Resource Type: eBook
Published by: Telogis
Title: Shorten Service Windows and Provide Better Customer Service
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Synopsis
Almost all field service engineers have mobile phones, and 80 to 90 percent of them use smartphones. This puts convenient Internet access and a powerful computing device in the field. Smartphones equipped with advanced mobile/location intelligence apps help workers in the field be more efficient and shorten that window from event/customer request to resolution. This eBook covers some of the ways mobile technology is helping improve customer service satisfaction and reduce costs.
Overview
All mobile service professionals work toward two main goals: making service more predictive and more proactive. The current business model relies heavily on break-fix occurrences, where a failure has occurred and the customer engagement is entirely reactive. By that time, the customer experience has started out negatively.
The not-too-distant future will bring us HVAC and other building components/appliances that talk directly to service providers who can address mechanical issues before they grow into bigger failures (much like heavy equipment and vehicle fleet managers do today). That level of proactivity is near as everything becomes more connected.
Sharing Information/Filing Resources:
Smartphones are for more than Facebook and Instagram – they enable real-time research and information sharing with colleagues and back-office personnel.
This could be as simple as a web search or communicating through the text messaging capabilities of the phone, or as advanced as the incorporation of a work order management app that provides access to important documents. This can include paperless forms, service agreements, customer profiles, instructional material, how-to videos or graphics, parts catalogues – anything that will make life a little easier for the field engineer.
Connecting to Other Mobile Workers
Knowing the location and status of other mobile workers (and their vehicles) in the field can significantly improve customer service. Mobile fleet management apps can relay information on what parts and tools are on a vehicle, and the skill-set of the driver. In the past, if a field engineer was missing a part or a tool, they would travel back to their shop or to the nearest supply store.
Now – with a connected workforce – that field engineer can pull up the real-time location and activity of colleagues in the area, locate the needed part or tool on one of their vehicles, and get back to work sooner.
[quote float="left"]In the past, if a field engineer was missing a part or a tool, they would travel back to their shop or to the nearest supply store. Now – with a connected workforce – that field engineer can pull up the real-time location and activity of colleagues in the area, locate the needed part or tool on one of their vehicles, and get back to work sooner.
Navigate and Route Better
Today’s professional navigation and routing applications take into account real-time feeds of traffic and weather information.
This can provide benefits as simple as avoiding major congestion or accidents and routing to the next job in the fastest way possible, or it can help the engineer reorder their day based on the weather.
Dynamic Job Planning/Delivery
We live in an ever-changing, decentralised work environment.
Work order management applications can deliver new plans and jobs directly to the field service engineer without requiring them to return to the office.
Progress
Much of customer service satisfaction is based on expediency. No one likes hearing that help will arrive in a window between noon and 5:00 PM.
Location-based fleet management technology can notify the back office when an engineer has left one job and is on their way to the next, which then allows them to notify the customer that an engineer is on their way and their ETA.
The Future
These are just a few ways that current mobile and location-based technologies help shorten the service window and help businesses provide better service to their customers.
Field Service News is published by 1927 Media Ltd, an independent publisher whose sole focus is on the field service sector. As such our entire resources are focused on helping drive the field service sector forwards and aiming to best serve our industry through honest, incisive and innovative media coverage of the global field service sector.
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