Transform Your Field Tech Into a Service Ninja

“A true Ninja is a singular being with mind and body acting in flawless unison.” – Jason DeGray

Good field technicians will get the job done, usually in a reasonable amount of time and with minimal customer complaints. With a few basic management practices, you can help the tech raise that level of performance to the ninja level in terms of quality, efficiency, and customer relations.

Equip every tech with the support necessary to provide top-quality service. Establish a culture of mentoring and collaboration. Provide live support techs can access from the job site with a smartphone or tablet, as well as a database of resources such as service manuals.

Focus on increasing the number of productive minutes in your technician’s day. Start by implementing field management technology. Replace phone tag with texting. Have your admins use map-view scheduling to reduce travel time. Use real-time dispatching to fill gaps in the day, and empower trusted techs to pick up unscheduled work orders on their own. At the end of the month, review travel records to identify service clusters, then structure the schedule around clusters.

Establish field techs as authorities by providing them with business cards and literature to handle common questions. Give them uniforms they are proud of. Encourage each to develop an “elevator speech” to use when describing the company to passersby. Empower techs to diagnose underlying issues, think beyond the immediate fix and recommend an appropriate up-sell or replacement rather than repair when that is the best solution for the customer.

You’ve found the customer-service winning edge when customers view your field employees as trusted friends as well as technical experts – service ninjas!

What works?

What strategies have improved performance across your field workforce?  Share your ideas with our readers.

Next: An article on upgrading your tech team to a tribe.