What goes through your mind when something in your home breaks? Do you think, “Great, I’m looking forward to getting this fixed!” Or do you think (in more of a begrudged tone), “Great, now I need to get this fixed….”

Let’s face it, the feeling of excitement and enthusiasm, aren’t emotions associated with warranty service. Here’s why.

For a long time, homeowners have dealt with brands that offer a less-than-ideal experience, filled with long service windows, no visibility into where the technician is, few communication channels, and no opportunity for immediate customer feedback. The lack of these experiences are what drive negative customer experiences and when companies don’t have the right technology, it’s hard to satisfy the customer.

The new homeowner expectations

Homeowner expectations have changed. They expect to be at the center of every experience with full transparency into what is going on. When looking back at history, we can thank one person for this shift in expectations, Steve Jobs. When Jobs introduced the iPhone to consumers the speed in which information passed from hand to hand dramatically increased. This created a new expectation from customers as these devices became the main connection point between them and brands. It was one of the largest power shifts in the business-consumer relationship.

But this was 11 years ago. A lot has changed. Businesses like Amazon, Uber, and OpenTable have accelerated this power shift and created experiences that are now expected by consumers.

• Amazon solved logistics by removing the human from the equation.
• Uber provided full transparency into when, where, and who will be driving.
• OpenTable streamlined the way we book restaurant reservations.

Because of this, businesses realize that in order to compete in today’s market, customer experience needs to be a high priority, and industries are either adopting this mindset or being left behind. Here are a few examples:

• Banking experiences are improving – Capital One Cafes are turning bank visits into banking experiences… “banking reimagined.”
• Ophthalmology experiences are improving – Warby Parker made it easy to try on and order a pair of glasses directly from your living room.
• Home decor experiences are improving – Wayfair’s VR app lets customers visualize the layout of their new furniture in their home before they even buy it.

The next industry ready for a shakeup is warranty services. Here’s why…

What the New Warranty Experience Should Look Like

Imagine a warranty experience where the homeowner can, in a matter of minutes, schedule a job on their phone without ever having the back-and-forth phone tag with you and the 3rd-party service provider?

Imagine a warranty experience where the homeowner can track every important appointment update, see where the technician is on a live map, and feel informed every step of the way? (reducing those, “Where’s my tech?” phone calls.)

Imagine a warranty experience where the homeowner can text and call the technician to inform them of any change to their schedule? (reducing costly “no-shows.”)

Imagine a warranty experience where the homeowner can share a picture of what is wrong, aid in capturing the model/serial number and help the tech fix it right the first time.

Imagine a warranty experience where the homeowner can leave immediate feedback about how well the service provider performed? (giving real-time visibility into customer satisfaction and technician performance.)

Imagine a warranty experience as simple, transparent, and easy as Uber, OpenTable, and Amazon?

Well, you don’t need to imagine anymore.

Dispatch is already used by some of the world’s largest OEM companies. They use us to gain full visibility into their 3rd-party contractor network that otherwise wasn’t measurable. Additionally, customers are now experiencing the same tech-driven experiences that they’ve come to expect from modern brands like Amazon and Ubers.

To learn more about how your warranty service can offer better customer experiences, send us an email (support@dispatch.me). We’re happy to discuss best practices and how you can improve customer satisfaction, 3rd-party visibility, and overall brand reputation.