Can you make your job easier, improve customer service, and highlight your professionalism all in one go? You can when you improve your maintenance request process.
Static. That’s not a word that describes your work. Your team may have a checklist for each room and each facility, but you never know when you’ll want to add or delete something. Pipes burst, a dust storm blows through, a bottle of soda falls and explodes all over the breakroom… anything can happen at any time. That’s why you likely have a maintenance request process in place.
However, having a process isn’t the same as having an effective or simple process. And if your maintenance request process includes anything along the lines of Post-It notes or a fax machine, it’s time for an update.
Changing your process can be unnerving. There’s usually a small learning curve and you still have to get everyone else on board. But moving to an easier and more secure way to do things benefits you, your team, and your clients. You don’t have to worry that a note will get lost or someone will forget to deliver a message. Urgent requests won’t get left under a pile of papers or on the bottom of a clipboard.
An updated maintenance request process ensures that your customers can reach you and your team. It ensures requests don’t get lost or forgotten. In short, you can reduce your stress, offer better customer service, and bill appropriately all by updating your process.
Make your work flow easier then ever. Let’s start the conversation! Reach out today for more info.
Why it matters
Communication and organization are the two keys to turning a request into a reality. When a client reaches out to you, they know you’re paying attention when you respond quickly. They appreciate it even more when you fulfill their request in a reasonable amount of time.
But without easy, open lines of communication, they can’t reach you. It’s a process that quickly becomes frustrating and, in many cases, ends with them looking for a more responsive service provider.
The same is true with organization. If your process isn’t organized enough to fulfill client requests, they feel forgotten. From their point of view, it seems like you don’t care about their experience. Even if that’s not true, it feels that way. Imagine scheduling an interview to hire someone and they don’t show up. Or they show up days later. You wouldn’t hire them.
That means communication and organization need to be at the top of your priority list for a maintenance request process. Luckily, there are some easy ways to do that.
2 expert ways to upgrade your janitorial maintenance request process
We live in a digital and online world. Your customers have smartphones and watches. They get texts, emails, direct messages, and documents while they’re on the go. Likewise, they expect to reach out from anywhere to make requests. And they expect that you and your team will be there to answer them.
Here are some ways to handle that expectation, keep your team organized, and improve your overall business communication.
1. Communications app. There are plenty of communication apps on the market, from WhatsApp to Discord. As helpful as those can be, that’s still only a step or two away from the old Post-It note. Ideally, your janitorial software has a built-in communications option like Janitorial Manager’s Client Portal.
The Client Portal offers location-based messaging among your clients and your teams in each facility (or multiple facilities if applicable). Your clients don’t have to go through a confusing maintenance request process. They can simply open the app and submit supply requests, work orders, and more. They can also track the status of these requests, making communication easier and better than ever.
2. QR codes: QR codes are good for so much more than restaurant menus and advertising. Take, for example, Scan4Clean from Janitorial Manager. Scan4Clean improves communication between your team and your clients in ways that were previously challenging, at best. With a QR code in each area of a facility, your team and your clients can simply scan the code and find out what work has been completed, and who completed it, and read or leave comments on the work.
In addition, your clients can use QR codes to request services. They no longer need to track down someone on your team or pick up the phone to call you. Scan the code, add the request, and they’re done.
For more complicated requests, your clients can also upload photos, making communication even easier. And because your team scans in and out of an area, you can have a detailed record of how much time they spend on these requests. That makes it easier to budget and invoice, which is always a nice benefit.
Making the process easier is a benefit to you and your clients. They’ll be happy they can reach you more easily, and you’ll be happy they stick with you for the long term.
Make your customer communications more organized and efficient. Schedule a free call with Janitorial Manager to learn how mobile-friendly janitorial software can help you streamline your maintenance request process.