Skip to main content

just enough service details


The bane of many technicians existence is completing their paperwork. It goes without saying that if we are going to charge a customer "x" we should at least tell them what we did in some comprehensible manner. What does the customer really want… a summarization which wraps up what has occurred; if the call was related to troubleshooting, what can be done to avoid this incident in the future.  Certainly an explanation as suggested requires more than just pure documentation of the events which have occurred during a service call (scheduled or unscheduled). Drawing conclusions, leaning on intuition, and having the ability to articulate  passed, current, and future scenarios, is where the challenge exists for many field workers.



Remember for a moment the last time that you were composing a correspondence that contained technical information. You probably wrote a little more than you should have, reviewed it, moved some things around and hopefully removed some of the extraneous content, and ended up with a clean crisp summarization. Could it be that the challenge we have with getting field workers to adequately complete their paperwork is related to:

  • complete understanding of field conditions | let's consider for a moment that your field worker is really a parts swapper. Their understanding of systems is basic enough to guide them towards logical conclusions on what major component has failed and through a process of trial and error have replaced components until the system appears to be running correctly. If this describes your field worker how do we expect to articulate what the actual issue is if they themselves are not clear?
  • bury the meaning in words | we have all had those field workers who write a short story on every service call. For years I have written documents and created recommendations and I can tell you personally that writing a two page document is much easier than writing one paragraph. In order to titrate information down to a digestible block of words you must fully understand not only the field conditions but also understand your client.
  • writing skills | over the years attempts have been made to obviate the content related to writing out service tickets. Based on problem codes, nature's of call, we can insert fixed lines of words that describe what the likely issue is for the field worker when using digital devices. However, the root problem still exists with the technician and their ability to quickly articulate issues to our clients. Forget about writing skills for a moment, if the field worker has a challenge describing issues found in the field to the client than the client's confidence in your organization will diminish.



One of the keys to having a financially successful service organization is managing your AR and your days sales outstanding (DSO). As we know from experience high DSO numbers can be an indicator of how the client perceives your organization and levels of service delivered. One of the contributing factors is the confidence level that the client has with you and your field workers. Providing the right information prepared in a manner that is both insightful and actionable will contribute positively to your DSO reduction efforts.



-----

Next post:  does empathy play a role in service delivery?

-----
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

expert at everything...not a problem

Well... I would say sometimes there certainly is a perceived notion that one person is an expert at everything. For the worker "everything" may be defined as the specific area in which you were hired or are constantly scheduled. Our opinions are frequently influenced off of past experience, or information we've received from their coworkers. Unfortunately this only gives us partial insight to that workers expertise and often is limited to their most recent history. Narrowly focused accounting is made of the skills that this individual possess. Come on, can't we figure out a way to leverage all of the skills of a particular worker? One of the challenges has always been that relationship between the activities which need to be accomplished and the myriad skills of individuals within your workforce. In addition, even if you could inventory and get a pretty good handle on the skill sets, they are constantly changing (with any luck) and thus the ineffective process of ...
Post a Comment
Read more

In$pired

As the steam from Avid Andy's coffee fogged his glasses on this crisp January morning, he reflected on last year and thought enthusiastically about the year ahead.   Sometimes the noise of business is deafening, we rarely take the time to contemplate our moves, instead are often thrown one direction or another.   Hey, face it, if you are reading posts to gain perspective you fall in the group of folks who pride themselves as obsequious hoop-jumpers.   We live to help others and expect that all of those around us feel the same way.   I just love Influential Irene.   Okay, it is out in the open, she is an inspiration for me and so many others.   Irene reminds folks every year, without fail, these three statements which she fondly refers to as "the punchline" (although this is no joke).   Businesses, of any size, will be successful if they remember that it is people that make a company.   Put this advice into practice, today: Sincerity |...
Post a Comment
Read more

What happened to Customer Service?

Leaving your customer with the sensation that they are highly revered to your organization, isn't that what customer service is all about? However, in order to obtain that level of connection wouldn't it help if every individual which touched the customer sincerely understood what service you are providing? If we go back to my core belief, expressed in other posts, "people want to do the right thing". Taking that at face value, it leaves our primary jobs as mentors and educators. Many complicate this topic by blaming it on the generations, as a matter of fact that is where I was at when I started to think about composing this post. It is true in some ways that over the years our culture in America has changed. You can experience this by visiting different parts of the United States, for instance go to the deep South and you will get a different level of customer service then you may on either of our coasts. Yet that is really a scapegoat to avoid the root pr...
Post a Comment
Read more