Service Untitled

There is a lot of etiquette involved with service calls. Again, it is the little things that make a big difference. I think it is best to outline them in order that they occur:

Before an Appointment is Made:

• Have the ways to contact your support methods clearly published.
• Menus should be simple and hold time should be reasonable.
• Have customers do troubleshooting steps (if necessary), but make that experience pleasant and personal.
• If available troubleshooting options have been exhausted, arrange a service call.
• Have the same representative arrange the service call – do not transfer the customer.
• Arrange a service call at the customer’s convenience, not the company’.
• Keep time slots to a minimum (1 or 2 hours is probably okay, but anything above that is really pushing it). If possible, have exact times (we’ll be there at 2:00 PM).
• Get directions.
• Read back the service call information to the customer and confirm.
• Ask them if they have any questions, comments, or concerns.
• After the customer hangs up, go back to the computer system and verify the service call appointment was made correctly.

After an Appointment is Made:

• Someone should verify service call appointments daily to ensure they have been entered correctly.
• The customer should be called and asked to confirm the service call appoitment 24 hours prior. If the appointment was made within that 24 hour period, do not call.
• At the beginning of the time slot or about 1 hour before the representative is expected to arrive at the customer’s home or office, have the representative call to confirm any directions and the time of the appointment as well as give the customer an update (running on time, early, etc.).

During the Appointment (steps for the representative):

• If possible, park on the street (wide streets only) or in a nearby parking space. Do not annoy neighbors, but try to avoid the customer’s driveway (cars leak, etc.). If you need to park in the driveway, confirm that with the customer before the appointment (see the previous step above).
• Wipe your feet thoroughly.
• Use the doorbell. If there is no doorbell, knock three or four times.
• When the customer answers the door, introduce yourself and greet the customer by name.
• Wipe your feet again (this time it’s for show).
• Ask the customer if they would prefer you put covers on your shoes before entering. (They have plastic things you can put around your shoes.)
• Give any personalized gifts as necessary.
• Do what you have to do to fix the problem.
• Do not bring any food or beverages in the house. You can ask if the customer is okay with you brining water in the house, but if they say no, it’s no.
• Avoid going in and out if possible.

After the Appointment:

• Call 48 hours later and ask if the problem is fixed or if the customer had any problems. Give a basic customer satisfaction survey.
• Call in another two weeks and ask if everything is okay.
• Send a card or a letter in the mail another week (total three weeks later) thanking the customer for their time and patience and apologizing about any issues.

Throughout the Entire Process:

• Everyone involved should be friendly.
• The customer’s convenience and satisfaction should be the ultimate goal.
• Hold times and amount of transfers required should be as little as possible.
• The customer should be addressed by name.

If you do all of those things, you’ll have an amazing customer service experience for your service calls. The keys are to keep time slots as small as possible, be nice, and confirm everything.

On Monday, we’re going to have some unrelated content. Then, on Tuesday, there is going to be more about time slots.