Subscriber Discussion

Some Customers Call Tech Directly, Refuse To Call Central Office

Avatar
Mark Jones
Mar 21, 2018

I have a question and would like some input from others, please.  We have some customers that absolutely refuse to call our office for a service call or support.  They call the technician directly.  On one hand, we are grateful they call, but on the other, we have no way of knowing that there was a call, what systems are involved, call/issue tracking, performance etc.  Some, despite our best efforts, want to call that tech.  The next thing we know, there is a call or email about an ongoing issue we are unaware of.  We are caught with our proverbial pants down.

I am interested to learn how others handle this, or is there anything to handle?  Thanks in advance:)

JH
John Honovich
Mar 21, 2018
IPVM

Mark, gut feeling is that this is a good problem to have since it implies (to me) that they really trust and respect your techs.

Is there a way to enforce/direct you techs to report it back to the central office? Forcing customers to call the office may reduce goodwill / cause frustration. Thoughts?

(2)
Avatar
Mark Jones
Mar 21, 2018

I would prefer to not "force" anyone; I agree that it can cause some ill will.  I would rather entice people.  I would rather they understand the need to use the process to ensure a good customer experience for their own benefit.  

We routinely talk to the techs and others about putting the square pegs in the square holes, but they can only do so much.  That same tech that the customer's trust is the one I trust as well.  

It seems some are just determined to do it their way, but get upset when the wheel starts to wobble.

And to be fair, I do the same thing.  If I have an issue, I skip the RSM and level one and email level two right out of the gate.  

(1)
(2)
Avatar
Joseph Parker
Mar 21, 2018

Could not agree more.  My techs are instructed to attempt to resolve the issue over the phone, then forward them to the office for scheduling if an onsite is required.  It saves a ton of time for my office staff, as techs are generally much better fixing systems they install.  It also helps develop further rapport between client and technician, which increases the likely hood of return business.  My guys have cards with their cell on it for precisely that reason, and while my techs can get frustrated by it they do see the benefits.

(1)
UM
Undisclosed Manufacturer #1
Mar 21, 2018

Maybe put together a ticket system and have your techs create tickets whenever they receive a tech call.

Also for the ones called your office, the sales or whoever picks up can create ticket for techs to call back too.

(3)
MM
Michael Miller
Mar 21, 2018

I see two options

1) Train your techs not to answer the phone and let the call go to VM.   Then have them forward the VM to your ticketing system so your team can respond.   After the ticket is completed I would send the customer an email for best practices in contacting support and that if they call/email your support team they will get the quickest response. 

 

2) Have your techs answer the phone but then have them set up a ticket for them so your team can work on the support issue.  This is inefficient and information can be missed. What happens if your tech is driving or working on another project? 

 

Option 2  is not ideal and support requests could be missed or completed and not billed.  

(2)
JH
Jay Hobdy
Mar 21, 2018
IPVMU Certified

How do the techs dispatch to the call? Are these field techs?Is there not an office manager or someone managing the service department?

Do you have a ticketing system?

 

Techs should explain they are not admin, they do not generate service requests, etc.

 

The client just wants a resolution, so maybe have the tech talk to them, then tell the client to call the office as they do not control their own schedule and the office has to schedule it. Or the tech can email/text the office and say call Suzy, she has a service request.

 

Is there anyone in the office that can provide basic support?

 

I am assuming this is field work.

Avatar
Mark Jones
Mar 21, 2018

They are Field Techs yes.  They are on another job or driving and get calls.  The customer has a relationship with them.  They often do tell the office but sometimes they just get busy and forget.  No one is perfect.

There a ticket system and it is good.  We like it.  But you can't issue a ticket if you don't know about it.

We do have two in-house to offer support, but they still call the face they know.  

As John said, a good problem to have. 

Writing a letter is the best way.  Does anyone know if you do an email with Constant Contact or another service, do others see the rest of the group?

(1)
JH
John Honovich
Mar 21, 2018
IPVM

So you want to write a letter to your customers about this?

My gut feel would be to make it as easy as possible (via software) for techs to relay the info back to the head office but let them remain the PoC. There's a big value in that personal connection and it's a competitive advantage for you.

(1)
Avatar
Mark Jones
Mar 21, 2018

A letter perhaps, but it could also be an email or the like. 

Our ticketing system allows customers to request service via email. They can send an email to a ghost account, get a response, but the email generates a service ticket.  We have never enabled that feature, but it is pretty easy to get up and running.  Takes maybe an hour.

A letter or email to introduce that service may be the best route.  They get the email and an explanation of the advantages.  Just thinking out loud.  I don't want to call them out on it.  There is nothing to be gained.

(2)
JH
John Honovich
Mar 21, 2018
IPVM

That makes sense. Position it as a positive to get faster, more organized service.

But if they keep calling Tom their favorite tech, maybe let them :)

MM
Michael Miller
Mar 21, 2018

A letter or email to introduce that service may be the best route. They get the email and an explanation of the advantages. Just thinking out loud. I don't want to call them out on it. There is nothing to be gained.

The MSPs of the world have been dealing with this for years and there are lots to learn from them on how they support customers and "train" them to contact support.  

We use Connectwise and can have customized automated emails sent to customers as tickets change states.  We also have an onboarding email that gets sent to new customers once they sign on with us.  We also continue to remind them to contact support via the proper channels.   This is not something you are going to do once and magically everyone is going to follow.  

 

Avatar
Mark Jones
Mar 21, 2018

You mean there is no wand for this?

(1)
(4)
Avatar
Joseph Parker
Mar 21, 2018

Mike, this is a good point.  As a MSP/Integrator we have differing strategies.  We don't like our MSP clients zeroing in on a single tech, but tend to encourage it for our integration clients.  I think if we did primarily large scale enterprise or gov jobs I would be less interested in nurturing client/tech relationships, but for smaller clients it's a real benefit.

MM
Michael Miller
Mar 21, 2018

There's a big value in that personal connection and it's a competitive advantage for you.

Or it's a huge disadvantage if the employee leaves. Also what happens if another tech has to go service that customer how do they get the info about what was done before? 

(5)
Avatar
Mark Jones
Mar 21, 2018

There is the first of many rubs.

(1)
JH
John Honovich
Mar 21, 2018
IPVM

Or it's a huge disadvantage if the employee leaves.

Mike, are your salespeople allowed to talk to customers or does every sales request need to go through you?

Yes, there's always some risk about an employee leaving but there are lots of benefits in terms of increased service and efficiency to empower employees to solve problems directly.

And to be clear, I do think employees should update centrally / electronically the status of things. I am just emphasizing that I think routing requests centrally has significant negatives.

(1)
MM
Michael Miller
Mar 21, 2018

Sales are completely different than support.  The sales team works directly with customers and updates the opportunity on there own. 

Also, our techs are empowered to solve the problem on there own.  They just do it after the ticket is setup and a team of people can access all the info about the issue.  This way when the tech calls out sick the ball doesn't get dropped. 

Avatar
Ethan Ace
Mar 21, 2018

I totally agree with this and I've seen both of these issues in action. The integrators I worked for had a clear policy about not giving out your personal cell phone number to customers for these reasons and more... Except people would do it anyway, including one of the managers who would just give out my cell phone number willy nilly. 

The problem is, let's say Tom is everyone's favorite tech. Let's say he gives out his cell phone number to 20 different customers. So he's scheduled on a project for 3 days but spends 3 hours of each day fielding calls from customers that should've gone to the office.

It makes it far more difficult to plan and project manage. The tech is stopping and starting tasks they'd otherwise be working on without interruption, which is less productive. And documentation is going to suffer, because you're asking a tech to either remember everything and document it at the end of the day or you're asking them to stop what they're doing and document it from the field when they're supposed to be doing other things.

All that aside, is Tom's time supporting the customer billable? Is he documenting exactly what he did and for how long so it can be properly billed? 

There is definitely an advantage to customer service from the good feelings the end user gets calling Tom. But I don't think that advantage outweighs the issues it could cause.

(3)
JH
John Honovich
Mar 21, 2018
IPVM

The integrators I worked for had a clear policy about not giving out your personal cell phone number to customers

So what did the integrator do when the customer asked? Say call the office?

I can understand this for small projects but for big ongoing projects (e.g., your top X number of customers who represent 50% of your business), I'd want those customers to have direct communication with the lead technical people so they came to depend on them/us rather than our corporate competitor who requires submitting through some formal system.

Avatar
Ethan Ace
Mar 21, 2018

If they abuse it enough, yes, call the office. If it's simple things, sure, pick up a call and handle it. But for anything requiring a time commitment, I would personally tell them you'll have the office call them and confirm details.

If your support structure is valuable and you have more than just one skilled tech, customers should be happy to know you have more than one skilled tech and your process is there to make sure their system is taken care of if you die in a car wreck the next day (not in those words). 

Also, in my experience it wasn't the money customers who demanded the personal contact. They understood that there was a whole department in place to take care of them. It was the small ones who felt like they owned you because they spent $5,000 with you. 

(6)
MM
Michael Miller
Mar 21, 2018

Smaller customers want to talk with someone and have a connection.  Large customers want to make sure the problem is solved and you need a process to make sure this happens.  We have customers with a 24/7  4 hour SLA.  There is no way we can meet that SLA if customers called our techs direct. 

(4)
Avatar
Mark Jones
Mar 21, 2018

What we do notice is customer A will call the tech and say something needs attention.  He can forget it but then they call back to complain. I am trying to offer a fix.  My introduction should include an explanation about how the process is better in the long run, no?

 

I usually get the 2nd call :)

MM
Michael Miller
Mar 21, 2018

My introduction should include an explanation about how the process is better in the long run, no?

Yes, 100% you need to explain why the process is better and what can happen if they reach out to a tech directly.  Do some research about MSPs and you will see how they handle this. 

Avatar
Mark Jones
Mar 21, 2018

I will, and thank You Mike.  Thanks everyone.

UI
Undisclosed Integrator #6
Mar 24, 2018

100% what Ethan said.  The on the job site distraction becomes huge.  Documentation which can always be a pain gets shoved back even further on the list, done half-assed, or not done at all.  The loss of the customer service history means you can't accurately say what that particular end users re-occurring issues are. 

There is no best answer for resolution.  One option is to have the tech not take the call, have a message directing them to call the office for assistance.

(1)
(1)
UI
Undisclosed Integrator #2
Mar 21, 2018

Standardize your system and inform your technicians not to preform one off type service calls. Once the workflow has been established stick with it.

Simplified workflow at my company:

Customer Calls Main Office -> Ticket is Created -> Tech Calls Customer.

If a customer tries to circumvent this workflow then their request will not be schedule. 

 

 

Avatar
Joseph Parker
Mar 21, 2018

If you have a good phone system, look into using a soft phone extension.  You can set the soft phone to forward on busy/no answer to your office during business hours, and your tech can also transfer the client directly to the office if they need to schedule on an onsite or don't have time to troubleshoot. 

(2)
Avatar
Mark Jones
Mar 21, 2018

We don't have a softphone system, Mr. Parker.  Phones are a huge pain for me.  I allow everyone to get the phones they prefer and I pay for it.  It is a bear to manage, but I don't have to listen to the complaints about equipment and service.  It is a trade.

(2)
(1)
(1)
(1)
Avatar
Daniel S-T
Mar 22, 2018

I used to field calls (and e-mails) directly from Customers quite often, a lot of the times it could prevent a service call, for simple little questions, or issues. The office didn't really like it, obviously they wanted to collect as much service revenue as possible, but I felt bad having to charge some one $xxx.xx just because they forgot to turn something on, or were looking in a wrong tab or something. Generally these phone calls would be less than 15 minutes.

But when it came to needing actual service onsite, I always directed the customer to phone into the office. This way if I was unavailable, some one else could attend, and the office would be aware.

So in my opinion, it starts at the tech. Good to be helpful, but you at a certain point you have the guide the customer through your customers policies. You can still take that phone call, or answer that direct email, but when issues start taking up more time, or becoming bigger issues time to start letting the customer know they need to call in or e-mail into the call center to book a ticket.

Most customers I had that contacted me directly always understood, but maybe things were a little different. I didn't really control my schedule, so I couldn't just drop things to go help another client. They had to call in really. If they really wanted me onsite, and not some other tech I just said to make sure you request me.

(3)
(1)
JB
James Black
Mar 22, 2018
IPVMU Certified

I think the tech should be allowed to answer a few basic questions, if the install or service was done within a week let the customer know this.

Technician should have the office contact the customer immediately, don't tell customer to call service have service call them, don't miss out on making money. 

 

UD
Undisclosed Distributor #3
Mar 22, 2018

I think someone made mention of this, but what about how this situation affects the customer that the tech is currently on site with?  If I have a tech at my site and they are taking time out of my job, that I am getting billed for, to answer other customers problems then I am on the phone with the main office myself disputing the charge for that tech's hours worked and am pretty pissed about it.

(2)
U
Undisclosed #4
Mar 23, 2018

I'm glad I didn't see this string until now.  I've read all the comments, and my first impression is that everyone is looking at this from the perspective of the provider.... and I think this is a mistake.

John at least points out the benefits of the customer-tech relationship while acknowledging that this is counter to most providers 'policies'.

While we all know that we need structure to be able to properly provide service at a profit, it seems short-sighted to me to try and make customers do what you want them to do because it makes your job easier - when they are showing you that they want to be serviced in a non-structured way.

You can talk about why structure is needed until you are blue in the face and it doesn't matter a whit.  imo, what you should be doing is recognizing how your customers apparently desire to be serviced and adapt your program to allow for it.

(2)
Avatar
Ethan Ace
Mar 23, 2018

what you should be doing is recognizing how your customers apparently desire to be serviced and adapt your program to allow for it.

What if how your customers apparently desire to be serviced is worse for everyone involved? 

 

(2)
U
Undisclosed #4
Mar 23, 2018

'worse for everyone involved' is an unsupported supposition based largely on personal perception.

The rub of the OP is that apparently customers like to call his techs directly - which is against policy, since that policy is based on the structure in place that the OP uses in an attempt to maximize profitability.

Having a policy is not wrong.  Instead it is a must.

My point is that the focus should be on developing policies that adapt to what your customers are telling you vs making them comply to your rigid policies. 

(3)
Avatar
Ethan Ace
Mar 23, 2018

Actually, the OP didn't say it was against some policy. He listed multiple reasons that the customers calling directly was causing issues.

"Worse for everyone involved" sounds like an accurate description when documentation, scheduling, and communication are breaking down because the tech is the point of contact instead of someone whose main responsibility is to document, schedule, and communicate. That affects the service the customer receives, even if they feel good because they can call Tom Tech anytime they need.

 

I'm not saying don't consider a change in policy or procedure. By all means, question everything always. There are ways to mitigate those issues for sure, and training techs to take calls in the field may be an option, which I assumed that Mark already had considered that before posting.

But in my experience, it doesn't work as a scalable solution and the impact customer calls have on productivity of the techs in question is much more severe than people realize.

(3)
U
Undisclosed #4
Mar 23, 2018

I agree with most of what you are saying.

Most above that have posted from the provider side lament that their own techs 'can forget' and appear to be attempting to solve the problem of customers calling techs by educating their customers on proper procedure.

Instead of potentially alienating customers by seeming to be forcing them out of their own comfort zone, why not focus that effort on educating their own techs on the same?

I come from many years in support... and I live by the help desk mantra 'if it aint in the ticket, it didn't happen'.  I get what the OP is experiencing.

imo, this one should be on the techs.  If the customer calls, document it as per procedure.  Not doing so is punishable by death.

 

(1)
(1)
U
Undisclosed #4
Mar 23, 2018

also.... if your techs aren't good at remembering, what can you do as management to 'help' them remember?

Use a phone app?  Record an audio memo to VM?

If it aint quick and easy to accomplish at the time of the customer call, then I agree that your success is most probably doomed.

There has to be an easy way to ensure that each call to anyone at the company can be logged and uploaded to central management.

Avatar
Mark Jones
Mar 23, 2018

Our policies on responding are obviously not that rigid and I would never chastise a customer for contacting anyone. If the manager at one location has a quick question, by all means; I would almost say out loud I encourage it.  I would rather they call our tech than call a competitor.  

There is a lot of merit to the point - That phone call is taking time away from a different customer.  A lot.  Our technicians are not allowed to take a phone inside unless they are calling tech support.  The customer you are with right now is the only customer you have.  

I consider us, most of us in fact, to be a boutique company. Nearly all of us are boutique providers. Within our firm, we offer different levels of service that are tailored for that customer, based on their desires. 

An example is that customer A wants a 2 hour response time with a 72 hour resolution time.  It is in writing and we staff accordingly.  Everyone gets trained, inventory is on-hand, accordingly.  

Some within Customer A's organization would just as soon call the tech directly;  they have a personal relationship.  I get that and I respect it.  It has tremendous value.  But Customer A should not complain too much if Customer A (1) decides to circumvent the system designed to meet their response criteria.  It will skew the metrics, but everyone is happy.  

It has little to do with profits actually.  Almost nothing in fact.  

We have taken great care to craft a system that offers the customer an excellent experience and it will continue to evolve.  But if they knowingly choose not to follow that system, it stands to reason they will not get the same experience.

In short, there is a small part of me that says if you want to go it alone, don't complain.  But I can't do that.  It is neither responsible nor practical.  So I have to devise and find ways to induce them (all of them) to follow their rules.  That is really the point of the post. 

Since posting the topic, I have decided to make it easier to request services. Our ticketing system has an email-to-ticket system (e2t2) we have never employed.  The customer generates an email to a "service" email address and a ticket is automatically generated.  That puts the request directly in our "system".  I will introduce it to our customers with some sort of crafted "Customer Message"  At the end of the day all I can do, or should do, is make it as easy as possible to do business with us. 

Will it fix everything?  No.  But it will continue to evolve.  Thanks, everyone!

(1)
(1)
Avatar
Daniel S-T
Mar 23, 2018

I think it's a problem that may never be 100% fixed, all you can do is limit it really. Instead of say...30% of information not getting passed on or what ever, maybe through some training with Techs, and an easier ticket system for customer you can bring that down to 10%. Random numbers, obviously. 

You're always going to have that customer that just wants to talk to the person they are most comfortable with, or the person they will get the best answer from. And you're always going to have that one person who will go out of their way to help that customer. Is that a bad thing? No of course not, but everyone is human. That person will still occasionally forget to fill out a ticket, or send a e-mail, or make a note of what happened.

I will say I have disagreed with Undisclosed #4, though I do understand what he/she has meant. Maybe it's just because of my experiences, but with the two integrators I worked for previously, there was a very high turn over rate for technicians. So changing policy to work better for the customer that prefers to phone technicians directly, wouldn't work for either the customer or the company in the long run.

I myself have been in that situation, as the person the customer likes to call and deal with, and then suddenly I'm gone. Got another job at a different company. I'm not allowed to contact the customer and say "Hey, I'm leaving, contact so-and-so from now on", and my cell phone generally gets canceled quickly after I leave, or passed to a new technician who won't know anything about what I dealt with.

U
Undisclosed #4
Mar 24, 2018

I actually agree with everything you said Daniel.

I am not discounting the issues that customers calling techs directly can (and do) cause..  not at all.

I am just trying to approach the problem from the outside looking in...

From my perspective, my background in tech support just wants to find the fastest solution that fixes the problem the easiest way possible... and if the problem can not be fixed, well, then the next best solution I can find to mitigate the issue.

Mark (the OP) has made it clear that his primary concern is customer support vs profit.  But he and his joint aren't UNICEF - they need to make a profit.  So they need to find a way to mitigate this problem.

I think that Mark has shown that he understands the value of the tech/customer relationship, but he is struggling to figure out a way to avoid the downside of the customers calling the techs directly.

We are in the service industry, and I maintain that support solutions should be built around customer preference and not just support efficiency.

Anyone can hire glib-talking sales people to get new customers... the hardest part of the business equation is actually keeping those customers.

 

 

 

(1)
JH
Jay Hobdy
Dec 14, 2018
IPVMU Certified

How has the email to ticket gone and how have clients responded? As we grow from a 1 man op to a few men op, I struggle with everyone contacting me for support. We have been pushing our support email for a year, and it finally is fairly consistent. Now we use ConnectWise and immediately implemented the email to ticket option. We are just trying to get clients used to replying to the ticket email.

How has this worked out for you?

 

 

Avatar
Ryan Anderson
Dec 15, 2018

Our ticket system accepts emails to create tickets, but we can also start a ticket manually, then initiate communication via email from the ticket. This means when a customer replies, its logged against the ticket. 

The win here is also that they are emailing our "generic" help email and what we see is future correspondences start via email to our email to help email address :)

 

UI
Undisclosed Integrator #5
Mar 23, 2018

As a field technician who is regularly called by customers, i will take the call, determine if it’s something i can get resolved within 3 to 5 minutes max, if its not i tell them they need a service call, i ask them to contact our office support to get into the schedule asap. I give them the name and contact info of the person or if i have the callers email i will send and email to our support person with the caller cc’d on it describing the situation. Generally when i tell a customer they need to get in the schedule asap they will also see the urgency to do so.

For people that refuse to call the office, i will still answer their call but tell them that i am currently working on another job and that if they contact the office, the office might be able to modify my schedule so that i can devote time to their service issue. I think the tech needs to make it clear How best to get help.

 

(5)
DF
David Fogle, CSEIP
Mar 26, 2018

Customer has a problem:

1. Call for service and get run around

2. Call Tech they know has the answer they need

 

Service request flow is a very critical part of what we do "Service after the Sale"

Recent scenario for a take over due to poor service work flow.

Customer has a problem: (from customer perspective)

1. Call for service

2. Service tech comes out to determine if customer is still at previous site as last service call. Yes they are and he leaves and does nothing.

3. Second tech is dispatched to confirmed site to determine if panel is still mounted in same location as last call. Yes it is and leaves and does nothing.

4. Third tech is dispatched out to confirmed site to look at confirmed panel location and determine if KEY still fits panel door. Yes it does and leaves and does nothing.

5. Fourth tech comes out and fixes problem.

6. Customer gets a bill for each and every tech and their travel time and 1 hour minimum onsite time and flips out.

Why is the industry confused by the customer reaction to this relationship and fail to understand why they leave and go elsewhere?

(1)
(1)
Avatar
Daniel S-T
Mar 27, 2018

In this scenario you've given, I don't know what can really fix that. Seems like a company wide issue. The techs have all fallen in line and do only what their work orders, or service dispatcher tells them, and nothing else. They ask no further questions. Work order says confirm address and leave, okay that's what I will do.

At a certain point you'd think a manager would step in and realize all four steps could have been done at one time, and at the very least discount the first three "1 hour minimum" billings. Because chances are if you take time on site from the four visits, it likely would have been a similar amount of time onsite had the first guy just done it all.

Without knowing what the problem was your your scene, I can't say for sure if just calling the tech directly would have solved the problem. Since it seems like the techs for that company wouldn't do that anyway. They'd simply tell the customer to phone the office. I am of course making a huge assumption on this, but given the fact one tech was more than willing to just attend site and make sure a key fits without doing anything further, shows me that person probably isn't even handing out their phone number to customers anyway.

U
Undisclosed
Mar 27, 2018

Install a ticket system.  Then, make sure the techs use the ticket system when interacting with customers.  Zendesk is 9 dollars a seat a month, so we're not talking megabuck investment here.

Also make sure the tech gets to mark phone calls as billable time.  That can incentivize customers to follow the normal process.

Hint: lots of integrators get into big trouble with modern enterprise customers because of lack of ticketing system used for tracking.  "What ticket number are you working on" should not be a super-hard question to answer (are you listening Tyco-IS????)

 

(1)
(1)
Avatar
Aitor Fernandez
Mar 28, 2018

We use VOIP. Our technicians have a program to call from their mobile phones when they do a work related call, and this way the customer never gets to know their real mobile number. If they call the number the tech has called them from, they are actually calling us.

(4)
U
Undisclosed #7
Mar 28, 2018

After a while the tech thinks he's the one with the relationship to many of your clients, and he decides to leave and start his own gig.  Since your customers think he's the key guy who can solve their problems, some of them go with him.  

Keep a firm (not tight) leash on those techs.

(1)
U
Undisclosed #4
Mar 28, 2018

"Keep a firm (not tight) leash on those techs."

I entirely disagree with this - primarily for the reasons you gave to validate your position.

If you need to erect barriers to keep customers from leaving you, then I would maintain that you have no firm understanding of how to hold on to these customers to begin with.

 

A techs job is to make things work.

A biz owners job is to keep customers happy and serviced.

 

Will some customers leave and follow a former tech who hangs out his own shingle?  sure, they might - if they like the person and feel he/she can handle all of their service needs.

But can a 'tech' - just starting out - offer the customer the full service package that quality integrators offer their customers?  maybe...

So will your customers leave you?

Most probably they won't - if they see the value of your entire company servicing their account vs just one tech whom they happen to like personally. 

(1)
U
Undisclosed #7
Mar 28, 2018

Who's talking about locking in customers?  I'm talking about making it less easy for my staff to compete against me.  And I've seen it happen time and time again - and it is how my own business got started.

U
Undisclosed #4
Mar 28, 2018

"And I've seen it happen time and time again - and it is how my own business got started."

yes - that is how most smaller integrators start out, and we have all seen it many times.

as you know then, it is far from as simple as 'taking a few customers' from your old joint because they like you.

I think the more you try and prevent your staff from competing against you in the future, the faster they will think they can and try it.

Avatar
Michael McRoy
Mar 28, 2018

Just think about the liability issues if they call the technicians directly and a issue arises. Ex: My house was just broken into and all my valuables are missing, your tech was just here yesterday to fix my problem. My lawyer will be in touch !!

1. You have no knowledge of any work being performed there wasn't a work ticket called in by the customer.

2. Will your insurance cover this because of them not calling directly to the call center ?

3. After all there isn't a work ticket and you had no knowledge that you tech was even there.

This could one lawsuit could have a very significant effect on your business and reputation just because a customer didn't want to call the office. 

 

Avatar
Ryan Anderson
Mar 28, 2018

Don't put your technicians phone numbers on the business cards, this will require customers to contact the office for service!

Avatar
Daniel S-T
Mar 28, 2018

I mean I never had a business card at all, both companies I worked for felt it just wasn't necessary for technicians to have business cards.

I would just give the customer my number written down on a note or something. I chose which customers to give my number to. Or not to. Generally it was the larger clients, or the ones with more complex systems, or the clients that had frequent problems. 

BC
Brandon Coleman
Apr 05, 2018

We have this issue sometimes as well. The technicians know that they are given scheduling direction from above and are not allowed to deviate wihout permission. We have trained them to instruct the customers to call the office to have a ticket created and scheduling assigned from above.

(1)
New discussion

Ask questions and get answers to your physical security questions from IPVM team members and fellow subscribers.

Newest discussions