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As you know, businesses that manage teams of heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers rely on smart dispatching. Contractor dispatching software has gone a long way in providing this level of software efficiency for small and medium-sized businesses. Whether it’s assigning the team member with the most suitable skill set to each job or simply working out who can get there the quickest, it’s essential to have real-time information on hand. According to one study looking at 2022 field service trends, 55% of fleet managers and executives reported that the pandemic had negatively impacted their business, while 44% of fleet managers saw increasing costs as their top challenge.
To drive efficiency savings, many field service SMBs have implemented specialist software for contractors designed to improve accuracy and take the guesswork out of the scheduling and dispatching process. We chatted with JG van Graan, Director for ThermoGrid, on the importance of smart dispatching and how it can help your business stay on track and even scale!
A complaint I always hear is how emergency calls and last-minute jobs mess up a technician's schedule. Most heating and cooling business owners aren't aware how contract scheduling software can fully automate tech scheduling. This reduces downtime and even helps plan out the best schedules and fastest routes for their team.
Your team in the field needs to stay connected, not only with each other, but with the folks in the office as well. When everyone is using and updating a single system together, then they're all on the same page. This means your techs won't need to make as many phone calls to chase down parts availability, or equipment records. Everything is available on their phone or tablet. And if you need to dispatch someone quickly, you'll be able to easily locate the tech who has the skill and availability to jump on that job.
Nothing is worse than a wasted trip. It costs you money and frustrates your valuable customers. If you have a repair on a unit with a heat pump, you want to make sure you're sending someone who is a heat pump service professional. Dispatch software will actually store your tech’s skills, qualifications, and training so that you can easily match the job to the best tech. You'll improve call times and first-time fix rates, all while keeping your customers happy.
Imagine one of your customers calls you on the hottest day of the year, complaining that their A/C isn't running. You will keep that customer for life if you can respond quickly and make sure they are sleeping in a cool house that night. Dispatch software can automatically assign the nearest or next available tech. You don't have to scramble to arrange routes or schedules. And since the entire team is using contractor dispatching software, making them synched into the same processes, communication and productivity are not interrupted.
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