A seamless and frictionless customer experience is what every field service management aims to deliver. Customer satisfaction is also the marker that can set one field service business apart from another. But to remain attractive to customers, field service companies need to keep service costs down while maximizing productivity. Both of these goals are critical to a field service management's success, but achieving them is a tough challenge with frequent unplanned downtimes.
Unplanned downtime for critical equipment causes friction in customer experience and wastes precious service time. Additionally, it can lead to increased company expenses by causing unnecessary service appointments. Modern field service companies are able to avoid unplanned downtime with advanced field service management solutions, which can ensure seamless customer service and can maximize productivity.
Find out how field management software can reduce downtime and improve your business's efficiency.
The term "downtime" refers to any period when a system is not in use or is unavailable for use. When this lapse in operations is because of an unplanned error or glitch, it is referred to as unscheduled or unplanned downtime.
Both scheduled and unscheduled downtimes may be caused by numerous reasons.
Generally speaking, it is normal for machines to need maintenance from time to time. So, there will invariably be some downtime for upgrades and repairs. This is less bothersome for customers because this is a type of scheduled downtime. And for scheduled downtime, customers and users can be notified well in advance which mitigates its impact.
However, when disruption is caused at an unplanned and inconvenient time, you refer to it as unscheduled downtime. Unscheduled downtime can happen at any moment and without warning. You may experience it during peak periods. Unplanned events can be caused by hardware failures, software upgrades that fail, or some other machinery glitch. They are a huge setback in the world of field service management and need urgent attention.
Your customers need to be able to rely on your services. Although 100% uptime may not always be possible, it is something you should strive for. Clients will end their association with your company if they are unable to access your services at the time they need them the most.
If your customers experience high levels of downtime, it will surely affect your relationship with them. Besides, negative reviews and bad word of mouth will ruin your reputation too—in such a way that you might fail to attract new clients and grow your business.
With frequent downtimes, the chances of losing customers, and in turn, revenues, increase significantly. Loss of revenue can be both short-term and long-lasting. With lost clients and revenues, your company might lose the capability to regain its foothold in the market.
Unscheduled downtime at a time of growing interconnectedness means an adversely affected supply chain. Any setback that your company receives can put all the supply chain members including people, other resources, and organizations in equally difficult spots.
Nothing can irk your customers more than unplanned downtimes. When your customers' critical systems and devices go out of order, you don’t know what’s at stake. Frustrated customers often vent out their anger on the service staff. This leads to lower employee morale and disengagement with the company they are associated with. In case this becomes a regular occurrence in your company, then employee dissatisfaction is bound to happen.
Field service software gives you access to vital data. These data insights allow you to predict the future performance of customer appliances and equipment and keep track of their maintenance schedules, allowing you to take a proactive rather than a reactive maintenance approach.
With an ingrained Internet of Things capability, this software enables your custom hardware to be connected to your field service software. You can get your data straight from the source and track performance in real-time. This will help you identify and fix potential problems before they cause downtime.
Modern businesses require remote capabilities. Your teams can perform more efficiently by keeping track of all their projects’ details via their mobile field service apps having real-time integration with central desktop software. This prevents any service delays.
To eliminate setbacks from their operations, a lot of businesses also integrate their field service software with other solutions (such as ERP or CRM). Secure data transmission between solutions in real-time significantly reduces the risk of downtime.
Although doing a little planning with regards to maintenance can save many from unplanned downtimes, it is often overlooked. Why? Because it is difficult to worry about problems that aren't yet apparent. We often forget to schedule an appointment for the dentist or plan an oil change for the same reason, even though we know problems are imminent with such behavior.
Appliances and equipment cause downtimes because it’s the owners that are responsible for ensuring their timely maintenance. Tracking the maintenance schedule and monitoring for red flags can be all the more overwhelming for owners.
This is where the field service management system comes into play. It facilitates preventive maintenance which takes the responsibility of maintenance off the owners’ shoulders. As a result, their devices don't act up when they are needed the most. With field service management software, it's now possible for field service businesses to not just attract customers but also retain them.
