Field Service Survey: U.S. Customers Concerned With Having The Right Parts, Canadians, With Communication

By Cheryl Knight, contributing writer

Americans and Canadians, while sharing the same continent, hold different opinions on what constitutes good customer service from a field service company. According to a Moneris Solutions Corporation survey, 80 percent of Americans respond they have received outstanding service from SMB field service companies, while 69 percent of Canadians respond the same way.

What Makes A Good Customer Experience?

Both Americans and Canadians agree as they rank the top two factors that result in a negative customer experience: paying more than initially asked to and waiting longer than anticipated for a service person to arrive constitutes a bad experience. It was the third factor in the list that differs between countries: Americans report the technician not having the right parts and having to return for another visit results in a negative experience. Canadians, however, have a greater concern toward companies providing more consistent communications.  

“The Moneris study sheds light on the psychology of consumer interactions with small and mid-sized field service providers. Canadians are less happy with the services and more concerned with inconsistent communication than Americans … It’s clear the intangibles of service define the customer field service experience and the pain points that could be avoided if service providers were better able to communicate about what is going to happen and when,” according to Angela Brown, CEO of Moneris.

Consumers in both countries agree quality of work, a positive attitude from the service provider and good value for the price are components of a good customer experience.

It’s Not All Bad

While the survey highlights some of the bad experiences had by those living on both sides of the border, it was not all doom and gloom. American and Canadian consumers, for the most part, had outstanding service from SMBs in both countries. The survey was conducted by polling 2004 respondents within the U.S. and Canada.

Making It Even Better

Workforce management solutions can help your customers toward their goal of providing the best customer experience. An article for Field Technologies Online by Deb Geiger of Astea International cites a report by the Aberdeen Group, titled “Field Service 2014: Access to the Right Information Empowers a Results-Driven Workforce,” which points out technology is key to accessing information on demand, “resulting in more efficient and productive field service resolutions for customers.”

Geiger also states: “The ability for a service organization to have visibility to resources and assets within the field, including real-time dashboards and performance management technology is integral to ensuring that when something breaks, it can be reached and fixed efficiently.”