Communication Solutions

Commercial Solutions

Client: Fast-teks

Industry: Business/Personal Services Franchise

Solution: Commercial Answering Services

CHALLENGE: One-call Sales Conversions

Computer repair franchisees do the kind of work that demands responsiveness, first and foremost. Today, customers don’t consider their computers high-tech toys anymore – they’re necessities. When their computer has a virus or they can’t access the Internet, customers want their problem solved, immediately, without feeling like they’ve been transferred to someone on the other side of the world who doesn’t care.

These customers are in a buying mode when they call. If they call a repair professional and don’t hear a human voice, they’ll find someone else who can solve their problem. That’s the business environment in which Fast-teks franchisees operate. “People are looking for responsiveness and our customers use their wallets to make things easier,” says Wende Burdick, senior franchise support specialist for Fast-teks. “If you’ve got someone competent and confident who leads the call, the customer feel like the technician will be competent, too.”

In early 2012, Fast-teks was looking for a way to handle incoming residential calls for its technician franchisees and set timely appointments for customers – at a reasonable price. The franchise has its own call center but needs to use its manpower to make calls and solicit new commercial business.

SOLUTION: Answering Service

Having made the decision to outsource, Fast-teks needed a communications partner. Appletree Answers, a Stericycle Communication Solutions company, offered several valuable benefits that separated it from the pack of communication services providers, according to Burdick:

• Full staffing during business hours, resulting in few or no calls placed on hold or routed to voicemail

• Live coverage 24/7 outside of normal business hours and on weekends and even holidays

• Typical call resolution by one customer experience expert; callers are not transferred outside of escalation procedures used when necessary

• Stericycle Communication Solutions’ ability to schedule appointments and add notes directly into Fast-teks’ Dashboard customer relationship management system that serves as the “eyes and ears” of franchises for both franchisees and Fast-teks corporate

• “Soft sales” expertise yielding a close rate of 70 percent

CASE STUDY: ANSWERING SERVICES

Stericycle Communication Solutions’ ability

to schedule appointments and add notes

directly into Fast-teks’ Dashboard customer

relationship management system serves as

the “eyes and ears” of franchises, for both

franchisees and Fast-teks corporate.

• Quality assurance: every call is recorded and random screen shots are recorded for each call

• Availability of detailed call reports that include data such as call detail and call volume comparisons that allow analyses of service effectiveness

• More than reasonable pricing starting at $75 a month, allowing franchisees to gain exponential return on investment with only one appointment

• The ability of Fast-teks corporate to help its franchisees focus on technical tasks, yet provide better customer service at no incremental cost to Fast-teks corporate

During the vetting process, Burdick came away impressed with the empathy and confidence of Stericycle Communication Solutions’ customer experience experts. “Nobody can make a buying decision when their mind isn’t at ease,” she says. “That’s important – getting them to relax and set up an appointment.” She notes that the voice on the other end of the line makes a first impression that stays with the customer, who makes no distinction between the voice on the other end of the line and the technician in the overall experience. Stericycle Communication Solutions promised to serve as a seamless extension of the Fast-teks franchise.

Another major benefit was the fact that franchisees would not need to use a new information system or make any technological adjustments to check their appointment schedules and technician availability – Stericycle Communication Solutions seamlessly integrated its systems with Dashboard. “The technicians and franchisees did not need to make any changes in managing their operations – for us this was essential,” Burdick says.

RESULTS: Partnership Improves Call Handling

Since the partnership began in early 2013, Stericycle Communication Solutions has worked closely with Fast-teks to continuously improve performance. After a series of meetings

between Fast-teks and Stericycle Communication Solutions, a customized script was finalized and experts in the Cincinnati call center were intensively educated on how to set and customize appointments for Fast-teks franchisees.

Franchisees can listen to the call recordings and assess the experts’ performance for themselves. Burdick is aware that “No News is Good News” in franchising and she has not heard many complaints about the service since the scripts were finalized. “Typically, if things are going well and everybody’s happy, I don’t hear anything,” she says. “It’s not just us – I hear that from all kinds of people in franchising. I haven’t heard any criticism of the scripting and since I haven’t heard a thing about billing, I can guarantee that franchisees are happy with that, too.”

“I can’t emphasize enough how beneficial it has been for me to work with Stericycle Communication Solutions as a team,” Burdick adds. “It’s like having you guys right down the hall. Because everyone has been so responsive, we’ve been able to provide a great experience for callers.”

Dan Schroeder, a Rochester Hills, MI-based Fast-teks franchisee since 2007 who serves north Oakland and north Macomb counties near Detroit, recognizes the value of a live, empathetic voice handling every incoming call. “The nature of our business, whether it’s residential or commercial, is that when a customer has a broken computer, they want it fixed ASAP,” Schroeder says. “Customers like the fact that we can come into their home, fix the problem and go away, as opposed to the customer’s having to unplug it, take the tower into a shop and then be without it for a week,” in contrast to a drop-off or remote repair service.

Schroeder says the quality of the service that callers previously received from the Fast-teks call center was very good, the only difference being a transition to an answering service later in the evening. The 24/7 live voice coverage really aids residential customers, who are the ones typically calling during overnight hours with urgent computer issues.

“I can’t emphasize enough

how beneficial it has

been for me to work with

Stericycle Communication

Solutions as a team. It’s

like having you guys right

down the hall. Because

everyone has been so

responsive, we’ve been

able to provide a great

experience for callers.”

- Wende Burdick, Senior franchise support specialist

In a typical month, Fast-teks franchisee Dan Schroeder, Rochester Hills, MI, enjoys a return of 19 times the fee he pays for Stericycle Communication Solutions customer experience experts to take incoming calls from residential customers and set service appointments.

A Return of 19 Times the Investment

Cost of $500 Return of $9,500

Even though he is paying more for Stericycle Communication Solutions’ service compared with that provided by the Fast-teks call center, the investment is more than worth the additional return, Schroeder says. His business has a 500-minute plan with a base fee of $375; due to his large customer base, the call volume often exceeds 500 minutes in a given month. Since early 2013, his monthly fee has averaged about $500.

However, Stericycle Communication Solutions customer experience experts set an average of about 80 residential appointments in a given month at fees averaging $125. The return on his investment in Stericycle Communication Solutions’ services is $9,500 in a typical month – a return of 19 times the investment.

“It’s comforting to me to know that the calls are being handled professionally and promptly,” Schroeder concludes. “When a customer calls, it’s a hot lead; they’re ready to book. It’s just a matter of somebody converting them and letting customers know that we can handle the problem and getting the appointment booked. Timing is everything in this business; they will move onto the next company and if that person doesn’t answer their phone, they’ll go onto the next one. So I’m happy that we’re the company that the phone is answered when they call and it’s answered professionally and they’re able to get an appointment booked – in most cases, the same day.”

Schroeder knows that the service his customers receive is exceptional. “Three times in the past week, my customers have told me, ‘Make sure you tell the person who took my call that they did an outstanding job; they were very professional,’” he says. “These are repeat customers, too.”

For more information, visit

StericycleCommunications.com

or call 866-783-9820.

STC_COMSOLTEKS_0514Copyright © 2014 Stericycle, Inc. All rights reserved.

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