How to Improve Your HVAC Customer Service in 2024

January 15, 2024

Tagged:: HVAC Sales

For any HVAC business to succeed, it needs a steady stream of new customers.

To grow and improve, HVAC business owners rely on their team to create a great HVAC customer service experience from the first moment that a person calls the business.

Without excellent HVAC customer service, no HVAC business will grow beyond a small company. They will not grow their brand, improve customer retention, or attract referrals and repeat customers.

HVAC customer service is the big difference between an average company, and one that thrives in the marketplace.

In this article, we will look at some of the basics of HVAC customer service and how to improve your HVAC customer experience for your business.

What is HVAC Customer Service?

HVAC Customer Service is the entire experience that a customer has before, during, and after their repair, maintenance, or install of a air conditioning services.

Good HVAC customer service is about more than just booking a call, gathering contact information, or taking payments. It is about managing the entire experience a customer has with your HVAC company.

High quality HVAC customer service allows the customer to solve their problems in a timely manner. Good HVAC customer service will create loyal long-term customers, and grow the profits for any HVAC company.

Why is HVAC Customer Service Important?

Any HVAC contractor knows that attracting and keeping customers is key to growing a HVAC business.

Before a HVAC technician can focus on repairs, maintenance, or system replacements, a lot of other steps must happen first. Setting the right expectations for prospective customers, and ensuring excellent customer support are key duties in the HVAC customer service representative role.

How Does HVAC Customer Service Help Grow Profits?

Any company that can improve customer retention will tend to have more demand for air conditioning repair in the peak months, and will also sell more indoor air quality services throughout the year.

Happy customers will leave positive reviews on Google Business Profile, and will refer family and friends when asked for a good HVAC contractor.

Essentially, creating high customer satisfaction will do more than any targeted advertising, a press release, or any other type of marketing.

HVAC systems continue to need maintenance and repairs throughout their life. If you can deliver excellent HVAC customer service, you will keep customers and boost profits dramatically.

What is a CSR in HVAC?

A CSR in HVAC is a customer service representative.

The HVAC CSR role is to take care of the initial contact with the customers needing help with their air conditioning, heating, or other HVACR services.

Typically a CSR will handle the initial call with a new HVAC customer, as well connecting with existing customers, and outbound calling to set up appointments for maintenance or repair.

The CSR role is a mix of booking calls, handling customer questions, dealing with customer complaints and concerns, discussing appointment details, and service costs.

The CSR role is the starting point of connecting with the HVAC business for potential customers. A strong focus on quality service, empathy, customer care can help make your business stand out in the marketplace.

How to Create a Skilled HVAC Customer Service Team

Typically, HVAC customer service, it is handled by the Customer service representative on the team. A HVAC CSR is responsible for both customer support and customer satisfaction throughout the whole time the customer works with the business.

A CSR is the first point of HVAC customer service contact for all new customers, and also for existing customers who need help and support.

In the HVAC industry, the CSR role is one of the most essential and important for building trust and managing customer expectations.

If there are customer concerns, complaints, or questions, the CSR is the person who can manage it on behalf of the team.

A CSR must not only be skilled with communication, but also with planning, using a CRM software tool, and managing the schedule of the HVAC technicians.

What Are The Responsibilities of the HVAC CSR?

To ensure proper customer support and an excellent customer experience, a CSR must have both strong communication skills and technical HVAC industry knowledge.

The combination of communication and appointment scheduling skills are what make a great customer service representative.

Greeting and welcoming new HVAC customers over the phone
Answering new customer questions
Gathering important customer information
Manage customer consent preferences for their appointment
Understanding what might be wrong with a customer's AC unit
Offering information about air conditioning services
Booking new HVAC customer appointments
Dealing with HVAC customer complaints
Building trust with HVAC customers as part of the first impression
Explaining HVAC pricing and payment policies
Helping HVAC customers to feel comfortable and cared for

Certain customer service skills and abilities come together to help you offer an excellent customer service experience.

The most important HVAC customer service skills include communication, active listening, technical knowledge, and patience.

The same communication skills that apply to a highly-skilled HVAC technician help you offer good customer service as a CSR.

With these HVAC customer service elements, you can offer your customers a memorable experience and create loyal HVAC customers.

How a CSR can Build Trust with HVAC Customers

Be friendly and professional. Answering with a courteous, polite, respectful, and friendly tone will help new HVAC customers feel respected and willing to book with your company.
Be responsive and timely. When a customer calls, answer the phone promptly and be clear about what kind of service you can offer to help. If you are unable to resolve the issue immediately, keep the customer updated on your progress.
Be knowledgeable. Make sure you have a good understanding of HVAC systems, common HVAC problems, and be able to answer customers' basic questions in a clear and concise way. If you don't know the answer to a question, you can offer to find out from a technician on your team.
Be patient. Many new customers will not know anything about HVAC systems or how they can break down. Sometimes customers can be upset and frustrated if their air conditioning is not working in the middle of summer. The ability to stay patient with a customer and answer all their questions will put them at ease.
Be clear about costs and the process. When a customer books, make sure to be up front with all costs and the timing involved for the HVAC service visit. Many HVAC customers do not deal with air conditioning issues very often, and may not understand what is involved. The more you can explain about the HVAC service call, the better the person will be prepared and feel like they have a good customer experience.
Consistent follow up. After your HVAC team has resolved a customer's issue, follow up with them to make sure they are satisfied. This extra effort shows that your team cares about their needs and wants to make sure they are happy with the HVAC services you have provided.

HVAC customer service training — Not everyday as a CSR is going to be easy. There are angry customers and frustrated HVAC techs who are busy and overworked. Your role as a CSR is to take care of them all in a calm, confident manner.

Getting Started as a HVAC Customer Service Representative

The HVAC CSR role is a balancing act, and requires patience and confidence. There can be time pressure, and customers who can be emotional if their air conditioner has stopped working.

Quality customer service and customer care all start with empathy and desire help people solve their problems. In the role of a CSR, it is important to understand the AC repair needs of a potential customer as well how to get the best of your tech each day.

Here are several ways that you can ensure you exceptional customer service in your CSR role.

Get the necessary education and training. There are many HVAC customer service training programs available online and in person. These HVAC CSR training programs will teach you the basics of HVAC systems, as well as the communication skills you need to provide excellent customer service.

Gain Real-time experience. The best way to learn about HVAC customer service is to gain experience working in the field. You can do this by getting an entry-level job at an HVAC company, such as a CSR or dispatcher.

Learn about the HVAC industry. By connecting with people who work in HVAC customer service, you can learn best practices that have helped them succeed. SBE runs monthly CSR mastermind and training groups that can help you connect with other successful CSR professionals.

Develop your people skills. In addition to the skills you learn in training, there are other skills that will be helpful in HVAC customer service, such as communication, problem-solving, and customer relations. Take some time to develop these soft skills so that you stand in your CSR role.

Keep learning and growing. Getting into HVAC customer service can be challenging, so don't give up if you don't get your dream job right away. As you grow in experience and knowledge, you can apply for higher-level CSR roles and even move into the Dispatch role of a HVAC company.

Upgrade Your HVAC Customer Service Experience

Remember that new customers are the lifeblood of any HVAC business.

Before your techs can work on an HVAC system, or make any sales, you must book customers in for appointments. The purpose of the CSR role in a HVAC company is to book the call, and to provide excellent customer care on every phone call.

Happy customers will leave positive reviews online and refer their friends when they are looking for a HVAC company. Nothing grows a business better than excellent customer service.

It all starts with looking at ways to enhance and improve your HVAC customer service standards, and solve the customers problems with the HVAC system. There are hundreds of small things you can do to stand out from the competition and make an impact. Investing in HVAC training for technicians can help to boost sales as well as HVAC customer service standards.

SBE offers the CSR Champions training program both online and in-person to grow and develop your HVAC customer service and to train your CSR team to deliver an excellent experience.