5 Ways Pest Control Companies Can Avoid Giving Bad Customer Service
The occasional bad customer service experience can really do harm to your business in the days of online reviewing. Potential customers reading reviews don’t know how reasonable or unreasonable a reviewer was. So, it is important to have steps in place to provide good customer service and processes in place to avoid giving bad customer service. Protect your business from the simple mistakes that end up causing confusion, poor service and bad reviews.
1. Ask Customers How They Want to Hear from You
Between email, phone calls, texting, and through customer relationship management software, there are plenty of options companies have to communicate with their customers. However, figuring out which your customer wants is important. Some people are more responsive on email, texting, or through the phone. Some prefer looking through a dedicated CRM platform, and others know they won’t bother with it. When you confirm with your customer what they want and use it exclusively to talk to them, you avoid missed messages and confusion, which can lead to bad customer service.
2. Set Fair Expectations
Homeowners sometimes have unusual expectations about how pest control services should work, just because they have never had them before. It is especially important to tell a customer what they should expect in terms of how successful a trap will be, how long it will take a treatment to work, and whether their pest problem is likely to reoccur. When customers have strong, accurate expectations, they know when you’re doing right by them and won’t misinterpret situations negatively.
3. Give Satisfaction Guarantees
Satisfaction guarantees are not just helpful to bring in new business. They also help ensure that a customer who has a problem with your services reaches out to your first, instead of the internet. When you tell your customer about the satisfaction guarantee, make it clear that they should read out to you if they have any issues at all with your pest control services or with the pest. Often, you can correct small issues before they turn into bad reviews if only a customer gives you a chance. A satisfaction guarantee helps ensure you get the opportunity.
4. Use a Call Answering Service
Another way to avoid giving bad service is to have well-trained staff answering your phones, instead of letting calls go to voicemail or letting staff who don’t have the best people skills handle customers. Although, many pest control companies find that having their own staff to answer calls is just not economical. Using a call answering service is a better way to get well-trained, patient and compassionate staff who will deliver great customer service and diffuse situations where a customer hasn’t gotten the best service.
5. Offer Accurate Timelines
Typically, one of your customers’ biggest complaints is when pest control staff arrive late or their appointment needs to be rescheduled. While you may want to offer customers the first appointment and tell customers that you’ll be there right away, it is better to overestimate how long things will take you and keep your calendar a little under-scheduled. This helps you deliver on your promises consistently.
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