By Eric Sprague, Super Tech University 4/2024
In the restoration industry, we work in people’s homes and offices. Our companies are in the most intimate and private portions of people’s lives during a time when stress is very high.
What could possibly go wrong?
To add to this equation, who are we sending out to spend the most time on the jobsite? Field technicians.
Most restorers struggle with attracting and retaining technicians. The job is hard and often thankless, and it is left to those who have minimal job skills, often come from tough backgrounds, and may be lacking in areas like communication and life skills. Still, we send these technicians into the homes of our clients everyday. We are entrusting them to maintain the reputation of our company, to collect 5-star reviews online, and to keep our stressed out clients 100% happy with us no matter what.
Is this fair? I don’t think so.
Can we really expect our technicians to successfully navigate complex human interactions with clients from all walks of life without the proper training to do so? No way.
Training is key to closing the technician-client disconnect. Too often, restorers try to fix human problems with technical solutions. When callbacks occur or client feedback is poor, many companies will send the offending tech to yet another IICRC class or technical training to “fix” the problem. IICRC classes are great, but they won’t fix the kinds of problems discussed below. To bridge this gap, we need to take a moment and put on our “customer glasses”. What does the client see and expect as we begin to do work for them?
