By Mike Tiano
Having worked with numbers of clients over my years at APX, from single sites to 20+ multi-site locations, I can say there’s never been two installs quite the same.
It’s our job as program managers to ensure the process from when the order is placed up until activation runs smoothly, and that we provide a different customer experience. This is achieved by taking the headache out of dealing with large carriers, providing consistent, up-to-date information, and most importantly, being a trusted partner for our agents and customers.
Meeting the requested drop-dead date is what we strive to do, however as we know, this is not always the case. The reality is that there are common factors that can and do affect these timelines: easements, city/municipality permits, fiber capacity, complex builds and access issues to name a few.
We identify successful installs not necessarily by how ‘perfect’ everything may run in the process (although that is the goal), but by providing the customer with a positive customer experience that leaves an impact.
Outlined below are a few things we believe are essential in any successful install.
Setting Expectations – Providing milestones and average timeframes for lit/non-lit sites, outlining milestones, and providing clear and concise details of what to expect from the team over the course of the install.
Research – Getting the correct details and getting them early. Reviewing the SOA before we place the order – getting IP details, DMARC, hand-off, special requests. Spending 10-15 minutes post-sale to speak directly with the customer, have them get to know us, and showing how we do things differently.
Transparency – Whether it’s great news (or not so great news), openly disclosing every step of the process with all affected parties. When changes to the timelines do occur, providing a clear update and leaving no gray area.
Communication – Discussing needs and pain points, having follow-up discussions, sending out weekly tracker spreadsheets. Customers should never have to reach out for a status update.
In the end, our success is gauged only by our customers and agents.