Retail Observer

RETAILOBSERVER.COM DECEMBER 2014 62 RO Paul Mac Donald—Executive Director, United Servicers Association. For more information, call 1-800-683-2558 or visit www.unitedservicers.com. S E R V I C E D E P A R T M E N T S ervice efficiency has a generous trickle-down effect. Increased efficiency means more calls. More calls usually means more revenue. More revenue—with the fixed costs of a service department—means more profits. As business owners, we purchase person-hours from our technicians to help solve customers' problems and repair malfunctioning appliances. Efficiency is defined by our ability to charge for as many of those purchased hours as is possible. Service efficiency can be further determined by the number of customer problems we solve in a single trip, commonly referred to as first call completes. The more first call completes, the more person-hours we can charge for, and that means more profits. Think of it this way: The more billable hours we achieve, the greater our ability to spread costs over those hours, thus lowering our hourly cost of doing business. An example: A service company with four technicians completing four calls per day, at an average of $80 per call, generates $320,000 in revenue annually. If each technician completes just one more call per day, you will generate $400,000, or an additional $80,000. This is significant, as the overhead per day remains the same, since we are selling service and not products. Completing one more first call complete per day is not an easy task, but the financial impact is huge. It requires a cohesive effort from all staff and an understanding of how daily business activities influence your success rate. Influencers may include dispatching techniques, effectiveness of technology and computers, inventory controls, the parts-ordering process, prescreening of service calls, technician training, resources and tools. Let's take a closer look at a few of these influencers. • Dispatching Techniques—You may think it's obvious to schedule calls in a geographic order, to limit the need for the technician to back-track, but this is not always the best option—time commitments of customers often overrule. And when there are multiple technicians in a company, required skillsets may trump geography or time commitments in determining call order. Rush hour traffic can also impact dispatching and route efficiency. • Technology in the Field—Smartphones and laptops have come a long way—and dropped significantly in price. A smartphone will help capture the correct appliance model and serial number, and can be used to document preexisting damage. Computers in the field provide instant access to service manuals, diagrams, parts availability and customer histories, giving the technician the processing power to be more efficient on every call. • Parts Inventory—Having the right part at the right time is powerful. In fact, parts inventory management is the second- biggest influencer on first call completes and service efficiency. Parts must be monitored, managed and inventoried based on usage and availability. Give the process your full attention and you will be repaid. • Prescreening of Service Calls—This is the single-largest influencer on efficiency, and will make or break your service profits. Every service call should be screened three times before a service truck is allowed to roll. First, by the CSR, to collect model, serial numbers, a descriptive and accurate complaint, and customer information. Next, by the service manager, to ensure legitimacy of the call and determine the skills, tools and parts necessary for a first call complete. Lastly, the technician him- or herself must screen the call by calling the customer to confirm availability and the details of the reported complaint. Only the tech can accept responsibility for the best use of his/her time, and paying on commission will encourage the tech to complete this vital step toward being as efficient as possible. • Training, Tools and Resources—Last but not least, equip your technicians with regular skills training, all the tools necessary to complete every job, and the vast resources available today that will help technicians solve problems quickly. Efficiency and first call completes aren't easy, but they are essential to realizing profits in the service business today. If they were easy, customers would not have much need for our services. SERVICE EFFICIENCY AND FIRST CALL COMPLETES

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