1. Quick Turnaround of Payments

Nothing incenses a dealer more than a delay in feedback or payment on their claim.  The longer the delay, the more heated the dealer becomes.  Dealers cannot be expected to remember the claim details when the delay is one, two, three weeks or even longer.

2.  Effective Validations to Minimize Errors and Revisions

Your dealer must deal with their customers now.  They must quickly resolve the issue and send their customers on their way.  If they discover later that there were errors on the claim, there is no way to go back to the customer and recover the error.  Only effective checking of claim items as they are entered can prevent this dilemma.  The 4CS products contain the right checks to avoid this problem; even the BOM or the build sheet is checked to verify the parts are correct.

3.  Fast Response to Questions

The technician is stumped.  He has never seen this problem before.  The customer is expecting his product any minute now.  The technician doesn't know whom to call, or the service rep is absent.  What to do?  A good system offers ways for a technician to access knowledge objects on the Web.  And if he still can't solve the problem, he is quickly routed to the right service resource.  If the resource is unavailable, then the call is escalated to someone who can help.

4.  Fair and Upfront Handling of Goodwill

Goodwill arises because your customer doesn't feel they are being handled fairly.  Negative emotions surface as the claim stumbles through your organization and the resolution is delayed.  These can all be minimized with a system of routing to the appropriate person, and an escalation process to make sure that person responds quickly.

5.  Quick Access to Critical Resources for Problems

Sometimes, problems are so critical that the normal procedures are just too slow.  These problems can be identified by a technician, a field service rep, or even the customer.  Examples are product down or product safety problems.  It is imperative to capture these problems as they occur and to start them on an expedited process.  4CS uses a product add-on called Field Service Response to manage this process. Problems are  diverted to the correct people and escalated to get a quick response.  FSR also includes the appropriate approvals to avoid bureaucratic stalling.

6.  Simplified Parts Returns

Let's face it.  Requiring your dealers to return parts is a time-consuming and messy process. To streamline this process, you can provide them with clear indications of what must be returned, simple on-the-spot labels for them to print, and a tracking system to let them know the status of the return.  By offering them lists of parts that have not been returned, you also remind them of what still needs to be done.


7.  Pre-approvals

We have all heard the story of the dealer who replaces a major component, only to have the claim rejected because a smaller sub-component was the only authorized part as the replacement. The dealer is now angry because he cannot recover the amount from the customer. Enabling your service network to submit pre-approvals can solve this problem.

8.  Appeal Process

Your dealer is hostile because his claim was rejected.  If he feels there are no available options, this could create a flurry of nasty calls, increasing the friction between you and your dealer.  Offering your dealers a structured appeals process can resolve this problem in an amiable way.  Given an alternative, the dealer can address the issue with a level head.

9.  Standard Labor Hours to Eliminate Questions

You think 5 hours is a reasonable amount of time for a repair, while they feel 8 hours are required for the job.  Who is right?  This discrepancy is the cause of many arguments and disputes.  By establishing fixed standard amounts, you can objectively handle repetitive claims.

10.  Geographic Pricing to Compensate for Regional Differences

A repair person in New York earns $90,000 per year, while another in Arkansas earns $30,000.  A one-size-fits-all price is certain to create complaints in one of the regions.  This can be resolved by pricing differently for each region, up to hundreds of geographical areas, if necessary.

11.  Service Information at Their Fingertips

The repairman services many types of products and performs many types of repairs.  If your system cannot deliver the right service manual or bulletin, the repair may take longer or might be done incorrectly. You simply need to supply your service network with the right information at the right time.

12.  Ability to Send Photos of Defective Parts

Your service desk can't understand how this defect occurred. You must send a field service rep to validate.  Your service provider needs to fix it right now.  What to do?  Send a photo with your claim. Speed is increased, cost is decreased.

13. Effective Follow-up on Campaigns

Your dealer is upset when confronted by a customer who has more information than the dealer.  Is the customer's unit included in the campaign?  What are the details of the repair?  This can all be solved with electronic delivery and control of campaigns.