By using Dispatch, Flo was able to engage their contractors, optimize their service operations, open up transparent messaging across all parties in the service experience, and provide loyalty-inspiring experiences to their customers.

“We needed to be able to connect the homeowner to the contractor and to have visibility into the job. We needed to be able to communicate with the contractor and see their activity, and then to follow up with them and find out about what happened with each job.

We found Dispatch and it’s allowed us to bring a great experience to our customers and our installers. It’s allowed us to build a great relationship with them, and to get feedback from our customers that our installers are doing what they should be doing – giving great service.”

With Dispatch, Flo by Moen was able to:

• Reduce service call volume
• Reduce time spent on operational task
• Reduce job cycle time
• Increase customer NPS and CSAT

Download our case study today to see how we did it.

The post Case Study – How Dispatch Helped Flo by Moen Gain Visibility and Increase NPS appeared first on Dispatch Technologies.

By using Dispatch, KeyMe was able to implement a new home-service business model, ensure locksmith compliance, and significantly improve the end customer experience – all through an out-of-the-box solution requiring little effort from their team.

“Our customers care about three things – urgency, up front pricing, and a flawless experience with our locksmiths. Dispatch enables us to deliver on all three.”

With Dispatch, KeyMe was able to improve customer NPS by 5x and locksmith NPS by 2x.

Download our case study today to see how we did it.

The post Case Study – How Dispatch Helped KeyMe Differentiate with Customer Experience appeared first on Dispatch Technologies.

In this issue of the Dispatch Digest, we will highlight a few lesser-known but majorly powerful features inside Manage, and show you how to access our great training materials to make sure you are getting the most out of Dispatch.

Let’s get started!

Account User Filters

There is an abundance of valuable service intelligence data in Manage – so much that it may be overwhelming, especially if you have users who need different levels of visibility into the data. 

We recently launched a way to allow different levels of access to different users within each company that uses our software. Account User Filters allow you to display or suppress certain data depending on the user.

This flexibility opens up endless possibilities around who can benefit from Manage, even if you don’t want everyone to have complete visibility into all of your data.

This even allows you to enable users outside your organization to see certain things. This is great for distributors, dealers, or service providers who work closely with your organization and could benefit from some of the great reports you have access to.

Account User Filters are available to all Manage users. Work with your Dispatch account manager to enable them today!

Technician Reporting

When you look at your service providers in Manage, you can see valuable data such as SLA compliance and average customer reviews. Our reporting gets even more granular, though, allowing you to see metrics about the people in the field actually doing your jobs. We call this Technician Reporting – though it isn’t limited to just field service technicians.

Service providers sometimes have difficulty determining performance at a technician-level. With Dispatch, we monitor metrics such as: 

• First time fix rate
• Technician rating
• Average time to complete

Gaining access to these metrics can help you work with your pros to identify the best technicians, and help lower-performance technicians improve their performance.

Combined with Account User Filters, you can share versions of Manage with distributors or key service providers, giving them direct access to this valuable data.

Manage Training and Support

Don’t forget, the Manage help center is always available for you inside our platform. It can answer frequently asked questions and help you discover even more great Manage features.

Check out the short videos for each Manage dashboard, available now in the help center!

The Help Center is available to all Manage users, and can be found quickly by clicking “Help Center” in the bottom left corner of every Manage screen.

The post Dispatch Digest – Getting the Most out of Manage appeared first on Dispatch Technologies.

The world of sales is data-driven. The modern sales rep has access to data that helps them sell more efficiently than ever, but without attribution and conversion data, you’ll only get so far.

As a manufacturer, you are driving leads to your dealers – and your distributors are just as invested in helping convert them as you are. This ecosystem is the critical backbone of your sales channels, but when the time comes to understand lead conversion rate or the effectiveness of your marketing spend, working with independent distributors and dealers can be a challenge.

Want to see Dispatch in action? Request a demo here.

What happened to this lead?

We hear this question constantly. Each lead that comes in through your website represents not only potential revenue, but also valuable and actionable data about the effectiveness of your marketing spend, the performance of your dealers/distributors, and the satisfaction of your end customers.

However, the separation between all of these parties means it can be difficult or impossible to actually understand what happened to each lead you send out. Was it accepted? Did a sale occur? Did the dealer perform up to your standards? Did you build loyalty with your customers?

The Dispatch Platform answers these questions. Manufacturers who have implemented Dispatch and worked with us to engage their dealers are able to see what is happening to every lead coming through their website – as a matter of fact, our customers have found that dealers who use Dispatch are 50% more likely to status leads than dealers outside of the Dispatch ecosystem.

Dispatch Lead Conversion Reporting

Further building on this use case, we have just rolled out the Dispatch Lead Conversion Report, which gives you dealer-level and lead-level visibility into:

• Lead conversion rate
• Lead status and final outcome
• Dealer geographical coverage
• Close rate by dealer
• Lead win/loss reason
• Dealer decline/cancel reason

Tracking this lead data over time can help you and your distributors make more informed decisions about the performance of each dealer, allowing you to cultivate the perfect network of dealers that represent your brand, leading to higher lead conversion rates and more revenue.

This, of course, is only made possible by using Dispatch, which connects you with your distributors, dealers, and end customers on one unifying platform.

Empower your Distributors

Making this data available to your distributors will allow them to identify high performing dealers who effectively convert leads in a quick and transparent manner, and help them work with lower-performing dealers to improve their ability to sell and close.

This powerful new lead reporting is part of our Explore reporting suite inside our Manage platform, available to manufacturers who want to close more leads and gain visibility into their business.

Want to see Dispatch in action? Request a demo here.

The post It’s 10pm, do you know where your leads are? appeared first on Dispatch Technologies.

The retail landscape has changed fundamentally over the past 20 years. The Internet gave rise to eCommerce, allowing giants like Amazon to offer a wider selection of products than brick and mortar retailers at lower prices, delivered right to your door.

Experts expected this new level of choice and convenience to slowly kill off retail stores, but that simply didn’t happen. As a matter of fact, the National Retail Federation says brick and mortar retail has been growing at roughly 4% per year since 2010, with eCommerce sales only accounting for 10% of all retail sales across the industry.

No, brick and mortar retail didn’t die when threatened by the Amazons of the world – but it did evolve.

Give the people what they need

Recognizing this threat, consumer electronics retailer Best Buy reconsidered what would keep people coming through their doors. You can buy a new laptop anywhere, but what happens when that laptop breaks? Best Buy knew that excellent service experiences are what built customer loyalty, and made the savvy move of acquiring Geek Squad in 2002. 

The concept was simple – we know that we are going to lose sales to Amazon. We know people can buy a new laptop anywhere, including from the comfort of their own home. But what happens when that laptop breaks?

Nearly 20 years later, Geek Squad has become synonymous with computer repair. Representing a modest but not insignificant 5% of their overall revenue, the real value of Geek Squad comes from: 

• Expanding their business beyond the products they sell, 
• Getting people into the store who may end up buying something they weren’t planning on buying
• Creating additional opportunities for loyalty-building customer service experiences.

Suddenly, Best Buy could make some money off of products they didn’t sell in the first place. Completely new revenue; turning a negative into a positive.

Modern customer loyalty

Many stores have caught on to this, including Amazon, and now offer service, maintenance, and installation along with the products they sell. According to American Express, ‘U.S. consumers are willing to spend 17% more to do business with companies that deliver excellent service, up from 14% in 2014.’ So it stands to reason that adding service options to your product sales gives you more opportunity to build loyalty.

The need for service is clear, but how do you deliver it consistently to your customers, and not turn your great opportunity to build loyalty into another lost customer?

A declaration of independence

Today, retailers are turning to independent service providers to provide service to their customers. Whether you’re mounting a TV or installing an HVAC system, having the right service provider on deck to do a job is critical to adding significant service revenue to your bottom line.

In the absence of a fully trained and skilled workforce, you can offer your jobs to independent contractors. This is where Dispatch comes in.

Dispatch gives you a platform to onboard and manage your service providers, ensuring you have the coverage you need to earn service revenue and customer loyalty across the country. Of course, you need to make sure your providers are delivering consistently excellent service experiences to your customers if you hope to build loyalty, so a platform that allows you to control the customer experience and understand customer satisfaction is critical.

If you are a retailer that is looking for a way to take control of your service offering and ensure you are taking advantage of these critical loyalty-building opportunities, take a look at what Dispatch has to offer:

The post How Modern Retailers Drive Customer Loyalty appeared first on Dispatch Technologies.

Your pro network is your blessing and your curse. First, you need to find the right ones. Then, you need to keep them. Seems simple enough, but with your competitors trying to do the same thing, and customer expectations steadily rising, working with your third-party network can become a significant challenge. In addressing this challenge, however, lies an opportunity.

An Extension of Your Brand

The sometimes-hard truth is that cultivating a network of efficient, experienced pros that participate in your preferred programs and do work on your behalf is your best opportunity to drive lifelong customer loyalty. As far as your customer is concerned, every interaction with your network is an interaction with your brand. If your pro is friendly, reliable, and hard-working, then the deck, siding, windows, or garage door they’re installing will be as well. That translates into customer loyalty.

Every touchpoint between your network and your customer is an opportunity to build that loyalty and trust. According to McKinsey, companies with above average customer satisfaction scores can earn up to 300% more than laggards in the same space. Since your network is an extension of your brand, it stands to reason that making sure your network is always putting your best foot forward is not only important – it’s essential.

Preferential Treatment

So you want the best pros, and you want them to participate in your preferred pro programs. This tried-and-true approach to finding and keeping the best possible pros is mutually beneficial – you know that the person walking into your customer’s home is going to represent you well, and will recommend your brand whenever possible. Your pros know that they’re getting the highest level of support and attention from the brands they sell and use for their projects.

In this way, pro loyalty and customer loyalty go hand-in-hand. The more you do for your pros, the more you do for your customers. If you provide them a solution they can use to run their business, and seamlessly work with yours, you give them a pretty good reason to stick around, and sing your praises.

Your customer is probably going to one of your dealers or a big-box retailer to see and feel your product; to decide if it’s right for their needs. Once they do that, they’re probably going to your website to find the right pro to do their job. You need to be confident in the preferred pros that are being featured on your website. Building a strong preferred pro program is the best way to ensure your customers are getting the right experience, so giving your pros the right tools and incentives to keep them engaged with your brand is the best way to drive loyalty.

A Rising Tide Lifts All Ships

Luckily there is a solution out there that is built from the ground up to accommodate this model. Dispatch is a platform for home service brands that rely on independent service providers to build lifelong customer loyalty through delivering the best products and the best services

Dispatch can be part of your preferred pro program, offering your network powerful tools they can use to do your jobs as well as their own, while providing you with visibility into their performance. Again, it’s mutually beneficial – your pros get something that helps them improve their operations, and you get the insights you need to cultivate that perfect network, and ensure your customers are getting an experience that accurately reflects your brand.

Your customers improve their homes, your pros improve their business, and you improve your brand reputation. Who said it had to be a challenge?

Dispatch can help you partner with your pros to reduce costs and improve service across the board. Request a demo or more info here:

The post Building Products, Building Partners appeared first on Dispatch Technologies.

Years ago, building customer loyalty was simple. You spent your time and money researching the best ways to manufacture the best product. You had focus groups telling you what features they wanted in their next refrigerator or washing machine. You asked your mom and dad what they loved most about their oven. You improved your product, you priced it competitively, and you earned lifetime loyalty. 

Even the most reliable appliances break down, but you knew your customers would buy your brand when they went out to replace it, because you made the best product on the market.

Changing Consumer Habits

As newer generations age into home-ownership, the market is seeing a shift. Simply having the best product with the best features isn’t enough to earn a millennial’s lifetime loyalty. Younger generations haven’t necessarily had time to build loyalty, and even if they did, there’s a perceived parity across the home appliance market. 

Their next oven isn’t the one with the most trustworthy brand name on it, it’s the one that’s already in their pre-furnished house when they move in, or the one that is on sale at Home Depot.

Service as a Product

The modern generation is more brand-agnostic than ever before. Let’s look at one of the most popular consumer brands in modern history – Uber. If someone calls an Uber, they care that it arrives on time. They care about the security of knowing who is coming to get them. They care about getting where they are going in a timely and comfortable manner. What they don’t care about is what kind of car comes to get them. They don’t even care about Uber specifically – they might even dislike Uber based on bad press – but Uber provides a flawless service to them every time, so they continue to use it.

Yes, Uber is a service, and today, owning an appliance is as well.

Having the best brand name or making the best product isn’t how you build loyalty today – but that doesn’t mean loyalty doesn’t exist. Today, loyalty is built by delivering the best, most painless service experiences, every time.

In the US, the market has seen a significant shift towards service industries that highlights this point. According to The Atlantic, services now account for 2/3rds of the total US GDP. People pay for experiences, not for products. 

Every time you need to fix one of your appliances, you’re looking at the best opportunity you will ever get to build loyalty and create a lifetime customer. It’s not about your product any more. It’s about delivering the best possible service experience. This is even more important now that more people are working from home, putting more strain on their appliances, and becoming more protective than ever of their homes and their families.

The Service Challenge

Now comes the hard part. The reality of the field service industry is that today, most brands rely on independent contractors to provide service to their customers. These pros know what they’re doing, and they get the job done, but at the end of the day, they don’t work for you. You’ve built a network of independent pros to service your customers, but since they don’t work for your brand, you have little to no visibility into their performance – unless they do a bad job. Then you better believe you’ll hear about it from your customer. The one you just lost for good.

This is an opportunity, but it’s also a risk. In a recent study of consumer feedback, Deloitte says “62% of complaints were about staff attitudes and competences, compared to just 34% about the quality or reliability of goods and services”. Not only is service an important way to differentiate yourself, it’s a potential pitfall if you don’t keep up.

Given this new reality, cultivating your service network, understanding their performance, and taking control of the experience they are providing your customers on your behalf is now the single most critical thing you can do to drive customer loyalty. By moving your operations onto a platform like Dispatch – a platform built from the ground up to help brands work more easily with their independent network, and deliver a more consistent and positive experience to your customers – you can regain control of your service experience.

Today in the Appliance industry, loyalty is built on a foundation of fast, efficient service experiences that cater to the modern expectations of the evolving consumer. It’s hard, but not impossible, to take control of those experiences by working with your independent pros and making sure they represent you in the best way possible.

You give me a great service experience, and the next time I’m in Home Depot upgrading my kitchen, I’ll be looking for your brand.

Want to learn more? Give us a shout!

The post Service: Your Most Valuable Product appeared first on Dispatch Technologies.

How Bloomin’ Blinds partners with Dispatch to conquer “Big, Hairy, Audacious” Goals

“ We would like to be the new, modern version of window coverings—not only in our business model, but in our technology and how we handle ourselves and our customers. Having Dispatch is helping us make progress toward our goals.”
– Kelsey Stuart, CEO Bloomin’ Blinds

Growing quickly, Bloomin’ Blinds is a Trailblazer in Window Coverings

Founded in 2001, Bloomin’ Blinds is a family-run business with big aspirations. The company launched its franchise group in 2014, and now has 40 owners operating in 52 territories. But CEO Kelsey Stuart wants to grow even more, and has what he calls “big, hairy, audacious goals”—like becoming a household name, adding another 50 franchise owners in the next two years, and welcoming 250-300 new owners in the next five years. “We want some extraordinarily expansive growth,” he says.

The Lewisville, Texas-based company is going up against nation-wide direct-to-consumer businesses. Stuart gives their competitors props for proving the model—but says they highlight Bloomin’ Blinds’ key differentiator, which is that their franchise owners don’t just sell blinds: they offer an end-to-end solution that includes design consultations, installation, and repairs. Setting themselves apart, Stuart explains “we would like to be the new modern version of window coverings – not only in our business model, but our technology and how we handle our customers.”

Bloomin’ Blinds’ current software solutions weren’t helping the

m build and deliver on their vision of a comprehensive service offering, so in 2019 Stuart started investigating new options.

Bloomin’ Blinds’ Looks at the Field of Options

With sights set on growth, Stuart wanted a solution that would give him visibility into franchise owners’ operations, help him attract new owners, and enable him to improve the customer experience.

“We only thrive if our owners thrive,” says Stuart. “And if our franchise owners are providing the same service as competitors, and they’re providing the same price, but their communication and presentation are better…all of that leads to buying decisions.”

Stuart started looking for a field service management platform that would offer visibility into location performance, a consistently excellent customer experience, a robust FSM tool, quoting capabilities—and that was still accessible to a growing business. He looked at close to 20 providers. Most were missing features Stuart needed or were too expensive, and one refused to even work with a window covering business.

Finally, he came across Dispatch, a software platform that helps enterprises manage franchise locations and improve the customer experience. “I found that a lot of software solutions are pretty generic in their offerings, and very few of them had the features and benefits that Dispatch had at a price we could manage.”

Dispatch offered the improved visibility, CRM, quoting capabilities, and other features Stuart was looking for. “I needed a tool that would demonstrate our concern for quality, not just in our products and service, but in our customer communication as well.  Dispatch delivered.”

Dispatch Clears the Path to a Successful Implementation

The Dispatch implementation was Bloomin’ Blinds’ first large-scale software installation—a nerve-wracking experience for any growing business. But Dispatch’s supportive team and integration expertise helped to smooth the way. “We were trying to integrate two different software systems—Dispatch and Solatech window treatment software,” says Stuart. “Having somebody who was responsive, who truly seemed to care about our business and how it was going, really helped us be patient and learn.”

As with any new software implementation, challenges cropped up along the way. “But every time Dispatch found an error, they fixed it,” Stuart says. “Every time that there was something that needed adjustment, they got it corrected.” The Dispatch team also customized workflow and notification features for Bloomin’ Blinds, and created short training videos to help Stuart onboard the rest of the corporate team and franchise owners.

Bloomin’ Blinds Cultivates Franchisee Success

The Dispatch platform gives Stuart and his team unprecedented visibility into their franchise owners’ operations, allowing them to jump on problems before they grow too big. “As a franchise owner, I need to have visibility and access into what the franchise owners are doing – I need to be able to get in, help with issues and help new owners guide and manage the business.” With data from the Dispatch platform, Stuart can see if a franchise owner is struggling with, say, generating new reviews or converting prospects, so his team can offer coaching to help get the owner back on track. “The Dispatch platform has a wealth of information,” says Stuart,  “it’s clear that there’s no shortage of data available.”

While Bloomin’ Blinds is using Dispatch to help manage franchise operations, the franchise owners themselves use the solution to build up their own businesses. “It’s a tool to help the franchise owners run their business, and they appreciate it for that,” says Stuart. “They also love the simplicity, clean look, and the intuitive nature of the software. Most of them were able to figure it out in fewer than 10 repetitions.  Across the board, it’s 100% a win.”

Dispatch’s customer-facing features have also helped set Bloomin’ Blinds apart from others in the industry. Powered by Dispatch, the new online booking page has simplified scheduling for homeowners and franchise owners, enabling customers to request appointments when convenient for them. “The booking page has been a bit hit for us,” says Stuart. “Adding technology-based communication has opened the door for new customers who aren’t naturally comfortable on the phone or need to reach us in off-hours. Since we launched it for our franchise locations, we’ve seen a substantial increase in conversion because it gives the consumer a sense that things are in motion, reducing the need for them to look at other providers. We can capture the business when they’re ready for it, not necessarily just when we’re open.”

With many automated and tech-enabled communication elements, including automated reminders and on-my-way notifications, Dispatch helps Bloomin’ Blinds leave a positive impression well before the first service appointment. “By the time we ring the doorbell, the customer has already had four or five positive interactions with Bloomin’ Blinds,” explains Stuart, “and that’s a great way to win business.”

Positive customer reviews have increased, says Stuart, showing that customers appreciate the new features as much as the franchise owners do. “Having these tools really shows that an owner is on their game,” Stuart says.

Bloomin’ Blinds’ big, hairy, audacious goals don’t look so intimidating when they have the right software on their side. “We absolutely use Dispatch as a tool for our franchise growth,” says Stuart. “We’re one of the few window coverings companies in the nation with this kind of innovative technology and customer experience. There’s no doubt, having Dispatch is helping us make progress toward our goals.”

Want to see how Dispatch can help you achieve your goals? Request a demo or more info here:

The post Dispatch and Bloomin’ Blinds appeared first on Dispatch Technologies.

Appointment Types

Some jobs are complex, and require different types of experts to visit a home over the course of several appointments. During these jobs, it’s important to stay organized and make sure everyone knows what they need to do for each appointment.

To address this, Dispatch has added Appointment Types into our field service toolset. This new feature will allow you to designate each appointment with a specific type, helping you quickly identify important appointment details, such as who needs to be there, what inventory or parts they will need, and how long the appointment will likely take.

For project-based work or complex jobs, you can assign multiple appointments of different types (such as “service” vs. “install”) to an individual job in the Dispatch system. When your dispatcher is in the office looking at our schedule page, they will quickly be able to see which appointments have a corresponding type, and can schedule or make assignments at a glance based on that information.

Appointment Types can be unique to your own business, and can be set as templates to use when your providers schedule jobs with your customers. This is a great way for your providers to stay more organized and complete jobs as efficiently as possible.

This useful new feature can be enabled by your account manager, so please reach out directly for more information and to get started.

Scheduling with Suggested Times

One of our most popular features at Dispatch is Scheduling with Suggested Times. We know that working with an independent network of service providers, or across decentralized franchise locations, can present challenges when scheduling jobs with your customers. You don’t always have access to real-time availability, but you still want to give your customers a quick, easy, and accurate scheduling experience.

Enter suggested times – a great way to speed up the scheduling process, even without direct access to your providers’ schedules. Suggested Times allows you to collect one to three ideal appointment times from your customers when they are requesting service, and communicate those times to your provider to speed up scheduling.

These times can be collected at several points in the booking and scheduling process, and can be adapted to fit your specific workflow. 

We have found that providers accept one of the ideal time slots on 80% of jobs, which we’ve seen significantly reduce time to schedule by up to 40%.

To see if Scheduling with Suggested Times can help your booking and scheduling flow, reach out to your account manager.

Engagement Services – In-App Callouts

What good is a feature if your providers are not using it? We understand that getting the most out of Dispatch relies on engaging as many of the service providers in your network as possible. Our dedicated Engagement team works side by side with you to achieve this, and has many tools at their disposal to help drive adoption and engagement, regardless of how your providers prefer to work with you.

One of our most powerful engagement tools is our in-app callout functionality. With this service, we can actually put reminders and other messages directly into our Work (desktop) field service toolset, so your providers attention can be drawn to the features and best practices that will help you get the most value out of the Dispatch ecosystem.

This is a great way to remind providers to collect photos from a job, or to attach specific notes to jobs when appropriate. You could also use it to remind your providers to view the customer’s suggested appointment times before they reach out to schedule. Callouts can even be combined to create walkthroughs that help providers stick to your specific workflow, and collect all the right information. Wherever you see the opportunity to give a reminder, we can help you get the most out of the tools we offer with our custom callouts.

Callouts are available to all customers – we will work with you to figure out how to get the most out of this feature. Please reach out to your account manager, or engagement@dispatch.me to get started.

The post Dispatch Digest #4 appeared first on Dispatch Technologies.

You rely on Dispatch to help you deliver consistently excellent service to your customers every day, and we want to make sure you are getting the most out of the Dispatch product. Below you’ll find a few features you may not have known about – features that can help you continue to deliver excellent service, even during this challenging time.

Export Your Customer List

Keeping your customers informed about your business can be critical. It’s hard to tell if businesses are still operating – what’s essential, what’s non-essential – which can potentially lead to lost business and unsatisfied customers.

Dispatch gives you access to all of the customers you have serviced through our platform, with their contact information, job history, and more. You can view this information by clicking on Reports > Your Customers, and download it by clicking More Options > Download Data on the right-hand side of the report. Don’t forget to remove the default 30-day date range to make sure you get everyone!

The resulting list can be uploaded into your marketing software, or dropped directly into an email, depending on the number of customers. This is a great way to easily put a complete customer list together, and use it for updates, offers, marketing, or anything else you need to communicate to your customer.

Branded Booking Page

Did you know that many of our service providers use Dispatch to enable customers to book business directly from a web page? Most companies that use Dispatch can set up our booking and scheduling page, which allows customers to enter their contact information, details about the work they need done, and provide suggested appointment times to reduce the back and forth of finding the right time.

Leads submitted through our Booking Page feed directly into Dispatch for you to assign and complete, just like adding a job manually. You can even include a link to the Booking Page right in your Google business listing or in your email signature.

In a time where office visits are no longer an option for letting customers book time, the Dispatch Booking Page can help keep business flowing without the need to interact in person.

If you want to enable your free Booking Page, reach out to your franchisor, or support@dispatch.me.

Notification Templates

Every service appointment you complete through Dispatch sends several appointment notifications throughout the course of the job – scheduling, on my way, survey requests, and more. You already know that these are part of our best-in-class customer experience, and typically just include a little bit of information about the next step in the job, and a link to our branded customer portal.

What you may not know is that these notifications can be edited to add specific text to each touchpoint. In addition to providing the basic information, you can include a short message with each notification. 

Right now, many of our users are choosing to add notes about special accommodations or requests regarding staying safe during the outbreak – asking customers to provide specific information ahead of time, or reminding them to give your technician as much space as possible during the appointment.

For independent service providers, you can add this in the Work app under Settings > Company > Branded Emails, in the Custom Text (Optional) field. For franchisees, reach out to your franchisor to discuss adjusting this text.

You choose what you want to say to your customers, and we help deliver the message throughout the service appointment.

Take Customer Payments Remotely

Your customers can now view estimates and invoices, approve estimates to begin work and make payments against outstanding invoices – all from the customer portal!

You choose which billing documents you want to be shown to customers in the customer portal. When you hit Send on a billing document and include the customer’s email address in the recipients, they’ll get a link in their email. Any estimate or invoice not in a DRAFT status is shown in the portal.

For users with credit card processing enabled, you can also remotely request and collect payments through the portal, allowing customers to pay for service without interacting with your staff.

Communicate More, Contact-less

One of the greatest things about using Dispatch is how it helps you open the lines of communication between you and your customers. During a time like this, when in-person communication is not recommended, these Dispatch features offer even more value.

Our service experience notifications and branded customer portal are a great way to keep your customer in the loop throughout a service appointment. If you use our Inbox tool, you can message with customers at any time – reducing the need for in-person contact at the home or office. 

Our customer portal is a great way to interact with your customers, reducing the amount of in-person contact needed to provide high-quality service. Customers can provide notes and photos ahead of time, reducing the need for multiple appointments, and increasing first-time fix rate. 

Our customer experience, messaging, and reporting features are all important parts of the Dispatch product, made even more pivotal given the current situation we all find ourselves in. Hopefully, these features will help ease the pain of operating during the time of COVID-19. 

If you want to learn more about these or any features offered by Dispatch, reach out to support@dispatch.me.

The post Times are Tough – Here’s How Dispatch Can Help appeared first on Dispatch Technologies.