Having reliable internet access has become one of the prime needs of humanity today. ISPs or Internet Service Providers have a huge responsibility to ensure a good uptime for their services. For this industry, providing exceptional customer service is key to staying in business too.
With such challenges, manually handling operations would mean losing customers to competitors.
Using field service management software, ISPs can maintain a competitive edge and retain customers for the long term – read more to learn how.
What challenges do ISPs face in their field service operations?
With local and global ISPs competing for the digitized crowd, here are key challenges faced by them as a result:
- High expectations from customers: it’s not easy to maintain consistent customer satisfaction, as even 5 mins of no internet make one raise support tickets. Customer satisfaction is delicate and of priority.
- Complex networks and hardware: troubleshooting any internet issues require a skilled field service technician. The infrastructure for ISPs is also complex. Hence such services take time to expand locations.
- Fluctuating demands: seasonal disasters like heavy rains can cause frequent outages. Such cases increase material and manpower requirements to support customers.
- Remote job sites: providing internet access in remote areas is difficult. Response time for servicing may even take days.
- Unprofessional communication: ISPs are often small businesses and may not understand how to handle angry customers. For larger ISP businesses, customer experience for support often means staying on automated calls for a long time.
How does field service software helps overcome ISP’s customer service challenges?
Field service management software helps ISPs organize and automate various operational tasks like scheduling maintenance service or internet access requests, dispatching field service technicians, invoicing clients, responding to complaints, etc. It primarily centralizes customer service and other operations for better visibility and management.
Here are five ways in which ISPs can benefit from field service management apps for their customer service workflows:
Reduce response time
Choose a field service management app that includes a chat interface and automated email sequencing features. Design and schedule automated messages for troubleshooting or capturing new customer information.
This helps ISPs decrease their response time for maintenance or service requests. Based on the information provided, field service management software can also automatically dispatch relevant field service technicians. It will select the shortest routes and technicians with relevant skill sets to manage work.
Automated updates to customers
Once a field service technician is assigned to a customer request, they can visually know the progress of it via a dashboard or mobile app. Send notifications about the appointment details, location of the field service technician, or payment notifications to improve customer experience. Such measures help build the necessary trust in your services.
Your customers can also perform rescheduled requests, and the field service management app will automatically update the client’s calendars. This eliminates any back-and-forth phone calls – saving your and the customer’s time.
Increase first-time fix rates with efficient dispatching
Field service management software improves accuracy in assigning the job to the right field service technician based on their location, availability, and skills. It also equips them with complete historical data about the customer, maintenance records, and compliant details to provide better resolutions.
This increases the first-time fix rate – an important key performance indicator for service businesses like ISPs. It means the number of service requests that get resolved in the first visit by the field service technician.
Efficient dispatching reduces rework by assigning the best manpower and resources ideal for the problem at hand. Thus, it reduces repeat service requests.
Makes ISPs resilient to fluctuating customer service demands
Reducing service disruptions is a key problem statement for ISP’s customer service. For this, having the necessary resources and inventory is important.
ISPs can use field service management apps to track their inventories and automatically place orders based on demand. This ensures your business is ready when the customer requests maintenance, even during emergencies. One can also safely undertake expansion operations and calibrate the field service software accordingly.
Document SOPs for troubleshooting
Sometimes, a relevant field service technician may not be available near the client’s location. In such cases, providing DIY customer service by instructing on a phone or video call becomes a necessity for a quick resolution.
For this, good documentation is required – which is possible to have with field service management software. A mobile app version enables customers to access troubleshooting instructions on their own.
Make customer satisfaction a priority with field service management software
At Zuper, we enable Internet Service Providers with a complete field service management solution, from managing technicians to scheduling, customer management, and payments. Book a demo on how we integrate our solutions with your existing business operations today.
