How do you make most every customer a happy customer with almost no extra effort? How do you build instant trust from your customer? How do you get repeat-business, referrals, and positive reviews from almost every customer? How do you turn naturally suspicious, untrusting customers into the kind of customer you want? Steer their perceptions in the right direction by simple value-added gestures you’ve could have been doing all along. There’s no time like the present.
Case#1: Front-load Condemnation
Mrs. Winston’s front-load washer was noisy during spin. During a phone pre-assessment, It was difficult to tell whether the cause was likely a bad bearing, support arm, shocks, or something else. Upon arrival to the residence, I spun the basket and noticed that it was wobbly as compared to the outer tub. Further inspection revealed that the basket could easily move up and down almost 1/2″ without moving the tub. This was a sign of a bearing or support arm issue.
I’d been in the home all of 5 minutes before knowing that this 10 year old washer was about to be effectively condemned, and that the customer wasn’t going to be happy – both about the diagnosis and the fact that it took only 5 minutes to ascertain. Before giving her the diagnosis, I asked Mrs. Winston in passing, “is there anything else in the home that needs to be fixed?”. “Not unless you repair garage doors”, she replied. “What is the problem?”, I asked. “Whenever I try to close it, the light blinks and the door won’t close. We have had to close it manually for a week”. “That’s usually a mis-aligned sensor. I’ll take a look before I leave”, I said.
After further diagnosis, I proceeded to tell Mrs. Winston that her washer repair could exceed $800 before all was said and done, and that she should consider the economic pros and cons of putting that much into a 10 year old washer. Seemingly dismayed, she immediately said that she would buy a new washer before doing that. I packed up, followed her to the garage, and realigned the light-beam sensor on the garage door. The nagging garage door issue that she had been dealing with for a week had been solved. When she inquired about the bill, I stated that it would be “Just the service call. Resolving the garage door issue is on the house”. “Are you sure?” she questioned. “Yes”, I replied. “Well I’ll be sure to use you in the future”, she exclaimed.
Asking the simple question “what else in the home needs to be fixed”, and timing it correctly, ultimately turned a customer’s an unpleasant experience into a positive one. Thus, the total value to the customer was a net positive. Without the garage door repair, the perceived value of the entire service experience, along with the fact that it took only 5 minutes to condemn the washer, would most likely have been negative.
Case #2 – Direct Drive Dogs
Mr. Townsend’s classic Whirlpool dryer wasn’t heating. While wrapping up a run-of-the mill heating element replacement, I asked him how his washer was running. “Fine”, he said. “Do you mind if I check the agitator?”, I asked. “Go for it”. Sure enough, it freely spun in the clockwise direction. This common problem with worn agitator “dogs” can usually be fixed in less than 5 minutes. “Sir, your clothes aren’t getting as clean as they should be, and I can fix this for 75% off of the normal price while I’m here”. “That would be great, he replied”. Ten minutes later, Mr. Townsend expressed how happy he was that not only his dryer now heats, but that he saved about $100 on his washer repair. “I’ll be sure to call you again next time something breaks”.
Case #3 – Knockout Plug
Ms. Dunn couldn’t figure out why her dishwasher stopped draining after her “handyman” installed a new garbage disposal. Of course, you already know the answer. Given the symptom and its history, you will have had plenty of time to devise ways to make this simple “fix” a positive experience for her. It’s only going to take you 5 minutes to get her dishwasher up and running. Whether you charge her for just a “service call” or a “repair”, she’s going to be real unhappy that her handyman didn’t knock out the drain plug. You’re both the “messenger” and the person that’s effectively charging her more money for what should have been a cut and dry event.
There are plenty of opportunities to turn it around though. The handyman may not have “locked” the disposal in place. You can tighten the PVC pipes under the sink. You can check and/or resolve any wiring issues. If there are no such needed services related to the disposal, there are plenty of opportunities around the house to apply your experience in a quick, yet value-added manner that smooths out this overall rough experience for your customer. Offer to clean her refrigerator’s condenser coils, replace her water filter, etc. The list of perception-changing value added services you can perform goes on and on. And while you’re at it, you might resist the urge to say anything negative about the handyman – thus keeping the overall customer’s experience as positive as possible, considering the circumstances.
Summary
Whether you’re a business-owner, or an employee, customer perception can be a game-changer. The perceived value of a transaction can often teeter on small gestures such as free small repairs, deep discounted, yet easy to perform 2nd appliance repairs, or valuable advice from an experienced technician. Timing of such gestures is also important. When offered prior to any perceived negative experience, they can be seen as “going the extra mile is just what I do”, rather than afterwards – something done to compensate for a negative experience. The former will be perceived as good business practice and and ethical nature, whereas the latter may be looked at as apologetic or implying a “service call charge” was in fact too much for a 5 minute appliance condemnation.
Let’s face it. Not every customer will be a happy customer. You can’t fix unreasonable people, nor often change preconceived notions, etc. However, when your goal is to leave every client with a good feeling (perception) of the transaction, you’ll have a much greater chance to win their future business, a referral, and in the unlikely event of a recall, have a less contentious experience with this more trusting customer. The marginal effort in doing so is minimal, where the reward can be tremendous – a win for both sides. Consistent, “rule of thumb” efforts made to this end can have an exponentially net-positive effect on the way customers perceive your business and services.
Rather than being proposed as a “one size fits all” approach, some version of this methodology (or even sentiment of), can likely be applied in some way to most field-service business models.
Some more examples of quick and simple no-cost or low-cost “value-adds” you can offer to perform while at your customer’s house:
- Clean the aerator in a low-flowing sink
- Vacuum out their dryer
- Tighten leaking PVC drain pipes under sinks
- Check the temperatures in their refrigerator and advise accordingly
- Clean their refrigerator’s condenser coils
- Change the refrigerator’s water filter
- Adjust the garage door’s travel limit (so it shuts tight or doesn’t shut too tight)
- Advise them on their oven’s self cleaning feature
- Set the clock on their microwave or their range
- Pull error codes from their washer
- Advise them on recommended appliance brands/models, and help them do a search
- Ask them if all of their outlets work, and if some don’t, locate the upstream GFI
- Other – be creative. There’s lots of opportunities to add value to your transaction
Don’t forget:
“Diverting 10 min/day of social media time towards learning something new, is 5 hours of newfound monthly knowledge.” – SM
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