KickStart: “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts.” William Shakespeare
The Script
You gotta love good, old Bill for pithily dissecting the human condition! And yep- Mr. Shakespeare’s quote above goes double for those of us working daily in our customer’s homes.
Ironically, long before I became a William Shakespeare groupie I’d often remind my in-the-home production employees they were “actors in our company’s Home Front stage play”.
Now very likely you personally have always instinctively recognized that you are “on stage playing a part” in a client’s home. However, here’s your challenge…
Your well-meaning but often clueless production workers simply don’t have your fine-honed instincts. Instead, they’ll need to “learn their lines”! This means as the proactive owner or manager of a residential services business you must…
Give your in-home employees a script!
This step-by-step “Service Engineered” script will be a huge help and especially when you “Hire the Very Best” people right from the git-go! So join me in our SFS: Hiring the Very Best! LIVE seminar. Click HERE to learn more or to register online…
Meanwhile, all stage plays need “stage props”. So help your employees out when you provide each worker…
Their very own clipboard! Think about it. When your service employee carries a clipboard into your customer’s home they’ll get so many benefits…
1. Authority- When you see an individual with a clipboard you automatically think, “This person is in charge!” Or at the very least they’re a very important employee. This matters because…
I realized many on my staff struggled with a poor self-image. (After all, just look at who they chose to work for!)🫢 So anything I could do to increase their customer’s respect for my workers (and their own self-esteem too) paid off big time! This all meant my people were more…
2. Confident- Your production workers can easily feel a bit intimidated. After all, they just walked into a home that cost more than they will earn in a lifetime of hard work!😬 If nothing else, when an employee is firmly holding on to a clipboard it keeps their hands from (at least visibly) shaking!😁 Even better, a clipboard gives your people…
3. An easy, unobtrusive way to check their next lines! A copy of your step-by-step “Service Engineered” script should be clipped right under your client’s work order. So if your employee starts to panic with the “What do I do next?” question they can just calmly refer back to their clipboard by saying…
“Hmmmm, Mrs. Jones. Let me just check your Work Order…” BINGO!👍 Their next step(s) with the homeowner are clearly laid out for them!
ProTIP: You can’t repeat the step-by-step process too much. Heck, I even taped my tech’s first seven steps after arrival on the dash of each truck!
☠️WARNING: Never (and I do mean NEVER) write anything on a Work Order, sticky note or a Service Engineering Script that you wouldn’t mind the client reading! (Don’t ask me how I learned this one!)😥
Now let’s review the very best way to use a clipboard.👍👍 (No, it isn’t whacking the customer’s nasty dog with your clipboard!)
The Clipboard
KickStart: When a homeowner points out a concern and/or makes a request immediately make a note of it on a clipboard.
I recently shared why a service crew leader should use a clipboard during their initial interaction with a residential client. After all…
A clipboard gives your on-site employee 1) authority, 2) confidence and 3) a built-in “teleprompter” to check their next lines in the “Homefront Service” stage play you’ve scripted!
But wait! Here’s the biggest benefit a clipboard brings to the essential homeowner-service worker relationship! DRUMROLL, PLEASE! 🎉🎊🎈🎇🎉
Take “Immediate Action” by writing down your client’s concerns on a… CLIPBOARD!
This concept of “Taking Immediate Action” should permeate your employee’s entire onsite behaviour. Doubt me? Then you choose whether option “A” or “B” below will more likely result in a 5-star online review from a delighted Cheerleader?
Option A:
Client: “Ummmm, excuse me but I’m a bit concerned about this area over here…”
Chuck: (Yawns) “OK, Mrs. Jones, I’ll take a look at it…” 😲 Versus…
Option B- Client: “Ummmm, excuse me but I’m a bit concerned about this area over here…”
Chuck: “Absolutely, Mrs. Jones. Can you show me exactly where we’re talking about? I’ll make a note on your work order to remind us to give it special attention and then on our final walk-through you can check it again. And THANK YOU for sharing your concern with me!”
Client: (Thinking silently) “I LOVE this company!”❤️
NOTE: Always be sure to thank a customer for pointing out their concerns! (It’s so much better to resolve things now instead of getting surprised with a nasty review later!)
HINT: If possible, create an even better Moment of Truth with Mrs. Jones by a) writing it down AND b) fixing the issue and/or resolving her concerns right then and there! DONE!😍
ProTIP: Your very best resource? Hiring the “Very Best People” for your business team!👍 Get 100’s of new hiring ideas and systems in our 3-hour, online SFS: Hiring the Very Best! LIVE seminar. To learn more and/or easily register online click HERE.
And by the way… THANK YOU for letting ME be part of YOUR “Home Front Success”!
Steve