face the customer sees — often on one of their worst days. That customer-technician interaction should build trust, and create the opportunity for a mutually beneficial solution.
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Introduction
Train technicians to treat every customer like their mother
Eric Falconer, Operations Manager at Dutton Plumbing, wanted a vision for what excellent customer service would look like for technicians at his Simi Valley, Calif., operation.
After much thought, and drawing on his background, a slogan was born: “The plumber you’d send to your Mom’s house.”
“Imagine if you needed to refer someone, if you needed (a plumber) to send to your mom's house,” Falconer says. “You would send us because it's going to give her a good experience. The job's going to get done right. They're just nice guys.”
The slogan is more than a motto, Falconer says. It’s the company’s guiding principle.
“If a technician or one of the service managers comes to me and says we've got this (angry) customer, what should I do, I just go back to, if it was my mom's house, what would you do?,” Falconer says. “They're like, ‘OK, got it. I know what to do.’
“It sets the bar really high. It forces us to keep working hard, keep pushing at it, not to settle.”
There are, of course, basics. Looking professional, showing up on time, showing empathy and educating the customer to make the best decision for their situation all drive trust.
But there is far more for technicians to learn about providing excellent customer service.
How technicians approach and serve customers of your business, sometimes customers who are having their worst day, sets the tone for impressions of your company. It can also determine whether that customer becomes a lifetime client.
What follows are some tips for driving that outcome.
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Table of Contents
1. Introduction
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2. Building a Company for Success
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3. Setting Your Company Up for Success
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4. Driving a Company Culture
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5. Setting a Path to Maximum Profitability
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6. Billing Structure: Determine Your Pricing
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7. Marketing Practices
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8. Call Center Practices
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9. Call Center + Field Practices
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10. Best Practices in the Field
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11. Field + Office Best Practices
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12. Keys to Success in the Office
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13. Management and Office Best Practices
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14. Human Resources
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15. Preparing Your Company For Sale
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