According to Accenture, 81% of consumers who took their business elsewhere said the company they left could have done something differently. That applies to all industries – including field services. To keep your clients coming back, here are five turn-offs to avoid.
1. Can’t fix problem on first visit
A recent survey of over 4,000 field service clients showed their biggest turn-off is not solving the problem on the first visit. In many cases, a second visit means having to pay for the added time required.
To combat this, field service organizations can provide a flat rate for their services. While some might see this as a lost opportunity for revenue, Zendesk reports 52% of consumers will seek your business again if you provide them with a positive experience.
2. All-day appointment timeframes
A 2013 poll conducted by John Ragsdale, VP of technology and social research for the Technology Services Industry Association (TSIA) showed that having to set aside eight hours for a house call was another big turn-off. To stop consumers from complaining about what they think is bad service (48% of them do according to Harvard Business Review), field service companies can provide more defined appointments in three steps:
I. Equip service workers with mobile forms that automatically connect to an analytics engine.
II. Set the engine to track the start and end times on every form to see how long each appointment normally takes.
III. Set up more defined appointments based on trends identified.
3. Disorganized field service
Another turn-off cited by Hindsite Software is disorganized field service workers. As Forbes notes, things like typos and inaccurate claims about available materials are not acceptable to clients. Service technicians can avoid these embarassements by using field data tools that prevent and correct text entry errors and automatically embed parts lists into service forms as they’re filled out.
4. Hidden service costs
SkyCreek says that customers predictably hate it when field service companies aren’t upfront about added fees – especially when they think a service is covered under a service agreement, and only learn it’s not when the bill arrives. The Service Council found that 30% of clients are so turned-off by hidden fees they’ll register cost complaints.
5. Lost or stained paperwork
A lot of customers are turned off when service forms are missing or have coffee stains. Missing paperwork usually means taking up more of the client’s time. And coffee stains, aside from looking sloppy and unprofessional, make it hard to write or read service information.
ProntoForms protects field service companies from a lot of these turn-offs. Over 3,500 businesses equip their field teams with our mobile forms. No more lost or stained forms with typos, or selling services without the supplies. Better yet, if you use our combined mobile forms and analytics solution you’re able to see how long appointments usually take, and can provide customers with short and accurate appointment windows.
Learn how else mobile forms wipe out turn-offs
