Focus on Efficiency: Make Service Operations a Moneymaker

Service and appliance sales are often considered to be a loss leader or a cost of doing business by propane marketers who are primarily focused on delivering propane. But that doesn’t have to be the case, says Saul Cohen, product specialist at Cargas (Lancaster, Pa.). If the marketer focuses on efficiency and expansion, the service operation can be a profit center.

Cohen will present a seminar on this topic at the upcoming National Propane Gas Association (NPGA) Expo. At Cargas, as a product specialist, he is a subject matter expert for the propane industry and software. In 2005, Cohen created and presented to Cargas the business plan to start Cargas Energy software solutions for fuel delivery and service companies.

Today, he tells BPN, software solutions like these can help propane marketers increase service efficiency, improve customer satisfaction, and build consumer interest in additional propane appliances.

Among the practices the software can facilitate are the following:

To maximize both the marketer’s efficiency and the customer’s satisfaction, service jobs should be completed on the first visit. Software can make it easier to know in advance what equipment the customer has, capture information about what service needs to be done, and ensure the technician has the parts needed for the job. “This helps you do a better job with the customer, with an improved fix rate and first-time efficiency,” Cohen says.

Keep a record of the installed equipment Software tools also make it easier for technicians in the field to capture details of the equipment they have installed. They can do the installation, take photos, and those photos are automatically uploaded and attached to the customer’s account for everyone to see in the future. “If you go back and it’s different, you have proof the customer has changed or added something.”

Software tools make it easier for technicians to handle service contracts or agreements while they are with the customer, so they can more easily sell these and other products and services. “Some consumers are interested in generators, indoor/outdoor propane fireplace/heating, or pool heaters. The propane marketers should provide incentives for their people in the field to educate consumers on the benefits of these and other propane appliances that they may not be aware that you offer so you can [cross-sell/upsell] these items,” Cohen says.

“Another example is to offer a yearly service check, so you can test the generator annually to make sure it works when it’s needed. That provides peace of mind to customers and additional revenue for your company.”

Build a loyalty program

In some regions, consumers don’t think of propane marketers as a source of appliances. When these consumers want a cooktop or a fire log, they might look to an appliance retailer rather than a propane marketer. “A loyalty program is one way to get customers to think of you that way,” Cohen says. “Some marketers provide loyalty points; as customers buy fuel, they get points that they can cash in to buy appliances and equipment.”

For those looking to expand their service operations, Cohen suggests looking at their existing operations and asking themselves, “Am I making money in service?”

“We are trying to make people think of service as a profit center rather than a cost of doing business,” Cohen says. “Most marketers do service just to get the fuel delivery. But if you are now able to manage it with software — quoting in the field (signature capture), first-time efficiency (eliminate callbacks and not having the right parts), addressing the problem rather than having to go back to the customer a second time—service can be a moneymaker.”