Retail Observer

RETAILOBSERVER.COM JUNE 2022 64 I n this fractured world, does it still pay to be the best? The typical consumer (I include myself) wants the best of everything, but we're realizing that there's not a lot of "everything" left nowadays. Just two years ago, paper towels and toilet paper were almost impossible to find on grocery shelves, never mind your favorite brand. So consumers had to settle for inferior products. And this leads to a question: If we know the consumer will settle for less, does it still pay to be the best? While there are shortages in every category today, there's one category that has escaped the bind: consumers still need their appliances repaired or replaced. So I ask again, knowing that the consumer is willing to accept less than the best, does it pay to be the best – and, if not, how will lowering your standards affect your customer base? Let's take a look at the typical consumer. Many of our customers are now working from home or not working and staying home. Because they're constantly using their appliances, the wear and tear is a greater than just a couple of years ago, and while most appliances have a useful life of 10 years or more, I doubt that anyone anticipated the speed at which those 10 years arrived. Not to mention the slim availability and substantially increased cost of new appliances, which is driving consumers to choose repair over replacement. As my friend Dean Landers says in his GLEEPS training, "For most, a broken appliance involves much more than the broken appliance. The customer is, in a matter of speaking, also broken. Their world has been inconvenienced and altered, often creating a very stressful environment." Thus the need for a speedy repair. Now let's look at the typical service company. Never before have independent service providers found themselves categorized as an essential business with a demand that is impossible to satisfy. Today's consumers need you to keep their households operating, and they need you today, not two weeks from now. The customer in need doesn't understand or care that there's a shortage of skilled service technicians in our industry. They just want you to fix their problem right now. And while they want the best service, they're willing to settle for less. Some shops may be tempted to use this new consumer outlook as an excuse to minimize their costs and increase their profits. As an independent service provider, will you choose to maintain your current status quo, or will you learn to pivot and react to satisfy as many of your customers' demands as your available labor hours will allow – and perhaps leave some hours behind? While Commander Spock's theory of utilitarianism ("The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few") may raise a debate, we aren't talking about a moral or ethical issue – we are merely solving a supply and demand issue. So, how do you service more customers with the same or fewer certified service technicians and staff? Here are some ideas that might help you achieve that goal. 1. Increase your productivity by evaluating your current truck inventory to complete more jobs on the first trip. 2. Reduce the number of miles you spend driving each day by either temporarily shrinking your service trading area or scheduling calls at the perimeter of your trading area for one day per week. 3. Ensure that your service staff is equipped with the latest diagnostic tools. Manufacturers are all hurrying to market with plug-in diagnostics. 4. Stop or reduce the number of jobs that take longer than an hour. Tub replacements and/or sealed systems such as evaporators and compressors would be at the top of the list 5. Do not hire unqualified employees to service your valued customers. It isn't fair to them, and it will only decrease your productivity due to call-backs. We all know how expensive it is to be the best – there's insurance, uniforms, CRMs, marketing, payroll, inventory and training. But the one thing some shops fail to add is the cost of acquisition. If you lose customers, they are costly to replace. Hope to see everyone this year at PSA's 2022 Convention in Orlando on September 19. DOES IT PAY TO BE THE BEST? S E R V I C E D E P A R T M E N T RO Ralph Wolff, Industry Relations, PSA Certified Service Center www.certifiedservicecenter.org

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