A common problem appliance repair businesses come across is keeping field service staff and office personnel informed regarding updates and new developments throughout the day. Having a field service management tool featuring a mobile app is critical if you want to keep techs, CSRs, and managers all on the same page. After technicians leave to run their day, information may be added or changed by CSRs back in the office. Those changes need to be shared quickly to prevent any disruption. A modern day field service app is the key to maintaining alignment.
Real-Time Communication
As you know, a service day has two sides, the office and the field. You try to keep both sides in sync, but sometimes things come up throwing the whole day into chaos. How many hours has your team wasted trying to reconnect the dots from a day gone astray? This is inefficient and can hurt both your team's morale and your customer’s experience. Techs are busy with driving to calls, fixing appliances, and dealing with customers face-to-face. They need to be able to record and share that information right away before forgetting what they’ve done and without delaying their next call.
Using Walkabout and our field service app, My Walkabout, makes it easy to send important information back and forth throughout the day without causing frustration and interruption between team members. Handle cancellations in the middle of the route, trucks breaking down, additional appliances being added to the call, and other similar paint points efficiently by making sure everyone has the most up-to-date information at their fingertips. No more passing papers at the end of the day—it’s already been handled. Office staff interfering with techs while they’re in a customer’s home can make techs feel less valued; with My Walkabout, there’s no need for interference. Using the My Walkabout app will empower your techs to run the day.
Functionality
Now that we know information can be passed back and forth in a better way with field service management software and a field service app, what functionality does the app need for success? Here are just three prominent examples:
- The ability to take pictures and upload documents is a lifesaver. How many warranty claims have been rejected because you didn’t have the model and serial number? With one snap, you have it. Also, attach appliance-specific documents to a call, such as proof of purchase or related resources, for the tech to reference while on the job. With My Walkabout, there is no limit to the number of photos and documents you can store.
- Service and equipment history in the field. If a customer claims you were just out there on a unit, you can have the confidence to check and know the facts. If a customer wants additional units serviced, a good app will pull up all the appliances recorded in the past, making it easy to add it to the call without re-entering information.
- Office tasks done in real-time on the job, such as purchase orders or quotes, give your techs freedom and flexibility. After a long day of service calls, there’s no need for technicians to go back to the office and place a series of parts orders because they’ll have kept up with everything throughout the day. Technicians can also see their upcoming calls in the field service app, giving them a head start for the work ahead, all from their comfy couch.
Accessibility
A field service app with offline capability is very helpful. Technicians will find themselves without a mobile signal and the app needs to show them their calls and have the ability to save their work. With the My Walkabout app, a tech can use the offline mode when they know the connection is bad like in a basement. Once the connection is better and they are back online everything can be synced. No more lost information.
Run the day, don’t let the day run you.
Empower your team with Walkabout’s field service management tool and the My Walkabout App. Avoid the stresses caused by miscommunication between your team and keep your customers happy. Schedule a demo today.
