Management Tools

Setting Alerts within your company

Alerts allow you to manage your business without having to constantly monitor and dig for information. These real-time notifications ensure that problems are immediately identified and fixed. 

To get the most out of alerts,  inform the team member receiving the alert of the expected response for every alert you have set up.  In addition, to ensure maximum efficiency, ask team members to review the list of available alerts to see if any of them could improve efficiency and response time for their role. 

But be thoughtful when setting up alerts. Excessive alerts often end up being ignored. For any alert set up, make sure the team is leveraging them to take action.

Use alerts to monitor activity

Standard ServiceTitan functionality allows an automatic  text message or email when certain parameters are met. For instance, Lee’s Air in Fresno, Calif., uses ServiceTitan alerts to automatically send an email when a warranty form is filled out. Before ServiceTitan, Lee’s had trouble tracking warranties. Now, ServiceTitan is set up to force the warranty form to be filled out on every warranty Job Type, and the appropriate people get an email alert when the form is completed. This ensures that warranty parts are being tracked and that credits are being given from the supplier. 

A step by step guide to setting up alerts can be found here.

Below is a list of alerts ServiceTitan recommends to keep your company well-informed and improve efficiency:

Abandoned Call. Points out poor customer service and need for more CSR capacity. This alert can also alert to the need to call potential customers back to try to book them. Send the alert to the head of the call center and the person in charge of marketing. 

Unbooked Call.  Save calls and determine whether the call was truly unbookable. This alert helps identify issues with capacity (needing more techs for a department) and can identify calls that could be used for training for new CSRs. Use Case: An increase in a department’s unbooked calls could signal the need for more technicians in that department. This alert is sent to the head of the call center and the person in charge of marketing.  

Completed Job. Used for any manager who  wants to know when specific jobs are closed.  

Booked Job. Used to notify key management and sales estimators of new jobs.

Open Estimate.  Sends a notification to the tech, dispatcher, and manager that the estimate is open.  This allows follow-up with the customer while the estimate is still fresh in their mind, to answer any questions they may have.  

Sold Estimate. Used to alert sales management and production of a sold job.  

Task Used. Example: When a warranty task is used, this alert can prompt steps to submit the warranty request to be paid.

Unsold Job. Used to monitor technician performance and provide real-time coaching to technicians in the field. This alert should be set to go to an immediate manager prepared to reach out to the technician when the alert comes in. Catching unsold jobs as they occur can turn technician performance around iin real time and ensure the technician remains motivated to sell throughout the day. 

Completed Form On Job. A secondary team member needs to review some forms as they are completed, or action needs to be taken. A common example is a technician lead capture form. Once this form is completed, a team member needs to be notified to take the appropriate next steps to schedule with the customer. Review all forms being used by your company to determine whether it would be helpful for someone to be notified immediately, or whether a bulk review is better. If someone needs to be notified immediately, an alert should be used.

A few Commercial best practice examples for completed forms on jobs are:

• Permits:  Some companies trigger a permit form to be filled out when a task is used that requires a permit.  An alert would be set up to notify whomever is responsible for filling out and acquiring the permit.   

• Refrigerant Tracking:  EPA-required refrigerant tracking of major leaks in systems can be recorded on this form, with an alert that prompts an update of the master record.

• Parts Order:  When a part needs to be ordered, the technician fills out the form with the required information and details for the follow-up visit.  An alert would notify dispatch and the purchasing department of those needs.

• Warranty Form: When this form is completed on a warranty call, an alert can be sent to the warehouse for processing the warranty claim and sending the parts back. 

Customer Signed Online Estimate. Set up to go to the call center to follow up with the customer and get the accepted work booked. This alert can also be set up to go to the person who created the estimate so they are informed when the work is sold. An important part of remote or contactless experience, the call center should be cautious and only follow up with  jobs  in completed status. 

Email Delivery Failed. Should be set up to prompt the call center to contact the customer and update the email address. This alert is especially important when you first transition to a paperless system, because email is how the customer will receive  information on the job and  future follow-up.

Invoice Email Delivery Failed.  Should be set up to go to whoever is managing AR. For invoices with a balance, this allows for immediate follow-up. 

Sold Estimate. The sold estimate alert should be set up for those job types where next steps are needed. It is common for certain job types to require other actions (such as installs and projects), and can be leveraged to ensure the right people  (warehouse, coordinators) are informed. 

Task Used. Most commonly used to automate processes and procedures and keep key players  informed. In addition, the task can be used to trigger the next steps. For example, if a water heater is installed, a permit or inspection may be needed. The task alert can trigger that workflow.

Technician Requests Additional Appointment.  Alerts dispatch

Canceled Job. This alert should be used to notify all interested parties when a job is canceled. It can be set up in general or customized by Job Type, campaign and Business Unit. A general alert set up for the call center manager or a designee is recommended, to trigger an immediate review and attempt to  save the customer. A customized alert is recommended for high-dollar Job Types or expensive campaign types, sent to managers/owners. In addition, a customized alert should be set up for Job Types that may require planning and ordering (such as installs), to ensure that coordinators and the warehouse are notified as soon as possible to prevent unnecessary ordering/setup.