Written by Each year, retail and service-based businesses look forward to the holiday season. After all, people are in a “buying” state of mind. While this is great for virtually everyone, the customer service department often takes a hit. Consumers are more demanding than ever before which means you have to go above and beyond to meet needs and stay off the naughty list.
1. Not Arriving on Time
If you schedule a meeting with a customer, it is imperative you arrive on time. While things happen, and everyone understands this, if you’re running late, you need to provide an ETA (estimated time of arrival). Failure to do this can leave customers dissatisfied and frustrated, especially during the holiday season.
Leading field service software can help you easily communicate ETAs to your customers from your mobile device.
2. Not Providing Quick Communication
No one has time to sit down and read a page long email in the middle of the day for a simple update. A better solution is text to communicate quick updates. In fact, experts recommend that you set up automated text notifications, allowing you to quickly respond to customers, even if you are away handling another job. You can even have the automatic message outline a specific time you will contact them.
3. Not Sticking to Your Word
If you provide an estimate for your services, it is imperative you stick to it. Failure to do this may lead to your customers’ dissatisfaction and they may even go as far as to leave a bad review. Money is tight for many throughout the year, but this is true for almost everyone during the holidays. Be willing to stick to the estimates you give.
10 Insanely Easy Ways Home Service Professionals Can Build Customer Loyalty [INFOGRAPHIC]
4. Waiting Too Long to Return Calls
While automation for customer calls is great, you still have to make the effort to contact your customer at some point. The holidays are busy, but you have to make time or customers become disgruntled. If you can’t find the time yourself, consider hiring additional holiday help.
5. Going MIA on Social Media
While the holidays are a busy time, this doesn’t mean you need to abandon your social media efforts. Also, don’t just focus on selling and offering sales. Customers still want to know they are important, so keep sending tips and resources related to information in your industry.
5 Practically Effortless Social Media Posts for Your Field Service Business
6. Not Caring about Customer Concerns
You may be busy during the holidays, but you have to respond if a customer has a concern or at the very least set up an away message or auto notification communicating your time away. If you don’t then you may discover that your customer loyalty and retention suffer significantly.
What tips do you have to staying on Santa’s nice list this time of year?
Last Updated By: Rochelle Sanchirico
Field Service Automation
Service Solutions
Last modified: April 6, 2018
