Just read a report that 40% of appliance service calls are for user error, not actual breakdowns

I found this in a trade magazine survey from last month. It means nearly half the time I drive out to a house, the problem is something like a tripped GFCI or a clogged filter. I spent two hours yesterday on a 'broken' dishwasher that just had its drain hose kinked behind the cabinet. Does anyone else track their call reasons to see if this number matches up?

3 comments

3 Comments

williams.sage2mo agoMost Upvoted

That checklist idea is smart. What kind of stuff is on it?

kelly617d ago

Nah, I gotta push back on this whole checklist thing honestly. I get why @derek_coleman likes it and im happy it works for him, but I think it misses the point of why people call us in the first place. Customers already feel dumb when we show up and fix something simple in five minutes, handing them a checklist beforehand just makes them feel worse or more defensive. Plus, if you screen out those calls, you're losing easy money for a quick fix and you're building a reputation as the guy who tries to talk people out of a service visit. I've had plenty of times where the customer swears it's user error but it ends up being a control board or a bad timer instead, so you're also risking missing real problems by assuming too much over the phone. Sometimes the best thing for business and trust is just to go out there, fix the kinked hose or the tripped breaker, and let them feel like you saved the day in person.

derek_coleman2mo ago

We started a quick checklist for customers over the phone and it cut those calls by a third.