When Visiting Customer’s Homes, How To Appear Professional
As the saying goes, first impressions count and it is never more true than when dealing with customers and especially when visiting them in their own homes. You should be mindful that in this scenario you are invading their space not the other way around! Making a good impression is key to consider when the customer is considering who to hire. There are certain things that any professional should be mindful of when doing a home visit and we’ll take a look at some of the key ones here.
Be On Time
Punctuality is of the utmost importance and can really damage customer relations making the interaction a source of tension before the work has even begun. Your reputation can be seriously damaged by late arrivals or no shows and in this day and age it is easier than ever for customers to leave negative reviews via online platforms such as Google or Trustpilot and a low overall rating can be seriously damaging for business.
Look Professional & Presentable
If you turn up looking scruffy, unpresentable or unprofessional then you are already at a disadvantage before you even open your mouth. The customer will already feel nervous or sceptical and will frame the interaction in those ways making your job a whole lot harder. You should ensure that you or your staff should adhere to a code of conduct for smart personal grooming and, ideally, have a company uniform and ID.
Turning Up With The Correct Tools
Being equipped correctly will make sure you appear as the trained and qualified professional that you are. So you should have the correct tool-set for a professional in your industry and even have a checklist that is referred to each time you leave base to ensure you are set up properly, for example, here is a list of the best HVAC tools to be bringing in this line of work. Otherwise you will look less than professional if you have to leave to go back and get the correct tool or even worse try to attempt work with incorrect or cheap equipment.
Have All The Contract Information To Hand
Ensure that your paperwork is up to date and that you or your worker has the correct and up to date details of the job that is to be carried out. It is not a bad idea to have some sort of field services software to manage the jobs and update the worker in real time of any changes or alterations to the job so that your whole organisation keeps in sync and the customer is given the swiftest and best possible service saving you issues going forward.
Keep The Customer Updated & Informed
Sometimes things do change and develop, such as the job is requiring more work than originally estimated or will take more time. These circumstances are often unavoidable and although will never be good news for the customer, if they are kept well informed they will be much more likely to be accepting of these things than if they feel they have been kept in the dark and uninformed.
