Learn the techniques for getting five-star reviews on every service call.

We all know how important five-star reviews are right? There was a time BI (before internet) that customers would write a review to the service manager about how great one of your plumbers or service technicians were. At the time this was all kept internally on a cork board in the service meeting room. It was fantastic for morale and gave your guys bragging rights.
Today things are a little different, today acquiring customer reviews are a must to succeed in business. Get too little and you're not good enough, get too many bad ones and you are as good as dead. Get too many good ones in a short period and Google may frown on you.
Getting a customer to write a review is hard but necessary for many reasons. First the obvious one, the more good reviews you have, the more new customers you attract. Today your potential customers are not just picking up the telephone and calling you without knowing all they can about you. You'd be foolish to think people just call the first company in the list. Gone are the days that AAA Plumbing, AAAA Plumbing, and AAAAA Plumbing get all the calls. Today's consumer is a lot savvier and does their homework long before they make that first call to your business. Today we have so much more information right at our fingertips. Whether it's a search on their laptop from home or a quick find on their smartphone on the train ride to the office, there is more information online about your business than you can ever expect.


Trust me when I tell you potential customers are reading reviews about you on Google, Yelp, and Angie'sList. They are looking at your great reviews, your good reviews and how you react to your bad reviews. Think about that for a second. Bad reviews, everyone, gets them, it's a part of doing business. Everyone knows this, but what is a bad review? Companies get bad reviews for several reasons, here are a few:
• A misunderstanding - The information between business and customer was not the same.
• Crazy customer - You know the type, we all have them, they are just nuts, and there is nothing you can do to please them.
• You messed up - We're all human, we all make mistakes but how do you fix your mistakes.
Getting reviews are also important in the eyes of Google. Companies that get reviews on a NORMAL regular basis maintain their Google Maps listing. How many reviews are required? That we don't know but not getting any or 2 every few months is not a good thing. Also getting too many at one time can set off red flags. For instance, Google would flag you if you have five reviews for the last three years, and you all of a sudden got 40 new reviews in one day or even one week. So don't go pay some company to publish fake reviews for you.
Now that we understand how important getting reviews are for your business let me show you ten ways to get five-star reviews on every service call. First a little disclaimer, you might not get reviews on every service call right away, but over time if you follow these ideas you should start to set yourself up for some consistent excellent service. The only thing I can guarantee is that if you do ten bad service calls, you WILL get ten negative reviews. But do 10 AMAZING service calls and you may get 2 or 3 positive reviews.
The secret to getting reviews is understanding your customer. Today people have very little time. Most households have both parents working, and when they get home, their priority is their family. You're very low on their list of things to do.
Before I jump into the ten things, you need to do let me first paint a picture of the service call.
A customer calls your company because they have a plumbing or HVAC problem they need to be fixed. The telephone rings seven times and your person answers with a quick "Hello AAA Plumbing How Can I Help You". Your potential customer begins to speak, but before they can finish your person cuts them off saying "Can you hold one second" and puts them on hold before they can even grant them to permission to be put on hold.
A lot of things already went wrong here, and it's only been 25 seconds into the call. Without me going into every detail of the entire booking of the call if you can at this point and servicing the home let's jump into the ten things you can do to get five-star reviews on every service call. I'll also show you some of the bad things you may be doing.

1. The way you answer the telephone.

Your customer will judge you from the second they make contact with someone from your company. If the person that answers your company phone does not have a pleasant, compassionate, welcoming and helpful tone in their voice, then you are doomed. You already lost, and your plumber or service tech has not even driven off the lot yet. The biggest turn off for any customer is a nasty person or a person who has no clue what's happening to answer their call. If you want five stars, you need to answer the phone in a five-star manner. If you ever get a complaint about the person who answers your telephones, you have to find out why this is happening. It very well may be a training issue; most businesses don't train the people who answer the telephone. This person is the most important person for your first impression. They need to talk with a smile and have basic knowledge of your services. Don't cut corners here because your five-stars are on the line if this person is not PERFECT on every call.

2. Communication before the serviceman arrives.
Most companies book a call, and the customer does not hear anything until the plumber or HVAC tech arrives at their door. This stinks for the customer, because they don't know if you are coming, and it gives them something to worry about. I have had many personal experiences with this only to lose an entire day waiting for someone who never showed up. You must have a system in place where you contact the customer the day before their appointment and when the serviceman is on his or her way. There is a reason your dentist always confirms the day before an appointment; they want to make sure you are coming. Don't you think your customer would have a better experience if you confirmed the day before? What an amazing customer experience if you called when he or she was on their way. Or if they are going to be late, yeah being late is bad for the customer but if they know ahead of time, it makes a negative experience a good one.

3. Show up on time.

You think this would be common sense, well it's not. There are so many service companies with the mentality that they will get there when they get there. That is a recipe for disaster, yes you will get paid this time, but never again. Did you know showing up on time for a service appointment is half the battle? Customers don't like sitting around all day waiting for you to show up for an appointment. If you say you are going to be there at 2 pm, then show up at 1:55 pm and make sure you are knocking on that door at 2 pm sharp. Everyone understands that things happen. In the service business, there are things that are out of your serviceman's control, but you usually know of these things long before the appointment time. Call ahead to let the customer know you are running late and be truthful. BE ONTIME!

4. Don't be creepy.

Many companies often overlook creepy employees. They may be the best plumber you have but if they are creepy to the customer you failed. Anyone who is going into someone's home needs to have a personality. As soon as the customer answers the door, your serviceman should have a smile, look presentable and introduce himself or herself with a handshake and introduce themselves. Something as simple has "Good morning Mr. Bradly my name is Steven with AAA Plumbing I'm here to perform your service today". The last thing you want is a serviceman with no personality come to the door knock and say something like "Hi I'm from AAAPlumbing" or worse say nothing at all. That's just creepy.

5. Clean and Neat.
I could have combined this with the "don't be creepy" section, but it's so important that is stands alone. All your servicemen and women should be in a clean, pressed uniform with their name and the company name embroidered or printed on their shirts. If a member of your team shows up to work in a wrinkled or dirty uniform be sure to send them home to get a new one. If they don't clean their uniforms, then be sure to have a cleaning service for your team and take a cleaning fee from their pay or just make it a benefit. It's a great benefit that the company cleans their uniforms it's something they don't have to do themselves, and they get to wear crisp, clean uniforms everyday. If you are cleaning the uniforms, then you control the look of your front line. Cleaning uniforms can be a service you send out of buying a washer and dryer and hire someone to do it in-house. It's cheap and will give your company a whole new look.
One other thing I'd like to add about clean and neat and this is going to piss off some people in your business, it might even piss you off. Tattoos, they are socially accepted in today's world, but they are still offensive to some people. Mainly people with high financial status, senior citizens and women alone at home or with babies. If your servicemen have tattoos all over their arms or on their necks, it would be best to cover them up. It scares some people, and they might not want them in their homes. We have a client that won't hire a service person if they have even a single tattoo.

6. Don't park in your customer's driveway
Most companies won't park their trucks in the driveway. Some do I have had service companies park on my driveway. It just feels like a violation of the customer's personal space. Another problem is that your customer will be wondering if your truck leaks oil and that is a really bad thing to do.
I once had a party rental company pull up in my driveway, and after they had left it looked like an oil spill my driveway was, and part of my grass was dead. I called to complain, and they told me the guys would be back tomorrow to clean it. I knew that was too late so guess who got stuck cleaning it? Guess who didn't get a chance to service my next party? And guess who received a negative review on Google?

7. Be respectful of your customers home.
Upon entering a home make sure you have disposable shoe covers. People don't like it when your guy walks into their home with dirty shoes. Even if they are not visibly dirty, the customer does not know where you have been. The important thing to do is slip them on after you greet the customer. Slip on one and step into the home then slip the second one on and step in. You may think the customer does not notice this, but it is very high on their list. I have mentioned this to many service businesses, and I've heard they are too expensive. If you think they are too expensive, then you are not giving five-star service.
Once in the home, it's very important to be careful of where you place your tools. Many homes have expensive flooring why not supply your serviceman with a fold up board or clean towel to put their equipment on. This is a perfect place to print your companies core values for the customer to see.

8. Explain the problem.
It's important to understand the customers mindset. You see this every day it may be a simple little issue for you but for the customer it may feel like the end of the world. Diagnose the problem and put their minds at ease.
A couple of years ago I had my AC stop working in the middle of August. The first thing that came to mind is pure panic. I'm thinking the worst. "Oh know I need a new AC, it's going to cost $5000.00" or "Oh my gosh it's so hot how am I going to sleep." The best thing for me was a technician to set my mind at ease. Diagnose the problem and let me know what's happening. He told me it was the capacitor that went bad, and it's an easy fix, but he had to check to see if he had one on his truck. If he didn't, then he would have to order it, and it would take a week to get. That sucked for me; now I was in panic that I would be without AC for a week. He went out to his truck and returned with the part 10 minutes later. For me, it was 10 minutes of hell. A better thing for him to do would have been to confirm he had the part and came in then tell me what was wrong and what he was going to do. I would have never had the feeling of panic.
9. Upon completion explain and show if you can.
When the job is complete, it's a good idea to remove all your tools from the home and return for the customer's signature and payment. Take the time to explain what you did and if you can why, the problem happened. Offer some tips on things that can prevent this from happening again. After your serviceman receives payment, thank the customer for their business.
There is a point here when you can ask for a review. There is also a right way of doing it and a wrong way of doing it. Don't put the customer in a corner, don't have the serviceman ask them if they were happy with his service if he knows he didn't follow anything from above. Most people don't like confrontation so they will say yes because they feel pushed to do so. If you as the business owner or service manager take the time to train your team and they can perform five-star service and know it. Then here is line to use:
"Mr. Bradly, thank you very much for your business I appreciate it. We take pride in the service we do and want to make sure you are satisfied with all the work I did today. If you are happy with our service, we would appreciate a positive testimonial from you. This helps us get our name out there and potentially help some of your neighbors to get excellent service as well".

Be sure to have a card you can leave with the customer with detailed instructions on where to write the review and how to do it. Another thing you can do to separate yourself from the competition is to have a valuable leave behind. A professionally printed 8.5 x 11 sheet with homeowner tips for Summer, Spring, Winter or Fall. Keep in mind it does not have to be about your business or service. It could be a sheet of "Five ways to make your backyard a summer vacation spot for under $200.00" Parter up with a landscaper and offer a coupon. Have the landscaper do the same thing for his customers "Five ways to save on your AC bill this summer, with a FREE inspection". Go ahead and pay for the whole thing, it's the cheapest way to get in front of customers you may never meet.

Now for the icing on the cake. Send a handwritten thank you note through the mail. Very simple with no advertising attached. Just say thanks for your business. Very few do this and when it happens to me it shocks me. I've had this happen maybe three times in my life, and it shows me that the company cares. This will secure your five-star review every time.
Five-star reviews are the lifeblood of your company. You can't expect to get them by just performing good or ok service. For that getting paid is your positive review, but if you want to get paid and get five-star reviews you have to WOW your customers every time. Use this post as training material for your team. Make it a priority to perform excellent service all the time. Write about your great service promise on your website, business cards, and trucks. Send the message that you are the best of the best and prove it. It will change your business and your life.
Do you know how many reviews you have? Do you know where all your reviews are coming from? Are you properly responding to both good and bad reviews? If you answered no to even one of these questions you might be interested in our reputation management plan. Contact us today at 866-610-4647