The Service Department, Warranty and Non-Warranty Repairs

Priority

Warranty repairs should have priority over all other repairs, When a customer purchases a product, they consider the warranty period. This is an important factor in the choice of whom they buy from and the faster a warranty repair is completed, the more likely they are to buy from the same provider again. Warranty repairs should be tagged with a special color tag so that when one is spotted it can be kept moving in the repair cycle.

Repair or Replace

A quick decision should be made as soon as the equipment arrives, as to make the repairs or replace the product. Our church recently returned our projector to our supplier because a replacement lamp was not available at the time from the manufacturer. We were advised that if the problem where to be the lamp that the product would be replaced by the manufacturer as they could not provide a new lamp. The problem however turned out to be a bad power supply and a quick repair was made. We were left with a very good impression of the manufacturer and will more likely buy their products again.

Cost is the lowest factor and customer satisfaction is the highest factor when deciding whither to replace or repair. Guide lines should be worked out with sales and manufacturing on the replacement policy using your liaison team that you use for each product. Unfortunately most service personal and service departments treat the warranty repair as an easy place to relax. The repair is often moved to the last and the service person will spend more time on the repair as they will not have to explain the cost to the customer. The danger for the service department is to isolate itself from the company and our customers, taking a defiance mode instead of taking ownership of the problem.

Non-Warranty Repairs

With a non-warranty repair, cost is the main factor for the customer with time usually taking second place. If this were not true, the customer would just replace the equipment instead of sending is in for repair.

The Estimate

I believe that the most important thing to keep in mind with the non-warranty repairs is to get back to the customer as fast as possible with an estimate for the cost of the repair. I believe that a two-part estimate is the best way to proceed. As soon as the equipment arrives have a technician quickly check the equipment and make a very rough estimate. Be sure that the customer is aware that this is just the initial estimate and that a more accurate one will follow. No action should be required be the customer on this estimate unless they want you to stop the repair now. You could state that we will be proceeding with a more in-depth estimate of the repairs unless advised to stop the repair, in which case a reduced minimum charge would occur. You may want to give them a 24-hour time frame to take advantage of the minimum charge saving. This also gives you a built- in hold on the countdown to completion of the repair. During this time parts could still be pulled and the equipment could be moving down the line toward the repair station or final estimate stage of the repair.

When the final estimate is sent, the service department has a problem as what to do with the unit until approval or rejection is received from the customer. The estimate should require that the customer confirm that they have received the estimate. This can be automatic with e-mails. Set time limits and if you do not receive a confirmation repeat the process until you get a response. Also request a time limit for the estimate approval, allowing more time if a third party is involved.

I would recommend dust covers for the equipment awaiting estimate approval that are clearly marked ‘Awaiting Estimate Approval', and the date or a copy of the estimate attached. An envelope with all the repair information could be tapped to the cover.

A calender reminder in the e-mail program could remind you when the time limit has been exceeded so a reminder e-mail could be sent to the customer. Make it clear that a failure to respond to the estimate within the time frame is understood to mean that the estimate has been declined and the unit will be returned with the minimum charge for the repair. You may want to consider storage charges for customers requiring more time for the estimate approval. This equipment will be taking up valuable space and work carts during the estimate waiting period.

Repair before approval?

Some times it may require less time to repair the equipment when making the estimate. Set some guide lines, say for example if the repair is within 20% of the minimum repair charge you may want to go ahead and complete the repair, taking the small risk of a rejection and saving valuable holding space. I would adjust the percentage as high as possible, so that when the approval is received the unit could be returned immediately. I would recommend even taking the additional risk and completing the repair and packing for shipment. If the customer declines the repair, then accept the minimum charge, and return the repaired unit. Charge the 20% loss to customer relations improvement. It will pay off in the long run. Just make sure that the percentage you set for this risk has the approval of all involved. Remember that you are saving the time of handling the equipment a second time and the repair can be completed, improving your turn around time.

Article Source: http://www.content.onlypunjab.com

After working in service for 23 years with Eastman Kodak Company as a service person, technical support and training specialist, followed by another 13 years working for other companies in the service field, I have decided to share my ideals on improving the service department. I would like to thank Jack Ingram, my supervisor at Eastman Kodak Company for the encouragement and guidance until his retirement. I would also like to thank Barco Projection Systems and all the great employees that worked with me for the last seven years before I retired. For complete paper on The Service Department, Please visit my web site at: www.hucosystems.com/

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