Retaining a customer is more cost-effective than securing a new one, so once you have educated a customer on the various aspects of his septic system and explained the benefits of preventive maintenance, the next job is customer retention. Utilizing a reminder card system is an effective way to do this.
Benefits are many
The most obvious benefit of a reminder system to your company is increased sales. Many uneducated customers have their septic tanks serviced on an “as needed” basis. This means the customer only calls when a problem has occurred. By placing customers in a reminder card system, you are initiating the service call on a regularly scheduled basis, rather than a crisis basis. In other words, you are proactive in generating sales rather than reacting to emergency calls.
Second, after a short time you will start generating a substantial reminder list for every month of the year. This results in more consistent workflow and more consistent cash flow. Rather than feast in the summer months and famine in the winter, the reminder card system will enable you to keep your equipment and employees working year-round as weather allows.
Third, a reminder card system can dramatically reduce the number of after hours and weekend emergency calls you receive. Also, it reduces your operating costs because a maintained system is easier and faster to service and requires less labor and equipment costs to pump than a tank that only gets pumped once every 12-15 years.
Along with this reduction in operating costs is an increase in scheduling efficiency due to more accurate service time estimation for each job. In other words, you know you can schedule jobs every two hours if they are for scheduled maintenance rather than an emergency.
Making the Most of Accounting Software
There are a variety of good computer programs you can use to develop reminder scheduling and many of us already have one bundled in our accounting software. We utilize one of the most common systems, QuickBooks from Intuit.
QuickBooks offers several features that adapt to a pumping business. All of these features are found in the Customer Center part of the program. The first feature is the Additional Info tab on the customer page. The left side of this window features fields such as Type, e.g. residential, commercial, school, etc., Terms, Rep and Preferred Send Method.
The right side of the window features a number of fields that are customer adaptable. For our company, we have changed these fields to include such things as tank size, tank type, tank condition, amount of hose needed, reminder frequency, next reminder date and previous pump date. By listing this data, we can see at a glance most of the critical information about that system. This also aids in scheduling because it lets us see if a job requires more time due to depth of the tank lid, if it is a long pull and needs more time to pull more hose and even such things as if the jobsite is level or if there is an elevation difference between the tank location and where the truck can park. These are critical factors in determining estimated service times.
The next feature is found on the same page in the small menu found in the upper right hand corner of the Customer Account page. One of the items in this menu is a box labeled Notes. Once an account is set up and the data listed as far as billing info, tank size etc., if you click on the Notes box, it will bring up a notepad window with the account information, customer contact and telephone number listed at the top. Below this information is a notepad area where you can insert pertinent information about the job.
Create a work history
We start with a description of directions to the jobsite, depth of tank, where the access port is located, type of baffles, etc. We also include information about access, if the driveway is steep and gravel, need to go with a partial load for traction, any gate combinations, low hanging overhead lines and whether there is room to turn around or if we need to back in from the road. We also include measurements to the lid location from individual reference points and we list the work order number that the map is drawn on.
Once this background information is in place, it is a simple matter of opening this Notes window each time a service call is made, placing the cursor below the last line of the narrative and hitting the Date Stamp box on the right side of the window. The system automatically enters that day’s date and it is easy to list the work order number, the service provided, the cost of each item and any other pertinent information from the day’s service call.
This allows you to build a history record of all the work done on each system. When that system is ready to be serviced again, it only takes a minute to pull up the Notes window and print it for the service technician. This allows them to not only find the jobsite faster, but gives the advantage of having a history of the system before they arrive at the site.
Having detailed records is especially important if your company has several service technicians or if you experience technician turnover. It also becomes an important asset to your business if and when you decide to sell. Imagine the benefit and value to a potential buyer when you can show that each job has a full history and each customer is part of a working reminder system.
One side note about setting up your pumping customer accounts in any bookkeeping system: Consider creating your customer list using the address where the tank is located, not necessarily by the property owner’s name. Most homes change ownership every six to seven years. What doesn’t change is the location of the tank, the address of the home and the size of the tank. This makes it very easy to look up a location when a new owner calls and asks about a system, and it is easy to change the billing party’s name if the property is sold.
Scheduling the Reminder Cards
Once the notes are entered, it is time to look at the New to Do box in the upper right corner, just below the Date Stamp box. By clicking on the New to Do box, a new window appears with a small notepad area and a box labeled Remind Me On. This is the heart of the reminder system. In the notepad area, you input as much information needed to generate your reminder list. For our company this includes address, size of tank, pumping frequency, name of resident and date of last pump. Once this information is logged, go to the Remind Me On box and put in the date the next reminder is due to be sent, then click the OK box and your reminder is now in your QuickBooks system.
Once the reminders are in your system, it is a simple matter to print a list of reminders that are due to be sent out for the month. Filter the report for any reminders dated from the first to the last day of the month, hit print, and you have a list of customers who get reminder cards for that month.
Include valuable information
Our reminder cards feature a color photo of our truck on the front and the back has a small version of the frequency chart and a place for us to list the customer’s tank size, date it was last pumped and suggested pumping frequency. This lets them verify for themselves that the system is due for service.
While the reminder system may sound complicated, it is amazingly easy to use and maintain. When you combine the benefits of educating your customers, helping them to avoid expensive repair costs, becoming the “go-to guy” for all their septic needs and reminding them when their system needs servicing, you will find that you and your business will reap many rewards.
