Tag: service center

Need a good reason to implement service CRM? Take 4

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I interviewed a recent customer about why he wanted to implement service CRM in his company.

What does he use Saleswah CRM for? They run a large number of service centers around the country which repair water treatment equipment of their own manufacture – dosing pumps etc. Their customers are spread all over India. They sell through a large network of distributors and retailers.

Here are his 4 top reasons to implement service CRM. In the order he narrated to me.

  1. Create a system for logging and prioritizing service calls- crying baby gets the most milk. Should NOT.
  2. Post facto analysis- Monitor targets/ efficiency. Compare across equipment, service centres, technicians
  3. Restore confidence in fairness of the spares usage/ requirement- not change them arbitrarily and ensure the genuinely required parts are used. Also ensure only genuine spares are used.
  4. Cut down on the time spent in communicating with customers regarding the stages of the service

Let’s dive in, im some detail.

First reason to implement service CRM: prioritize service tickets

He wanted some method – to restore order and a sense of calm. Too often, his service technicians would simply attend to those customers who were shouting at them across the counter or the phone line.
Frequently tickets logged weeks ago were pending. No one followed a system.

implement service crm to prioritize tickets
This is how his repairs looked like on his service notice board

“This was my top-most reason to implement service CRM- I did not want my technicians making these decisions under pressure”.

Now, after he has implemented, the CRM gives him alerts when a ticket is delayed beyond justification.

Second reason to implement service CRM: post-facto analysis

“I had no actionable data”- he says of his second reason to implement service CRM.

He wanted to monitor targets- and track if his team is meeting them.

How many repairs per day? Per week/ month?

getting insights is a top reason to implement service crn
Implement service CRM to get all sorts of data about your customer service

Now cut the data by service centre, by product type. You get all that now at your fingertips. Which equipment is failing more often? Is this a problem with certain batches of production?

Which spares are being used most often?

Now, he gets reports on all the above- which helps him identify areas for improvement. He has already identified that he needs a service center in a city he did not have one in.

Third reason why implement service CRM: spares management

“Using non-genuine spares is a sure way to kill my brand and goodwill”- says he.

He wants to be fair- why charge for spares when you don’t need to? But, if spare parts are used, they must be genuine and customers must have confidence in the repair process.

“The only way to ensure fair usage of spares and charge the customers in a transparent way was to implement service CRM. I track spares from my central warehouse to all my service centers – to the ultimate repairs done.”

He has already reduced his spares outgo over last year- even though he is servicing more equipment than last year.

Fourth reason to implement service CRM: streamline customer communication

Before they implemented Saleswah service CRM, his team spent a lot of time on the phone. Communicating or responding to customers.

Have you received it?

Have you started working on it? How much will it cost? What’s wrong with it?

Can you do it faster?

Or, it could be his team chasing the customer.

Please approve the repair estimate so we can start working. It’s repaired – come pick it up. Or, we have sent it- here’s the details.

Phone and whatsapp. It was all ad-hoc.

Now, those days are truly in the past.

Simply C2 app

He wants to specially thank Simply C2– the companion app- which we implemented for his customers.

All transaction communication is now automated. The moment the equipment reaches the service center- there is a ticket acknowledgement which is sent to the customer.

Customer gets the status update through the Simply C2 app, for ALL repair stages. Not just that – he can approve estimates and make payments through the app. And, download invoices.

Do you want to know how Saleswah service CRM and Simply C2 can work together to transform your service operations? Call us or sign up for our inaugural offer here.

 

How to retire call center and improve customer satisfaction.

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We are all customers. Whether or not we sell or service products, we buy products and frequently need service.

How to retire call center and improve customer satisfaction. 1The most go-to method of asking for service for your home appliances, office equipment, or even machinery is to pick up the phone and speak to the company call center. Unfortunately, this does not work most of the time.

Call centers will take your call “Monday to Friday/ Saturday” and will inform you that “working hours are from 8 AM to 5 pm” if you happen to call even a minute outside the working hours. And, if you did manage to get through, deal with the IVR settings that change every month, unfamiliar accents, and worse a different language than what you are used to.

When you get thru to an agent who knows his job, the work is usually done. The agent notes down your details inputs them into his service CRM, and you soon get an SMS confirmation.

No one is happy- the service provider or the customer

The troubles with this are many. As I said earlier, this suffers from several problems:

How to retire call center and improve customer satisfaction. 2

  • Timing limitations: if your appliance or equipment becomes faulty late evening, you have to wait till next morning- amid the rush for getting ready for work, sending kids to school.
  • Communication issues: language, managing the IVR system. Potential for mis-understanding.
  • No visibility- as someone logging the complaint, you have no visibility to the repair process- who your assigned repairman is, what defects were found and later rectified.

If you are the company that has set up the call center and is paying for the telecom infrastructure and the salaries of the call center agents, you must know that it is expensive. and for a service that does not even work 24/7.

Warranty tracking nightmare

I don’t know about you, but keeping track of the warranty of purchased goods and services is difficult. You need to keep all the purchase papers and invoices safe. Then, keep track of when the washing machine warranty ends, or if your microwave oven’s annual maintenance contract should be renewed for one more year, and when.

“What are you changing?”

I send the laptop to the service center- and then I wait. An hour later, someone emerges and tells you- all that is wrong. And gives you an estimate of charges. You have no idea if he is right. No idea if what he is asking for is justified. So, you pay up.

And, the service providers (manufacturers) are working in the dark. Especially when the products have been sold and resold. They do not know the size of the active installed base of equipment, so are unable to plan for spares, trained personnel, and geographical needs for support.

The crux of the problem: how to improve customer satisfaction

So, you, as a service provider, are spending good money on providing a service that does not make your customers happy. What if you want to provide world-class support to your customers but can’t afford to spend money like the MNCs or the large corporates can?

How to retire call center and improve customer satisfaction. 3

We have good news if you are a service provider

Get your customers the Grahak Setu experience.

The Grahak Setu app provides

  • Anytime, anywhere access to log service requests for your customers. What’s more, you don’t need any one manning the call center. This is the ultimate self – service app for your customers. They authenticate with their mobile number, add their own equipment, log service requests, get upto the minute status of the equipment under repair and can even chat with the service executive assigned to their case.
  • Everything is a matter of record- and everything is transparent. You as a service provider can send itemized repair estimates, get his approval and even payments.
  • Controlled access to the Saleswah CRM- You can configure the level of access your customers get to their data. From minimal access, where they can only check their repair status to being able to profile themselves, add equipment to the database.

If you are a customer, prepare to be happy

Store your equipment details in Simply C2

Download the Simply C2 App.

Enter the details of your home appliances or office equipment in the Simply C2 app. Registration is simple. Login and add your details.

Search and connect to your service provider.

Have a complaint? Microwave not working? Select the manufacturer from the list, add your equipment details and submit.

Prepare to be served.