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Use an HVAC Maintenance Checklist to Reduce Complaints and Maximize Revenue

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If you are a contractor in the HVAC business, you probably know that there are all kinds of different customers out there.  Some of them are easy to deal with and have no problem putting their trust in you and your employees.  Unfortunately, these are the minority and some customers can be very difficult to deal with.  They ask many questions, never seem to be satisfied with the work or the billing and in some cases can even engage in devious methods in an effort to get out of paying a bill.

One of the best ways to avoid this situation before it happens is to employ an HVAC maintenance checklist that can be used by the employees of your company.  When you ensure that the checklist is reviewed with the customer at the end of a job, you will greatly reduce the number of follow-up calls that you get.  You’ll also find that more of your customers are happy with the work that has been done.

The great thing about using a checklist like this is that it has almost no cost.  It is a simple thing to set up and only needs to be done once.  It costs practically nothing to use and it usually only takes a few minutes with a customer to complete.  If you’re worried about the extra time that it takes employees to go through one with a client, consider how much time it saves you with follow-up calls and visits that can be avoided.

On top of being able to address problems while the employee is still at the customer’s home, there are other benefits to setting up a maintenance checklist.  The questions can help you to keep track of employees and ensure that they are dealing with customers in a professional way.  You can ask questions about the way that they present themselves and whether or not they were careful while doing the work.  Include a question about whether or not they cleaned up properly at the end of a job.

This is also an excellent opportunity to sell other services.  Many companies don’t properly realize the benefits of selling to existing customers and this can be a golden opportunity to sell ongoing service contracts or other products and services that your business can offer.

This is also an opportunity to do some free marketing.  Many businesses will include questions about a referral program that they have where people who are happy with the work can refer friends, relatives or business associates and get some kind of a bonus or rebate.  Happy customers are often the best advocate for the business and can help you to find work that you may never have been able to get using other methods.

Setting up an HVAC maintenance check list is an easy way for you to improve the impression that customers have of your products and services.  You can include a question about how well the employee explained the procedure to the client.  This can indicate whether or not you need to work with your employees to improve their communication skills.  When you ask clients to rate your service, it makes it much easier to make improvements to your business in the future.