4 (of many) Challenges of a Field Service Organization

To understand how to improve organization in the field, it’s helpful to start by learning about the common mistakes that happen and slow down to see how and where you may need to course correct. Legacy reporting that relies on pen and paper is the cause of most issues, and when you see them, you’ll see how a digital solution like a field service CRM can be the answer that your company needs.

Common issues and mistakes include things like those listed below.

Unable to resolve problems:

• When technicians don’t have a real-time connection to the company, they may not have the right parts, be unable to check inventory, or they might not even have the most accurate information, which means they are unprepared when they arrive and have to make another trip. This is detrimental to the client as much as the business and can affect your reputation severely.

Late arrival of technicians:

• Another common complaint of customers is that technicians arrive late. Unfortunately, the right people don’t usually hear about it until or unless a customer emails or calls with a complaint about their service. When you have digital tools, you can track techs and their arrivals in real-time.

Billing issues:

• You probably have a variety of paid services, as well as some that are complementary or only require partial payment. Technicians are expected to know what’s billable, what’s included, and all the details—that can be hard to remember when you’re dealing with pen and paper methods. With a digital CRM, techs will have immediate and real-time access to accurate billing information.

Missing a recurring service call:

• Certain customers need their equipment serviced regularly and sign up for service contracts that occur on a regular basis. Missing these can be detrimental to your customers’ business as well as your bottom line. Field service systems can efficiently handle setting up of these service agreements and ensuring that your team never misses one.

These are just a few of the big issues that come with traditional reporting and monitoring in field service operations. The inaccuracies and the potential for failing to deliver the right solution to the customer are too much—it’s time to try something different. That’s where a real-time CRM and a device for each field agent to access that CRM is going to come in handy.