Customer Relations
this task. You will avoid credibility-crushing questions
by educating yourself beforehand. The customer will
have confidence in you and you will be perceived as
very prepared.
Walk up to the door with no tools in your hand.
That is right! Nothing to do with tools should be in
your hands. This is the most important part of the service
call and it is not time to start working. We want
to establish our agenda and get agreement. This is a
time for listening and asking questions. The greeting
should go something like this.
Tech: Hi Mrs. Jones. I’m Roger with ABC Heating &
Air. Thanks for calling us out here today. How can I
help you? Tell me what is going on.
This first part of the greeting does two things, it
expresses gratitude and asks for their agenda. Then
listen and ask more questions. We want them to talk
as much as possible. If they are talking and you are
listening, you are bonding and building rapport. Really
listen. Listening to another person is one of the
most deeply connecting things that you can do for
another person. Next say this.
Tech: Is it okay if I explain my process so you can get
comfortable with it? Wait for permission.
Tech: I am going to go ahead and get my tools and
figure out what we need to do to get you going. Once I
determine what that is, I would like to sit down with
you and go over your options for repair. Then you can
decide what is best for you. You are the boss. How does
that sound?
Wait for agreement.
So now we have established something. We heard
them and understand them. They feel affirmed. We
gave them our agenda and got agreement. They now
know what to expect. Our agenda is to sit down and
show them options for repair and they must make
their own choice. It is not our choice to make for them.
Don’t violate this boundary. They own this problem,
not you.
Now go get your tools and do a complete diagnosis of
the problem. Take your time. Go to your van and build
an option sheet after you determine what is wrong. Let
us assume for this example, it is a bad capacitor. Build
an option sheet by asking yourself these questions:
1. What is my main concern and what is needed?
2. What could I do to take 15 or 20 more minutes to
make sure that I don’t have a call back?
3. How could I make this system more reliable?
4. How could I make this system better than it was
before I arrived?
5. Could I give the system a detailed cleaning?
Answer these questions and build a top option with
four or five bundled repairs in addition to what is
needed.
Let’s look at my menu:
Two Year warranty
Platinum Option
Capacitor
New Solid State Contactor
New Hard Start Kit
New Surge Protector
Restore System To Clean Condition............................$950
One Year warranty
Gold Option
Capacitor
New Solid State Contactor
New Hard Start Kit
Restore System To Clean Condition............................$800
120 Day Warranty
Silver Option
Capacitor
New Solid State Contactor
Restore System To Clean Condition............................$575
60 Day Warranty
Bronze Option
Capacitor
Restore System To Clean Condition............................$450
30 Day Warranty
Quick Fix which risk of other things going wrong
Capacitor....................................................................... $300
Presenting this menu properly is extremely important
and must be learned word for word. Those of you who
execute this properly will have a rise rate of 70%. This
means that 70% of the time a customer will pick Bronze
or higher.
Tech: Mrs. Jones, Have you got a minute to sit down and
go over your options?
Sit down somewhere and do not show them your menu yet.
Keep it for your eyes only. We will show them the options
in less than a minute but now is not the time.
Tech: I found an issue with a component called a capacitor
and I can fix it.
Add this if it applies:
Your system is of the age where some folks consider replacing.
Do you want to replace it or fix it?
Usually, they want to see the repair estimate first.
Tech: I am going to show you several options to take care
of the problem today. The top option is my best option and
you would only want to pick that option if you want your
system fixed, more reliable and better than it was before I
showed up.
12 ICM/September/October 2017