Software Buddy’s Complete ServiceM8 is a highly managed service that includes everything from call handling to looking after your ServiceM8 job management system including inbox, queues, and scheduling. We do this to massively reduce your admin time so you can get on with completing jobs. If this is something that could really help you and your business, arrange a call with the Software Buddy team to find out more.
(Names have been changed to protect the innocent.😉)
Five mins till the phones for Butler Electrical go live.
All set with my coffee, headphones at the ready. I settle down at my computer, check I’m available on the phone and log into ServiceM8 ready to check the notifications. I jot down the numbers of any jobs that need to be followed up with a call and add tasks to any that need to be clarified.
The first call of the day rings in, it’s a lady called Saskia and she is asking how much it will cost for PAT testing of 50 or so items. No problem, all I need to do is open a new job card in ServiceM8, go to the Quotes and Invoicing tab, and start typing the word PAT. ServiceM8 Smart Suggests is like a magic tool and shows me what I’m looking for in seconds and I tell Saskia the price.
She needs to consider this and is getting quotes from elsewhere, so I say that’s fine, I’ll just email you our quote. I raise the quote, find the right email template – jobs done in under 30 seconds. Click, click, click, click and the quote is in her inbox.
Talking of inboxes, it’s time to sort through mine. All emails that aren’t related to jobs in ServiceM8 are snoozed, a neat little function that gives Dylan (the boss) time to review them before they are deleted. This keeps the inbox organised.
There’s an email from Ellie about her rewire, I attach it to her job, and whoosh a green tick appears in the inbox.😊 That email is now safely stored on the job card for easy reference.
Next up is an email with a PDF work order. One click and I convert this into a job card. ServiceM8 automatically picks up the name and address of the client and all I need to do is add in the description of the work required and the Purchase Order number. A quick call to the site contact and it’s all booked in. Confirmation email sent and job queued.
Matthew, a regular customer needs an EICR at one of his rental properties. There’s a record of all Matthew’s properties in the client card, including this one, so all I need to do is create a job card from an existing template and find out how many circuits there are. Matthew agrees to the quote on the call, so this job status goes straight to Work Order.
All contact details are automatically populated from the client card, so the next step is to give the tenant a call and get it booked in. Send out the confirmation email and then put the job in a queue. A great way to remember to queue all ServiceM8 jobs is the mantra; ‘Do It, Queue It!’
One of the engineers, Kevin is calling me, is there a problem with the job he is on?
Unfortunately, yes. He’s been outside Tom’s flat where he is supposed to be working for 20 minutes now and hasn’t been able to contact either Tom or the landlord, even when banging loudly on the bedroom window.
We need to reschedule but there’s not much wiggle room in the diary and the landlord needs the work doing as soon as possible. So, time to call Dylan to come up with a plan and see which jobs can be moved around to open up a slot.
A few phone calls and rejigging of the schedule later, we’ve done it, there’s a new booking for Tom. Within a few clicks I’ve sent the new confirmation to both the tenant (the job contact) and the landlord (billing contact) and requeued the job. Problem solved!
Remember that list from earlier? For the next few hours, I give everyone on there a callback. For both Cheryl and Janis that means chasing quotes to see if they still want the work completing. John agreed to his quote via email so when I call him it’s to book in the work, send out the confirmation and then put it in the queue for booked jobs.
That’s lunch folks, I’ll be enjoying my homemade focaccia recipe with some salsa to add a splash of colour.
The afternoon session kicks off with a call from Tahir, he’s asking where his electrician is. I have a quick look on the map and locate him – feeling a bit like MI5. He’s still at his previous job, so I let Tahir know he’s running slightly late, but that he’ll get a text message when Dylan is on his way. He’s impressed. Then I tell him that he’ll also be able to track the van, now he’s super impressed! Just like an Amazon delivery he says.
Next up is Mariella – she’s from southern Italy and has a fantastic accent, unfortunately for me, I mishear and type her email in wrong, but luckily ServiceM8 alerts me that the email isn’t valid so whilst she’s still on the phone I can correct it. Super ServiceM8 to the rescue. Talking of email addresses, I’ve had some crackers… I can’t tell you them, but let’s just say someone isn’t fond of artichokes.
Ring ring, I answer and it’s Bella, she tells me all about her problem and a bit more, I think she likes to chat. She’s in her eighties and tells me about a man who lets himself into her flat, oh no, oh no, I think, but as it turns out, she’s only gone and caught the criminal by getting his fingerprints on a glass! What a lady – there’s always an interesting call or two. Oh, I also book her in for a call-out to find out why her fuse board is tripping btw.
Towards the end of the day, it’s time to turn my attention to the job queues. These are a great way of being able to keep track of your workflow in the ServiceM8 job management system. You can set the amount of time that a job is in a queue for, like jobs in ’03 Quote Sent’ will stay in this queue for 3 days giving the customer time to accept the quote.
When it expires from a queue, the job goes into a place called Unscheduled, this is where jobs that require actions can be found. I give Julie a bell to see if she wants to accept the quote sent last week. Her son has been sick, so she’s not had a chance to look at the quote. No worries I say and offer to call her back next week. I select the job on ServiceM8 and moving it to the next queue along; ‘Quotes to Chase.’ I stick a task on the job card so next week I’ll get a notification to call her.
Days done. I’ve taken 17 calls, 6 new bookings, 3 new quote visits arranged, 4 enquiries which may turn into work later down the line, 2 supplier calls, a sales call and finally my favourite call from a regular who’s promised the guy’s breakfast when they get there – hope it’s a full English!
If you would like to find out more about how we can help you with your ServiceM8 job management system or if you want us to answer your phones, book a call with the Software Buddy team.
To find out more about ServiceM8 read our guide to choosing the right ServiceM8 price plan for your business or see what we love most about ServiceM8.