The New Best Practices For Warranty Service Companies

By Todd Stewart, Dispatch Insights

What goes through your mind when something in your home breaks? Do you think, “Great, I’m looking forward to getting this fixed!” Or do you think (in more of a begrudged tone), “Great, now I need to get this fixed….”

Let’s face it, the feeling of excitement and enthusiasm, aren’t emotions associated with warranty service. Here’s why.

For a long time, homeowners have dealt with warranties that offer a less-than-ideal experience, filled with long service windows, no visibility into where the technician is, few communication channels, and no opportunity for immediate customer feedback – unless it’s face-to-face. The lack of these experiences are what drive negative customer experiences and when companies don’t have the right technology, it’s hard to satisfy the customer.

The new homeowner expectations

Homeowner expectations have changed. There is no doubt about that. They expect to be at the center of every experience with full – to almost full – transparency of what is going on. When looking back at history, we can thank one person for this shift in expectations. When Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone to consumers the speed in which information passed from hand to hand dramatically increased. This created a new expectation from customers as these devices became the main connection point between them and business. It was one of the largest shifts of power in the business-consumer relationship.