Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many businesses now do most of their business online. This trend is likely here to stay, although there are many industries and types of businesses where doing business online is just not possible. A lot of companies that do field service are among the types of companies that have in-person requirements. These include everything from plumbers, to electricians, to roofers and general contractors. With more and more businesses moving their operations remotely though, it is harder for businesses that also have that in-person component. However, for those businesses, it is more important than ever to use software to help to improve their operations, as client’s expect a level of communication necessary to show up to jobs in a timely manner or give a heads up if they are not able to.
A great software option that can help with this is service dispatch software. This software can help service companies improve their operations in a number of ways. For one, the software opens up increased communication options with dispatchers, including automated email and text notifications, as well as instant messaging. It also has an integrated maps feature that helps contractors in getting to a job site without getting turned around.
Where service dispatch software really shines is in scheduling. Scheduling is a big pitfall for many service companies, with many contractors showing up late to job sites or sometimes not even at all. Using automated and dynamic scheduling, service businesses can let their clients know if a contract is going to show up when they have originally been scheduled to do so. This is a notorious problem across the industry, and it is a common perception that contractors always show up late. To remedy this, you can use the power of service dispatch software to send a client email or text alerts if a contractor is running late. You can even integrate the software with a digital calendar app such as Google Calendar so that you can schedule work orders far in advance.
Service businesses can also use service dispatch software to correspond with their contractors. This can help a lot to make scheduling changes on the fly, and can include using the instant messaging feature. Using instant messaging, dispatchers can assign contractors to work orders as they come up, and can talk to them about what they can or cannot realistically do while in the field. This can all be based on real-time, both in terms of what stage a contractor is in a particular job, to their location relative to the next job site, which can be determined via GPS. This can not only help to cut down on travel time for the contractor, but it can also help service companies to better anticipated their schedules to better give both clients and contractors a heads up about any changes.
Ultimately, service dispatch software can help service businesses become more agile in their responsiveness to what happens at particular job sites. While service businesses cannot be entirely remote, it allows the dispatching and scheduling process to be done remotely, which increases efficiency and allows for service businesses to take a more top-down approach to this operations. This, in turn, is very helpful for service businesses who want to focus more on completing work orders in a timely manner to the satisfaction of their clients.