Access to Information
Having proper access to information could mean the difference between your technicians getting the first-time fix and making a customer satisfied, or scrambling to deliver the high-level of service your organization and customers expect. 38% of field service executives report that their service technicians feel they can’t access the information they need. It could be that they are using a manual method of field service still and don’t have the insight into warehouse numbers, manuals for repairs or previous service history, or that their mobile devices aren’t connected to a field service management software that has the capability to provide the customer information and their entire service history.
With service technicians on the front lines and most closely associated with customers, they are the ones being asked the tough questions and delivering answers to customers to put their minds at rest. But without the right information, technicians can only offer their best guess or will have to make the customer wait while they contact a service manager, warehouse staff, or dispatcher for the information they need.
And with each customer being its own unique experience, it’s a lot of ask for technicians to have a memory capable of remembering every service problem a customer has had. That’s where a field service management software will give them all the legacy notes and information they need at their fingertips.
From a mobile field service app, technicians can read past work orders to see how a requiring problem was fixed in the past or pull up a parts inventory to see if the part they need is available immediately for a quick fix, and how much it will cost the customer.
Field Service Management Software Speeds Up the Process
Along with wanting more access to information, field service technicians are also wanting that information faster. 45% of service technicians reported frustration with the slow speed of their current tools to gain access to information. That could be calling to a service manager or dispatch, checking reports manually through a previously built legacy system, or having to physically drive to a warehouse to see if a part is available.
A field service software offers an entire 360-degree view of an organization and makes your technicians not only the front-line customer service agents, but also makes them sales reps and accounting administrators by giving them the full scope of a company’s service history. Technicians can make recommendations for new products while offering repairs, giving an opportunity to upsell products and services, all because they have access to the information they need and can provide it to the customer quickly.
Information is as important a tool as any found in a toolbox, and with the proper access to information about a customer, satisfaction rates will grow, first-time fix rates will increase, and your technicians will go into a job knowing that everything they might need is all within their reach, without having to make additional contact with managers.