Truck Parts and Service | Heavy Duty Trucking, Aftermarket, Service Info
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/376303
24 Service Bay employee by requiring them to record too much, says Kenneth Calhoun, vice president of customer relations at Truck Centers of Arkansas. "In our industry everything comes at us at a very, very high rate of speed," he says. "We simply don't have the manpower and available time to record everything. We have to create repeatable systems that offer simple and easy ways to record [those interactions]." An easily accessible list of dos and don'ts can offer your employee valuable support during the fi rst minutes of a call, adds James Williams, senior director of vendor relations at FleetNet America. From there it's just a matter of em- ployees sticking to their training, he says. Not everything your employees and customers say must be recorded verbatim — though if you have the technology to record phone calls Williams strongly rec- ommends using it — but all important points regarding customer complaints and your team's responses should be recorded, along with the time and date, in your management system. This information should then be passed along to your customer as the situation progresses. This is incredibly important, Williams says, because it shows your customer you are dedicated to solving their problem, and offers indisputable proof that you have taken action. One of the worst things a service provider can do during a confl ict is tell a customer they will 'fi x it' but not update them on how, Voyles says. When a customer is angry they need reassurance, they need to know you're doing something, he says. Providing documentation allows them to see the steps you're taking to make things right. "One of the interesting dynamics in our industry is lack of communication can create distrust," adds Michael Riemer, vice president of products and channel marketing at Decisiv. "Customers want to be kept in the loop, and if you can make them feel like you have an open dialogue … you can develop confi dence and trust in your process." And event records shouldn't be for- gotten once a confl ict is resolved. Voyles says what you do with your notes post-resolution might be the most important step in avoiding, or resolving, a similar issue in the future. First you should review them. Voyles says he advises International dealers to schedule a meeting after resolving any major confl ict to discuss how the event was handled. Notes come in incredibly handy during these meet- ings, he says, offering a timeline for how both sides acted during the process. "Nobody gets it right every time," he says. "What's important is that you look at your fl aws and you try to get better." These meetings also allow you a chance to tinker with your dos and don'ts and recording methods for future confl icts. "That's big for us," says Williams. "We know the importance of not continuing to make the same mistake." Then once you're done reviewing your records you want to make sure they're easily accessible. Whether they are in your department management system or in an old-fash- ioned fi ling cabinet, records need to be easy to fi nd. You never know how long T R U C K P A R T S & S E R V I C E | S e p t e m b e r 2 0 1 4 Three Dos and Don'ts of Critical Event Recording DO Listen: You can't take good notes if you aren't a good listener. Be concise: Don't write a book. Just get the most important points. Follow up: Check with customers to ensure what you've recorded is correct. DON'T Get angry: The customer isn't mad at you; they're frustrated by the situation. Overlook small interaction: Everything should be documented. Even a two-minute call. Immediately discount: Then you don't get any notes, or have any idea what really went wrong. Taking notes isn't just valuable during confl icts. Service writers and technicians should record the status of all repair orders and should be able to identify a repair based on their documentation.