Post on 09-Aug-2015
Why Ignoring Failed Appointments Destroys Your Bottom Line
Cancellations and unbooked appointments happen. Even if your service staff is using every line in the book, sometimes customers either just don’t book or end up not following up at all.
In the call tracking world, we call those “missed opportunities,” but they don’t have to be missed forever.
There are several different scenarios where a customer might cancel an appointment, or your service team drops the ball:
The customer cancels an existing appointment.
Ask your customer when they would like to reschedule everytime he or she cancels! Never simply accept the situation. Fill that empty time slot with a new customer’s appointment.
Your team fails to ask the customer to come in.
As a service manager, the No. 1 commandment is this: always ask for the appointment! Only 12% of people will say no to an appointment invitation.
Your team should always ask the customer to come in for an appointment (yes, even the calls unrelated to appointments). Never let yourself be the cause of a lost appointment or lead.
The appointment calendar is too full.
Every morning, go through the service calendar and find any available times for the week. Leave some room so appointments get scheduled within a week from each call at the latest.
The customer is a no show.
Unfortunately, sometimes emergencies pop up or customers forget about their appointments. Fix these situations by following up at least the day before they’re scheduled to visit.
Hi Joe, sorry we missed you today! Just wanted to follow up with you to see if we could re-book your appointment. We’d love to help you out whenever and however you need.