Soft Skills: A Core Part of Your Appliance Repair Training

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Fred's Appliance Academy
January 10, 2017
General

Without a doubt, the center of any successful appliance repair training has to be technical. If you don’t know how to fix various brands of appliances, from dishwashers to refrigerators, you will not last long in a competitive industry in which countless local repair companies vie for business.

At the same time, don’t underestimate the parts of your appliance repair training that go beyond its technical aspects. In fact, we’d argue that soft skills can make the difference in establishing a successful business or becoming just one of many names in the phone book under appliance repair. Here’s why any successful appliance repair training should include these soft skills.

The Importance of Marketing

No business sells itself. No matter how much of an expert you are in repairing household appliances, you won’t succeed in the long run if potential customers don’t know you’re out there.

To succeed in appliance repair, you have to know how to distinguish yourself from your competition. Do you offer faster service?  Or more personal follow-ups?  Then, communicate that core benefit through effective marketing. Know what channels to place your ads and messages in, and how to approach potential customers that might need your services.

Customer Interactions During a Repair Call

Let’s say that through effective marketing, you have gained a few initial customers that need you to evaluate and repair their dishwasher or microwave. You get called in for service, hoping to fix the issue once and for all.

What do you think makes a successful visit? Undoubtedly, fixing the problem is at the top of the list. But perhaps just as important is knowing how to interact with your customers to ensure a positive experience for everyone involved.

It may require patience in explaining and answering questions about exactly what’s wrong. It may also include understanding if your clients are upset that you can’t fix an issue right away or have to order a part. The key, in any scenario, is to be friendly and professional in any conversations and interactions you have with your clients.

Post-Repair Customer Service

Finally, don’t underestimate the importance of customer service after the call. No matter how well you fix an issue, it may break again – and you may receive complaints, either directly or indirectly through one of the countless review websites available online.

How you react to these reviews and reactions determines your long-term success. If you acknowledge the issue, and even offer help in fixing it, you not only quell a potential problem but also potentially gain a loyal long-term customer. On the other hand, if you ignore it or even respond negatively, you risk magnifying the issue over time.

Happy customers will not hesitate to recommend you to their friends in person and online. Unhappy customers, of course, have the same desire to share their negative experience, at your business’s detriment. Considering the fact that 88% of consumers trust online reviews by strangers as much as personal recommendations from their friends, successful and positive customer service is actually crucial to succeed in appliance repair.

Finding the Right Appliance Repair Training For You

Given the above scenarios, it’s clear that any successful appliance repair training should either directly or indirectly emphasize these soft skills. You cannot enter the industry only prepared in technical knowledge that doesn’t account for marketing and customer interactions.

Fortunately, finding this type of training is far from impossible.  We offer hands-on appliance repair training along with marketing services.  To learn more about our Academy and Marketing and the courses available for you, contact us.

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