When it comes to running his home maintenance business, Daniel Felt’s guiding principle is something he learned from his parents at a young age.
100 percent of the truth, 100 percent of the time.
“My parents have been raising Golden Retriever puppies since 1981 and I grew up watching them make ethical decision after ethical decision,” said Felt, who has owned Kura Home Maintenance for more than five years. “And every time they told the truth, things always worked out in their favor and brought them a level of success they never even expected.”
The spirit of honesty and integrity has helped Felt understand what to prioritize in growing his business and at the end of the day, it all comes down to customer service.
“It’s something that our entire company believes in,” said Felt, who gets more than half of his business from referrals. “Our goal is to treat clients the way we would want our mothers, sisters and grandmothers to be treated.”
If you’re looking to up your customer service game, here are Felt’s thoughts and suggestions:
Top 6 Tips To Improve Your Company’s Customer Service
1. Clarity is key
As companies get bigger and add more employees, it’s not unusual for things to get lost in the shuffle. “It becomes easier to blame other people within the company if something goes wrong and that can ultimately create a negative customer experience,” Felt said. That’s why it’s important to create clearly defined systems, roles and processes and communicate them regularly so there are no gray areas.
This can cut down on finger pointing, reduce ambiguity and ensure the customer receives the highest level of care.
2. Set expectations early
When people get upset with a company, it’s often because of unmet expectations. In order to prevent them from happening, Felt and his team work hard to set expectations from the very beginning with the goal of exceeding them once the job is done. “When we go out and give an estimate, it takes us about 25 to 30 minutes to do it, but the time we spend is well worth it in the long run,” Felt said. “This way, the client knows exactly what we’re going to be doing once we get there and we’re setting the standard for the entire experience.”
And if the client does end up scheduling a service, Felt will give him or her an invoice to sign before the work begins. “It’s another way to make sure everyone’s on the exact same page,” he said.
3. Communicate often
When clients book services, they’ll receive messaging via email and text to confirm their appointment along with reminders as the date gets closer. Additionally, technicians will send a text message when they’re on their way to the job with a photo of themselves so the client will know who to expect. Once the work is finished, the client will receive a copy of the signed invoice with a link to submit an online review.
The entire process is automated which allows the technicians to focus on providing high-quality work without sacrificing client communication.
4. Follow up
Oftentimes, Felt will receive calls from people inquiring about costs or services but they’re not ready to pull the trigger just yet. Those people will receive follow up messaging via automated emails and texts periodically over the next several weeks. Having that follow-up component in place has paid off, Felt said, increasing the company’s close rate from about 20 percent to 55 percent.
In terms of current clients, the team will reach out to 10 of them at random each week to get their feedback on their recent service. “We’ll take that information and if there’s ever a recommendation, we always take that into account and make a note of it,” he said. And as a general way of following up and staying top of mind among prospects and customers alike, Felt encourages them to stay connected via social media. He also sends out a monthly newsletter that has a 30 percent open rate. “We’re really happy about that,” he said.
5. Be human
Felt always encourages his technicians to build connections and rapport through conversation. If they’re at a house and see a client has an interesting vehicle in the garage, he suggests saying something like “That’s a really cool car. How do you like driving it?” If they have pets, ask about them and really listen to what they’re saying. “This is a way to let people know that this isn’t just a transaction for us and that we do care about them and their home,” he said.
6. Go above and beyond
Rather than being in a rush to finish a job and move on, Felt and his team like to do “one extra thing” that the customer wasn’t expecting. “We’ve carried Christmas trees inside, sucked out garages, cleaned utility rooms – these are things that take an extra five or six minutes to do but they really go a long way in the eyes of a client,” he said. “A lot of companies don’t want to do anything for free because they feel like they’re being taken advantage of, but what we’ve learned is that by just doing that one extra thing, it really helps to provide customer satisfaction and it grows your word-of-mouth referrals.”
Abra Kadabra Environmental Services is proud to share the wisdom of business owners from our community through our thought leadership series. If you’d like to be featured, click here.
