At Tele-Data Solutions, we have spent a lot of time working with NJ Based HVAC companies over the years. We’ve had the privilege of servicing local businesses like Air Group, Jason Oil, Meyer & Depew, and Russo Brothers, among many others in New Jersey. We’ve gotten to know their businesses pretty well from a phone perspective. Based on our experience, we have found the following to be the five biggest phone problems that HVAC companies face:
If you own an HVAC or plumbing service business, you may find that you have experienced one one or more of the following problems:
- Outside field technicians are using cell phones to communicate with customers. It is common for technicians on the road to confirm customer appointments with their cell phones or provide more detail about a job. The issue is that customers are calling field technicians back directly on their cell phones, bypassing the office. This is a problem because then the CRM system can’t get updated, and information gets lost. We have the ability to solve this problem with the use of a mobile application that can be used on smart phones.
- Another issue is that HVAC companies have no ability to use phone software to provide metrics or management information in place to monitor phone activity. During the summer or winter (the busy times of the year) they may get an influx of calls. Is every call routed properly to the correct person? What about if customers leave voice mails? Are these calls getting call backs right away? We find that in HVAC industry, managers are often blind to inbound phone activity. Especially for smaller HVAC companies under 50 employees, this important tool was often ignored and has grown into a problem. Any current VoIP Phone Solution can help provide this information to run your business properly.
- Although HVAC companies spend a lot of money on advertising, most companies don’t have the ability to track if a call back comes as the result of a billboard ad. For example, if a billboard was placed on a major highway, and thousands of dollars were spent, there’s no indication that a phone call from a customer came as a result of that ad. We have the ability to track whether a call came because of an ad. HVAC companies will know if they are getting most for their money. The 3rd party companies usually can provide this information but it is impossible to measure if the main # is used. We recommend using a unique phone # to track advertising ROI.
- HVAC companies often don’t have disaster recovery plan. If the power or internet goes out and the phone systems go down, there is no Plan B. It is problematic to have massive amounts of downtime when phone or internet circuits go down. HVAC companies understand emergencies better than anyone but often don’t have a plan in place for their own business. With newer technology, every business should and can have disaster recovery program in place on the phone and IT side.
- HVAC firms often have struggle managing after-hours calls. Service revenue and customer loyalty is created when there is a problem after hours and the call gets handled quickly and competently. Many HVAC companies transfer all their calls to an answering service. This can cause an unnecessary amount of emergency calls. We believe this process can be streamlined when the phone system that can route true emergency calls to the emergency service. This will save the on-call technician time and headaches managing multiple after-hours calls, especially if the customers that call with nonemergency matters can be handled the next day in a general voicemail system.
With cloud-based and new IP premise-based technology, all of these issues can be resolved. To learn more, e-mail sales@tele-datasolutions.com. We look forward to hearing from you.
By Vincent Finaldi
Vice-President, Tele-Data Solutions
E-mail: vin@tele-datasolutions.com | Direct Line: (908) 378-1218
What brings me satisfaction is meeting with New Jersey–based businesses and genuinely helping them solve communication and business problems. As someone who has lived in New Jersey my entire life, I love working and playing here. I live in Morristown with my wife, Lisa, and root for the New York Giants.
