Has this ever happened to you while on a call with a potential customer: someone calls for repair on an appliance in their home and asks if you're the official provider for that brand and next you tell them no and end the call, or quickly let them know you cannot help because you can't fulfil any warranty work. It's a frustrating situation for both customers and service provider, but the confusion and ultimate loss of a sale is often unnecessary. All it takes is a bit of understanding of how customers got on your phone and asking a few follow-up questions.
Understand how customers found your business
Many people search their specific appliance brand when they take to a search engine looking for help. Because of this, customers don't often know who they are calling when they find a listing they want to reach out to. When you pick up the phone they may ask if you are an official repair service for that brand. This doesn't mean they're looking for the official provider for that brand or that their appliance is under warranty. Rather than dismissing them and hurrying off the phone try this:
Customer: "Are you a Sears service provider?"
Provider: "Are you looking to get your Sears appliance repaired?"
Customer: "Yes."
Now you've opened up the conversation. No matter where it goes, you're creating a better experience for a potential customer and not dismissing a potential sale without all the information.
If they talk about a warranty, ask questions
A customer may mention a warranty for the appliance. The thing to remember is that the customer doesn't always have all the information themselves. If they mention a warranty, don't try to end the conversation and get off the call. Instead, try this:
Customer: "Do you provide warranty work on GE ovens?"
Provider: "I do service GE appliances, are you currently under a manufacturer warranty?"
In response they may say no, they may say they're not sure, or they may be certain that they still are under warranty. The truth is, many people don't know the full terms of their warranty, don't remember how long it's for, and can erroneously believe they still qualify for warranty work when they don't.
Ultimately, we know you're busy and don't want to spend time on calls that may go nowhere. But taking a few extra minutes to determine whether a customer is actually viable can help book customers you might have otherwise dismissed and help grow your business.
Remember, you can get credits for warranty calls
Should it turn out a customer's appliance is under warranty and they want you to do warranty work on it, you can request a credit from us so long as you do not indicate to the customer that you can perform work for an appliance under warranty or attempt to book the job. If you're unsure how to do this, refer to our dashboard tutorials.
