A Tale of Two Technicians – What it Takes to be a Hero

This is a tale of two technicians and one customer.

The customer called for help with a unit that stopped working. Morgan, the technician, was dispatched and the customer was initially happy. Morgan arrived in 30 minutes having just finished a previous service call a mile away. While the customer was explaining what happened, Morgan acted disinterested, didn’t make eye contact, and didn’t address the customer by name.

Morgan gave a snap solution, which the customer questioned. But Morgan argued the quick fix at no charge was cost effective and would solve the problem…which it did for a day! When the unit failed again the next day, the customer called the company and was adamant to the dispatcher that Morgan never be sent again. She was irritated because she again had to rearrange her schedule for a service call. When David, the new technician, arrived at the customer’s home, she was relieved, but vented all her frustration.

David courteously greeted the customer by name, introduced himself, and assured her he would diagnose and solve the problem. David said, “When I show up, I know the customer is already having a bad day. My job is to make it better by listening, running a diagnostic, and fixing the problem.” After the diagnostic, David explained the results, the solution, the estimated fix time of 20 minutes, and the cost.

The customer was really happy, thanked David profusely, and called the company to compliment David (and complain about Morgan.) Each call is an opportunity to be either a hero or irritation to the customer. Technicians who are heroes speak courteously to the customer, respect their time, and resolve the problem.

Blog by Donna Earl, customer service expert.

www.DonnaEarlTraining.com

©Donna Earl 2024