This seems to be one of the unluckiest weeks to draw in the on-call pool
for a technician. You see, over the Winter you have to respond to
no-heat calls much faster than a residence without cooling on Memorial
or Independence Day. I remember visiting homes many Festivus evenings
and getting the old clunker of a boiler running, without the swears from
"A Christmas Story". But, even over the last fifteen years, being on-call
has changed. If you were not able to barter your way out of this
holiday, you may experience a process similar to these:
We would always get that 4:30pm call of the old woman without heat on
Christmas Eve. Why the office staff hadn't left yet, I could never
figure out. Of course, this responsibility fell onto the on-call
technician. Hopefully, the local distributors and stock houses have yet
to close if you needed a part!
About 10-15 years ago, most technicians used to carry beepers. When
you were on-call, you got the pleasure of carrying two beepers and
living in fear of being confused for a drug dealer! When the beeper
went off -911, that dreaded buzz could have been confused for a lot of
things. But, in the back of your mind you knew exactly what it meant!
Luckily, those beepers were quickly replaced with Nextel service and
cell phones. We would instead carry two cell phones when we drew the
short straw over the holidays. The technicians where I worked always
set the most horrible, annoying ring tone on that on-call phone. So bad
that even my wife still can't forget the tone some 4 years later.
Lately, I have noticed more companies are opting for an answering
service. This provides a person for your customer to immediately talk
to, avoiding the situation where they would leave a message and start
dialing another company. I can see how this service would reduce the
frustration for a homeowner that is already uncomfortable without heat.
Still, waiting for that call back will seem like watching water boil,
all the while a potential confrontation brewing.
So, in the age of technology, how great would it be if you could
"FaceTime" with your customer? Video conferencing is quickly taking
over business meetings and would really translate well into the service
industry. How often has a customer screamed, swore, and threatened over
the phone, only to be oh so cordial when face-to-face. Seeing their
trusted technician would go a long way, particularly when they need to
talk them off of that cliff. The technician may be able to avoid an
evening trip on a holiday weekend when you may be paying for warranty
work anyhow. The technician could see the customer pushing the correct
thermostat buttons, or even see the error code on the furnace ahead of
their decision to strap on their boots.
Is anyone out there trying this approach? I understand not everyone
has an IPhone, but there are many tablets and phones that can
accommodate other providers. Is there another recipe that I did not mention? I never thought I would have been carrying
2 beepers at one time, so why not set yourself apart by using the
technology already in both of your fingertips?
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