Who comes first the customer or the Tech?
What do techs expect out of Dispatchers?
acdispatch
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Who comes first the customer or the Tech?
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although you have to be nice to the customer, the tech comes first. that being said, and probably hated for saying it,there are several reasons for this statement.1. the customer needs us more than we need them, otherwise they would fix their own unit.2.techs make you your money, sure you can have an install crew but try not having a service department after its put in.3.the tech will keep customers coming back time after time.now this is not to be said that techs should have free reins.we can always be replaced. the tech has to be polite, professinal,and courteous along with being able to fix the unit. in the long run though no tech no bussiness.this may be just an opinion of s service tech, but another thing is when all other oersonel are home and something happens who do they call not a dispatcher......
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I think the techs come first for a couple of reasons.............
1. Without the techs you can't service your customers needs.
2. If you treat your techs right, they will in turn take care of your customers.
....Worked for a couple of shops that treated there service techs like redheaded stepchildren and then could't understand why customer service wasn't very good.
1. Without the techs you can't service your customers needs.
2. If you treat your techs right, they will in turn take care of your customers.
....Worked for a couple of shops that treated there service techs like redheaded stepchildren and then could't understand why customer service wasn't very good.
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Actually the company that I work for the dispatcher doesnt get off until the techs are done. The dispatcher takes care of the techs 24 hours a day. If the dispatcher is not there to help answer questions who does. In our company we just recently made a policy that the dispatcher takes the phones at night as well as on the weekend & if we have an emergency then we call the on call tech. I have found that it makes it alot easier for the tech to do there job without having to answer phones while trying to fix a unit. I feel that the techs & the dispatcher should go hand in hand, in order to have a good/happy tech you need a good dispatcher to make there day go smoother. What is it that makes a good dispatcher what helps techs out the most?
one more point here.markettech said:
It is easier to get another customer when you lose one. It is not so with aquiring a tech to replace the one who just quit or moved away.
Customers are born afresh daily while techs require YEARS to develope!
First five years of a "good" techs life in the field are a horrible time for everyone. The next ten are his finest. After that, he is either in his ideal position with less physical stress and strain or he is (A) dead, or (B) a contractor his self, or (C) a salesman, or (D) he has cross trained and joined another trade.
And for the few exceptional service mechanics we have in this industry, their numbers look like this:
first 2 years, lotta hard work, but they are ready for it because of several factors.
1) they have the right background for it.
2) they got the best attitude for it.
3) they got the best education available.
4) they got a Mentor, someone they could fall back upon to show them the ropes, less the critical spirit that most managers demonstrate to their new guys. (augh!)
5) they got a GREEEEEEAAAAAT BOSS!!!
6) their great boss hired a great dispatcher!
7) whenever they messed something up, they were given forgiveness and not condemnation!!!
By the end of five years, they are capable of handling almost anything, anywhere at any time! (82 Airborn)
Honestly, it costs less to maintain a customer than it does to find a new one. But frankly some customers demand more than they are willing to pay for. So you gotta drop em. No other way is feasible.
And that goes for service mechanics also.
But we are harder to come by, so we should be your most valued and respect resouce.
Rather than treating us like "Flex-Labor" which were brought in out of a temp agency.
I love what your company is doing ... and I agree with their policy as described.acdispatch said:
here is a list of mine of good points to make life better for the service man AND the office staff.
1) verify the need for the call.
I have been dispatched to calls which had already been fixed, the day before, by another service company. So it was a wasted effort to go there. We still got paid, but somebody messed up by double booking the repair order.
2) verify that the tech you are sending has experience on the type of system.
Not all mechanics are equal. Some are 50% men, some 80% and a few are 100% service mechanics.
Often times, even a 100% man, or woman, isnt the best one to dispatch to a certain call, depending upon system quirks, (special needs) which would make even a great mechanic slow. And this can be eliveated by phoning the last mechanic who was sent out there, asking him to phone the man you wish to send out there and asking if they think your man is able to handle the job. Now this could or may not create a pride issue amongst the crew.
Sometiems the service manager has a pretty good idea who is and who sint capable of doing a special system.
ASK first whenever the question arrises.
3) I dont miind staying out late, but I dont like being disturbed once I finally do arrive home.
So if you have an after hours call and you know who is already out there still working, or who is in need of the OT hours, or is single and greedy ... get them to take the late night call... cause they probably wil love ya for it. Where as I would not aprecaite it.
While I'm on the job, I am up for it. But once I head for the barn ... I am on the downhill side. And it all slides over the edge, so to speak ... once I find my recliner.
4) work out a com line with the mechanics so they phone you if they anticipate being more than 90 minutes on any service call.
Well, unless your sending them out of state, waaay out of town or anything in a super market
(or a system change-out or unit replacement) Of course those will require many hours to complete.
That way, they know they'll be touching base with you once they make their initial 20 minute diagnosis. That IS how long it shoudl take so I assume your people work that way also.
5) unless your people are geniuses with maps and directions, figure out a way to AVOID them getting either lost or stuck sitting in traffic.
Jus make sure they know where they need to go and the best way to get there.
Now I know some calls are repeats so the guys who normally drive there ... it's a no brainer. But whenever a new guy is making his initial venture there... have another tech give them a heads up FIRST.
6) get your guys to the right system, the first time, or else.
Unless there is only ONE SYSTEM which the call could be, make sure there is a method of identifying which sucker needs service. Often an account, (unless it's residential only), will have fifteen systems and your guys need to hit the correct one, the very first time.
7) learn your peopl's strengths and weaknesses.
I know market men who would rather eat dirt than service an ice machine.
And I know a/c guys who would rather change a compressor in the middle of July at noon, than to do a Preventative maintenance filter change project. no matter how many filters it is. Period.
I can service a market rack or an ice machine or a whip cream machine, and it holds only four onces of refrigerant! But not everyone is versatile.
And no matter what the boss may say, a man or woman will always perform their best work when they are working on systems they tend to favor and feel comfortable with. Especially when the stress is hot and time is at a premium!
remember this rule: one size does NOT fit all! Choose the right tech for the right job. Or suffer consequences.
8) send the man who is gonna have the part alreay oin their truck. Some guys specialize in the types of systems they service. So a guy who usually does low temp work, he aint gonna have certain parts which are special to hi temp work. And vica versa. again, this comes about from knowing your guys and their strengths and weaknesses.
It also is derived from ... a guy who just spent the week doing bearing and shaft change outs on a market air handler ... he is definately going to have pullers, grease, never seize, sockets and emery cloth and large pry bars. And he will probably have the correct temperment do this job again, now that he recently has some practice
Whereas another guy who has done the job, but not recently, he may not even have the stuff he needs on the truck right now.
To say that some men are moody or prefer only certain jobs over others ... this would be an understatement!
Once more, you will get the best job done by choosing the best man for that type of job.
And always schedule whatever can be scheduled. And have the manpower and the materials there to begin properly.
I dont wanna puff your head up too big, but your job is so important that you can either make or break any technician on this planet!
You are the hub central of your men in the loop! YOU are the kingpin!
I jus covered some hi points, for the moment. If you want more ... let me know. I got more. .. much more.
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customer comes first
customer pays the wage!
as long as the customer is reasonable, and is well informed by the tech, and pays his/her bill!
and makes the right choice, for everyone!
customer pays the wage!
as long as the customer is reasonable, and is well informed by the tech, and pays his/her bill!
and makes the right choice, for everyone!
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what do techs expect out of dispatchers? is this the topic here?
THE CUSTOMER DOESNT KNOW ENOUGH INFO TO MAKE A WELL informed decision, and the dispatcher, doesnt know enough either!
end of story-bottom line, period!
help your techs help you make money and pay your bills dont piss them off, because the customer doesnt want to pay their bill, or doesnt like the techs answers!
or any other reason.
work togeather and everyones happy!
OR IS THE TOPIC , WHO COMES FIRST THE CUSTOMERacdispatch said:
THE CUSTOMER DOESNT KNOW ENOUGH INFO TO MAKE A WELL informed decision, and the dispatcher, doesnt know enough either!
end of story-bottom line, period!
help your techs help you make money and pay your bills dont piss them off, because the customer doesnt want to pay their bill, or doesnt like the techs answers!
or any other reason.
work togeather and everyones happy!
I think a good combination is a dispatcher/router and a seperate call-taker/customer service rep. CSR takes the call and schedules the service call. Dispatcher gives the technicians the calls, calls the customer when the tech is on the way with an ETA, and routes calls so that techs work towards home. Dispatcher should have a good knowledge of the service area for moving calls around and a certain level of comradary with the techs. In the eyes of the CSR, customers come first, in the eyes of the dispatcher, technicians come first. This can be done with a single person, but something always gets thrown to the side. I had one dispatcher, Fred, who was a great guy, took some heat from the management for helping us out but the company moral was high. He left and they hired a complete lack of personality that would jump and scream if the GPS screen showed a slight variation of where we were supposed to be and where we were and company moral was low.
I agree with R12
I don't agree with the philosophy of "customer pays the wage" as a reason to counter R12 post
We all know that customers pays everyones wage, but its the tech who talks to them last. A good people person tech like myself can smooth over most customer complaints.
And make the company look good and themselves even if we don't have a clue of what the problem is
I don't agree with the philosophy of "customer pays the wage" as a reason to counter R12 post
We all know that customers pays everyones wage, but its the tech who talks to them last. A good people person tech like myself can smooth over most customer complaints.
And make the company look good and themselves even if we don't have a clue of what the problem is
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I worked 4-12 two winters ago in Boston and overnight on call, the answering service took over at midnight. The dispatcher used to stack up calls for the worst sections of Boston and give them to the answering service just before midnight, he never verified the customers phone number just having to look at the caller id display was too much and usually neglected to tell the customer when it was COD and how they had to pay. I remember one Friday night not having a part and telling the customer someone would be there in the morning (a contract customer). The dispatcher hid the ticket so it was waiting for me Monday night, still no part. I eventually quit over all this because they wouldn't replace the dispatcher he was related to someone.
A good dispatcher makes the job less stressful whereas a bad dispatcher can drive you up a wall.
A good dispatcher makes the job less stressful whereas a bad dispatcher can drive you up a wall.
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Re: what do techs expect out of dispatchers? is this the topic here?
I do understand that if there was a technician in the office at all times that they would be able to get some kind of idea of what is wrong & inform the tech that is going out there what maybe a possibility of what is wrong....but we pay techs more than office staff. I dont know any tech that would sit in the office & answer phones.
Answering phones is not a hard job but it does take a certain person to do it. You need people who like what they are doing to make the customer feel comfortable with your company. A new customers first impression of the company is the person that answers the phone & if that person is not happy with there job it shows across the phone even though the customer can not see you.
I believe your wrong in the fact that the customer & the dispatcher doesnt know enough! The customers tell us as much info as they can. I know that usually the customer doesnt know much but that is where your job comes into play. If they tell the CRS what the unit is doing or not doing & the CSR relay's that info to the dispatcher then I would think that we pay technicians to figure out the problem otherwise we would all be out of business.isitfixedyet said:
I do understand that if there was a technician in the office at all times that they would be able to get some kind of idea of what is wrong & inform the tech that is going out there what maybe a possibility of what is wrong....but we pay techs more than office staff. I dont know any tech that would sit in the office & answer phones.
Answering phones is not a hard job but it does take a certain person to do it. You need people who like what they are doing to make the customer feel comfortable with your company. A new customers first impression of the company is the person that answers the phone & if that person is not happy with there job it shows across the phone even though the customer can not see you.
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Re: Re: what do techs expect out of dispatchers? is this the topic here?
AND NO MATTER WHAT THE CUSTOMER PAYS YOUR WAGES, SO DO YOURSELF A BENEFIT MAKE YOUR TECHS SHINE, SO TO SPEAK, AND HE WILL YOU, AND YOUR COMPANY WILL SHINE TOGEATHER!!!
TECHS RELY ON YOUR RESOURCEFULNESS, TIMLINESS, HELPFULNESS, COOPERATION, AND CUSTOMER PR SKILLS WHEN HIS FAILS OR ABILITY TO REASON WITH THE CUSTOMER FAILS OR ANOTHER COMPANY HAS FRUSTRATED THE CUSTOMER, YOU CAN INCORPORATE YOUR SKILLS TO DEFUSE THE PROBLEM IF THE CUSTOMER , CANT UNDERSTAND OR REASON, BUT DONT OPEN A NEW CAN OF WORMS OR ASK OPEN ENDED QUESTIONS TO KEEP THE FIRE GOING, OR STIR THE POT , JUST BECAUSE YOU CAN!
sorry for the capitol letters! just be fair to your techs, no favortism, or games and everyone benefits!
dont hold onto calls till the end of the day, or keep recheduling the unimportant ones, dont let techs tell you what calls they wont do, just what they cant do, dont give another someone elses call backs unless, they share them, or a unzoned or busy at the time if cant be reschiduled for that same day, before the tech goes home! share unit replacement calls with all the techs equally, get phone numbers for techs and all pertinent info as to the directions and a brief description of the problem, dont try to diagnose it to the customer, unless its a breaker trip from a power outage in the area or storm over night thing, you have to be a diplomat as well as the tech, ask if theres a dog, and have the customers make the call accessable, etc;
yada yada yada
[Edited by isitfixedyet on 08-31-2006 at 08:27 PM]
(ANSWER) GOOD THING YOU ASKED WHAT TECHS NEED FROM THEIR DISPATCHERS, TECHS LIKE A TEAM PLAYER TO HELP THEM IN ALL SITUATIONS, BE USER FRIENDLY TO YOUR TECH! IT BENEFITS THE COMPANY AND YOU TOO!acdispatch said:
AND NO MATTER WHAT THE CUSTOMER PAYS YOUR WAGES, SO DO YOURSELF A BENEFIT MAKE YOUR TECHS SHINE, SO TO SPEAK, AND HE WILL YOU, AND YOUR COMPANY WILL SHINE TOGEATHER!!!
TECHS RELY ON YOUR RESOURCEFULNESS, TIMLINESS, HELPFULNESS, COOPERATION, AND CUSTOMER PR SKILLS WHEN HIS FAILS OR ABILITY TO REASON WITH THE CUSTOMER FAILS OR ANOTHER COMPANY HAS FRUSTRATED THE CUSTOMER, YOU CAN INCORPORATE YOUR SKILLS TO DEFUSE THE PROBLEM IF THE CUSTOMER , CANT UNDERSTAND OR REASON, BUT DONT OPEN A NEW CAN OF WORMS OR ASK OPEN ENDED QUESTIONS TO KEEP THE FIRE GOING, OR STIR THE POT , JUST BECAUSE YOU CAN!
sorry for the capitol letters! just be fair to your techs, no favortism, or games and everyone benefits!
dont hold onto calls till the end of the day, or keep recheduling the unimportant ones, dont let techs tell you what calls they wont do, just what they cant do, dont give another someone elses call backs unless, they share them, or a unzoned or busy at the time if cant be reschiduled for that same day, before the tech goes home! share unit replacement calls with all the techs equally, get phone numbers for techs and all pertinent info as to the directions and a brief description of the problem, dont try to diagnose it to the customer, unless its a breaker trip from a power outage in the area or storm over night thing, you have to be a diplomat as well as the tech, ask if theres a dog, and have the customers make the call accessable, etc;
yada yada yada
[Edited by isitfixedyet on 08-31-2006 at 08:27 PM]
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well i have not read the whole thread but my thoughts on dispatchers. They should do what they supposed to dispatch. most here beleive techs are low end bums and they they tech behind the phone. act like they run the company and the big cheeses. boy is it nice to sit on your ass take calls and boss the techs and tell them what to do and what they going to make on the call. wish they had to take responsibility to all the call but naw tech did it. so any dispatcher no offense but do bloody job.
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soon baby soon!
Thanks for the encouragement, Kevin, I thought I had alot of time on my hands, I see you are due for another spankin, LOL
I will be back to work this week, why? Because I have the Experience to write my own ticket!acbyj208 said:
Thanks for the encouragement, Kevin, I thought I had alot of time on my hands, I see you are due for another spankin, LOL
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i recently went to work for a new company.now i will be the first to say techs are what makes you your money, but the company i work for techs have no accountability what so ever.they have a couple of dispatchers, one comes in and starts at 6 am calling the techs to get them out of bed. she literally calls each one of us to get us up.if a part is ordered wrong they blame the parts lady, not us. if we decide to take an aftrnoon off, our dispatcher has to call the customer and explain why.we make prices as we go, and hope nobody forgets tell the dispatcher that tells the customer.we also get what we want, we are highly paid, get great commisions, plus our trucks to take home.this is the first place i have worked where we got this much freedom.one thing i have noticed. if you give a serviceman to much lead way will he take advantage of it???? for me time will tell
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