Customer Service
Customer service can make or break your business. Learn how to keep your customers happy, when you need to step in as an owner to make things right, and how to give your employees the tools to succeed.
Further Reading
30+ Invaluable Tools and Resources for Customer Service & Support | HubSpot
Do Customers Actually Like Chatbots?
Customer opinions on chatbots are varied, reflecting a spectrum of experiences influenced by the quality of the chatbot, the context in which it is used, and individual preferences. While some customers appreciate the convenience and efficiency of chatbots, many find them frustrating, impersonal, or inadequate for their needs. Let’s take a look at some ofContinue reading…
The 10 Biggest AI Customer Service Fails (So Far!)
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is working its way into many facets of business these days. While AI can enhance customer service in many ways, there are also limitations. Some customers may prefer human interactions, especially for complex issues that require empathy and understanding. Striking the right balance between AI and human support is crucial to providingContinue reading…
Customer Service 101: The Basics of Phone Answering for Home Service Companies
Home service company owners are often the initial contact with potential customers. This can present a problem if you’re out on a job and not immediately available to answer the telephone. Many potential clients won’t bother leaving a message and will, instead, move on to the next business on their list. Impression matters in business,Continue reading…
What is the GUEST Technique in Customer Service?
Learning new customer service techniques can help you better sell jobs over the phone or in person with your customer. One of the helpful customer service techniques you might want to try is GUEST. We’ll explore what this technique stands for and how to use it as a contractor or small business owner below. GContinue reading…
What is the BLAST Technique in Customer Service?
You may have heard of BLAST, a customer service technique to handle customer complaints without losing their business. In fact, when done well, the BLAST technique can actually strengthen your relationship with the customer and put their complaint behind you. Anyone who owns a business, from an electrical business to a roofing business, can benefitContinue reading…
How to Handle Customers Faster on the Phone
You and your staff only have so much time during the day. Handling customer calls is one of those essential tasks that you must get done but often spend too much time on. You can reduce the time you spend on each call, also called your average handling time, and get back to other tasksContinue reading…
3 Essential HVAC Customer Service Tips
Staying on top of customer service with your HVAC company can not only expedite service calls, but can also help retain customers and encourage loyalty to your company. With HVAC systems, you will often find yourself having to enter client’s homes and work on both interior and exterior climate control systems. In order to putContinue reading…
9 Power Words for Customer Service
For anyone working in the customer service position, having a few specific power words to use in a variety of situations can not only help make your job easier, but can help relax irritated customers as well. Power words are words that can help drive a point home, add emphasis to a situation, and helpContinue reading…
5 Tips for Deescalating an Upset Customer
Being on the receiving end of complaints from an upset customer can be a stressful time for both parties. Sometimes, attempting to deescalate the situation can lead to more problems, especially if the de-escalation attempts are done incorrectly. If you work in a call center, IT department, or otherwise have contact directly with the customer,Continue reading…
What is the “HEARD” Technique in Customer Service?
There are many tips and tricks you can learn when working in customer service that can make your job much easier, more streamlined, and more efficient. Many of these techniques can come into play on a daily basis, but others can be especially important when dealing with upset or difficult customers. One of these techniquesContinue reading…
How to Handle a Customer Who is Wrong
That famous phrase, “the customer is always right,” might be amusing to you if you’re a contractor. While a customer may always be right if they’re sitting at a restaurant, a customer who needs HVAC, plumbing, roofing, or other home services can easily be wrong, and dangerously so. You don’t want to let a customerContinue reading…
Why Your Customer Service is Especially Important to Millennials
Your HVAC company might not have focused on Millennials yet, but this generation now makes up a large proportion of homeowners. Currently, 47% of Millennials own homes, and they are expected to increase in numbers as time goes on. As they increasingly make up your potential customer base, it is a good idea to changeContinue reading…
Customer Satisfaction Survey Best Practices
It’s a wise idea to find out how satisfied your customers are with your services. However, customer satisfaction surveys can be misleading if you don’t design them carefully. It’s simple to end up with vague answers, few responses, or unhelpful information. Here are some customer satisfaction survey best practices to help you get the realContinue reading…
8 Tips for Putting a Customer on Hold and How to Avoid It
No one wants to wait on hold because it makes people feel like the person that put them on hold isn’t that interested in their business and doesn’t value their time. Whenever possible, you should avoid putting someone on hold. But, sometimes, it is necessary. There are ways to minimize the impact of putting aContinue reading…
4 Ways to Connect with Your Customer Over the Phone
Talking over the phone without body language and eye contact can be challenging. Even if it is easy for you to connect with your customers in person, you may find it hard to do the same over the phone. And when you don’t make a great connection with a customer, their perception of your customerContinue reading…
How Active Listening Can Improve Customer Service
Anyone who has taken a seminar on active listening knows that it is tougher than it looks. In our jobs, we get used to the same customer inquires and stop listening the same way that we did when we started. However, refreshing our active listening skills can help improve customer service greatly. Here’s how activeContinue reading…
How to Measure Customer Service Performance
When you’re trying to achieve a goal, it is always wise to measure your progress. Otherwise, you won’t know if your efforts are paying off or where you could use improvement. Customer service efforts are no different. Measuring customer service in your business is critical to improving it, but how matters too. Customer experience isContinue reading…
What Do Clients Expect from Your HVAC Company’s Customer Service?
Customer service isn’t about doing everything right. It’s about meeting your customer’s expectations. If you do that, customers can forgive mistakes and think of their experience and your business in a more positive light. So, understanding your customer’s expectations is the critical first step to understanding how to provide the best customer service, and thereforeContinue reading…
How Roofers Can Target the Historic Home Market
Are you looking for better customers? Those who might spend more on their roof, pay on time, and even need regular maintenance and repairs? Some contractors and real estate agents spend their time marketing themselves to the historic home market because these wealthy homeowners make excellent customers. For roofers, capturing some of this business canContinue reading…
The 7 Most Essential Customer Service Skills for Receptionists
Receptionists rely on their soft skills much more than many other professionals. These aren’t skills that apply to any specific career, but skills that could benefit people in most positions, and even just in their daily lives. Soft skills can be more challenging to learn than other skills because there aren’t exactly courses on them.Continue reading…
6 Tips for Handling Pest Control Customer Complaints
Pests can be clever and unpredictable, which means they can return despite your best efforts. Pest control companies receive complaints about returned pests, as well as complaints about miscommunications and errors. It’s a given that you’ll get complaints, but how you handle them will define your company and your success. Here are our six bestContinue reading…
Three Advanced Customer Service Tips for Electricians
Customer service is more complicated than just being kind to customers. Sure, basic customer service tips for electricians like being polite on the phone can help you avoid losing customers. However, advanced customer service efforts can help you grow your business by creating such a seamless customer experience that more of your leads become customers.Continue reading…
Customer Service Phone Etiquette 101
It may seem odd to give a new employee phone etiquette training or to spend time making your own phone etiquette better. After all, everyone has at least a little experience answering the phone and making calls, right? However, customers respond deeply to how they are treated on the phone, and without body language, thereContinue reading…
How to Handle an Angry Customer on the Phone
No one likes dealing with an angry customer. Handling them over the phone means that you won’t be able to use your body language, which means you’ll have to be even more mindful and tactful with your responses. Share this Image On Your Site Please include attribution to Front Office Solutions with this graphic. <aContinue reading…
How to Handle HVAC Customer Call Backs
We get it, call backs can be frustrating. It seems like no matter how professional you are, and dedicated to the job, some customers will always call you back. You can blame the occasional mistake, manufacturer defect, or overly concerned customer for wasting your time. They may be frustrating, but how you handle call backsContinue reading…
5 Reasons Why Your Telephone Receptionist Is Your Most Important Employee
As a cost-cutting action and thinking they will improve the bottom line, many companies are phasing out live phone receptionists. Yet, restricting or eliminating contact with a real person can have a dramatic impact on new and current customers. Many companies are pushing their communication methods to FAQ pages, support forums, social media or email.Continue reading…
Enjoy The Holiday Season with Less Stress! Use an Answering Service for Your Business…
Most businesses find themselves facing utter chaos around the holiday season. From seasonal activities, increased customer demands, cold and flu season causing sick leave, and employees requesting vacation to spend time with friends and family, many businesses find it near impossible to keep all the balls juggling to avoid work flow inefficiency and loss ofContinue reading…
4 Steps to Turn Customer Complaints Into Raving Reviews
How your company handles customer complaints can make or break you. Especially in today’s “online reviews” atmosphere. All firms are bound to receive negative feedback, but the distinction lies in how they respond. Although it may be impossible to satisfy everyone, true business leaders know that being proactive is a perfect recipe for improving consumerContinue reading…
Hiring a Virtual Receptionist vs Hiring a Receptionist In House: Which Is Better?
Receptionists are key employees for businesses of all niches and sizes. They’re the first voice and/or face clients, vendors, and even other prospective employees often meet and are typically responsible for coordinating all the juggling balls a business has in motion. Receptionist Staffing Solutions When it comes to staffing a receptionist, employers have two mainContinue reading…
How Much Poor Customer Service Costs Your Business
Poor customer service may be costing your business a lot more than you think! Repeat business, new business, and even in-progress transactions are all seriously impacted by a bad interaction. And because customers will share their experiences on the internet, as well as in person, even one instance can be costly. Each year, businesses loseContinue reading…
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