The world is going contactless, and we’re not talking about social distancing. The “contactless” movement first started gaining momentum with payments. Technology enables customers to use their phones or wearable tech like smartwatches to pay at the point of service. All without having to physically touch anyone or anything.
Contactless initiatives have since taken shape in hotels with room keys and in retail locations with pickup and delivery options. But today, the focus is on contactless field service management and contactless customer service. Not sure what we mean by contactless customer service? Read on to find out what it is and how you can benefit from implementing it into your business.
If you’re going with contactless customer service, you’ll need something to help keep all the moving parts in the same direction. For companies with a mobile workforce, that something is field service management software. These solutions are accessed by technicians in the field via their mobile devices. Since the software is based in the cloud, it’s accessible anywhere and at any time.
Field service management software puts work orders, historical documentation, contact information, customer preferences, and more in technicians’ hands at all times. That means technicians don’t have to interact with customers face-to-face because everything they need to get the job done is found within the software.
During the height of COVID-19, contactless customer service was an effective way to limit exposure to customers. But by taking this approach and allowing employees to dispatch from home instead of coming into the office, you can also limit exposure to other workers. This remains important with COVID-19 still lingering. Along that same line, another route to consider is allowing customer service reps to work from home. Not only do you minimize exposure, but most employees appreciate and enjoy working from home. And happy employees generally create what we’re going to talk about next: happy customers.
While most customers like a little friendly banter, what they like even more is to feel taken care of swiftly and efficiently. And that’s easier than ever with field service management software and contactless customer service. By limiting exposure to customers, you also likely reduce a technician’s time spent on site. By limiting time on site, a technician should theoretically complete tasks faster and move on to the next customer sooner. That’s good for the technician, the business, and the customer!
Another effective element of contactless customer service is emailing invoices to the customer and including flexible payment options based on the customer’s needs and the type of work. Many field service management solutions have functionality that enables the technician to generate an invoice to the email address on file automatically once they’ve indicated job completion. As a bonus, faster invoice delivery tends to equate to faster payments received.
Thus far, we’ve talked a lot about what your employees can do to institute a culture of contactless customer service. Yet, some of that legwork falls squarely on the shoulders of the customer. And that’s exactly where they want it. Before a work order can even be created, self-service portals act as the first form of contactless customer service.
Here, customers can select exactly what they need from the business, whether it’s a repair or new services. Some companies even go the extra mile by enabling customers to choose a date and time for their next appointment. Any information a customer writes gets added to the work order, which is accessible at all times with field service management software.
Ready to get your contactless customer service strategy up and running? EnSight+ can help. Our comprehensive field service management software solution includes work order management and all the modules you need to stay contactless. All while optimizing the time and efforts of your mobile workforce.
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