Follow through on your promises of 24-hour emergency service.
Everyone claims they have 24-hour emergency service these days. It’s the king of all customer promises — our company will be there for you no matter when you need us, day or night.
It’s easy to say, but what’s your process for following through?
Why “holding off” is a bad idea
Some employees will encourage customers to stick it out until the following day. Big mistake. By day 2, they’ve already called your competitor and, most likely, had the issue resolved already.
A realistic solution
If you’re ready to commit to 24-hour service (a great way to build customer loyalty and new business, as well as add value), then it’s completely doable. Here are a few suggestions for implementing a 24-hour service program that never fails:
- Specify which services you offer during emergency service.
- Create a response time frame (for example, one hour maximum for arrival.)
- Schedule at least four on-call technicians per day. If your business doesn’t have that capacity, don’t offer 24-hour service (depending on your customer base).
- Collaborate with other non-competing companies that can back you up when you’re in a bind.
Successful companies do exactly what they say they’re going to do. Don’t commit unless you’re ready to stop at nothing to appease the customer.
