4 Ways to Make Hot Tub Maintenance Easier for Service Professionals
Hot tub owners continue to spend more time at home and use their hot tubs more frequently, resulting in busier service professionals hustling to keep those hot tubs clean and in working order. In order to maximize the profitability that comes from this opportunity, service techs must be able to efficiently maintain their hot tub service contracts. To do this, they must also be able to execute water testing and reporting in the field while they sell chemicals on-site. Providing a high level of customer service in both places can be easy if techs take advantage of the many new mobile software solutions now available to improve their hot tub maintenance programs and online sales. Here are four ways to make hot tub maintenance easier.
Solution 1: Contract Maintenance & Revolving Service
RB Retail software has a unique component of its software program designed specifically to help spa and hot tub service professionals manage their service contracts for additional profitability. This component saves service professionals hours of valuable time by allowing them to set up tasks just one time only.
The program creates service orders and schedules tasks for the duration of the maintenance contract, eliminating the need to create a service order for each weekly, bi-weekly or monthly visit. You can also run a report to show when contracts are expiring so you can quickly renew. Save time by mass invoicing weekly, bi-weekly or monthly by highlighting multiple invoices to quickly print or email hundreds of invoices simultaneously. The system even allows service professionals to determine the profitability of a job by displaying revenue earned to date, percentage complete, total completed tasks, balance due and overdue balance.
Additionally, RB Retail and Service Solutions has a Revolving Service feature that provides hot tub maintenance service techs the flexibility and options for managing service contracts. Revolving service allows users to schedule a customer’s preferred service person, day of the week, frequency, location, type and time of service.
In fact, hot tub service techs can create multiple types of revolving services for each customer, such as weekly or monthly spa cleanings. Services can be weekly, multiple days per week, monthly or annually. When you create your contract service plans for a customer the software will automatically:
- Place all appointments on the schedule
- Create all necessary sales orders or accounts receivable invoices
- Create all necessary in-field service forms and checklists
- Inform techs and managers of any schedule conflicts
This software feature also allows techs to bypass the schedule if the calls are routine.
Solution 2: Water Testing Interface
One of the most powerful tools now available to service professionals is the ability to use their mobile devices to interface with their water testing devices. Through this tool, water test results are saved directly into the customer’s account in your business software, allowing in-field staff to instantly access all customer information, previous readings, and hot tub equipment profiles.
For example, RB Retail & Service has a Water Lab Sync component to its software. Service techs can use it in the field by simply using a Bluetooth connection to their mobile device to record water test results. Programs such as Alex by BioGuard or LaMotte SpinTouch also interface to RB and these software components are accessible through RB and allow linking to their water lab customer database.
With the click of a button on a mobile device, service techs can see a customer’s previous water test results along with their purchase history. This information allows techs to have all the information at their fingertips to quickly help your customer and provide superior service. After completing the hot tub water analysis, simply go to the customer’s shopping cart to easily add items to the shopping cart to the sale. You can even up-sell larger sizes or cases through the shopping cart for contactless transactions. The customer can then pay online, or you can even take payments in the field with a credit card.
Solution #3: Selling Chemicals in the Field
Service professionals can increase their profits by selling chemicals in the field. The ability to email or text customers with chemical reading results and recommendations gives service techs an opportunity to sell chemicals while they are on-site at the customer’s home providing hot tub maintenance. A mobile software solution that allows techs to take payment in the field makes it even easier to immediately leave products during the service call.
With that ability, service techs will never have to chase customers for payment. Take credit card payments instantly while on the job and watch cash flow quickly improve! To ensure you get paid, use a magnetic stripe reader on your smartphone or tablet and take credit card payments at the job site, or give your customers the convenience of securely paying their bills online with a credit card using the RB Online Bill Pay feature.
Solution #4: Mobile Service
Mobile technology has had a profound effect on a pool service company’s ability to fluidly adapt to their clients’ needs and expectations by giving them instant access to customer contact info, equipment and purchase history, and much more. In a world that is becoming increasingly more data-oriented, consumers have the expectation that companies, regardless of size, are able to access their records more quickly, and communicate even faster. Service technicians can go mobile with RB Pool and Spa Software and RB Service Pro mobile live service software so they have what they need to operate more efficiently than ever! It is easy to use in the field and is a big time saver back at the office.
The RB mobile service app allows techs to view all scheduled jobs along with a customer’s hot tub maintenance information, including equipment profile, job notes, and pictures on record. With RB Mobile Live, techs have immediate access to all updates done at the office, and the office is instantly updated with in-the-field service work.
Using Mobile Live eliminates service forms and allows techs to record spa water test results. If there are any visible water problems, the test readings are automatically recorded as a matter of permanent record in the RB customer module. RB Mobile Live will even calculate recommended chemical dosages. Techs can then add job notes and select from an easy to use customized “checklist” to record the service work performed. Finally, they are able to add any parts and chemicals used directly to the “sales order” through their mobile device.
Service techs will also never miss ordering a part needed for a customer. Technicians can place their parts orders on the “wish list” from the job site and they will immediately be in RB Pool and Spa Software for the purchasing agent. To take customer service to the next level, service techs can email customers a virtual door hanger to let them know they were there and the work that was performed.
Mobile service apps help pool service companies provide this high level of service by ensuring techs can instantaneously send detailed information back to the office and directly into the customer’s service order; this includes information such as job status, job materials, chemical readings (before and after), time spent, and any special notes for the customer.
With the number of new hot tub owners on the rise, the demand for service will be more important than ever in 2021. Now is the time for service companies to invest in the latest mobile software technology to not only make the most of their service routes, but also to capitalize on the opportunity to grow the business.
Service professionals have everything to gain by using mobile technology to improve business operations and provide superior hot tub maintenance. This season, look to incorporate business software including powerful mobile components that make service techs as efficient as possible.
