# process of a residential service call



## Hmacanada (Jan 16, 2014)

Trying up sell is great and all but when you apply to much pressure, you just lost the customer all together.
Sounds to me like you have a good balance between salesman and serviceman.
I wouldn't stress about the extras,
Your employer will be equally ticked if you lose customers because of these practices.
Not something your taught as a tradesman.


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## chicken steve (Mar 22, 2011)

My opinion is the biz model your employer has should be called _'EC in training'_ tersus.

In fact, whoever sold him on the idea is probably waiting for _your_ call

.........._operators are standing by!_











~C:laughing:S~


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## 99cents (Aug 20, 2012)

Sounds like you work for a franchise or someone who has modeled his business after a franchise.

I have spent a lot of time in the sales end of this biz and firmly believe in upsells and maximizing my opportunities, but I can tell you this: I can't go against my heart. If my heart is telling me it's wrong, then it's wrong.

I use the power of suggestion. I will present options to a customer but, at the end of the day, it's his money, not mine.

You are probably a very good electrician but what you are being asked...erm..._told_ to do is against your conscience. It won't work for you.


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## chicken steve (Mar 22, 2011)

We had a woman come up from 3 hrs south of us to let us into her 2nd home here , because some gas nazi claimed her home would _burn down_ if the lines weren't bonded.

That's an example of upsell i'm finding far too often 

~CS~


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## dielectricunion (Nov 29, 2012)

I am so bad at up selling or scare tactics to sell services that aren't necessary.

Some people are masters at this and it doesn't shock their conscience. It seems like they can tap into this drive for profit/monetary success that trumps the kind of basic jerk reaction telling you that you're being untruthful or whatever.

I'm thankful to be an employee with no part in the business end! Eventually I would like to run my own business, but that's a long time out.


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## Black Dog (Oct 16, 2011)

tersus said:


> I'd like any opinions/experience on how to go about running residential service calls. I work for a company whose main focus is upselling. For example, if I have a customer who needs a burnt back-stabbed receptacle changed out, I've been told to conduct the call in this general order: look at the problem, suggest the need to explore other likely problems in the house based on the initial reason for the call, persuade them to purchase add-ons like surge protection devices, USB charging receptacles, etc.., price-condition the customer by suggesting a cost figure greater than what I will ultimately present them with. After having spent up to a couple hours doing this, present them with options ranging from panel/service upgrade, house rewire (if the house is older than 20-30 years), complete device change out, add-ons...down to the option of just simply replacing the receptacle for which they called in the first place. By this point, I've spent two or three hours at the customer's house, with the understanding that if they don't choose to have me do enough work to cover my 2-3 hours spent on the job already, then I have basically failed. In fact, I should have convinced the customer to agree to a days worth of work or more--to be done that day. Pricing is upfront, and if you deduce it to an hourly rate, it is designed to be three to four times the cost of what other companies would charge. If they tell me that they're interested in the options I've presented them, but want to think about it before committing to it, then the company's view toward me is that I could have done something better in my conduct to convince them to have me do the work right then and there.
> So far, I would say my ability to run calls like this has been poor to fair in my company's mind. However, I do usually go away from each job having the customer happy with me, I get really good reviews--I don't just walk in, fix the problem, and leave. I do try to engage with the customer about their concerns and suggest installations/repairs that they should really consider doing. Problem is, I'm not bringing in near the profits that I'm told I should. I often feel like I'm in a position where it's near impossible to have the customer and the company totally satisfied at the same time. Any thoughts I would greatly appreciate!



What you are doing is leaving a happy client behind and leaving with a paid invoice without generating complaints, I'll bet the other guys who may be selling more are leaving a trail of pissed off clients who feel they've been ripped off, meaning they will never call your company back and they will spread the word that your company sucks and is a ripoff.

So what you should do is continue to sell the way you are doing it and not worry about what the boss says, learn as you go and if the boss fires you, become his competition.:thumbsup:


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## piette (Feb 7, 2008)

Sounds to me like a business model that leaves a trail of pissed off customers behind it. Take each and every customer for every dollar possible on the first trip because they wont call back for a second trip.

Not my way of doing business, thats for sure. One small service call that you upsell for $1000 and never hear from again or years of taking care of a customer and pricing right and in turn having that customer recommend to their friends. Seems to me in the end my way will provide more money and a better nights sleep.


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## Bootss (Dec 30, 2011)

your employer should simply have a checklist for you to do at every job or every service call.

then simply offer package deals,for the repairs


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## macmikeman (Jan 23, 2007)

I smell the scent of Charlie Greer in all this .................... 


There is better ways for your boss to make his company turn good profit than resort to pushing for fixes that are not necessary , or better said not necessary for safety. I'm all for dimmer upgrades, surge protection in areas where surges are a problem, removal of knob and tube or aluminum romex and the like, cause we know that those are mostly beneficial upgrades. Automatic selling of panel changes or rewires just because the house is 30 yrs old is a bullcrap deal however. Having said that however, there is way too much probably good repairs needing to be made left out of most all the service call jobs most go to, simply because they show up to fix a problem called for and close their eyes to other issues not on the ticket. Sad for customer, sad for you.


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## chicken steve (Mar 22, 2011)

Most of my area, i want to say a good 3/4s of it or more, was wired w/o a bona fide electrician. 

I'll classify that as_ 'anywhere within the realm of nec at the time' _. 

Much of it is in violation of basic life safety codes. (NFPA 101)

Public places, rentals , etc.

Now you'd think these would upsell themselves, given the first thing their insurance co. will do after an incident is to use it against the owners

You'd think the state would issue citations, warnings, or whatever bureaucracy moves the issue

My point is, if the powers that be are paper tigers, wtf is going to listen to us?

~CS~


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## aftershockews (Dec 22, 2012)

Wall of text, sorry, skipped reading it. Kinda like Harry's cut and paste. Sorry Harry .


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## Tiger (Jan 3, 2008)

All of the upgrades I sell to clients are items I have upgraded in our own home. When my daughter's family came to live with us for awhile I changed all the accessible outlets to TRs. I installed an 8-alarm interwired smoke/CO system in our trilevel. Not a simple project.

What you describe is a business model which can be very successful in the right territory. It rewards electricians with sales skills. If you are shy like I was when I was young, you may want to consider a different company. 

I am not aggressive with sales but I consider it part of my job to inform the customer of what I see. If they want a quote for it I provide one. If I'm in a sales mood, they get a list with the initial quote but I never spend 2-3 hours.

My experience is that there are patch people and buyers. To spend 3 hours on a patch person would not be an efficient use of my time. To do a patch for a buyer would be a missed opportunity and a disservice to the best type of client you can run into.


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## Tiger (Jan 3, 2008)

piette said:


> Sounds to me like a business model that leaves a trail of pissed off customers behind it. Take each and every customer for every dollar possible on the first trip because they wont call back for a second trip.
> 
> Not my way of doing business, thats for sure. One small service call that you upsell for $1000 and never hear from again or years of taking care of a customer and pricing right and in turn having that customer recommend to their friends. Seems to me in the end my way will provide more money and a better nights sleep.


What you are saying here sounds right but without the high pressure sales tactic I would say that client happiness is proportional to money spent, not inversely proportional.

Those most disattisfied have refused the initial quote or approved very little. Those most satisfied have spent thousands and they approved a lot on the first visit.


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## tersus (Jul 3, 2012)

Tiger said:


> All of the upgrades I sell to clients are items I have upgraded in our own home. When my daughter's family came to live with us for awhile I changed all the accessible outlets to TRs. I installed an 8-alarm interwired smoke/CO system in our trilevel. Not a simple project.
> 
> What you describe is a business model which can be very successful in the right territory. It rewards electricians with sales skills. If you are shy like I was when I was young, you may want to consider a different company.
> 
> ...


You're right about wasting time on the patch people--I could do better at avoiding that. Seems like about 9 out of every 10 calls I do could be put into this category. A home buyer with an inspection report listing all of the problems not taken care of by the seller can usually fall under the buyer category. Success usually is a result of a positive impression of me/the company before I even show up, whether it's my customer reviews they see online, or the professionalism in the way we handle scheduling customers compared to the sloppiness of other companies they may have dealt with in the past--not even showing up when they say they will, etc... If the customer wants a few estimates from different companies then I'm usually toast, especially on service upgrades. It's amazing how many things homeowners think can be patched up, literally, and they'll do it themselves. Soon after it fails. I come along and say, "this needs to be replaced, upgraded..", and they basically say in they're own words, "can't you just patch it up better than I did?"


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## bobelectric (Feb 24, 2007)

Bad outlet, fixit.Check please.


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## Nisat (Aug 5, 2013)

Do not like up selling to my customer something is not need. You business model / process are are nice and money milking machine . It does keep us as one man show definitely busy.


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## Nisat (Aug 5, 2013)

In my area , we have 3 company following the same business model. . They have fair reviews on the internet , I


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## Sparky J (May 17, 2011)

I would like to say thanks to the OP who started this thread and also all who have chimed in keep it up. Me myself I'm in a different but similar crossroads, meaning I'm a good electrician but I need to work on my sales. Like tiger more or less said sometimes it's a necessary evil, but yes I wont sell my soul to get every penny I can (I like sleeping at night). 
I will say that like another said do not be surprised if you continue doing it the right way and your "company" (if you can call them that) lets you go. View it as a learning opportunity and move on, but until then learn the good and bad consider it maybe paid training.


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## xpertpc (Oct 11, 2012)

tersus said:


> I'd like any opinions/experience on how to go about running residential service calls. I work for a company whose main focus is upselling. For example, if I have a customer who needs a burnt back-stabbed receptacle changed out,
> 
> price-condition the customer by suggesting a cost figure greater than what I will ultimately present them with. After having spent up to a couple hours doing this, present them with options ranging from panel/service upgrade, house rewire (if the house is older than 20-30 years),


I don't understand how your company can still be in business, If you pulled that on me I'd walk you out by your ear and call the BBB and any other anti-fraud agency.

This is exactly why the media runs the corrupt contractor series. Readers Digest was good at that.

The other day my son (2000 miles away) called to say his furnace stopped working (Oregon) called the hvac guy who said the board was bad and would cost $995 to fix, plus the transformer may also be bad but could not test until he got a new control board.

The tech then went on about the bad ground and other issues and tried to sell him a whole new system for $2500.

I told my boy that any tech with a sixth grade education and a multimeter could test a xformer inside of 32 seconds.

I also told my boy that since he wanted air conditioning and the fact his system is getting to be 20 years old to get quotes from other companies and to not consider the place who tried to pull a ruse. by the way I got him a new board for $90 and the xfromer was good.


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## dronai (Apr 11, 2011)

xpertpc said:


> I don't understand how your company can still be in business, If you pulled that on me I'd walk you out by your ear and call the BBB and any other anti-fraud agency.


 The BBB is a pay to play company. Goggle the complaints against it. I'm with you on walking the tech out by his ear though :thumbup:


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## sbrn33 (Mar 15, 2007)

tersus said:


> I'd like any opinions/experience on how to go about running residential service calls. I work for a company whose main focus is upselling. For example, if I have a customer who needs a burnt back-stabbed receptacle changed out, I've been told to conduct the call in this general order: look at the problem, suggest the need to explore other likely problems in the house based on the initial reason for the call, persuade them to purchase add-ons like surge protection devices, USB charging receptacles, etc.., price-condition the customer by suggesting a cost figure greater than what I will ultimately present them with. After having spent up to a couple hours doing this, present them with options ranging from panel/service upgrade, house rewire (if the house is older than 20-30 years), complete device change out, add-ons...down to the option of just simply replacing the receptacle for which they called in the first place. By this point, I've spent two or three hours at the customer's house, with the understanding that if they don't choose to have me do enough work to cover my 2-3 hours spent on the job already, then I have basically failed. In fact, I should have convinced the customer to agree to a days worth of work or more--to be done that day. Pricing is upfront, and if you deduce it to an hourly rate, it is designed to be three to four times the cost of what other companies would charge. If they tell me that they're interested in the options I've presented them, but want to think about it before committing to it, then the company's view toward me is that I could have done something better in my conduct to convince them to have me do the work right then and there.
> So far, I would say my ability to run calls like this has been poor to fair in my company's mind. However, I do usually go away from each job having the customer happy with me, I get really good reviews--I don't just walk in, fix the problem, and leave. I do try to engage with the customer about their concerns and suggest installations/repairs that they should really consider doing. Problem is, I'm not bringing in near the profits that I'm told I should. I often feel like I'm in a position where it's near impossible to have the customer and the company totally satisfied at the same time. Any thoughts I would greatly appreciate!



Flat rate can put a "tech" in some bad situations. It can also let that "tech" make a ton of money. It is all about how you embrace it.


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## xpertpc (Oct 11, 2012)

dronai said:


> The BBB is a pay to play company. Goggle the complaints against it. I'm with you on walking the tech out by his ear though :thumbup:


I think it was around 1985 when I opened up for business, it cost me over $300 for the BBB placard for my window, I know they are crap but spout off anyways.


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## Midnitel (Feb 21, 2009)

tersus said:


> I'd like any opinions/experience on how to go about running residential service calls. I work for a company whose main focus is upselling. For example, if I have a customer who needs a burnt back-stabbed receptacle changed out, I've been told to conduct the call in this general order: look at the problem, suggest the need to explore other likely problems in the house based on the initial reason for the call, persuade them to purchase add-ons like surge protection devices, USB charging receptacles, etc.., price-condition the customer by suggesting a cost figure greater than what I will ultimately present them with. After having spent up to a couple hours doing this, present them with options ranging from panel/service upgrade, house rewire (if the house is older than 20-30 years), complete device change out, add-ons...down to the option of just simply replacing the receptacle for which they called in the first place. By this point, I've spent two or three hours at the customer's house, with the understanding that if they don't choose to have me do enough work to cover my 2-3 hours spent on the job already, then I have basically failed. In fact, I should have convinced the customer to agree to a days worth of work or more--to be done that day. Pricing is upfront, and if you deduce it to an hourly rate, it is designed to be three to four times the cost of what other companies would charge. If they tell me that they're interested in the options I've presented them, but want to think about it before committing to it, then the company's view toward me is that I could have done something better in my conduct to convince them to have me do the work right then and there.
> So far, I would say my ability to run calls like this has been poor to fair in my company's mind. However, I do usually go away from each job having the customer happy with me, I get really good reviews--I don't just walk in, fix the problem, and leave. I do try to engage with the customer about their concerns and suggest installations/repairs that they should really consider doing. Problem is, I'm not bringing in near the profits that I'm told I should. I often feel like I'm in a position where it's near impossible to have the customer and the company totally satisfied at the same time. Any thoughts I would greatly appreciate!


I work for similar company for last seven years. It's not for everyone. Not every good electrician a good salesman. 2-3 hours spending to close a sale way too long. How much is your revenue and closing rate. My average around $550000 a year , closing about 75%, average ticket $1300.


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## sbrn33 (Mar 15, 2007)

Midnitel said:


> I work for similar company for last seven years. It's not for everyone. Not every good electrician a good salesman. 2-3 hours spending to close a sale way too long. How much is your revenue and closing rate. My average around $550000 a year , closing about 75%, average ticket $1300.


So how much do you make?


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## Midnitel (Feb 21, 2009)

sbrn33 said:


> So how much do you make?


Unfortunately less for last 2 years since they always increase minimum quota.


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## Nisat (Aug 5, 2013)

Xpergt, 

You metioned bad ground on your son heater, can you explain more about grounding in heaterr.. What are the issues the un grounding system might cause.


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## Nisat (Aug 5, 2013)

I had lady called me the other day , requested to check the groundung on her heater , cause the havc told her so, circiut was grounded but i did not understand why such requested was made by the tech.


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## aftershockews (Dec 22, 2012)

Nisat said:


> I had lady called me the other day , requested to check the groundung on her heater , cause the havc told her so, circiut was grounded but i did not understand why such requested was made by the tech.


Because the tech was called out to troubleshoot an issue, could not figure it out and passed the buck.

Cable guys do it all the time.


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## tersus (Jul 3, 2012)

Midnitel said:


> I work for similar company for last seven years. It's not for everyone. Not every good electrician a good salesman. 2-3 hours spending to close a sale way too long. How much is your revenue and closing rate. My average around $550000 a year , closing about 75%, average ticket $1300.


Thanks for posting on this. So how does a typical work week for you break down? on average--how many calls do you complete a week? -how many hours do you work a week? -of the 75% of the calls you close, how many of those customers initially were wanting the work involved? -how many other employees do you work with to handle rescheduling needed from work taking longer than planned/the 25% of the calls that don't close. 
I can understand how spending 2-3 hours 'closing' a sales is way too long, but I can't help but feel that a couple of hours spent from the time I pull up to the curb, build a trust with the customer, if they a have a problem for which they called-look at it, look at other stuff in their house, introduce them to the idea of addressing other issues and the costs involved, convince them to have me address the other issues and pay the costs involved-that day, build a list of price options (not estimates, but upfront prices) for the customer based on their situation knowing I'll be the one doing the work...I don't see how doing all of that in a couple of hours is unreasonable. 
I really can't give you an average annual revenue/closing rate. I've been doing res service work for 15+ years, but with the current company for not even a year yet. I'm the only res tech we have at the moment, and often don't have enough res calls coming in so that on any given week I could be spending some time doing commercial calls, or helping out on the construction sites. 
$550,000 annual revenue for one guy is pretty impressive. That's around $2,200 a day. Figuring an average ticket price of $1,300 I figure you average a couple of calls a day, but that's just an average, I know. I'd be more interested in you median ticket price. 
Again, thanks for the feedback. Just looking for people I can relate with to some degree on this.


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## Switched (Dec 23, 2012)

tersus said:


> Thanks for posting on this. So how does a typical work week for you break down? on average--how many calls do you complete a week? -how many hours do you work a week? -of the 75% of the calls you close, how many of those customers initially were wanting the work involved? -how many other employees do you work with to handle rescheduling needed from work taking longer than planned/the 25% of the calls that don't close.
> I can understand how spending 2-3 hours 'closing' a sales is way too long, but I can't help but feel that a couple of hours spent from the time I pull up to the curb, build a trust with the customer, if they a have a problem for which they called-look at it, look at other stuff in their house, introduce them to the idea of addressing other issues and the costs involved, convince them to have me address the other issues and pay the costs involved-that day, build a list of price options (not estimates, but upfront prices) for the customer based on their situation knowing I'll be the one doing the work...I don't see how doing all of that in a couple of hours is unreasonable.
> I really can't give you an average annual revenue/closing rate. I've been doing res service work for 15+ years, but with the current company for not even a year yet. I'm the only res tech we have at the moment, and often don't have enough res calls coming in so that on any given week I could be spending some time doing commercial calls, or helping out on the construction sites.
> $550,000 annual revenue for one guy is pretty impressive. That's around $2,200 a day. Figuring an average ticket price of $1,300 I figure you average a couple of calls a day, but that's just an average, I know. I'd be more interested in you median ticket price.
> Again, thanks for the feedback. Just looking for people I can relate with to some degree on this.


He would love to reply.....However, he is busy working on some emergency calls!


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## GrayHair (Jan 14, 2013)

I was low voltage and not a good salesman; I made my recommendations based on the customer's best interest while looking to build a long term customer who would spread the word. I may have sowed the seed, but sales driven companies would come in later and get the sale on what I had recommended. 

Will this industry become strictly sales driven? Will craftsmanship and the resulting pride in performance give way to marketing plans of various types?


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## Switched (Dec 23, 2012)

GrayHair said:


> I was low voltage and not a good salesman; I made my recommendations based on the customer's best interest while looking to build a long term customer who would spread the word. I may have sowed the seed, but sales driven companies would come in later and get the sale on what I had recommended.
> 
> Will this industry become strictly sales driven? Will craftsmanship and the resulting pride in performance give way to marketing plans of various types?


Short term yes, long term no.

I think if you look at many of those types of companies long term, they are either out of business or changing their name yet again. I also believe it is possible to do both, make recommendations in the best interest of your clients, without selling them a load of BS. 

If I read through the posts on this site, talk with other long term EC's, I can find the guys who have been able to build successful long lasting businesses with great client bases, most of which was word of mouth. There is a reason for that and I don't believe it is just because they are good mechanics. They have sold a bill of goods that was valuable, not one signed with disappearing ink.


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## Nisat (Aug 5, 2013)

These companies rely on completely on advertisement and pays a lot of money for it. Average ticket of $ 1300 is doable. These company are good for us as small businesses operation in my case I do have about 3 local company following the same business model. They make us look fair and descent and yes I am .


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## Wpgshocker (Jan 25, 2013)

You have to look at it like this, customers are not electricians. They are relying on you to tell them your opinion and suggest solutions. The cheapest solution may not be the right one. You will surprise yourself when you see how much people are happy to pay when they are educated and confident. Small upgrades and changes have huge impact on customer quality of life. Something as small as a few combo usb receptacles can make a huge difference. 

If you feel like you are "selling" then you are doing it wrong. Make suggestions backed by experience and honesty. You will amaze yourself, and come across as a professional.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## chris.b (Jan 28, 2013)

It is your responsibility to inform the customer of all unsafe conditions and give them the option of the repair. It is one thing to sell them something JUST to increase your ticket without the actual need for it, but if it is an option and they want it, sell it.


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## knomore (Mar 21, 2010)

If I goto a customer home to replace a burnt up receptacle I am not going to try to sell them a brand new service. That just sounds like desperation to me. If there is something that absolutely needs attention I'll inform the customer and let them decide.


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## STLelectrician (Jan 2, 2015)

I have done service work for 8 years and in my experience and the way I approach my customers/company this way...company = fast and accurate, ability to assess situation provide accurate safe solution, as you are doing this noticing any other hazards of code issues you can bring up but no call backs and fast accurate service is most company's goal because the mark up on labor and 30-50% mark up on material....customer it's a tricky beast, you must have a good sense of reading people and recognizing wether they want ask this extra work you are throwing at them or do they just want the bare minimum....I usually start by quickly going thru the issue then quickly and accurately fixing the issue...Usually before the given time to complete ask if there is any more issues then if customer says yes then continue fixing their known issues meanwhile you are noticing other issues...after all issues are fixed you can then suggest the other issues that you noticed....the other kind of people you can tell they just want it done, done right and go on with your day....it's all about how to read people's reaction to what your saying and fast accurate service...the extras will come in repeat customers and people requesting you I'm a regular basis


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## chris.b (Jan 28, 2013)

STLelectrician said:


> I have done service work for 8 years and in my experience and the way I approach my customers/company this way...company = fast and accurate, ability to assess situation provide accurate safe solution, as you are doing this noticing any other hazards of code issues you can bring up but no call backs and fast accurate service is most company's goal because the mark up on labor and 30-50% mark up on material....customer it's a tricky beast, you must have a good sense of reading people and recognizing wether they want ask this extra work you are throwing at them or do they just want the bare minimum....I usually start by quickly going thru the issue then quickly and accurately fixing the issue...Usually before the given time to complete ask if there is any more issues then if customer says yes then continue fixing their known issues meanwhile you are noticing other issues...after all issues are fixed you can then suggest the other issues that you noticed....the other kind of people you can tell they just want it done, done right and go on with your day....it's all about how to read people's reaction to what your saying and fast accurate service...the extras will come in repeat customers and people requesting you I'm a regular basis


So, what you are saying is that you "fix the problem" without telling them how much it will be to fix the problem? And then at the end of the call after you tell them how much it will be, you just say "Oh, by the way, I saw this and you may want to have someone look it?" 

Or do you say something like, "I don't know exactly how much this will be, but you are looking at between $100 and $200 to fix, but I promise that I will do it as cheap as I can.

If they ask you what your labor rate is, do you tell them? 

Is this how most of you do this?

Do you include the "the first 30 minutes" in your service call charge? or is there are service call charge and then a diagnostic charge? If there is a diagnostic charge, how do you do it?


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## STLelectrician (Jan 2, 2015)

Ok so our charge is broke down like this and it office explains to them the hourly rate for our service call time at a T&M rate... so we get 90$ to show up and another 90$ for the first hour of service....Usually the reason they call for is fairly simple and I still have time in that hour to address other issues and explain the rate for that first hour it goes into the T&M rate to fix anything else and hopefully you know around how long it will take to do that and explain the extra charges and time it will take to compete


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## pete87 (Oct 22, 2012)

tersus said:


> I'd like any opinions/experience on how to go about running residential service calls. I work for a company whose main focus is upselling. For example, if I have a customer who needs a burnt back-stabbed receptacle changed out, I've been told to conduct the call in this general order: look at the problem, suggest the need to explore other likely problems in the house based on the initial reason for the call, persuade them to purchase add-ons like surge protection devices, USB charging receptacles, etc.., price-condition the customer by suggesting a cost figure greater than what I will ultimately present them with. After having spent up to a couple hours doing this, present them with options ranging from panel/service upgrade, house rewire (if the house is older than 20-30 years), complete device change out, add-ons...down to the option of just simply replacing the receptacle for which they called in the first place. By this point, I've spent two or three hours at the customer's house, with the understanding that if they don't choose to have me do enough work to cover my 2-3 hours spent on the job already, then I have basically failed. In fact, I should have convinced the customer to agree to a days worth of work or more--to be done that day. Pricing is upfront, and if you deduce it to an hourly rate, it is designed to be three to four times the cost of what other companies would charge. If they tell me that they're interested in the options I've presented them, but want to think about it before committing to it, then the company's view toward me is that I could have done something better in my conduct to convince them to have me do the work right then and there.
> So far, I would say my ability to run calls like this has been poor to fair in my company's mind. However, I do usually go away from each job having the customer happy with me, I get really good reviews--I don't just walk in, fix the problem, and leave. I do try to engage with the customer about their concerns and suggest installations/repairs that they should really consider doing. Problem is, I'm not bringing in near the profits that I'm told I should. I often feel like I'm in a position where it's near impossible to have the customer and the company totally satisfied at the same time. Any thoughts I would greatly appreciate!





Stay Away From My House Dude . My Dog Bites .




Pete


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## chicken steve (Mar 22, 2011)

The anatomy of a cold call can be very intricate. Some dwell on the social graces , some right down to biz. But the one item that should be solicited is all the contact information. Folks are all about who, what, where , _when_ they need a service.








The next usual issue is_ how fast_. Most folks picking numbers out of the ph book or google figure we're the maytag repairman playing solitude in the shop.








Once that's established, it's usually costs. This is were one is free to impart a number of methods , or create a foot in the door pitch essentially tabling the issue in lieu of further investigation.








There may also be short hazing where the specter of quality and/or professionalism enters the negotiation. Often this is from sorts who don't really know an outlet from an omlet, as such this is often based on more superficial _vs_ technical elicitations.








Then there may be the actual meet/greet. Note everything that occurs here. There's the curb appeal , the eye contact, the handshake , the light banter, the biscuit for the dog, along with the usual commiseration du jour....








Next would be the _'Johnny on the spot' _assessment, which is akin to having Xray eyes at any given instance. This is the 'cut to the chase' repetitive sequel , where most field personel are vetted , validate the job, as well as forward a possible $$$








Then it's coffee time!

~CS~


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## jsmart84 (Nov 20, 2011)

knomore said:


> If I goto a customer home to replace a burnt up receptacle I am not going to try to sell them a brand new service. That just sounds like desperation to me. If there is something that absolutely needs attention I'll inform the customer and let them decide.


Well that would depend on what kind of panel. I did a troubleshoot yesterday for no power in bath room outlets or lights. They had a FPE panel so I started with checking power on brekErs, turned out to be. A ad backstabbing . I personally think anyone who backstabs is a complete hack. Just my opinion. But anyway going back to FpE panel, I recommend to change it along with the seu riser that had rips in jacket up high. It was a perfect setup for a upsell.


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## Black Dog (Oct 16, 2011)

chicken steve said:


> ~CS~


:sleep1::sleep1::sleep1::sleep1:


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## suffolkmike (Dec 19, 2011)

I have my masters and I work in HVAC, the ground situation with your sons furnace may be legit, some manufacturers on newer systems use the ground for the flame sensor circuit, we've ran into that issue several times.
As to the OP, if you have an issue with a back-stabbed outlet/device what are the odds that other devices in the house are broken for the same reason. Perform the inspection like you will be the last electrician they will ever see. Act like its your mom's house, give them their options based on your expertise. If you offer a great service at a fair price your conscience should be clear. I went back on one call that had a burnt backstab and I was back a week later to fix another one.. her husband ended up replacing 4-5 others that were bad. is your company involved with ESI?


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## emahler (Oct 13, 2011)

Midnitel said:


> Unfortunately less for last 2 years since they always increase minimum quota.


because they have to keep increasing their advertising budget to keep the calls coming in.

there are 3 of you in nexstar in the area...2 of you are advertising like mad..


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## farmantenna (Nov 22, 2012)

when I'm the person requiring services(very very rare)I am very suspicious of anyone suggesting additional work and seldom agree unless I get good answers to my questions. Depending on how aggressive the sale you might be asked to leave or will never see you again. Your sales tactics just leaves most people feeling violated.​ ​ As a an electrician I thankfully have never been told by my employer to upsell. I go in and work very efficiently and effectively as I would want if paying $90/hr. I really don't want to do other work as I don't have time to screw around.​


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## chris.b (Jan 28, 2013)

How many of you are residential/commercial contractors only? No or limited new construction?


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## Zekelec (Jan 12, 2015)

tersus said:


> I'd like any opinions/experience on how to go about running residential service calls. I work for a company whose main focus is upselling. For example, if I have a customer who needs a burnt back-stabbed receptacle changed out, I've been told to conduct the call in this general order: look at the problem, suggest the need to explore other likely problems in the house based on the initial reason for the call, persuade them to purchase add-ons like surge protection devices, USB charging receptacles, etc.., *price-condition the customer by suggesting a cost figure greater than what I will ultimately present them with.* After having spent up to a couple hours doing this, present them with options ranging from panel/service upgrade, house rewire (if the house is older than 20-30 years), complete device change out, add-ons...down to the option of just simply replacing the receptacle for which they called in the first place. By this point, I've spent two or three hours at the customer's house, with the understanding that if they don't choose to have me do enough work to cover my 2-3 hours spent on the job already, then I have basically failed. In fact, I should have convinced the customer to agree to a days worth of work or more--to be done that day. * Pricing is upfront, and if you deduce it to an hourly rate, it is designed to be three to four times the cost of what other companies would charge. *


 Ouch!


tersus said:


> If they tell me that they're interested in the options I've presented them, but want to think about it before committing to it, then the company's view toward me is that I could have done something better in my conduct to convince them to have me do the work right then and there.
> So far, I would say my ability to run calls like this has been poor to fair in my company's mind. However, I do usually go away from each job having the customer happy with me, I get really good reviews--I don't just walk in, fix the problem, and leave. I do try to engage with the customer about their concerns and suggest installations/repairs that they should really consider doing. *Problem is, I'm not bringing in near the profits that I'm told I should. I often feel like I'm in a position where it's near impossible to have the customer and the company totally satisfied at the same time. * Any thoughts I would greatly appreciate!


Well, that last bold is your answer.

I didn't see where anyone asked... so @ *tersus*, are you on commission? If so, and your company is anything like a couple around here, your Yelp reviews are terrible. You're not retaining customers. If not on commission, what are you doing spending 2-3 hours trying to upsell? Don't you have other jobs in the queue?


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## tersus (Jul 3, 2012)

Zekelec said:


> Ouch!
> 
> Well, that last bold is your answer.
> 
> I didn't see where anyone asked... so @ *tersus*, are you on commission? If so, and your company is anything like a couple around here, your Yelp reviews are terrible. You're not retaining customers. If not on commission, what are you doing spending 2-3 hours trying to upsell? Don't you have other jobs in the queue?


Good question--the system I've described is designed so that my weekly wage is dependent on the amount of revenue I bring in each week, regardless of the hours I work. I work for a small company and we rarely have the inflow of residential calls to set the stage for the process, not to mention the nature of the calls--more people tend to be patch people versus buyers (referring to an earlier description of some customers). I have a set wage and am not currently on this pay scheme. However, I do run the system to the best of my ability, but my instincts and experience with customers over the years keeps my from being the pushy salesman--I haven't had anyone try to sic their dog on me yet. I've been told by my management that being put in the 'incentive' pay scheme would force me to kick it up a notch, which can be really frustrating. I've had a handful of weeks in the past 10 months or so where I would make more than I do right now if on the pay scheme, but otherwise I'd make far less than I do currently--a competitive wage. Again, the 2-3 hours I described in my original post is not always the case--has more to do with the time involved in giving the customer an accurate price upfront for a lot of work that they really should have done. I agree though that 2-3 hours trying to upsell while other jobs are in the queue is questionable.


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## nutandvolt (Jan 17, 2015)

I know what I'm about to say will be viewed by some as being hypocritical due to a post I started and within its contents me describing some of the things I am doing for a customer, but regardless I'm going to respond to this because it's something I feel strongly about. I believe there are different types, reasons, and circumstances to "upsell". In my opinion.
I think that upselling for the single purpose to upsell is disgusting. Like police writing tickets friviously to meet quota's.
I realize that company's are in it to make money. I understand this. But I believe there is a big difference in types of upselling. One being upselling because you believe that any changes, installs, and/or upgrades that are being recommended are because you truly believe it's the safest thing that can be done for your customer or that it's something that will really make your customer happy at the end of the day. I believe that is much different than upselling because you have made the decision that before you even have gone into a customers home your going to upsell regardless if they need it or not and your there to find something or fabricate a situation. If I hire someone to do work at my home the very last person on earth I would want is a tech who worked on commission or someone coming into my home determined to sell me on as much work as possible or he's going to get in trouble. That would be a person in my opinion that is the enemy. 
And like I said at first, I'm sure there will be those of you who go and read my other post and will say "well you up sold this and that", but the fact is I get work without the single and only intention to upsell. I try to make customers homes safe and like informing them on all their options. For instance if Arc Faults are involved it's because I believe in them and have seen what can happen without them. Not because I don't think they really may need them and end up telling them they do because I'm there to upsell as much as possible.
In my experience being honest and making the customer informed on all their options usually brings in work from them or my word of mouth from them. And in my opinion that's more gratifying than getting the work from being a shark and having the customer feel like they have been raped.


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## Shockdoc (Mar 4, 2010)

Long island?


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## D&Me (Feb 3, 2015)

Ive done a fair amount of service work and i think my mentality is similar to yours, i would not be comfortable using sales tactics because im not a sales man, im an electrician, 
if i see something that is potentially dangerous ill let them know and give them their options every time but people are generally very nervous about electricity and using that against them to make a buck just makes you untrustworthy and whether they realize it now or when someone tells them they will realize it. our customers deserve respect and if we give it to them they will trust us and call us back every time... hopefully haha.


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