Thursday, July 2, 2015

A Reluctant Decision

     Scheduling work orders has always been one of our greatest challenges.  We're making constant decisions between where work orders take us and when we can be in the area.  Our in shop scheduling should be easier, but after the past few years We've learned that scheduling in shop work has its own unique problems.  The biggest problem has been the rise of the no-show.

     To understand no shows you first need to know how we schedule in shop service.  We are a single bay shop so we do one install at a time.  We try to do our best to devote our in shop technician to one install at a time to provide quality service.  We don't  overbook since that would diminish our service.  In addition to setting up the time we have to procure all necessary parts ahead of time.

     No-shows are potential customers who have reserved a time slot for service and then never show, never call to reschedule, and never answer their phone again.  It's infuriating to turn away other customers because our capacity is full only to find ourselves twiddling our thumbs when someone doesn't show for their appointment.

     After much brainstorming and deliberation we decided that the best option would be to put a credit or debit card on file.  If a customers cancels without twenty four hour notice or does not show we will charge the card on file a $25 fee.  If we get twenty four hours or more notice of rescheduling or cancellation then there will be no charge.  I'd like to let you know that all numbers are deleted and no card information is kept on file.

     Efficiency can effect pricing and we have found ourselves at a crossroads.  Either prices would have to go up or we we'd have to find a way to work more efficiently.  I'm glad to say that after implementing this strategy our shop is now running much more efficient and we can keep prices where they are.  Thank you for your understanding and support.


   

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