4 Ways to Improve the Service You Deliver Your Customers
My customers love me. I provide the best service in town. These are claims that most contractors make. But I have a question for you: Are you really so sure your customers love you? What makes you say that? Do you really ask them? Or do you base that on the fact that you don’t get many complaints?
Another question if I may: How often are you reviewed online by your customers? When you get those reviews, how positive are they… really? If your answer is: I don’t have many reviews. That’s not a good thing. And if your reviews are terrible, that’s even worse.
Here’s the truth: If you don’t have many reviews online, you’re either in an incredibly rural area, or you’re really not delivering great service. At least, you’re not delivering service that “moves” people to sing your praises.
We live in a society now where people crave being online. They love sharing their thoughts and opinions on everything – including their service companies. If people aren’t talking about you, it means that once your plumber leaves their house, they’re likely forgetting your name. That’s the biggest problem companies face.
How do we solve this dilemma? A couple of strategies:
- Institute Happy Calls. You or your call taker should be calling the homeowner minutes after your plumber leaves the home. Ask the homeowner how they enjoyed the service. And ask them if there was anything they could have done differently. ENCOURAGE FEEDBACK! You’ll be shocked to find out what your plumbers are saying to homeowners. At least you’ll know what to fix…
- Write Thank You Cards. Have someone in your office write and mail a thank you card to everyone who does business with you. If you’re a small business, write it yourself. Just say, “Thank you so much for calling us at Widget Plumbing and trusting us with your home. Here’s my direct line if you have any questions or concerns. Have a great day.” You’ll be shocked how many people will remember that.
- Train Your Techs to Take Their Time. Rather than your plumber rush through a call, train them to ask customers if anything else in the home isn’t working. Have them explain to homeowners you’re just trying to save them the time and frustration of calling you out again in another month when something else breaks.
- Have Your Techs Be Neat. They should be wearing clean uniforms and shoe covers. They should be using mats while working the home. And they should sweep up after themselves.
Make those four changes in your business and you’ll see return business increase, as well as referrals. And you’ll start seeing those positive online reviews!
