It’s time to think about how paper is slowing down your field service business and better understand solutions.
Have you noticed your office seems a bit bogged down by paperwork? Or that technicians’ trucks are often full of handwritten notes and long forgotten forms?
Using paper processes in your field service business limits your team’s productivity and can leave a bad impression on your customers.
Making the switch from paper to digital field service management may seem arduous. However, sticking with paper processes may have a more negative impact on your customer experience than you might think.
1. Long ETA windows
The experience that your customer has with your product and employees is, of course, important to your business. In fact, 80% of customers say the experience a company provides is as important as its products and services. Unfortunately, using only paper processes can leave your customer out of the loop.
Your customer may have to call with questions on the day that they are scheduled to receive service. When will the technician show up? When did they leave for the job site? Did they make stops along the way? Will they arrive on time? All of these questions leave you and your customer in the dark.
It’s frustrating for your customers to have a vague understanding of when your technicians will show up. It disrupts their schedule and steals time away from their work.
With a comprehensive field service management solution, you can provide the experience your service customers deserve. Using the technician’s live GPS location, your customers can see exactly where your technicians are and when they will arrive. No more frustrated calls from customers asking when the technician will show up.
2. Potential return trips
Keeping track of work history can be difficult when using paper processes. Technicians don’t have access to real time updates or customer work history. This may cause them to show up with the wrong tools or parts to get the job done. Your customer then has to reschedule and wait for the service to be completed. This costs your business valuable time and your customer has to deal with the consequences.
With a mobile field app, your technicians can come to work informed and prepared. Work history for every machine and part is available at their fingertips. Who did the work? What equipment did they service? When was the last time work was completed? All of these questions are answered with a tap on their mobile device.
There is no need for technicians to waste time and resources trying to fix a problem without all of the information. Get the job done right the first time by preparing technicians with the tools, parts, and knowledge they need.
3. Delayed invoicing
Missing paperwork and illegible handwriting can cause a huge mess for your field service business. If a technician leaves paperwork in the truck or misplaces it, processing things on time can become extremely difficult and frustrating. Why put your customer through piles of paperwork and lengthy billing processes?
Automating and integrating traditionally paper processes using field service management software allows information to flow more rapidly. Instead of taking more than a month, your end-to-end service process, including dispatch, service, and payment, can all happen on the same day. With a mobile field service app, your technicians can collect payment and customer signatures while on site. No more lost paperwork or delayed payments.
4. Miscommunication
Messy paperwork doesn’t only impact invoicing, but your business as a whole. Back office workers get frustrated when they have to waste time tracking down technicians to clarify appointments. Technicians get annoyed when important notes they wrote down don’t get appropriate follow up.
By eliminating paper and going digital, keeping everyone on the same page is a breeze.
If a customer calls to move an appointment date, your technicians can be notified automatically when the appointment is moved on the scheduling board.
If a technician is at a job site and notices that a different piece of equipment will require service soon, those notes can be safely and reliably conveyed to back office staff for immediate follow up.
5. Reactive only service
With paper processes, you don’t have any real time information about your technicians, your clients, or the equipment that requires service. You can only provide services when a customer calls and makes a request, after their equipment has failed. That’s not sustainable for your business and leaves your customer with unreliable equipment.
Preventive maintenance programs can make a huge difference for your field service business. Selling a product and its solution will help you meet all of your customers’ needs and present opportunities for business growth.
Conclusion
These five setbacks can seriously inhibit your field service business. By maintaining outdated, paper processes, it’s likely your service business is losing out on money, time, and sales opportunities.
A field service management system like Service Pro can help bring you up to speed and ensure your business thrives.
Request a demo of Service Pro today.
