In the plumbing industry, providing exceptional customer service is not a nice to have — it’s a must to attract prospects, stand out from competitors, and retain customers.
Customers increasingly seek reliability, transparency, and strong customer service when evaluating plumbing services. There are many ways that your company can meet these expectations, from offering accurate pricing and estimates upfront to leveraging tools to deliver seamless customer experiences.
Below we’ll delve into the strategies, tips, and insights that can elevate your plumbing business’s customer service to help you build customer trust, foster loyalty with your clients, and accelerate growth.
How To Have the Best Customer Service in The Plumbing Industry
Below are 15 tips for creating and managing an unparalleled customer service program as a plumbing company, along with explanations of how each alleviates pain points within the industry.
1. Provide 24/7 Emergency Service
Plumbing emergencies can cause potential damage and stress. Since these emergencies can occur at any time and not just during regular business hours, offering 24/7 emergency service assures customers that help will be available whenever they need it. This is an excellent way to demonstrate your commitment to customer convenience and accessibility, which can enhance their satisfaction and loyalty.
2. Offer Upfront Pricing and Estimates
Hidden costs can lead to customer frustration, anxiety, misunderstandings, and even disputes regarding cost. Providing accurate pricing and estimates upfront allows customers to make informed decisions when evaluating vendors and to budget and plan accordingly. This reduces surprises or anxiety about potential hidden fees and helps to foster a positive relationship with customers from their very first touchpoint with your company.
Upfront pricing and estimates can also set your company apart from competitors. Customers are more likely to choose a plumbing service that provides clear and honest pricing over those that have unclear or hidden costs.
3. Provide Appointment Scheduling and Reminders
Scheduling and keeping track of appointments can be inconvenient and difficult for customers who need plumbing services. Providing easy scheduling options and sending reminders can help customers plan their day and avoid disruptions or missed appointments.
4. Quickly Respond to Customer Inquiries
Delayed responses can be frustrating for customers, especially if they’re dealing with a plumbing emergency. Ensuring quick response times to their inquiries, whether through phone calls, emails, or online platforms, demonstrates commitment to your customers.
Using a tool like Podium Webchat can significantly improve the speed and quality of your communications with customers. Webchat immediately takes the conversation to text so customers can stay connected on their terms, while you continue to manage conversations from the same inbox as everything else.
5. Offer a User-Friendly Online Platform
Using a clunky or unintuitive platform for scheduling, obtaining information, or making payments can be discouraging for first-time customers in particular. User-friendly online platforms make it easy for customers to engage with your plumbing company, enhancing their overall satisfaction.
6. Offer Flexible Payment Options
Customers may have financial constraints that prevent them from getting the service they want or need. Offering flexible payment options, such as credit cards, checks, payments via an app, or even installment plans, helps customers address plumbing issues without significant financial burden.
Tools like Podium Payments make it easy to offer convenient and secure payment options to your customers.
7. Provide Clear Communication and Transparency throughout the Customer Journey
Any lack of communication or transparency around pricing, services, and availability can lead to customer frustration. Communicating service details, costs, and timelines fosters trust, reduces misunderstandings, and enhances customer satisfaction at every touchpoint of the customer experience.
8. Ensure Technicians Are Professional and Well-Trained
Inadequate customer service training can result in incompetent or unprofessional technicians, which can lead to dissatisfaction. Regularly training customer service staff ensures they are equipped to handle various situations, resolving issues promptly and professionally. Well-trained technicians instill confidence in customers, ensuring that plumbing issues are addressed effectively and efficiently.
Ensure your training emphasizes customer service best practices, like knowing and addressing customers by name, remembering past service details, and tailoring communications to their needs. A tool like Podium Inbox can help all your employees provide this type of service by pulling customer conversations from every channel in a single place.
9. Offer a Proactive Maintenance Program
Irregular or lack of maintenance can lead to major plumbing issues. Offering preventive maintenance programs reduces the frequency of emergencies, saving customers money and minimizing disruptions in their day.
Preventive maintenance and regular check-ups not only prevent major issues — they also keep customers engaged with the company on an ongoing basis, increasing the likelihood of repeat business.
10. Provide Quality Assurance and Guarantees
Customers want assurance of quality work when evaluating vendors, including plumbers. Offering guarantees on services and providing quality assurance measures can help build trust, giving customers confidence in the reliability of your plumbing services and strengthening the reputation of your company.
It can also be a strategic move that enhances your company’s credibility, competitiveness, and long-term success in the market.
11. Provide Educational Resources for Customers
Customers’ lack of knowledge and resources can lead to preventable issues, unnecessary service calls, or repeat inquiries. This can make their experience worse and strain your company’s time and resources.
Providing educational resources on plumbing maintenance, common problems, and tips empowers customers to take better care of their plumbing systems, reducing service calls, repeat questions, and frustration. Plumbing companies can do this by creating and managing blogs, newsletters, and/or social media.
12. Follow Up with Customers
The customer experience doesn’t end when the technician leaves a customer’s home. Conducting follow-up calls or emails after service completion ensures customers are satisfied, or that you can address any concerns they still have.
Follow-up calls or emails are also a great way to solicit feedback and show customers that their opinions matter.
13. Send Regular Customer Surveys
Without getting feedback from customers, it’s challenging to improve your customer service. Conducting regular surveys helps identify areas for improvement, allowing your plumbing company to address customer concerns and enhance the customer experience in the future. You may offer incentives, like discounts, to customers who complete a survey to get more responses.
14. Encourage Repeat Business and Referrals
The best customer service programs include loyalty and referral incentives to encourage repeat customers. Consider providing discounts, special promotions, and exclusive perks for repeat customers so they are encouraged to choose your plumbing services again and again.
You may offer other incentives, like free services, to customers who refer friends, family, or colleagues to the plumbing company, creating a positive cycle of referrals.
15. Engage in Community Events or Sponsorships
A plumbing company’s customer service program can go above and beyond by providing services to its local community, not just its customers. Engaging with the local community through sponsorships or community events also creates goodwill, making customers more likely to choose your plumbing company for their needs and giving positive word-of-mouth referrals.
How Podium Can Help Your Plumbing Company Improve the Customer Experience
Built for the service industry, Podium’s all-in-one lead management and communication platform enables your plumbing business to not only generate more leads but also convert them into lifetime clients faster and easier with AI. You can respond to customer inquiries faster, easily generate reviews, call and text clients, receive mobile payments, and more.
