A customer calls. They’re distraught because something in their home is broken. They found your advertisement and they call you up, hoping that your business can help them.
The worst thing you can do is assure them that you’re sending a technician to their house, or that you’re sending a representative to their house, or that you’re sending “one of our plumbers” (or electricians or whatever) to their house.
That is NOT what your customer wants and when you do that, you are basically telling them that you don’t value them as customers and you don’t want a lot of their money in exchange for the work that will be done.
That is shocking for most people to read, partly because it’s almost an “industry standard” and partly because most people reading this are forced to admit that they do it.
If you want to know why I am so strongly against this, answer this question: When you’re sick, would you rather see the doctor or the lab technician who will process your bloodwork?
Of course you want to see the doctor. The lab tech who handles your bloodwork might be skilled at analyzing bloodwork but the doctor is the EXPERT. They work with people’s medical issues all the time and they understand how to diagnose issues.
The same goes for when your car isn’t working: You don’t schedule an appointment with the guy who plugs your car into a computer… you schedule an appointment with a mechanic. Sure, a technician will plug your car into the computer but the mechanic is an EXPERT who can diagnose your car’s problems.
When you tell customers you’re sending a technician to their house, they will unconsciously associate technician with someone who is very focused on doing one thing and is going to be too technical and difficult to understand. But if you tell customers that you’re sending an EXPERT to their house, you’re elevating your team’s stature in the customer’s mind.
Experts are more respected and trusted, and they get paid more. That means your service has a higher value in your customer’s mind (so they’re pay more to resolve the problem) and they’re more likely to call you back in the future when they need an expert on other issues.
This isn’t just a matter of calling your team “experts.” That’s one step but there are other things you need to do:
- Help your team speak like an expert – in a way that the customer understands and appreciates, but also with authority.
- Help your team look like an expert – with a neat, clean uniform and truck, and with all equipment.
- Help your team act like an expert – by taking charge of the situation when they get to the customer’s house and confidently assessing the situation and providing a professional diagnosis.
Do you see the difference? It starts with a mindset change by understanding that technicians are not nearly as valuable as experts in your customers’ eyes, and then raising your team’s standards to deliver an expert-level service for all customers.
