How plumbing companies can use technology this upcoming Brown Friday

A day jokingly coined Brown Friday is no joke for plumbing companies. The day after Thanksgiving is the busiest day of the year for plumbers due to an increase of sink and toilet clogs. It’s no myth — think about all of the food scraps and grease that go down the drain over the course of Thanksgiving prep and cleanup.

Plumbers are likely scrambling every year to meet demand, and a day filled with emergency jobs can create serious operational headaches for plumbing fleets and workers. Let’s explore some of the ways technology can help plumbing companies keep their business flowing when customers need them most.

Make it Green Friday using the right solution

The right GPS fleet tracking and mobile resource management technology can go a long way in helping your fleet overcome common challenges, improve efficiency and keep customers happy.

Go with the flow when scheduling jobs: See your whole crew on a live map in near real time when an emergency call comes in. Have the flexibility to quickly dispatch the closest plumbing contractor to the job.

Keep busy plumbers on a roll: Receive alerts and notifications for unsafe-driving behavior, like fast acceleration, harsh cornering and speeding. Use near real-time video to help your plumbing contractors be safe on the road.

Plunge into mobile scheduling with an easy-to-use app: Techs can see their schedule and collect signatures, photos and notes while at the job site — all from a field service app. Dispatchers can receive an alert if a technician hasn’t viewed a job, and appointment notifications and reminders can be sent automatically.

Flush away your old paper forms: Use custom paperless forms to capture proof- of-delivery data from the field to reduce misplaced or unreadable paper forms. Let workers log in to one system to avoid patching together separate calendars and spreadsheets.

Crack the code on customer expectations: Automatically alert customers of ETAs and delays using GPS data. See how the company and technicians are performing with customer ratings and reviews, and view an overall dashboard of ratings to help track performance over time and address customer issues as soon as possible.

Don’t let vehicle downtime drain your resources: Set up preventative maintenance schedules and receive alerts when your vehicles need service. If a vehicle does break down, drivers can use roadside assistance to get them back on the road quickly.

How companies like yours tackle operational challenges with technology

The Throne Depot

Like all delivery fleets, The Throne Depot faced the challenge of keeping good drivers, maximizing their time, meeting customer service targets, and providing drivers clear directions to their next job. “One truck went 45 miles to the wrong town, in the wrong direction, and that took our truck out of service for a Friday afternoon for hours and hours,” said Steve Brodeur, co-owner at The Throne Depot. “We had to look at it and say there's a better way.”

The ability to know at a glance the status of each job and location of each driver lends itself especially well to the last-minute and emergency requests that come in.

Dallas Plumbing Company

Dallas Plumbing Company has been serving the Dallas, Texas area since 1903, but it was time they turned to modern GPS fleet tracking to help improve efficiencies and lower costs. Mark Wissler, Service Manager, says that the Verizon Connect Reveal platform has helped his company improve customer service and save on fuel and time. "Every little bit helps right now," said Wissler. "With Verizon Connect, jobs come out better and we can route different ways to save gas and time. The system really does pay for itself."

Reports also helped Dallas Plumbing improve customer service and reduce customer disputes. If a customer calls to dispute the amount of time an employee spent on their job, Mr. Wissler can pull the report and verify the exact times spent at the site. "The alerts tell me immediately when something happens," said Wissler. "And the reports give me details about what has gone on every minute during the day.

For more information on how technology can help keep you from throwing money down the drain this Brown Friday, download our free eBook Solving Common Service Problems or schedule a demo today.