If you hadn’t noticed from the news, hurricane season is upon us. Storms are raging from coast to coast, causing flooding from Maryland to Louisiana to the Southwest. Your plumbing service is reaping the benefits with backed up drains and sewer lines from all of the clogged storm drains or backed up septic systems that can’t absorb any more water because the saturated ground flooded out the septic field causing plumbing back ups.
Missing emergency calls
Being your are so busy, stopping to take calls isn’t on your to-do list. But missing emergency calls is not an option either. So what to do? Hire a customer service contractor, one that knows about the plumbing business and plumbing emergencies. Trust me, going cheaper on any old answering service will cost you in the long run.
Here is a comparison
Any old answering service will be happy to take messages. Those will still have to be returned, by you. They don’t schedule appointments for you or provide information to your customers. You may as well just use the free voicemail that your phone provider has. You’ll still have to take the time to return calls. You’ll probably find that a definite percentage of those calls have been made moot because they called another plumber! In an emergency there is no call back waiting time option!
“Customer and dispatch service”
Now picture this: you hire a service that doesn’t just answer your phones. They talk with your customer or prospective customer about the issue they have with their plumbing. They can find out if it’s a situation that needs immediate attention or can wait. They can also schedule that immediate or future appointment right then and there. Now that customer is on your calendar and not someone else’s calendar. The service will also get in touch with your on call guys and dispatch them out to the emergence calls.
Save time
Hire a “customer and dispatch service”that has knowledge about plumbing and also can access your scheduling software and dispatch capabilities. It will save you time in returning calls and save you money in the business you keep because your customers get the attention they need and deserve before you even set foot on their property.
Looking for a great company to help with this? Find out more about our Customer and Dispatch Service for Plumbers!