A good deal of focus is placed on the service experience these days and rightly so.  In a competitive environment, an exceptional experience will ensure that the service company stands out from the crowd.

Adding Value by Proactively Making Recommendations

However, to add the most value, the service firm must do more than simply create a positive service experience, it must demonstrate to the customer that they are better off for having engaged the service firm.  The greatest value a service firm can provide is when they proactively make recommendations to help their customers achieve their business goals.

The field service professional plays a leading role here because they are often in the best position to identify and to discuss the initial recommendation with the customer.

Five Suggestions to Ensure the Interaction is Consistent and Positive

When this occurs, the service experience of business promotion by the field service team is important.  If you encourage your field service professionals to make recommendations of products and/or services to your customers, what do you do to ensure that the interaction with the customer is consistent and contributes to the overall service experience?

Here are five suggestions that may help:

1. Ensure that the customer sees a direct connection between the recommendation and the business issues they are facing.

First and foremost, it is important that the field service professional makes recommendations as part of the service that they provide.  To be a service, the recommendation should provide some direct and hopefully measurable benefits for the customer.  It is important therefore that the field service team communicates the recommendation in terms of how it will help the customer deal with a challenging business issue.

Recommendations that do not include this risk being perceived as simply “selling” by the technician and will be less likely to be followed up by the customer.

Question:  Have you provided some training and/or guidance on how your field service person might communicate the benefits of their recommendation?

 2. Provide a roadmap for the customer that outlines what will happen next and when.

We can help the customer feel assured that they are taking the right steps in agreeing to explore the recommendation further by giving them a clear understanding of how the process will proceed.  If the customer is interested in exploring the recommendation further, then it is important to communicate details such as:

• who will be involved,
• when the customer can expect a call back,
• what the process of evaluating the options will look like,
• etc.

It communicates professionalism and provides the customer with some insight on how they can expect to be treated as the process unfolds.

Question:  Does your field service professional take the time to explain to the customer what will happen next?

3. Ensure that the person who follows up is informed about the customer, the issue and the recommendation

In the event that the recommendation will be followed up by someone other than the field service professional (e.g. salesperson, project manager, etc.), it is critical that the handoff is seamless and that the person comes with some knowledge of the customer issue and the recommendation to address it.

It is also important that the responder has the insight from the field service professional about the customer and their expectations which will help ensure that the solution fits the customer’s requirements.

Question:  What processes and expectations do you have of your team to communicate critical information about the customer and the issues so that the responder comes prepared and creates a professional impression?

4. Execute well

There is not much to be said here.  Obviously, if the customer agrees to go forward, the execution of the recommendation is vitally important.  One way to stop field service professionals from making recommendations is to poorly execute on ones that they have made.  I realize that this seems obvious, but I have worked with many service providers who are not successful in making recommendations across service lines because the field team does not have confidence in the other service area of the business.

Question:  What are you doing to ensure that all projects are executed flawlessly and to encourage cross operational recommendations?

5. Follow-up

This is another obvious recommendation but not one that is always addressed effectively.  Following up allows the customer to share their experience and this feedback can be used to take steps to recover if the performance was not up to customer expectations.  Feedback can also be used to further enhance the service experience provided.  With very satisfied customers, follow-up provides an opportunity to ask for referrals from a source who will only be too happy to recommend you to others.

Question:  What expectations do you have for follow up on executed recommendations and how do you use that information to enhance future service levels and help grow your business?

Engaging field service teams in business development is an important part of the strategy of any service company that wants to add value and differentiate themselves in the market place.  The key, however, is to ensure that your field team performs this function in a manner that contributes to the service experience you want your customers to have.

As always, I welcome your comments and questions. You can connect with me via telephone or email or leave a comment right here on the site. And as always, please feel free to leave a link back to your own blog if you have one via the commentluv feature here on the site. If you are reading this blog post via email, you will need to locate this post on my website by clicking here. Scroll down to the bottom of the page where you will find the comment section.

Jim Baston

“Customers may forget what you said but they’ll never forget
how you made them feel.”

Unknown

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I recently had the good fortune to work in Australia for an international client.  It was a wonderful experience and a great adventure.  It also provided me with a lesson in good customer service delivery.  The lesson?  Good customer service is not always the same for every customer.  It all depends on meeting the customer’s expectations.

The hotel I stayed at was in Manly, a suburb of Sydney.  We were literally on the coast and Manly boasted a beautiful beach framed by a wonderful promenade.  Each morning it would be full of people, walking and running to start the day.  I joined them.  Every day before breakfast, I would head out onto the promenade for the 1 ½ km walk each way.

The first morning, I had a problem.  I kept “bumping” into other people and spent much of my time pausing, stepping aside and apologizing.  It was a strange experience for me and certainly did not contribute to a pleasant walk.

And then it dawned on me.  I was having trouble walking more than 20 or 30 seconds without a near collision because I was trying to pass on my right while the oncoming people were trying to pass on their left.  As a result, we were both moving in the same direction to provide room for the other and ended up blocking each other’s path.  It turned out that they, like us in North America, tend to pass oncoming pedestrians in the same manner that they would pass an oncoming car.  Since Australians drive on the left, they were naturally trying to pass me the same way.

Our Expectations Were Different and it Sets Us on a Collision Course

Once I realized this, my walking experience changed completely (for the better).  I started passing on the left and things started to go smoothly.  I passed others with ease and the aggravating start/stop I had been experiencing disappeared.  I could spend more time admiring the view and appreciating the early morning sunshine.  And, of course, so could they.

Good Customer Service: One Size Does NOT Fit All

This proved to be an important lesson of good customer service delivery.  One size does not fit all.  Good customer service for one customer does not automatically equate to good customer service for another.  Each customer has certain expectations of how they will be treated and judge their experience on how well we meet or exceed those expectations.  It is important that we are sensitive to this and adjust our interactions accordingly.

For example, a customer who likes to engage in pleasant conversation may appreciate chatting about last night’s game or handling a question or two about the picture on the wall behind their desk.  Others may be entirely business focused and see such conversations as a waste of time – time they are paying for.  But even the conversational customer will not appreciate personal conversations in the middle of an emergency or when they are running late for another appointment.

Start By Identifying the Customers’ Expectations

So, the lesson learned is simply this:  each customer has different expectations of what good customer service is, and we would be wise to be sensitive to this and adjust how we interact with them accordingly.  The challenge for us as service providers is to learn what those expectations are for each customer.  That is a discussion for another blog.

As always, I welcome your comments and questions. You can connect with me via telephone or email or leave a comment right here on the site. And as always, please feel free to leave a link back to your own blog if you have one via the commentluv feature here on the site. If you are reading this blog post via email, you will need to locate this post on my website by clicking here. Scroll down to the bottom of the page where you will find the comment section.

Jim Baston

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In his book, Coaching for Improved Work Performance[1], Ferdinand Fournies notes that, although there are 16 reasons why employees do not do what they are supposed to do, 99% of the time it is because of only two – they either don’t know what they are supposed to do or don’t know how to do it.  If you are disappointed by your technicians’ efforts in making recommendations to your customers, try teaching your technicians the 5 P’s for making recommendations.

The 5 Ps refers to the five steps technicians can use to effectively communicate their recommendations to the customer for those product and services that they feel will help their customers to be better off.  This simple approach addresses why the customer should take action. It is easy to remember and it works as follows:

Permission:  Every recommendation should start with asking “Permission” from the customer to proceed.  It is as simple as stating the topic of conversation and then asking if they have time for that conversation now.  For example, “Mrs. Customer, I just completed the maintenance service and I have a recommendation that will eliminate these unexpected failures and significantly reduce your energy usage.  Would you have just a few moments to talk about this now?” Asking permission shows empathy for the customer’s situation and, if the customer is too busy, allows them to reconnect at a more suitable time.

Problem:  The “Problem” is simply a statement of what has been found that would benefit from your recommendation.  Ideally the problem statement can be reduced to a few simple sentences.  For instance, “Mr. Customer, both of your units are over 18 years old and at the end of their useful life.  As a result, you will continue to experience unexpected failures and parts will be increasingly hard to come by.  It’s only a matter of time before you experience an extended and costly breakdown.”

Proposal:  In this context, “Proposal” simply means a statement indicating what can be done to address the problem.  In our case, our proposal might look like this, “This would be a good time to consider replacing the old units with new higher efficiency units.  Because the existing units are working now, we can schedule the replacements at a time which will cause the least amount of disruption.”

Payoff:  The fourth P, “Payoff”, refers to the benefits the customer can expect by taking action.  Continuing our example, we might say, “The new units should give you years of trouble free operation and will significantly reduce energy consumption.  Not only will the energy savings pay back your initial investment while your tenants enjoy a more comfortable workplace, but you can relax knowing that you are contributing to a greener environment.”

Pose:  The fifth and final P is “Pose” as in “pose a question”.  It is simply the call to action at the end of the conversation.  Here are some examples:  “Would you like us to put a proposal together for you so you can evaluate the options?”  “Would you like me to arrange to have someone call you from our office to discuss this further?”  “Would you like us to go ahead with this recommendation for you?”

I encourage you to introduce the 5 Ps to your team and look for opportunities for them to practice.  Set aside a few minutes at each safety/service meeting for the team to role-play for example.  As the field team becomes more comfortable with the approach, they will become more comfortable in using it to make recommendations to the customer that will motivate them to take action.  And, by proactively making more recommendations to customers, your field team will be offering a higher level of service.

As always, I welcome your comments and questions. You can connect with me via telephone or email or leave a comment right here on the site. And as always, please feel free to leave a link back to your own blog if you have one via the commentluv feature here on the site. If you are reading this blog post via email, you will need to locate this post on my website by clicking here. Scroll down to the bottom of the page where you will find the comment section.

“Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.”

 – William James

[1] F.F. Fournies, Coaching for Improved Work Performance, McGraw-Hill, 2000

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During our workshops, we discuss the importance of the quality of the written word and how it helps the customer recognize the value that we provide in the work performed. This easy acronym – I-CARE –highlights the 5 steps to create work orders that shout “value”.

When I have the opportunity to speak with service managers, one of the discussion points that inevitably comes up is about the quality of the work order summaries written by their service technicians. It seems that in many organizations, the quality of the written summaries of work is all over the map – from very poor to excellent. When I ask if they have clear and simple guidelines to help their busy technicians to consistently write well, they often admit that those guidelines are still on the “to do” list.

The quality of the written work order summary is important for a number of reasons. One reason is that the customer relies on the summary to give them a sense of the quality of the work that was performed. Because of the nature of our work, it is unlikely that our customers will be able to objectively assess the quality themselves. A clear, concise and comprehensive summary will communicate more value than a simple “fixed unit” on the report. Another reason for complete and concise reports is that the report may become an important document if there is ever a dispute about what work was actually performed. Yet another reason is that a complete and concise report will save time in the long run. Think of your own organization. How many times has the technician had to be interrupted in the field to answer a question about the work performed that could have been prevented if the work order summary description was more complete?

To help you address this problem, I suggest that you introduce the I-CARE approach with your team. It is a simple, easy to remember acronym that will help your technicians write work order summaries that will communicate the value of their work.

Add your own example to provide context. You may also wish to remind your technicians to:

• Remember that everything they write on the work order goes to the customer so spelling and grammar are important
• Include all materials and relevant consumables
• Omit obvious facts (e.g. “drove to the work site”)
• Refrain from language that may create doubt in the customers mind (e.g. “seems to be working”)

Perhaps the most important question of all is to ask your team to imagine that they are the customer who will receive the invoice that will follow. Based on the quality of the work order summary, how comfortable do they feel about paying the bill?

I hope you find this helpful. If you want to see other suggestions to improve the customer experience for your customers, send me a quick note and I will be happy to send you a copy of our Pocketbook of Proactive Service®, which includes I-CARE and several other ideas for improving the service experience for your customers.

As always I welcome your questions and your feedback. You can connect with me via telephone or email or leave a comment right here on the site. And as always, please feel free to leave a link back to your own blog if you have one via the commentluv feature here on the site. If you are reading this blog post via email, you will need to locate this post on my website by clicking here. Scroll down to the bottom of the page where you will find the comment section.

Jim Baston

“The difference between the right word and the almost
right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.”

– Mark Twain

The post I-CARE – 5 Steps to Work Orders that Shout “Value” appeared first on jimbaston.com.

Whether we like it or not, what is written on the work order to describe the service that has been performed, is an important indicator to the customer of the quality of the work completed. This is because, under most circumstances, the customer cannot actually know the quality of the work itself. For example, how do they know if the hour it took the technician to troubleshoot the problem displayed brilliant detective work that would have taken any other person several hours to figure out, or if the hour demonstrated a poor grasp of the technology that another technician could have completed in only 5 minutes? The fact is the customer doesn’t know. They therefore look for evidence of the quality of the service and one of the most important factors that they rely on is how the work performed is described in the work order description.

Therefore, providing a clear and accurate account of the work completed is very important. There is also another and very practical reason for having a clear and accurate work order resolution description – productivity. Imagine the technician completes a complicated repair and describes the work completed simply as “Fixed unit” in the work order description. The invoice for the work is $1,000. The customer on site is delighted to have the problem fixed and gladly signs the work order.

Roughly 60 days later the customer on site gets a call from her Accounts Payable department. They are reviewing the invoices for payment and they want to know what the service company did to justify the $1,000 invoice. Confronted with the need to provide this information, what does the customer do? She goes to her copy of the work order to collect the needed clarification. Of course, the “fixed unit” description is not at all useful so she is forced to call the technician directly. The call unnecessarily interrupts the technician in his work and he struggles to remember exactly what he actually did on that day over two months ago. All this costs time and, of course, money and all because the work order resolution description was poorly written.

So, how does a busy service manager encourage and ensure that his/her team communicates the value of the actual work through the work order resolution description? They could coach their team to use CARE on every work order.

CARE is an easy to remember acronym that can be used as a reminder for the technician to include the critical information that best describes the repair or service in a professional manager and that reassures the customer of the value of the action taken.

C is for Condition: Record the condition on site prior to taking action.
A is for Action: Summarize the actions taken to resolve the issue.
R is for Results: Record the resulting condition on site after the action has been taken.
E is for Expected Next Steps: Identify expected next steps, if any, that need to be taken, including any recommended repairs.

In addition to describing the work performed using the CARE approach you may also wish to include other information such as identifying the equipment and its location, recording all the materials and consumables used in the repair and, of course, identifying other observations or recommendations that will help the customer. All of this can be reviewed with the customer at the completion of the call.

All of this information and much more can be found in our Pocketbook of Proactive Service®. I would be happy to provide you with a free copy of the Pocketbook. If you would like your complimentary copy, simply send me an email with “Pocketbook” in the subject line along with your company name and address and I will get one out to you right away.

I’d love your feedback! And as always, please feel free to leave a link back to your own blog if you have one via the commentluv feature here on the site. If you are reading this blog post via email, you will need to locate this post on my website by clicking here. Scroll down to the bottom of the page where you will find the comment section.

Jim

“Writing, to me, is simply thinking through my fingers.”

Isaac Asimov

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