In general terms all plumbing issues fall into two categories: water is flowing where it shouldn’t or it’s not flowing where it should. But both cases cause concerns for the homeowner or business manager, and the result is that they need to connect with a plumber, fast! That's where an answering service for plumbing companies comes to the rescue.
Yet too many plumbers, especially one man shows and small firms, lack the comprehensive communication tools their customers expect, relying instead on a single cell phone with voicemail, which is not professional and is often a nuisance.
Even larger plumbing contractors struggle to provide effective customer communication with their customers.
Fortunately, an answering service can help them all. Here’s how:
Business Hours Calls
A ringing phone represents potential business, and that’s good. But a ringing phone in a plumber’s pocket while out on a job is a distraction. Even if the caller leaves a message, how many other plumbers will he or she contact before you call back?
Let your telephone answering service answer your calls during the day. They can quote rates and availability, schedule repairs, set appointments for quotes, and answer basic questions.
After-hours Calls
Plumbing problems seem to invariably happen outside of business hours. In fact, looking that the times an office is open and the times it is not, there is about a 75 percent likelihood a problem will develop outside of regular business hours.
No one wants to field these calls when they’re at home trying to relax. Again the plumbing answering service comes to the rescue, able to expertly handle emergency calls, urgent calls, and routine calls according to your specifications.
Emergency Calls
While most plumbers let their customers determine what constitutes an emergency, sometimes callers need a bit of coaching.
For example, if one bathroom has a problem, but the other one is fine, the caller may want to wait until normal business hours when the hourly repair rate is less.
The virtual receptionist can provide this information to callers so they can make an informed decision. That way the on-call plumber is only woken up if there’s a real emergency that needs immediate attention.
Urgent Calls
Sometimes the problem needs attention soon, but not right away. For callers willing to wait until the next business day, the call center can take the needed information from the caller for attention first thing in the morning.
Then the answering service emails or texts the plumber so he or she knows where to start working for the day.
Routine Calls
Some calls are neither emergencies nor urgent but can wait a while for a response. These might include a quote request, a new construction question, or to check on a bid status.
For these routine calls the call center takes a message and lets the caller know when to expect a return call.
Plumbers are entrepreneurs and small business owners who need to effectively communicate with customers in order to keep revenue coming and their business growing. A plumbers answering service can play a key role in making this happen.
Topics:
